Marvelous May Menu

Spring is officially here!  The weather is warm and we are starting to think about bathing suit season...Yikes!  I guess we should all pay a little more attention to what we are eating.  We spent the last few weeks experimenting with new recipes and taking some of the tried and tested and making them a little better for our waistlines.  We love to cook even more in the spring and summer because of all of the possibilities added with the availability of so much more seasonal produce!  We also love that we can fire up the grill a few nights a week which gets our husbands involved in some of the cooking too!
The Magical Moms March Menu Madness and Appetizing April Menu feature many of our favorites so be sure to check them out!
*Recipe coming soon

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
			1 Mexican Chicken Chopped Salad	2 Skinny BBQ Chicken Pizza on the Grill, Honey Grilled Pineapple	3 Athenian Chicken, Henderson Hummus {updated}	4 Buffalo Chicken Salad with Homemade Low Fat Spicy Ranch
5 Red Pepper Turkey Burger Sliders, Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Cinnamon Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce	6 *Beef and Barley Soup, Fresh and Fancy Fruit Salsa	7 Peppered Steak Salad with Low Cal/Low Fat Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing	8 Skinny Suiza Enchiladas	9 *Maple Chili Glazed Pork, *Krazy Quinoa	10 Lemon Grass Skewered Shrimp, Lemon Orzo Salad with Asparagus and Tomatoes	11 *Steak Fajita Lettuce Wraps
12 Coco Loco Chicken, Sweet Potato Crisps	13 Black Bean and Corn Potatoes, Zucchini Chips with Chive and Onion Dipping Sauce	14 Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken,	15 *Chicken Tacos, *Fresh Corn Salsa	16 *Mediterranean Chicken and *Quinoa	17 Orange Chicken Brown Fried Rice, Secret Fruit Salad	18 Grilled Chicken, Awesome Asparagus Risotto
19 Spaghetti and *Turkey Meatballs	20 Low Carb Italian Chopped Salad	21 Kahlua Pork  Tostadas with pineapple salsa	22 Turkey Gyros	23 *Steak Carnitas	24 Deep Dish Portabello {Pizza}	25 *Tequila Lime Shrimp, Brown Rice
26 Parmesan Spaghetti Squash, Cucumber Salad	27 Lean Mean Chicken Bacon Machine (Gluten Free), Strawberry Spinach Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette	28 Hot and Spicy Fajita Piles, Cilantro Brown Rice	29 Gluten Free Bacon, Onion and Garlic Pizza	30 Fiesta Lime Grilled Chicken, Oven "Fried" Zucchini with Spicy Garlic Dipping Sauce	31 Teriyaki Beef and Broccoli

Oven "Fried" Zucchini Fries with Spicy Garlic Dipping Sauce

This is one of my new favorite side dishes!  Okay I have lots of new favorites.  Usually I just make zucchini on the grill or deep fried.  This is SO good I am sure I will be making it often!

Ingredients:

• 2 small Zucchini (enough to serve your family each zucchini is easily cut into 9 pieces)
• About a 1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
• About a Cup of Panko Bread Crumbs
• Pepper to taste
• Salt
• A Pinch of Garlic Powder
• 1 Egg
• A Pinch of Basil 
• A Pinch of Oregano
• 1/4 cup of flour

Sauce

• 6 oz of Plain Greek Yogurt
• Salt and Pepper to Taste
• 1 teaspoon of Chili Garlic Sauce
• 1/8 Teaspoon of Garlic Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon of Horseradish (Start with less you can always add more for spice)
• 1 Tablespoon of Mayonnaise (for even less fat and calories leave this out) 

Combine all sauce ingredients and stir.  Add spicy ingredients slowly to desired spice level.  Refrigerate until you are ready to use.  

**About an hour and a half before you want to eat the zucchini complete this step!!

Cut the zucchini into the desired size pieces.  I usually cut my zucchini in 9 pieces lengthwise.  Place in colander and sprinkle with salt.  Place a plate under the colander and place it in the fridge until ready to start the breading process.  The salt will pull out the water in the zucchini and make it more crisp after it  it cooked.  

When you are ready to bread the zucchini remove it from the fridge and place it in a ziploc bag with 1/4 cup of flour.  Seal it and shake it around until all zucchini is covered.

Preheat oven to 425.  Next, beat an egg in a long shallow bowl (or whatever the zucchini will fit in)- set aside.  On a plate combine Panko, parmesan, garlic powder, pepper, a pinch of oregano, and a pinch of basil.  Individually dip each piece of zucchini in the egg and then roll it in the crumb/spice mixture.  Place each piece on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until breading is a golden brown color.

Peppered Steak Salad with Low-cal Blue Cheese Dressing

Blue cheese dressing and blue cheese crumbles are a great addition to a salad, but the amount of fat and calories that it adds are not ideal.  So I decided to come up with a lighter option.  Blue cheese has a very strong flavor so a little bit goes a long way.  By putting the cheese crumbles in the food processor and mixing with another creamy cheese I created a healthier alternative.  

Ingredients:
Low Calorie Blue Cheese Dressing

• 1 1/2 Tablespoons of Blue Cheese Crumbles
• 1 Laughing Cow Wedge
• 2 Tablespoon of Skim Milk

Makes enough dressing to serve 3-4 people

For dressing- combine all ingredients in mini food processor and blend for about 20 seconds.  Refrigerate for at about 30 minutes.  You may want to add another splash of milk if the dressing is too thick.

Makes 2-4 Servings depending on salad size you are dressing

Marinade for Steak

• 2 Tablespoons Fat Free Italian Dressing
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Montreal Steak Seasoning

Combine marinade ingredients in ziploc bag.  Marinate the steak for about an hour.  Grilled to desired temperature

Salad

• Romaine Lettuce
• Pepperocinis 
• Tomato
• Cucumber