Fresh Tomato Rice Soup

With the cooler weather rolling in, I began my quest to find great soups. I found this recipe in a recent WeightWatchers e-mail.

Fresh Tomato Rice Soup (6 servings, 2 points a piece)

Chop 32 Roma tomatoes or 15 beefsteak tomatoes (about 4 pounds) and place them in a slow cooker. Stir in 2 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth and 1/2 cup uncooked brown rice. Add 3 celery stalks, thinly sliced, and 1 medium onion, finely chopped. Stir in 2 tablespoons dried basil, 2 teaspoons sugar, 2 teaspoons dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, salt, and ground pepper to taste. Cover and cook on low until the rice is tender, about 8 hours. Makes 6 servings, 1 1/2 cups each.

I don't know what kind of slow cooker they were using, but there was no way that 15 beefsteak tomatoes were going to fit in my slow cooker. I didn't even buy that many to begin with. I think I ended up using six or seven. It is possible that I bought mutant tomatoes, and they just so happen to be much larger than your typical beefsteak tomato.

Making this soup was extremely easy. You just had to chop....a lot. I happened to really enjoy the tomato and basil together. The soup was pretty hardy and it wasn't overpowered by the rice. The husband said that the soup wasn't his favorite, but he did somehow manage to eat a whole serving of it. If you are trying to figure out a way to use up all of those remaining summer tomatoes, this dish would be a perfect remedy :)

Menu (9/28/06)

Menu:

Sun: Chicken Rice Mixture (My own recipe)
Mon: Leftovers
Tues: Meat loaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans
Wed: Blue Moose Black Bean Burgers
Thurs: Crock Pot Ziti
Fri: Fend for selves
Sat: Fend for selves

Sun: Bean and Pasta Soup
Mon: Tamale Pie
Tues: Lasagna w/ salad
Wed: Leftovers
Thurs: Chicken Provencal
Fri: Fend for selves
Sat: Fend for selves

White Fish Provencal

While on the search for a different fish dish that I mentioned earlier, I also came across this one at Allrecipes. I liked the idea of just a light sauce over the fish. I also happen to really enjoy tomatoes with white fish.

White Fish Provencal (Serves 6 at 2 points a serving)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds firm white fish fillets, such as halibut or striped bass
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• 1 teaspoon Basil Leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Thyme Leaves

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat ovenproof baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place fish in single layer in baking dish. Lightly salt and pepper the fish. Bake 12 minutes*.
2. Meanwhile, spray cooking spray in saucepan and heat. Add onion; Saute 5 minutes, or until onion is softened. Add tomatoes, wine, basil, garlic and thyme. Simmer, uncovered, over medium heat 3 minutes.
3. Remove fish from oven. Spoon sauce over fish. Return to oven; bake an additional 5 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve immediately.

The original recipe called for Kalamata olives and 1 tbsp of olive oil. I omitted the olives and used cooking spray in place of the tablespoon of olive oil. The points listed above are for the recipe with my changes applied.

The husband has this thing against baked fish. He says it makes the fish taste too "fishy." So to battle against the fishy taste, I opted to broil the fish instead. I think it worked out just fine. The fish and tomato sauce went together very nicely, and both the husband and I really enjoyed this dish. Again, it's always nice to find something new to add to your cooking repertoire.

Coconut Curry Fish

Recently I was looking for a few different ways to cook fish. I love grilled fish and packet fish, but I really wanted something different. I came across this recipe on the AllRecipes website. Once I saw it, I knew I had to try it.

Coconut Curry Fish (Serves 6, 6 points a serving)

2 cups water
1 cup uncooked brown rice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 pound cod fillets, cut into chunks
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
1 (16 ounce) package frozen stir-fry vegetables
1 tablespoon cornstarch


Instructions:

Bring the water and rice to a boil in a pot. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 minutes.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and cook 1 minute. Mix in cod, and season with curry powder, chili powder, turmeric, cumin, salt, and pepper. Pour in the coconut milk, and mix in frozen vegetables. Cover, and cook 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and cod is easily flaked with a fork.

