Roasted Vegetable and Pesto Sandwich

I was doing a little blog hopping when I came across a post for a roasted vegetable and pesto sandwich. I just happened to have all of the ingredients, so I decided to give it a go. WOW! What great flavor and it is wonderfully nutritious as well. Can't beat that! Here is what the finished product looked like... Since I didn't want to fire up the grill, I decided to pan roast the veges on my trusty vintage cast iron griddle. It is so well seasoned that I don't have to use much olive oil. I did use my mandoline to slice the zucchini the long way, and to make the other vegetables (red pepper, portobello mushroom and onion) uniformly sliced.

I forgot the onion, and had to "roast" it separately. I was going for caramelized sweet onion. It turned out really nicely.

I put about a level tablespoon of pesto on each side of a 100 calorie Oroweat sandwich thins.

I bought the pesto at Costco...don't have much basil in the garden this time of year.

I put the pan roasted veges on the sandwich thins...

Next, I put a few small, fresh mozzarella balls on the sandwich (microwaved for 15 seconds to get them to melt a bit). I'm not kidding, the first bite was heavenly :) . I mean, look at this baby!

This is my new favorite lunch item! And Weight Watcher friendly, too!

Hungry yet?

Weight Watcher Fruit and Honey Bars

Here is a fantastic recipe for a homemade granola bar of sorts. I found the recipe in Weight Watchers magazine. Normally, I wouldn't be tempted to try this kind of recipe, because they never taste very good. I'm glad I did try this, because not only does it taste good, but it is low in WW point and calories. Not only that, but I have all of the ingredients in my food storage!

Fruit and Honey Bars

Prep 20 minutes, Bake 20 minutes, Serves 20

1/3 c. honey

2 large eggs (you can use powdered)

1/2 tsp salt

1 c. old fashioned rolled oats

1/2 c. instant nonfat dry milk

1/2 c. each: shelled unsalted pumpkin seeds

unsweetened shredded coconut

ground flax seed

dried apricots, chopped

dried cherries

1/4 c. whole wheat flour

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Line a 9" square baking pan with nonstick foil. Beat honey, eggs and salt with a fork in a small bowl until blended. Put the rest of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the honey mixture to the dry ingredients and pulse until mixture is slightly moistened. Press dough into baking pan until in is uniformly even. Bake until center is set, and edges are lightly browned. Let cool 10 minutes. Using foil, transfer the bar from pan to cutting board. Cut into 20 1 1/2" bars. Let cool completely, peel off foil.

1 bar is: 118 calories, 5 gm total fat, 2 gm sat fat, 16 gm total carb, 10 gm total sugar, 2 gm fiber, 4 gm protein My notes: I did not use the foil, but lightly greased the pan with butter. I did not use a food processor, but just chopped the dried apricots with a knife. I used raisins because I didn't have any dried cherries. I stirred everything together with a spoon. I preheated the oven, and the baking time was 20 minutes.

I really love this bar. I will have a couple with some yogurt for breakfast. Yummy! Give it a try and let me know how you like it.

Bountiful Basket Coop 3-12-11

It is a beautiful day here in Southern Utah! It is in the 70's today, and I can't wait to get out into the garden this afternoon. I have to do some errands first :) Well, here is the haul that we received today in our Bountiful Baskets. I forgot to include the beautiful apples....put them right into the crisper when I got home. So, fruit included apples, bananas, cantaloupe, pineapple, strawberries and blackberries. Vegetable fare included green cauliflower (love this stuff), asparagus, green beans, green leaf lettuce and Roma tomatoes. I think it is a very nice basket today. I've already prepped the cauliflower and lettuce. I'm going to try an awesome recipe using the asparagus for dinner. I'll share pictures. I also got the Italian Pack which was $7.50, and included baby bella mushrooms, regular mushrooms, red onion, 2 sweet onions, head of garlic, fresh cilantro, basil, oregano and rosemary. It all looks and smells so good!

The best thing next to picking it from your own garden, is getting a basket for $15 with all of the fruit and vegetables. It really helps us to eat more produce when we get a basket.

Starting Seeds and Gardening in So. Utah

I've just finished writing an article on starting seeds and getting your garden on here in Southern Utah. You can find the article at Alive! Utah South Area.

Let me know what you think! Anyone out there getting a garden started? I helped my parents get some tomatoes planted yesterday. I have mine hardening off right now. I bought some walls of water yesterday, so hope to get my tomatoes in tomorrow.

Asian Grilled Salmon and Red Pepper Soup

This month, I helped put together an article for Alive! Utah South Area, online magazine. You'll love the red pepper soup recipe. It is really delicious and so easy to make, not to mention low calorie. The salmon recipe is wonderful as well. Go check it out the original post here .

picture courtesy of Alive! Utah

Asian Grilled Salmon

1 side fresh salmon, boned but skin on (about 3 pounds)

2 TBSP Dijon mustard

3 TBSP soy sauce

6 TBSP good olive oil

1/2 tsp minced garlic

Light charcoal briquettes in a grill and brush the grilling rack with oil to keep the salmon from sticking.

While the grill is heating, lay the salmon skin side down on a cutting board and cut it crosswise into 4 equal pieces. Whisk together the mustard, soy sauce, olive oil, and garlic in a small bowl. Drizzle half of the marinade onto the salmon and allow it to sit for 10 minutes. Place the salmon skin side down on the hot grill; discard the marinade the fish was sitting in. Grill for 4-5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Turn carefully with a wide spatula and grill for another 4-5 minutes. The salmon will be slightly raw in the center, but don't worry; it will keep cooking as it sits. Transfer the fish to a flat plate, skin side down, and spoon the reserved marinade on top. Allow the fish to rest for 10 minutes. Remove the skin and serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

picture courtesy of Alive! Utah

Red Pepper Soup (Kitchen Close-up by Diedre Hall)

1 yellow onion

2-3 large red or orange peppers, cut into chunks

1 clove garlic

1 c. or more chicken or vegetable broth

1/2 Carrots or zucchini chunks, optional

1 tsp olive oil

salt

Cook the vegetable chunks in the broth until tender, then transfer to blender. Blend with other ingredients and season to taste.

Deidre Hall Cookbook Contest

Here is a picture of Deidre, the chef at Green Valley Spa, and Lynne in front of a cool blender/cooker by Cuisinart that they used during the demo.

True Random Number Generator Min: 1 Max: 5 Result: 5 The winner of the cookbook is Dee! I'll get that sent out to you tomorrow. Enjoy!

Country Pot Roast

I've told you about my favorite go to cook book, The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook. The recipes are fantastic, and no fail. I received the cookbook as a wedding gift nearly 28 years ago. We love the recipe for Country Pot Roast. I understand that the older version is better than the newer version.

We are not big meat eaters, but I do have a side of beef in my freezer that needs to be used up by June. Therefore, we eat meat about 1-2 times a week.

I have about 4 chuck roasts left to use, so I knew that we'd be having Country Pot Roast for Sunday dinner. It is so easy to make. Rub seasoning and flour into the meat surfaces, brown in some olive oil on all sides, and slip it into a crock pot.

Well, there is a bit more to it, but not much. Here is the link to the recipe. In the cookbook, it does not call for the broth, so I didn't add any. Serve it with mashed potatoes. All of that pureed vegetable/broth makes for a wonderful gravy!