The leftovers challenge part 4: Zucchini and Pork Parmesan

Okay, let's all let out a big deep breath. Four straight days for pork. Anyone getting tired of it yet? Think of all the cash you're saving - that's what I keep telling myself.

Day four: Zucchini and Pork Parmesan. I know, it sounds odd. And I guess it kind of is. But it tastes great. I promise. The lightness of the zucchini makes you forget it's pork.

Okay, deep breath. Let's get started.

What you'll need:

For the veggie packed pasts sauce you will need:

1 cup sliced mushrooms

5 good size Roma tomatoes peeled (refer here)

2 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 diced onion

1/4 cup fresh basil or 1 tbsp dried

2 tbsp sugar

1 pinch kosher salt

1 can tomato paste

2 tbsp white wine

2 cups of shredded pork cut into small peices.

Olive oil

Optional: carrots, spinach any vegetable you can think up. This is a great way to hide vegetables.

You will also need:

Zucchini

1/2 to 1 cup Shredded mozzerella cheese

Preheat your oven to 350 and grease a glass pan

Cut your zuchini into spears and spray with cooking spray. Place in oven for 10 minutes to roast.

(Note. The sauce in the picture does not contain the pork. It is a photo from the Veggie packed homemade pasta sauce recipe.)

Sauce: In a pan heat up your olive oil and add your onions.

Dice those peeled tomatoes and toss them in the pan with you basil let your tomatoes and onions cook for about 10 minutes then add your white wine, tomato paste, pork and sugar. Stir, stir, stir. Then add your garlic and kosher salt and let simmer about 8 minutes.

 Pour the sauce on top of the zucchini and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and bake another 10 minutes.

Five Ingredient Fish Dinner

We are keeping up with our simple week of recipes. We had a 3 ingredient dessert, 4 ingredient bread and now a 5 ingredient fish dinner.

I figured out how to cook fish in aluminum foil when I was on a diet last year and constantly exhaused. I learned later my exhaustion was not my diet, I was pregnant. Ha ha!

Anyway, because this recipe was cheap, easy and healthy I began to make it a lot when I was pregnant. I was coming home from work late in the evening and I needed something that could be prepped and cooked in under 30 minutes.

This is very healthy, it has protien, fiber and all the minerals and nutrients associated with squash and zucchini like vitiamin C and magense. And it's so inexpensive I made mine with Tilapia and it costs about $1.90 per person or about $2.06 if you eat over rice.

What you'll need:

Four pieces of tilapia (or red fish or salmon)

Two zucchini

Two squash

Fresh or dried cilantro

Soy sauce

Aluminum foil

**I have also put onion, oranges and lemon pepper. You can use pretty much anything. That's the beauty of this recipe.

Preheat your oven to 350 and let's get started.

Chop your veggies and make certain your fish is fully thawed.

Tear off four peices of foil. Place a piece of fish one each piece of foil. Sprinkle the fish with soy sauce and cilantro.

Cover each peice of fish with a healthy portion of the vegetables. Beleive me, two zuchini and two squash go a long way.

Fold the foil over the veggie and fish like a little envelope. Place all four foil packs on a baking sheet and place in the oven. You will need to cook it about 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

Zucchini and Summer Squash, oven fried goodness

 

Print this recipe

Spring came early. Which concerns me. But it also means spring and summer crops are now available and since shopping in season is so important to save money and have a more sustainable plate, that makes me happy.

So summer squash and zuchini are plentiful in these parts. Since I do most of my produce shopping at the local farmer's market, that means they are a little cheaper now.

Last night we had burgers. And I wanted a good side dish that wasn't french fries. But seriously, what is a burger without french fries?

What about seasonal oven fries??? I have saved the day!

What you'll need:

Zucchini

Squash

about a cup of bread crumbs

1/4 grated parmesan

2 eggs

a paper bag

a greased cookie sheet

Preheat that oven to 425 and let's get started!

Wash your veggies and chop off the ends. Then cut each in half. The halves can then be cut in to four fries each. (Each vegetable will yield 16 fries.)

Dump the bread crumbs and parm in to a paper bag and shake.

In a bowl whisk your eggs.

Put your chopped vegetables in to your eggs and mix with your hands. Yes, use your hands. You can wash them later.

Then put the vegetables in the bag and shake, shake, shake.

Place the vegetables on your cookie sheet and bake for 25 minutes. These are so good. If you can't eat "fries" without dipping them might I recommend a little Greek yogurt and ranch mix. Yummy!