Drain 1/2 cup liquid from the skillet into a bowl, and mix with cornstarch. Stir back into skillet to thicken sauce. Serve over the cooked rice.

The curry had a great creamy consistency. All of the flavors of the sauce, fish, and vegetables went nicely together. Because of the coconut milk in the sauce, it was a little sweet. I personally liked the sweetness, but the husband said that he prefers less-sweet curries like Indian curries. But he still liked the dish overall, just not as much as I did. I think this will be a nice dish to serve occasionally to have for a break from the norm.

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

I think the word "muffin" means breakfast. So when a muffin has chocolate and chocolate chips, it means it will be the most delicious and nutritious breakfast EVER.

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins (24 servings; 2 pts per serving)

Ingredients:

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 15 oz can pumpkin
2 large egg whites
3/4 c water
1/4 c mini chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350. Spray muffin tins with non stick baking spray. Combine cake mix, pumpkin, egg whites and water in bowl. Fill muffin tins and top each muffin with ½ tsp mini chocolate chips. Bake 18-22 minutes.

These are absolutely delicious! I thought that you might be able to taste the pumpkin more, but you don't, and that's okay. The husband has really been enjoying these too. One day, I came home from dance class, and the husband tells me that he had to have a snack before dinner. I asked him what he had for snack, and he replies with, " five muffins!" Five???? I don't think I could eat five....let me rephrase that, I don't want to eat five, but I definitely could :) If you love chocolate like I do, you should definitely make these and enjoy them for breakfast, dessert, or just whenever.

Side note: We couldn't find mini-chocolate chips in a dairy free variety, so I used regular chocolate chips that are dairy free instead, and only placed a couple on top of each muffin.

Grilled Chicken Sandwiches with Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Mayo

Anywhere you look these days you'll find some sort of fancy mayo. Wasabi mayo, garlic chili lime may, chipotle mayo just to name a few. I think jazzing up your mayo is a great way to give some extra oompf to a sandwich. So I decided to come up with my own fancy mayo.

Grilled Chicken Sandwiches with Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Mayo (Serves 4, 3 points a piece)

Ingredients:

4 light hamburger buns
4 thin and fancy chicken breasts
2 tblsp mayo
2 tblsp roasted red pepper pesto
Grill Seasoning

Sprinkle the chicken with grill seasoning on both sides. Grill until chicken is done. While the chicken is cooking mix the mayo with the roasted red pepper pesto in a small bowl. After chicken is finished cooking spread a think layer of the mayo mixture onto each of the buns and then assemble your sandwich.

When I made these I toasted the hamburger buns in the toaster oven. The crunchy buns really added to the sandwich. Grilled chicken with grill seasoning is always tasty, but when you add in the roasted red pepper mayo it's really something. I really enjoyed all the different flavors going on. For something so simple as mixing some pesto with some mayo it really made an incredible dish. The husband and I really enjoyed this sandwich and the husband has already asked me to make it again :)

Note: If you don't have the fit and fancy cuts of chicken you will need to add the points accordingly. Also the points may vary on which type of pesto you use. I used the Market Selects from Giant Eagle.

Hershey's Sticks

I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again. I LOVE chocolate! Usually for my evening snack/dessert, chocolate is what I want.

I recently bought a box of the new Hershey's Sticks to try. One of those sticks can really satisfy my chocolate craving. It also helps that they are 1 point a stick. Lately I've become a huge fan of dark chocolate, so that is what I get. Another great thing about these sticks is that they are perfect for dipping in a little bit of peanut butter. So if you are a chocolate fiend like me you really need to try these :)

Honey Dijon Turkey Tenderloin

Being from West Virginia, I grew up with "home cooking" style meals. We usually had some sort of fried chicken or roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, some sort of vegetable, and a bread. I loved that kind of food, but I can't eat like that anymore. I still like to do homestyle cooking types of meals, but with a lighter twist. That's why when I saw this recipe on the Help for IBS Boards, I thought it would be great to make with mashed potatoes and green beans as sides.

