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August 4, 2005
Thursday's Taste: Zucchini
All about Zucchini
Zucchini is available year-round fresh, canned with tomato, and frozen and sliced with other vegetables.
To select fresh zucchini, look for small ones that are firm and free from soft spots and cuts. You probably won't be able to find one that's blemish-free because of their tender skins.
To store, refrigerate dry zucchini in a plastic bag for up to 5 days or up to 2 weeks if they are garden-fresh.
To prepare, wash but do not peel. Cut off ends. Follow recipe directions for slicing and cooking.
A Twist on Lasagna: Layered Zucchini
This is also good without the cottage cheese filling - not a big fan of any cottage cheese/ricotta cheese lasagna layer. The mozzarella still makes it cheesey.
4 cups water
6 cups sliced zucchini (about 3 medium)
1 pound ground round
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups low-fat spaghetti sauce (such as Muir Glen Organic)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cups fat-free cottage cheese
1 tablespoon dried parsley
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Cooking spray
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs, divided
1 3/4 cups (3 1/2 ounces) preshredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
Preheat oven to 350°.
Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add zucchini; cook 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and cool.
Place the beef and garlic in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in the spaghetti sauce, salt, basil, and oregano; cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
Combine the cottage cheese, parsley, and eggs in a medium bowl.
Arrange zucchini slices in a shallow 3-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle the zucchini with half of the breadcrumbs. Spread half of cottage cheese mixture over breadcrumbs; cover with half of the meat mixture and 1 cup mozzarella. Repeat the layers with the remaining breadcrumbs, cottage cheese mixture, and meat mixture; reserve the remaining mozzarella. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes.
Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella, and bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese melts.
Yield: 10 servings
CALORIES 210(30% from fat); FAT 7.1g (sat 3g,mono 2.8g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 20.9g; CHOLESTEROL 69mg; CALCIUM 153mg; SODIUM 554mg; FIBER 2.3g; IRON 2.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 14.8g
Courtesy of Cooking Light
A Twist on Fried Zucchini: Zucchini Oven Chips
1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fat-free milk
2 1/2 cups (1/4-inch-thick) slices zucchini (about 2 small)
Cooking spray
Preheat oven to 425°.
Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Place milk in a shallow bowl. Dip zucchini slices in milk, and dredge in breadcrumb mixture. Place coated slices on an ovenproof wire rack coated with cooking spray; place rack on a baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until browned and crisp. Serve immediately.
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 3/4 cup)
CALORIES 61(28% from fat); FAT 1.9g (sat 1g,mono 0.5g,poly 0.2g); PROTEIN 3.8g; CHOLESTEROL 5mg; CALCIUM 87mg; SODIUM 231mg; FIBER 1g; IRON 0.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 7.6g
Courtesy of Cooking Light
Posted by Lisa at August 4, 2005 12:46 PM
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Posted by: Jesse Dickinson at December 11, 2005 8:09 AM