Meatless Monday Version 2.0

The husband and I have slowly been trying to eat healthier and workout more. Recently we decided to commit to at least one meal each week that was vegetarian based - hence Meatless Monday's were born. Now the husband did suggest another day, saying Monday's were hard enough on their own without taking away his beloved meat source for dinner. But with no other days of the week beginning with the letter 'M' and being in a themed state of mind, I declared Monday's to officially become Meatless Monday's in our house! Tonight was the second installment of our new tradition, and certainly much more successful than last Monday's utter & complete failure.

Tonight's grilled vegetable pizza's were easy to prepare and can be altered to suit whatever you have on hand and your own vegetable tastes. I followed the recipe, but next time think I'll just play around with it more. The pizza would make a good appetizer and could also easily become a quesadilla. The husband did say chicken would be good on it, which I agree with, just not on Monday's! I used La Tortilla Factory Whole Wheat Low-Carb/Low Fat tortilla's (which may be the longest name for a tortilla ever) which I'd tried before and found to be fairly tasty for a low-carb/low-calorie food. Each tortilla has only 80 calories, 3 g. total fat, 14 g. fiber and 8 g. protein.



Vegetable Pizza
1 md. Zucchini, quartered lengthwise
1 sm. Yellow summer squash, quartered lengthwise
1 sm. Red sweet pepper, quartered lengthwise
2 Tbs. Olive oil
1 tsp. Black pepper
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 lg. Ripe tomato, seeded & chopped
1/4 c. Mayonnaise or salad dressing
2 Tbs. Basil pesto
1 Tbs. Fresh basil, snipped
1 Tbs. Fresh Oregano, snipped
4 Flour tortillas (6-7 inch)
1 c. Mozzarella or Smoked Provolone cheese, shredded

1. Brush zucchini, squash, and sweet pepper with oil; sprinkle with pepper and salt. Grill vegetables until tender crisp, turning once halfway through grilling. Allow 8-10 minutes for sweet peppers and 5-6 minutes for zucchini and squash. Remove vegetables from grill.

2. Chop vegetables. In a medium bowl combine chopped vegetables, tomato, mayonnaise, pesto, basil and oregano. Place tortillas on grill rack directly over heat. Cover and grill from 1-2 minutes or until lightly toasted on one side. Turn tortillas over and spread the vegetable mixture over the toasted sides of tortillas. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Cover and grill for 2-3 minutes more or until tortillas are lightly toasted, vegetables are just heated and cheese begins to melt. Carefully remove from grill.

Yield: 4 servings
Recipe obtained from: Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book

Nutrition facts per serving: 426 calories, 31 g. fat (7 g. saturated fat), 24 mg cholesterol, 737 mg. sodium, 27 g. carbohydrates, 3 g. fiber, 12 g. protein.

Marinated Cucumbers & Tomato
1 lg. Cucumber, sliced
1 md. Tomato, seeded & chopped
Sugar
Apple cider & red wine vinegar
Dill
Lovage
Salt & pepper

1. Combine vinegars, sugar, dill, lovage, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Add cucumbers and tomatoes; toss to coat. Add more of anything to taste. Cover and chill for several hours or up to 5 days, stirring occasionally.

Yield: varies on produce used

What I did: Nothing says summer quite like garden fresh cucumbers and tomatoes and there are literally hundreds of ways you could make this dish. This dish requires no recipe, just use whatever you happen to have on hand and feel free to experiment. For those not familiar with the herb lovage, it has a celery like taste. I've never seen lovage in the grocery store, celery or celery seed would be good substitutes. If you ever see a lovage plant for sale, grab one and add it to your herb garden. Lovage is a perennial herb and can grow as tall as 6 feet; it's a unique addition to your garden.