Honey Dijon Turkey Tenderloin (4 servings at 4 points a piece)

Turkey tenderloin or never frozen turkey breast
salt and pepper
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. dijon mustard

Salt and pepper turkey and place in crock pot. Mix together other 3 ingredients. Brush turkey with mixture and then pour the rest in. Cook on low for about 8 hours, or on high for about 4 hours. Make sure to check turkey temp. (should be around 180)

I really liked the resulting tanginess that the dijon and honey added to the turkey. The husband liked this a lot as well, and said that I should make it again very soon. And the mashed potatoes and green beans were excellent as well. The meal itself really reminded me of my childhood :)

Mexican Rice Casserole

Yet another tex-mex style dish...I just can't get enough! This is one you can fix in the crockpot, which is what drew me to it in the first place when I found it floating around on the weightwatchers boards.

Mexican Rice Casserole (Serves 8, 1 cup servings at 4 points a piece)

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
16 oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
8 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
1 package taco seasoning
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 cup instant rice, uncooked

Directions:

In a non-stick skillet, brown beef, onions, and peppers. Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker, except for rice. Cook on low for 8 hours. Stir in rice, cover and cook until rice is tender (about 15 minutes).

Of course I used ground turkey instead of the ground beef, and whenever I fix a crockpot dish like this, I like to chop all of the vegetables the night before. It makes it easier in the morning when I can just dump everything in and go. The dish itself turned out excellent; of course it's hard to go wrong with tex-mex. I loved the beans, the seasonings, and the rice, and the husband of course liked the dish too. I think he is a bigger fan of tex-mex dishes than I am.

One quick note about taco seasonings, I used McCormick's and I didn't realize until I had dumped it in that it had dairy in it. Old El Paso taco seasoning is dairy free, so next time I make this dish I plan on using the Old El Paso seasoning instead.

Blueberry Scones

I like baking, and I especially like fresh baked items right out of the oven. I usually don't bake much on weekday mornings because the husband and I are rushing around trying to get ready for work. But I found this recipe on the weightwatchers boards, and It seemed simple enough that I could throw it together for breakfast one morning before work.

Blueberry Scones servings (4 servings at 2 points a piece)

Ingredients:

2 2/3 cup(s) uncooked oatmeal
1/3 cup(s) Bisquick reduced-fat baking mix
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup(s) fat-free (skim) milk
1/2 cup(s) blueberries

Directions:

Combine first 5 ingredients. Fold in berries. Form into 4 mounds and bake on PAM - sprayed baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

Unfortunately when I went to make these, my blueberries had gone bad. I was really disappointed, but decided to add chocolate chips instead because you know, chocolate makes everything better (so maybe it wasn't so bad after all). I just used one tablespoon of chocolate chips so the points would remain the same.

These took no time to mix and bake, and they turned out great. The scones were delicious, and having them hot from the oven made for a great breakfast. And being able to make something like this during the typical morning rush was an added delight :)

*Edit: It should be 2/3 cup of oatmeal instead of 2 2/3 cup of oatmeal.

Grilled Ginger-Lime Tuna Steaks

The husband and I really enjoy and eat a lot of fish. I especially like finding different recipes for our favorite types of fish. Tuna happens to be one of our favorites, so when I saw this at the Betty Crocker site I just had to try it.

