Seafood Stuffed Zucchini

Today, we've got a seafood stuffed zucchini. We were at the store and it occurred to us that Dr. Simeon never said we couldn't mix proteins - just no mixing veggies. So, we gave it a shot today. We mixed orange roughy, clams, and shrimp together with seasonings and put it all into a zucchini boat. I think it could have used a little more salt and a little more garlic (but you know, I love garlic, lol), but it was delightful and got better with each bite. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Mama Mia!

It takes me a little while to get video taken care of, but I didn't want to just post the recipe with this one - you really need to see the video, too! The kids were a little on the loud side in the background, but you can still hear Mom (Christine) as she shows you how to make up this dish.

Buffaloaf

Buffaloaf (127 calories)

Buffalo loaf:

100g ground buffalo (100 calories)

1/3 cup grated zucchini (7 calories)

1 grissini breadstick, pulverized (20 calories)

1T milk

1/4t italian seasoning

1/4t garlic powder

1/4t onion powder

a sprinkle of celery seeds

Sauce:

1T tomato paste

1/8t onion powder

1/8t garlic powder

1/8t italian seasoning

1/8t fennel seed

1 drop stevia

Mix meat ingredients together and pat into a patty. Place in center of 8" foil and set aside. Combine sauce ingredients together in bowl and spread on top of patty. Make foil into pocket and cook buffaloaf 45 minutes at 350* (toaster ovens work good for this if you don't want to heat the whole house). Uncover buffaloaf and broil patty 10 minutes. Then serve it HOT HOT HOT!

Serious NUMMY!! Hope you enjoy it!

Zucchini Meatloaf

The meal we made last night makes me wish we could have beef every night. We used everything except our fruit in it, including the milk and some tomato paste. And it tasted "normal."

Zucchini Meatloaf (242 calories)

Meatloaf:

100g lean ground beef (215 calories)

1/3 cup grated zucchini (7 calories)

1 grissini breadstick, pulverized (20 calories)

1T milk

1/4t italian seasoning

1/4t garlic powder

1/4t onion powder

a sprinkle of celery seeds

Sauce:

1T tomato paste

1/8t onion powder

1/8t garlic powder

1/8t italian seasoning

1/8t fennel seed

1 drop stevia

Mix meat ingredients together and pat into a patty. Place in center of 8" foil and set aside. Combine sauce ingredients together in bowl and spread on top of patty. Make foil into pocket and cook meatloaf 45 minutes at 350* (toaster ovens work good for this if you don't want to heat the whole house). Uncover meatloaf and broil patty 10 minutes. Then serve it HOT HOT HOT!

Serious NUMMY!! Hope you enjoy it!

Sott'er celo de Roma

On an evening in Roma...

Today, we proclaimed it Italian day! Well, at least Italian lunch. :)

Zucchini and Italian Chicken - we forgot to play Dean Martin's Best while we were making it and eating, but upon reflection, we should have! It'd get us "in the mood."

So, along with a parmesean flavored Grissini, here's the recipe for lunch:

Sott'er celo de Roma

100g chicken (110 calories)

Allowed amount Zucchini (1c=20 calories)

3c water

5 fresh basil leaves

2T tomato chicken bullion

1T Italian Seasonings

1t onion powder

1t garlic powder

In pot, add water and seasonings. Add chicken and allow to simmer until chicken is tender (about 30 minutes). Cut up zucchini into 1" rounds. In steamer, add zucchini and allow to steam for 20 minutes or until a fork will easily go through the flesh. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and leave the broth in the pot to continue simmering. Place zucchini on plate (or bowl) and top with chicken. If you desire the broth (sauce), pour over everything. We topped it with both cheese and butter flavoring (see picture). Delicious!

Como e bella ce la luna brille e strette

Strette como e tutta bella a passeggiare

Sotto il cielo di Roma

Down each avenue or via, street or strata

You can see 'em disappearing two by two

On an evening in Roma

Do they take 'em for Espresso

Yea, I guess so

On each lover's arm a girl I wish I knew

On an evening in Roma

Though there's grinning and mandolining

In sunny Italy

The beginning has just begun

When the sun goes down

So, please meet me in the plaza near your casa

I am only one and that is one too few

On an evening in Roma

Don't know what the country's coming to

But in Rome do as the Romans do

Will you?

On an evening in Roma

Though there's grinning and mandolining

In sunny Italy

The beginning has just begun

When the sun goes down

Como e bella ce la luna brille e strette

Strette como e tutta bella a passeggiare

Sotto il cielo di Roma

Don't know what the country's coming to

But in Rome do as the Romans do

Will you?

On an evening in Roma

Sott'er celo de Roma

On an evening in Roma

Lunch time ZINNNGG!

This morning, outside, it's sort of a chill day in Oregon. It's overcast and has been raining for the last two days. A soup sounds like the perfect antidote to the outside weather, but I just don't want soup today. I want something spicy with some ZING that's going to make the top of my head tingle as I eat it. :) If you aren't interested in that sort of meal, I don't suggest this next recipe to you.

