Weight Loss Magic Soup ~ by Sarah

Now, don't get all excited about the title.  There's really nothing "magic" about it.  You're just supposed to eat it for lunch, snack, and dinner for two weeks and then you'll supposedly lose weight.  Well, duh.  But I'm pretty sure that if I ate this three times a day for 14 days, I would never want to eat it ever again.  But it is a delicious soup and very, very filling.  It makes a TON--like almost more than my big crockpot could hold--so make sure you freeze it or halve the recipe if you don't think you'll get through it in a week.  Wes and I are both taking it for lunch and it looks like it's going to be the perfect amount to get us through the week.  It is delicious, fresh, and will keep you full!

Ingredients:

2 cans chicken broth (I used low-sodium)
3 cups V-8 juice (you can use low-sodium V8--which I did--or even tomato juice)
2 cans Italian diced tomatoes
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves minced garlic
1 package sliced mushrooms
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 zucchini, diced
1 yellow squash, diced
2 cups fresh or frozen green beans
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
3-4 cups shredded cabbage
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
3 chicken breasts, boiled and cubed (This is my addition.  There is no way I can do lunch without meat, so I added it.  I'm sure it still keeps the calories low.)

Directions:
In a large frying pan sprayed with cooking spray, sauté garlic, onions, carrots, and mushrooms for about 5 minutes. In a large crockpot, combine sautéed garlic and vegetables with the remaining ingredients. Cook on high for 2-3 hours, or until vegetables are cooked.  (This is where I will do things differently last time.  This filled my crockpot SO full that it took forever for the soup to begin to boil and I actually had to cook it on high for about 4 1/2 hours.  So next time I will put it in my Dutch oven on the stove so that I can stir it and not have it take so long.)  This makes a large batch of soup. If you would like to freeze portions of it to use later, undercook the vegetables just a little. Pour the soup into freezer Ziplock bags and let as much air out as you can. Lay the bags flat on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once the soup is frozen flat, it is easy to layer in your freezer and won't take up much room. To thaw, place the bag in the fridge for 24 hours and then reheat.

Obviously not my picture...

Here is the link to the original post: http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/2014/01/weight-loss-magic-soup.html

Parmesan Zucchini Crisps~by Kelsey

My new addiction.

Ingredients:
a couple zucchinis or yellow squash
about 1/3 cup bread crumbs
about 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
a little olive oil

Slice the zucchini/squash.  I make them pretty thin so they will cook quickly.  Put them in a bowl with a little olive oil to coat them.  Mix the bread crumbs and cheese.  Mix in to squash.  Line a cookie sheet with foil for easy clean-up.  Line the squash up on the sheet.  Sprinkle whatever crumbs are left in the bowl on top of the squash.  Bake at 350 degrees until cooked as desired.  You can also broil them if you cut them thin enough, or bake first, then end with a little broiling.

Yellow Squash Casserole ~ by Kelsey

I came across this simple recipe in my Four Ingredient Cookbook.  I love yellow squash and I was happy to try a new way to prepare it.  It was really tasty!  I couldn't take a picture because my camera battery won't charge for some reason.

Ingredients:
6 medium yellow squash
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup cheese (I used cheddar)
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies

Boil (or steam, as I did) squash and onion until tender.  Drain well and mix with cheese and chiles.  Pour into dish sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake 15 minutes at 375 degrees.

Vegetable Lasagna (With Meat) ~ by Sarah

It's lasagna--without the carbs! I got most of this recipe from my ground beef cookbook, but I changed it quite a bit to more closely resemble the regular lasagna I make. You can add or subtract vegetables as you wish. My kids don't usually eat spinach, zucchini, or mushrooms, and they ate them in this. They had no clue they were in there! It was really, really good!

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 jar marinara sauce
1 can Italian stewed tomatoes
1 package sliced mushrooms
4 zucchini or 2 zucchini and 2 yellow squashes, sliced lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices
2 T flour
1 to 2 cups fresh spinach
2 T chopped fresh basil
16 oz. small curd cottage cheese
2 eggs, beaten
shredded mozzarella cheese  (I used reduced-fat and it was fine)
shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Brown ground beef and onion over medium-high heat.  Season as desired.  If you have Italian Seasoning, dump some in!  Drain.  Add marinara sauce, stewed tomatoes, and mushrooms.  Mix well (I used the spatula to chop the mushrooms into smaller pieces) and simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes.

 While the meat is simmering, grease a baking dish and layer the bottom with zucchini and yellow squash.  Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon flour.

In a small bowl, combine cottage cheese with beaten eggs.  Add 1 tablespoon fresh basil.  Pour half of the mixture over the zucchini and squash and spread evenly.  Add a layer of half of the meat sauce, then another layer of zucchini and squash with 1 tablespoon flour.  Spread the second half of the cottage cheese mixture over that.  Sprinkle with as much spinach as desired.

Spread with the last of the meat mixture.  Add as much Parmesan and mozzarella cheese as desired.  Sprinkle with remaining basil.  Bake at 375 degrees about 40 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbly.  Let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

As you can see, it's pretty watery due to all the vegetables.  The flour is to help that, but the more veggies you use, the watery it will be.  It didn't bother us, though!  This is nice because it doesn't require a side dish.  I baked some garlic bread, but that was it!  A meal in one!

Zucchini, Yellow Squash, and Onions ~ by Kelsey

This is something we have literally EVERY night in the late summer.  We have so much zucchini from our garden that it's our regular side dish for months.  I recently noticed that you can actually buy zucchini in the winter at the store!  Ha ha!  Right next to it are some lovely-looking yellow squash.  Since I am longing for any reminder of summer, I decided to make this last night.

Ingredients:
Zucchini
Yellow Squash
Sweet Onions (I LOVE Walla Walla Sweets, but unfortunately this time of year I have to settle for other sweet varieties.)

Put just a tiny bit of olive oil in a pan over med-low heat.  Wash the produce and slice it.  Put it all in the pan and stir frequently, until the veggies are tender.