Grilled Ginger-Lime Tuna Steaks (4 servings at 5 points a serving)

Ingredients:

Ginger-Lime Marinade (See Below)
1 1/2 pounds tuna, swordfish or halibut steaks, 3/4 to 1 inch thick
Lime wedge, if desired

Instructions:

1 . Make Ginger-Lime Marinade.
2 . If fish steaks are large, cut into 6 serving pieces. Place in shallow glass or plastic dish or resealable plastic food-storage bag. Add marinade; turn fish to coat with marinade. Cover dish or seal bag and refrigerate at least 1 hour but no longer than 24 hours.
3 . Brush grill rack with vegetable oil. Heat coals or gas grill for direct heat.
4 . Remove fish from marinade; reserve marinade. Cover and grill fish about 4 inches from medium heat 15 to 20 minutes, brushing 2 or 3 times with marinade and turning once, until fish flakes easily with fork. Discard any remaining marinade.
5 . Serve fish with lime wedges.


Ginger-Lime Marinade

1/4 cup lime juice
1 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger root
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 . Mix all ingredients.

Before I say anything about the dish itself I have to comment on the tuna steaks that I bought. This was the first time I bought tuna steaks from Giant Eagle and they were the freshest steaks I have ever bought. The fish was a gorgeous bright reddish pink and very tender to the touch. Now to the dish; it was of course excellent. The marinade was pretty subtle but it was a very nice addition to the tuna. Occasionally I got bites of the ginger or the lime and it was great. The husband and I both really enjoyed this dish, so much so that we devoured the fish and forgot to take a picture of it.

Menu (9/14/06)

Here we go!

Sun: Loaded Baked Potatoes
Mon: Grilled Chicken Sandwiches with roasted red pepper pesto mayo and sliced cucumbers
Tue: Hot Dogs, baked beans, frozen veggies
Wed: Coconut Curry Fish
Thurs: Tomato and Basil Ziti with Roasted Veggies
Fri: Fend for selves
Sat: Fend for selves

Sun: Baked Chimichangas
Mon: White Fish Provencal
Tues: Oven Fried Coconut Chicken, Steamed broccoli, canned carrots
Wed: Turkey Burgers with baked beans, mixed veggies
Thurs: Tomato Rice Soup
Fri: Fend for selves
Sat: Fend for selves

Tortellini with Fresh Vegetables

I found this recipe at Betty Crocker's website. I was in the mood for pasta and vegetables - a combination you can never go wrong with. The husband and I haven't had tortellini in a while, so I thought this would be great.

Tortellini with Fresh Vegetables (4 servings at 5 points a piece)

Ingredients:

1 package (9 ounces) tortellini
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
1 medium bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces (1 cup)
2 cups chopped roma (plum) tomatoes (6 to 8 medium)
1 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise in half, then cut crosswise into slices (1 1/2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

Directions:

1 . Cook and drain tortellini as directed on package, using 3-quart saucepan. Wipe out saucepan with paper towel; wipe dry with paper towel.

2 . Heat oil in same saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook bell pepper in oil 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until crisp-tender.

3 . Stir in tomatoes, zucchini, Italian seasoning and garlic salt. Cover and cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until zucchini is tender.

4 . Stir in tortellini. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until hot.

The trick to this dish was to find some good tortellini. I saw some spinach stuffed tortellini at the store a while back, and thought those would be a good way to go. I didn't realize they had cheese stuffed with the spinach, but it was only a little bit. I was really going for dairy free tortellini, but unless I make them myself, I think it is impossible. The dish, even though it was a pasta, had a nice, light feel to it. It was a great dish, and the husband loved this dish as well. He's a real pasta fiend, so anytime there is pasta he is a happy camper :)

Black-Eyed Peas with Tortillas

While perusing vegetarian recipes, I spotted this interesting one at All Recipes. I like vegetarian recipes because they are usually something a little different, and they are typically cheaper to make. The husband and I have never had black-eyed peas before, so I thought this would be great to try.

Black-Eyed Peas with Tortillas (4 servings, 2 points a serving for the black-eyed pea mixture w/o the tortillas)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 (15.5 ounce) can black-eyed peas, drained
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
4 (12 inch) flour tortillas

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat, and cook the onion until tender. Mix in the black-eyed peas, vegetable stock, jalapeno, garlic, and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and continue cooking until heated through. Wrap the mixture in the tortillas to serve.

For our first experience with black-eyed peas I thought it was a very good one. The husband and I both liked the recipe, but I seemed to like it much more than he did. It was great to have something I hadn't tried before. The husband said that he could eat black-eyed peas again, but he prefers black beans or pinto beans in his tortilla. So I think I'll limit this dish to just an occasional meal for when we need a break from the same'ol same ol'.

Mini-Brownie Candy Bars

I found these lovelies from the Weightwatchers website.

Mini-Brownie Candy Bars (16 servings at 3 points a piece)

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup unpacked brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 Tbsp water
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 large egg white(s)
1/3 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Combine flour, brown sugar and baking powder in a large bowl; mix well. Add applesauce, water, vanilla extract and egg whites; blend well. Spoon batter into pan and smooth top; sprinkle with chocolate chips.

Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into 16 pieces.

I didn't look at the recipe too closely before I made it, so I assumed from the name that the chocolate chips would be mixed into the batter. I didn't realize that you only placed the chips on top, and I was worried about the chocolate chip/batter ratio. But it actually worked very well. There was enough chocolatey goodness in each bar to call these delicious. In my eyes if a dessert doesn't have chocolate, then it is no dessert at all! Okay that's not always true, but I definitely love chocolate. I served these to the husband and a couple of good friends of ours, and everyone seemed to like them a lot.

Philippine Chicken

I like to look around on the Help for IBS website occasionally. Most of their recipes are low fat, dairy free, and don't use things that the husband can't eat. While wondering around that site, I came across this recipe for Philippine Chicken. With the limited number of ingredients and the fact that I could make this in a slow cooker, it was a must to try out.

Philippine Chicken (4 servings at 6 points a piece)

4 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 cup water
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 clove garlic, sliced

Put all ingredients into crockpot; cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours. Serve over rice.

It is so nice to come home and have dinner waiting for you. The house smelled really great too! The chicken had a great flavor to it and was very tender. I didn't have time to make rice last night, but I thought the chicken could hold its own without it. The husband liked this dish as well :)

Hot Ham and Swiss Sandwiches

Sandwiches can be a great lunch, dinner, or snack. They are really easy to make, and it is extremely easy to gourmet them up a bit. Not too long ago I was at the grocery store eyeing all of the gourmet cheeses, and I came across a fancy light swiss. Once I found that, I thought it would be great to do a light hot ham and swiss sandwich. So I put it down on my next menu, and figured I would just get the cheese on my next shopping trip.

The next shopping trip came around and lo' and behold, I couldn't find the light gourmet swiss. I was so disappointed! But all was not lost, as I did find some light, pre-sliced swiss that is 1 point a slice.

I also decided to get the ham from the deli, instead of the pre-packaged stuff. The husband and I had a lot of fun looking at all of the different kinds of meats and flavors, and in the end we opted for some Virginia Ham.

On a side note, we also ended up getting BBQ chicken breast deli meat, and it was delicious! If your deli counter has this, I highly recommend you give it a try.

To make these sandwiches I just used light bread, fat free mayo, and fresh Virginia Baked Ham. I sprayed the bread with cooking spray, and toasted them up in a frying pan. The sandwiches were very warm and the cheese was very melty. Yum!

Tuna Stuffed Shells

I found this recipe at Betty's website. I love stuffed shells and haven't had them in a long time. And I thought it was pretty neat that they were stuffed with tuna instead of the typical ground meat and cheese.

