WEEK 4

• This turned out to be a very educational week for me. I've been reading about the Glycemic Index, and found it to be so interesting that I decided to try out some recipies that have low GI values. Now, you should know what I mean by trying them out: find EVERY recipe that looks like it has a chance of being good, because I'd hate to think there was one good one I didn't try. So, this week's recipes all come from the book The New Glucose Revolution. There must be something to it, because I did lose weight this week. Anyway, you should google it, or just try this week's recipes over and over and over again and see what happens!
• Vegetable Lasagna
  
• Creamy Mushrooms and Pasta


• Baked Tilapia over Ratatouille and Rice


• Thai Tuna and Sweet Potato Tart


• Moroccan Kebabs


• Cajun Salmon with Green Beans and Balsamic Browned Butter

VEGETABLE LASAGNA

1 bag baby spinach

flat lasagna sheets

shredded parmesan (fresh, ok? not canned dandruff)

oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz sliced mushrooms
green pepper, chopped
1 can tomato paste
1 can beans, rinsed and drained (I recommend white, they're nice and creamy)
15 oz can crushed or diced tomatoes
italian seasoning
2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs flour
2 cups milk
1 cup grated cheese
pinch of nutmeg

Lightly steam spinach; drain well. For the vegetable sauce, heat the oil in a nonstick frying pan. Add the onions and garlic and cook until soft. Add the mushrooms and pepper and cook an additional 3 minutes. Add tomato paste, beans, tomatoes and herbs. Bring to a boil and simmer 15-20 minutes. Add water if it looks too thick or dry. For the cheese sauce, melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook 1 minute, stirring. Remove from the heat. Gradually add the milk, stirring until smooth. Stir over medium heat until the sauce boils and thickens. Remove from heat; add cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper. To assemble, pour half the vegetable sauce over the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Cover with a layer of lasagna sheets, then half the spinach. Spread a thin layer of cheese sauce over the spinach. Top with the remaining vegetable sauce and remaining spinach. Place over a layer of lasagna sheeps and finish with the remaining cheese sauce. Sprinkle with some shredded cheese and parmesan. Cover with aluminium foil and bake at 350 until fork easily pierces noodles, 40-60 minutes.

*As a note of interest, the leftovers of this lasagna make some GORGEOUS hash! In a nonstick frying pan, drop in a small portion of the lasagna and small torn up corn tortilla. Stir around on med high heat, breaking up everything. Once it's warmed, crack an egg over the pile, and salt and pepper the whole shebang. Stir around until egg is cooked through. Eat with salsa or tabasco.

CREAMY MUSHROOMS AND PASTA

1 lb pasta of your choice

parmesan (you know what kind!)
olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb mushrooms
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp mustard
2 Tbs tomato paste
1 can evaporated skim milk
1/4 cup grated cheese
1/2 cup chopped green onions

Cook pasta. For the sauce, heat oil in a frying pan. Add onions, garlic, and mushrooms, and cook until soft. Combine the paprika, mustard, tomato paste and milk in a bowl. Stir into the mushrooms with the cheese and cook over low heat, stirring, about 5 minutes. Add onions, salt and pepper. Add the pasta to the sauce, and toss gently. Sprinkle parmesan over all. For another option, add 1-2 cans of tuna and some peas.

BAKED TILAPIA OVER RATATOUILLE AND RICE

1 large eggplant, diced

1 red pepper, diced

4 zucchini, sliced into 1-inch thick rings

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

15 oz can chopped tomatoes, undrained

1 cup water

4 bay leaves

thyme

fresh basil

Basmati or converted rice

tilapia fillets

Place eggplant in a colander, sprinkle with salt, and leave for 30 minutes. Wash under cold water, drain, and pat dry with a paper towel. Heat some oil in a large saucepan and add eggplant, pepper, zucchini, onion and garlic. Toss in hot oil 2 minutes, then add tomatoes, water and thyme, salt and pepper. Simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaves. Chop basil leaves and stir through ratatouille. For tilapia, spray baking dish with Pam, then add a little water. Place fillets in dish, season with cajun seasoning (I recommend Tony Chachere's) and any other herbs you want (dried italian, fresh thyme or dill, whatever). Bake in hot oven until cooked through. Squeeze fresh lemon half over all. Cook enough rice to have leftovers for another meal (so twice what you need for tonite). Serve by scooping rice into a pile on the plate, then ladle over some ratatouille, then a fillet of tilapia. You can sprinkle on any leftover basil.

THAI TUNA AND SWEET POTATO TART

2 sweet potatoes

5 eggs

14 oz can coconut milk

zest of 1 lemon

3 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 bunch green onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1/2 cup self-raising flour

1/2 cup cooked rice

2 cans tuna, drained

1 can corn, drained

Preheat oven to 350. Oil a 12 inch round pan. Peel and steam whole sweet potatos until just tender. Drain and cut into chunks. Whisk eggs, coconut milk, lemon zest, cilantro, green onions, garlic, flour and salt and pepper in a bowl. Arrange chunks of sweet potato, tuna, rice and corn over bottom of dish. Pour eggs over. Bake for 1 hour until puffed and golden.

MOROCCAN KEBABS

I think kebabs is misleading; these are actually more like hamburgers, really good hamburgers.

pita bread, 1 piece for everyone

2 lbs ground beef

1/2 cooked bulgur (I used rice, 1 cup)

2 tsp moroccan seasoning (I used cajun and garlic)

1 onion, very finely chopped

2 eggs

3 diced tomatoes

1 diced cucumber

fresh basil

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

lettuce

hummus

Wrap pitas in foil and warm in oven. Combine beef, rice, seasoning, onion and eggs in bowl. Shape into 7 patties. Heat nonstick frying pan with cooking spray. Cook patties about 5 minutes each side until done. Combine tomato, cucumber, chopped basil, splash of olive oil and vinegar, salt and pepper. To assemble, spread the pita with some hummus. We folded the pita in half like a taco, then added the lettuce, burger (that we cut in halves), and tomato garnish.

CAJUN SALMON AND GREEN BEANS WITH BROWNED BALSAMIC BUTTER

The sauce for the green beans comes from my good friend China Ramirez

large salmon fillet (I get mine from Costco, of course)

cajun seasoning

olive oil or spray

fresh baby green beans

4 tsp butter

4 tsp soy sauce

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 400. Spray a baking dish large enough to fit the salmon fillet (I like to keep it whole). Lightly oil or spray both sides of salmon, and season both sides as well. Set in dish, bake just until center flakes, maybe 20 minutes. For green beans, add some water to a nonstick frypan. Bring to boil over med high heat; add green bean-cover and cook until tender. Meanwhile, in small saucepan, melt butter. Cook until light brown, remove from heat, stir in soy sauce and vinegar. Pour over drained green beans, and any extra can be drizzled over salmon.