Baked Zucchini Sticks with Homemade Marinara Sauce

Baked Zucchini Sticks

Servings: 3 servings • Total Time: 25 minutes • Points: 1.33 ww points (sauce extra pts)

• 3 medium zucchini sliced into 3" x 1/2" sticks
• 1 large egg white
• 1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• cooking spray
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  
• salt
• fresh pepper

1 Point Quick Marinara Sauce (1 cup)

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes (I used fresh diced tomatoes)
  
• 1 small bay leaf
  
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
• salt and fresh pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425°.

In a medium pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until golden, being careful not to burn. Add crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano, basil and bay leaf. Stir and reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer about 20 minutes.

In a small bowl, beat egg whites and season with salt and pepper. In a ziplock bag, place breadcrumbs, garlic powder and cheese and shake well. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

Dip zucchini sticks into eggs then into bread crumb and cheese mixture, a few at a time and shake to coat. Place the breaded zucchini in a single layer and spray more cooking spray on top. Bake at 425° for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with 1/2 cup marinara sauce for dipping

Zucchini Lasagna

We are getting so many huge zucchini from our garden so I have a ton of new zucchini recipes that we have tried out and are awesome!!

Zucchini Lasagna

Servings: 6 • Time: 1.5 hour • Points: 8.5 ww points

• 1 lb lean beef
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 onion
• 1 tsp olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 3 medium zucchini, sliced 1/8" thick
• 1 15 oz fat free ricotta
• 16 oz Sargento reduced fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
  
• 1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano
• 1 egg

In a medium sauce pan, brown meat and season with salt. When cooked drain in colander to remove any fat. Add olive oil to the pan and saute garlic and onions about 2 minutes. Return the meat to the pan, add tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer on low for at least 30-40minutes, covered. Do not add extra water, the sauce should be thick.

Slice zucchini into 1/8" thick slices, add salt and set aside or 10 minutes. Zucchini has a lot of water when cooked, salting it takes out a lot of moisture. After 10 minutes, blot excess moisture with a paper towel.

In a medium bowl mix ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese and egg. Stir well.
Preheat oven to 350°.

In a 9x12 casserole spread some sauce on the bottom and layer the zucchini to cover. Then place some of the ricotta cheese mixture, then top with the mozzarella cheese and repeat the process until all your ingredients are used up. Top with sauce and mozzarella and cover with foil.

Bake 45 minutes covered at 375°, then uncovered 15 minutes. Let stand about 5 - 10 minutes before serving.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOO YUMMY!!! Enjoy!

Foto Friday!

Happy Anniversary to us!! We made it to 2 years! This was last weekend at my Mom's house. I wanted to see if my dress still fit, it does and its even a little big! GO ME!

We are in Southern California celebrating for a few days!

Foto Friday!!

Bald Eagles in Prince Rupert Canada.

Anthony Chabot Camping

A few weeks ago we headed over the hill to Lake Chabot for some camping! We got there early on Friday so we were able to relax and then make dinner. Saturday we went for a 3 hour hike. My dad and Shu-Jen came up for dinner. It was a great weekend! Too bad it didn't last longer!!(Hanging out Friday night)

( At the beginning of our hike)

(A flower along the trail)

(Down by the lake)

(Lake Chabot)

(Our campfire)

Cherry Crisp

My Father-in-law has a cherry tree so after we went to brunch on Saturday we stopped at his house to pick cherries! When we got home I decided to make something with them. They turned out soooo good!!!

Cherry Crisp - from Cooking Light July 2008

Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients:
Filling:

• 6 cups (about 2 pounds) sweet cherries, pitted
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Cooking Spray

Topping:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (about 2 1/4 ounces)
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats ( I used oatmeal oats and they worked just fine)
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds (I added more because I love almonds)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. To prepare the filling, combine cherries, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, cornstarch, juice, almond extract, and salt in a large bowl; toss gently. Spoon cherry mixture into an 11 x 7–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

3. To prepare topping, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Cut in chilled butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in sliced almonds. Sprinkle oat mixture evenly over cherry mixture. Bake at 375° for 45 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is crisp. Let stand 5 minutes; serve warm.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 311 (33% from fat)
Fat: 11.2g (sat 5.6g,mono 3.5g,poly 0.8g)
Protein: 4.1g
Carbohydrate: 51.4g
Fiber: 3.4g
Cholesterol: 23mg
Iron: 1.1mg
Sodium: 140mg
Calcium: 43mg

Foto Friday!

In honor of Father's Day.....