Tuna Stuffed Shells (serves 4, the stuffed shells are 5 points a piece, and the vinaigrette is 2 points a serving)

Ingredients:

16 uncooked jumbo pasta shells

Tomato-Basil Vinaigrette
2 large tomatoes, seeded, chopped (2 cups)
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh or 2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Filling
1/3 cup fat free mayonnaise or salad dressing
2 tablespoons chopped fresh or 2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cans (6 oz each) albacore tuna in water, drained, flaked
1 large carrot, shredded (1 cup)
1 small zucchini, shredded (1 cup)
1 small onion, chopped (1/4 cup)
Lettuce leaf

1 . Cook and drain pasta shells as directed on package. Rinse with cold water; drain.

2 . While pasta is cooking, in medium bowl, mix all vinaigrette ingredients just until blended. Set aside.

3 . In another medium bowl, mix mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons basil and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir in tuna, carrot, zucchini and onion until evenly mixed. Fill each pasta shell with 1 rounded tablespoon tuna mixture.

4 . Line serving platter with lettuce leaves. Arrange shells on lettuce. Serve with vinaigrette.

This recipe was really easy to put together. Just a little bit of dicing, shredding, and boiling water. That's not difficult at all. I tried one of my shells with a bit of the vinaigrette and decided that I didn't care much for it. I prefer the shells as is. Now the husband on the other hand really enjoyed the dressing. But either way, these were a nice change of pace, and I liked the fact that the tuna wasn't hot.

Blueberry Delight

I hope everyone had a good holiday!

While at the grocery store not too long ago, a purple container caught the husband's eye. He's been on a big blueberry kick as of late. Don't get me wrong, I like blueberries, but apparently not as much as he does.

He found a natural unsweetened applesauce that has been mixed with blueberry puree, and it is only 1 point per cup. Surprisingly it isn't too sweet, and the blueberry is a nice touch. The handy cup size is also really nice, and makes them perfect for a quick breakfast or snack. And they also work great when you are on the go.

Now for me, I prefer the plain ol' applesauce. The occasional blueberry applesauce wouldn't be bad, but not an everyday thing. But for the husband on the other hand, blueberry is king :)

Unstuffed Zucchini

I've had this sitting in my recipe pile for a while now. If I remember correctly, I found this on the WeightWatchers boards. I didn't think it sounded too difficult, and the husband and I really enjoy zucchini, so why not give it a try?

Unstuffed Zucchini (6 servings at 6 points a piece)

Ingredients:

1 pound cooked ground beef 5-7% fat
2 cup cooked zucchini
1/2 cup cooked carrots
1 cup canned tomato sauce
1 cup canned tomato paste
1/2 cup uncooked white rice
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
1 packet SPLENDA No Calorie Sweetener
2 cup fat-free beef broth

Instructions:

Brown beef and drain, add all the ingredients except rice and bring to a boil. Add rice and cook till done. Takes about 5 minutes.

I had a full evening of dance classes yesterday, so I was unable to do the cooking. Guess who cooked? The husband! Dangerous I know! Now remember I was not there, so he was left to his own devices.

The recipe called for cooked zucchini and carrots; so he steamed these first. The husband of course used ground turkey and chicken broth instead of ground beef and beef broth. We also didn't have enough tomato paste or sauce so he used one 6 oz can of tomato paste and two 8 oz cans of tomato sauce, and cut back on the broth a bit. That second can of sauce was actually for another recipe, so it's a good thing I'm going to store soon! The recipe also called for 1/2 cup white rice and 1/2 cup brown rice, but the husband doesn't like brown rice (I LOVE IT), so he used 1 cup of white rice instead.

Now for the verdict. The dish tasted EXCELLENT. The houseguest and I were of course starving when we got home, and a big pot of unstuffed zucchini was waiting for us when we got there. I of course looked it over and started asking the husband a million questions, but everything looked in order. The vegetables were very tender. The rice and tomato sauce had a creamy texture to it, and mixed very well with the vegetables. The husband and I both agreed that the dish needs more zucchini and carrots, so next time we'll add some more. At the request of the husband, I'm going to add this to my regular rotation. After dinner, I told the husband that it was very good, and he replied with, "I know it's good, I cooked it."