Summer Yumminess

I haven't posted in awhile, I know. But I'm completely braindead. I've had a "mom" post in the works for a week but I can't seem to get anything down on the perverbial paper. So, instead I will share with you two of my new favorite meals.

These are PERFECT for us for summer because it uses a lot of things that we grow right in our own backyard. During the summer and fall, I use homegrown ingredients to make light, fresh meals. It has to be my favorite eating season of the year. Even the "heavy" foods like beef, pork and chicken seem so much lighter when grilled next to fresh, sweet corn-on-the-cob. You guys have to try these out and then let me know if you like them. My family LOVES them. (Sorry, no pictures! They were gone that fast!)

This comes from a girl at Aubrey's office. Yummy! And only 5 Weight Watchers pts.

Tomato Zucchini Tart

1 deep dish pie crust

1 med. zucchini, thinly sliced

2 tsp. olive oil

3 tomatoes, sliced

3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/2 c. fresh basil chopped (use less of the dried basil)

1/3 c. Parmesan cheese

1/3 c. light mayonnaise

salt & pepper

Bake pie crust for 9 min. @ 450 degrees until golden brown. Turn oven down to 425 and let the crust cool while you assemble other ingredients. Saute zucchini in olive oil until tender and arrange in the bottom of the pie crust. Layer tomatoes over the zucchini. Combine the remaining ingredients and spread evenly on top of tomatoes. Bake 10-15 min. @ 425 degrees, or until heated thoroughly. Makes 6 servings.

This recipe comes from my mom, the size 4 queen of soups and salads! It is 3-4 Weight Watcher pts., depending on your use of nuts and pineapple.

Chicken Pasta Salad

8 oz. uncooked spiral-shaped whole wheat pasta

1 12.5 oz. can chicken (or 1-2 cooked chicken breasts, chopped)

1/4 c. diced red onion

1 c. fresh quartered strawberries

1/2 c. blueberries

1 c. fresh cubed pineapple

1 c. low-fat creamy poppy seed salad dressing

fresh spinach leaves

toasted pecans for garnish

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Rinse under cold water and drain well. Toss pasta with next six ingredients. Serve over a bed of spinach and garnish with nuts. Makes 6 servings.

*I should note here that my mom prefers small shell-shaped pasta and she uses finely chopped celery instead of pineapple. She also makes her own dressing from strawberry yogurt and mayonnaise and puts chopped almonds right into the salad instead of using pecans. I skipped the nuts and pineapple altogether and came up with 3 pts. per serving.

This recipe is straight from my own cookbook. It's ZERO pts. per serving. We haven't used jarred sauce in a year.

Spaghetti Sauce

5 tomatoes, chopped (peeling and seeding is optional--also, 2 cans of tomatoes is also good)

2 medium onions, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped or pressed

fresh basil

salt & pepper to taste

1-2 Tbsp. olive oil

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add onions and cook until tender. Add garlic half-way through the onion cooking time (it burns easy). Add tomatoes and bring to a boil. Let simmer, covered, for 10 min. Simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes more. The sauce should thicken slightly. Add basil, salt and pepper to taste toward the end of cooking time.

Happy, healthy eating!