Eggplant Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant

Olive oil cooking spray

1 cup shredded mozzarella

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

snipped fresh parsley

Sauce:

1/2 cup onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. olive oil

1 15-oz. can low-sodium diced tomatoes, undrained

2/3 cup tomato sauce

1 Tbs. oregano

1 tsp. basil

1/4 tsp. onion powder

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Wash and cut the unpeeled eggplant into 1/4 - 1/2 inch slices.  Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray and lay out the slices in the bottom of the pan, overlapping a little if necessary.  Spray eggplant with cooking spray and bake for 30 minutes, flipping the slices halfway through. 

  While the eggplant is baking, prepare the sauce.  Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until tender.  Add in tomato sauce and seasonings.  Reduce to simmer for about 15 minutes. 

  Remove eggplant from oven.  Being careful of the hot dish, layer mozzarella over the eggplant.  Spoon the sauce over the cheese.  Top with parmesan cheese and parsley.  Bake for an additional 30 mintues at 350 degrees.

  Adding sauted mushrooms or black olives to this recipe is another option, depending on your tastes.  For those on a restrictive sodium diet, beware that cheese is high in sodium so you'll need to structure your diet accordingly.  We all recognize that noodles and bread are often just a vehicle for eating sauce and cheese.  Substituting eggplant is surprisingly satisfying and makes this dish a lower carbohydrate option.

Chicken and Wild Rice

Ingredients:
3-4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 1/2 cups celery, chopped
1 lg. carrot, diced
1 cup whole pearl onions, ends cut off and outer skin removed
2 tsp. fresh tarragon
1 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup white wine
1 small jar pimento
1 pkg. long grain and wild rice mix w/seasoning packet (I used a 6.3 oz. box)
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted (optional)
fresh parsley, chopped

  Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Combine wine, rice mix and seasoning packet in a Dutch oven or large baking dish.  Let soak while preparing chicken.
  Cut chicken into 1 inch pieces.  Place chicken in a fry pan with chicken stock, carrot, celery, onion and tarragon.  Bring to bubble and cook 10 minutes on medium heat, until chicken and vegetables are tender.
  Add the chicken, vegetables, pimento and stock to the mixture in the Dutch oven.  Cover and bake for 1 hour.  Check and stir periodically during the last 1/2 hour, adding more chicken stock if the rice looks too dry (rice packages can vary a bit in size).  Toast almonds in a small fry pan over medium heat for 5 minutes until slightly brown.  Serve rice topped with almonds and chopped parsley.

Uncle Bob's Chili

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey
1 Tbs. canola oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 green pepper, diced
3 stalks celery, sliced
2 15-oz cans low-sodium diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can tomato paste
1 tsp. salt (optional if you need it especially low-sodium)
1 Tbs. sugar substitute (Stevia)
1 1/2 Tbs. chili powder (more if you like it hot)
1 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 can diced green chilies
1 can low-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can low-sodium kidney beans, undrained
1 small can corn
non-fat plain Greek yogurt
green onion, diced
shredded Mexican cheese blend

  I grew up on a farm raising Angus beef cows, so substituting ground turkey isn't always satisfying for me.  Fortunately in chili (if you add enough chili powder) you're never left asking "where's the beef?"  This recipe has more vegetables than the average chili, giving it a nice "crunch".
 Select a large stew pot and saute turkey, onion and garlic in oil until browned.  Break up the ground turkey as it cooks.  Drain.  Add in the green pepper, celery, tomatoes, tomato paste, chilies, spices and Worcestershire sauce.  Heat to bubbling, then turn down to a simmer and cover.  Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add in the beans and corn.  Simmer another 40 minutes.  Serve topped with non-fat yogurt, green onions and a little cheese.

Baked Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients:
1 medium spaghetti squash
1/2 cup low-moisture mozarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp. oregano
1/3 cup roasted red peppers, cut into bite sized pieces (come in a jar at the grocer)
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Cut the spaghetti squash in half, crosswise, and scrape out the seeds with a large spoon.  Place 1 half face down in a glass pie plate with 1/4 cup water.  Pierce back of squash in several places with a fork.  Cover with plastic wrap and pierce the wrap in several places with a knife.  Microwave for about 13 minutes, until soft.  Remove and repeat the procedure with the other half squash.  After removing from the microwave, let it cool and drain for several minutes face down in a colander.  OR squash can be cut in half and placed face down on a baking sheet sprayed with PAM and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees (will be less watery than the microwave method).
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  Using a fork, scrape out the pulp from the cooked squash into a baking dish (it has strands like spaghetti).  Stir in the mozarella and parmesan cheese, oregano, and red peppers.  Bake for ten minutes or until lightly browned on top.  Plate and top with chopped parsley.

Peanut Butter Bars

Ingredients:
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
2 Tbs. brown sugar, packed down
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 Tbs. non-hydrogenated margarine, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (slow cooking)
1/4 cup coconut
1/4 dried cranberries (Craisins)
1/4 cup chopped or sliced almonds
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Mix the butters, sugar, honey and vanilla.  Add in the rolled oats, cocnut, dried cranberries, almonds and chocolate chips and mix thoroughly.  Spread mixture into a 9x9 baking pan sprayed with PAM.  Bake 25 minutes, cool and cut into small squares.  These bars are pretty dense so one square is all you get for a serving size!