Some days, though, you just need a ZINNNGGer!

Shrimp ZINNNGG (90 calories)

100g shrimp

1T Braggs' Liquid Aminos

1t wasabi powder, split in half

2T water

1/2t Furikake

MORE wasabi, if you really want a zinnger (we added a whole tablespoon for a serious zinnngg!)

In the middle of an 8" foil, lay the shrimp out and set aside for a moment. In very small bowl, mix Braggs' and 1/2t wasabi together. Add water. Now spread the wasabi mixture over the shrimp, trying to coat them evenly. (If you don't get them all, though, don't fret - the oven will do it for you, too.) Sprinkle Furikake over the shrimp next. Close the foil into a small packet and place the toaster (or conventional) oven for 15-20 minutes. Place on your plate and either dust with more wasabi powder or mix the wasabi up into the traditional paste and dip your shrimp in it. YUM!

I used an unusual spice for most kitchens today, Furikake. Basically, it's a seaweed seasoning. Sometimes there's sesame seeds, sometimes pieces of dried fish, but always it's a seaweed base. You should be able to find it in the oriental section of Safeway or some other store, but we buy it at the Oriental stores in the city closest to us. We buy quite a bit of oriental foods, really. Years ago, we invited some Japanese exchange students into our home and they, of course, brought all kinds of new and different sorts of food with them. They'd eat, straight from the can, sheets of nori (seaweed), and their candies weren't sweet sweet like in the US. It was a nice change, even for me when I was still in high school. They shared some of the delights of sushi with us (though the raw shark just didn't set well in my stomach at 17). But, more importantly, we all shared a little of who we all are and what we enjoyed. It was a great experience that I recommend to everyone.

We decided to pair this ZINNNGGer with a veggie to cool it down a little; steamed zucchini. It makes for a really inexpensive calorie meal, since the zucchini has only 20 calories per cup. So, we decided that it was the perfect day to enjoy two cups of veggies with our breadstick and shrimp. It brings us to a total calorie intake of just 150, leaving LOTS of calories for dinner and our fruits. :)

If you tried this recipe and liked it, please let me know in the comments! If you have some experience with Oriental cooking and found something worked better, please let me know that, too!

Sushi for lunch!

You know how you have little rituals during the week, like Friday is "Sushi Day?" Well, we have one of those for when we go to Portland for music lesson. Yesterday, we didn't go to Portland, simply because it's Labor Day weekend and not a smart time to travel. But Mom and I still found ourselves craving sushi. A bad thing, considering it's not something allowed on the hCG Protocol.

Instead of just figuring we were doomed to have that craving, Mom designed a great little wanna be sushi for us. We chose to use shrimp in ours, but crab could just as easily become the main protien here.

So, for all you sushi lovers, here's the sharesies:

Wanna-be Sushi (you'll have to add up the calories)

100g shrimp (90 calories) OR crab (55 calories)

1 T Plochman's stone ground mustard

1/2-1 t wasabi powder

1/2 t ground ginger

1 T Braggs' Liquid Aminos

Onion powder to taste

Garlic powder to taste

1/2-1 t more wasabi powder

2 c Zucchini (58 calories) - you can use the allowed amount, if you like

In pan, stem zucchini until nearly done. While that's steaming, combine Plochman's, 1/2 to 1 t wasabi powder, and ginger in a small dish and set aside. Dry fry shrimp, Braggs', onion, and garlic powders on the stove until shrimp is hot and cooked. Place shrimp in dish with mustard mixture and coat. Remove zucchini from steamer and place on plate. Place shrimp over the zucchini then, in the dish that held the mustard mixture, mix another 1/2-1 teaspoon wasabi and add 2 t water to it to make it sort of soupy, then drizzle the soupy wasabi over all of it. Tah-dah! Sushi! You can even eat it with chop sticks for the full effect. :)

Lunch

Today is an interesting day. I was not hungry *at all* until I put the first morsel of halibut in my mouth, at which point, I suddenly was very hungry. I got about half way through the meal and then was just as suddenly full. Odd, that. Never happened before like that.

Lunch menu:

Browned Braggs' Halibut (100 calories)

100g halibut

3 T Braggs' Liquid Aminos

pepper to taste

The whole process shoud take about 5 minutes...

In a warm frying pan, add halibut, add Braggs', turn heat down, and cover so the fish steams until flakey. Just before serving, take the lid off, turn the heat up, brown the fish on both sides and serve immediately.

Braggs' Steamed & Broiled Asparagus (62 calories)

2 c asparagus

1 T Braggs' Liquid Aminos

pepper to taste

In steamer, first steam the asparagus until tender (or to your preference here). Remove from steamer, place on broiler pan and mist with Braggs'. Put under the broiler for just a few minutes until the Braggs' starts to crisp up and serve immediately.

Simple Steamed Zucchini (20 calories)

2 c zucchini

Celtic Sea Salt & pepper to taste

In steamer, steam zucchini until tender, place on plate. Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy.