Italian Style Spaghetti Squash INGREDIENTS: • 1 pound spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded • 1 tablespoon olive oil • 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced • 1/2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch dice • 2 medium tomatoes, diced • 1/8 teaspoon salt • 1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional) • 1/2 small lemon, sliced DIRECTIONS: 1. Place the squash halves, cut sides down, in a glass-baking dish. Add 1/8-cup water and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 8-10 minutes until tender; cool slightly. 2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the onion and cook over medium-high heat for 3 minutes until the onion is translucent. Add the zucchini and cook for 4-5 minutes until the zucchini begins to brown. Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Reduce the heat; simmer gently for 10 minutes. 3. Using a fork, scrape the squash strands into a bowl. Toss with the remaining Using tablespoon of oil. Mound the squash in the centre of 4 pasta bowls and spoon the vegetable mixture around the squash. Drizzle with more oil, if desired, and garnish with Parmesan cheese, if using. Add the lemon slices. Serves 4 Sometimes I don't add the cheese and make meatballs to go with this instead.

TURKEY MEATBALLS 4-5 lbs lean ground white turkey meat 3 tbsp. dried, minced onion flakes 5 tbsp. dried parsley 5 tbsp. dried cilantro 1 tbsp. cinnamon 1 tbsp. coriander 1 tbsp. cumin 1 tbsp. ginger cayenne pepper, to taste Mix spices and herbs well and add to ground turkey. Mix thoroughly by hand and roll into 48-54 meatballs, about 1 to 1 1/2 inches big. You can make them smaller or larger, if desired. Bake on a Pam sprayed cookie sheet for about 25 minutes, or until lightly browned all over. Freezes well.

Garlic and Dill Salmon INGREDIENTS: 1 1/2 pounds salmon fillet salt and pepper to taste 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 sprig fresh dill, chopped 5 slices lemon 5 sprigs fresh dill weed 2 green onions, chopped DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Spray two large pieces of aluminum foil with cooking spray. Place salmon fillet on top of one piece of foil. Sprinkle salmon with salt, pepper, garlic and chopped dill. Arrange lemon slices on top of fillet and place a sprig of dill on top of each lemon slice. Sprinkle fillet with chopped scallions. Cover salmon with second piece of foil and pinch together foil to tightly seal. Place on a baking sheet or in a large baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until salmon flakes easily. Serves 6 I like to add asparagus inside the foil as well to cook along with the fish.

Mediterranean Chicken with Eggplant INGREDIENTS: 3 eggplants, peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick slices (amount according to menu planner) 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - diced* 1 onion, diced 2 tablespoon tomato paste ** 1/2 cup water 2 teaspoons dried oregano 2 cloves garlic, minced salt and pepper to taste * I usually leave my chicken breast whole, not diced. Just makes things easier when it comes to grammages, but make sure you cook it fully. **I have tomato paste in a tube and it is just tomato and water, so I use it sparingly, and take it into account when measuring my veggies. You could also take your half tomato allowance and crush it up and use it the same way. I've done it both ways and good either way. DIRECTIONS: Place eggplant strips in a colander and salt them and let them sweat for 30 minutes (this will improve the taste since takes away the bitterness of the eggplant, but some people skip this step). Rinse them off well and then carry on with the recipe. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray eggplant with some PAM or olive oil spray. Sauté or grill until lightly browned and place in a 9x13 inch-baking dish. Set aside. Sauté diced chicken and onion in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in tomato paste and water, cover skillet, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Pour chicken/tomato mixture over eggplant. Season with oregano, garlic, salt and pepper and cover with aluminum foil. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Serves 6 My husband loves this dinner, and I usually serve it to him with some rice or couscous and a bit of crumbled feta, but it is plenty for me and really good. Thought I would pass it along to all those who are suffering in the cold winter you seem to be having right now! Also since it is just my husband and I, I scale the recipe down for just the 2 of us, but this is how I got the recipe from my sister, so I thought I would pass it along as is. You could also add some celery and other spices to suit your own tastes, for instance I like to add a bit of marjoram as well to this. Enjoy

Garlic Chicken Stir Fry INGREDIENTS: 6 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger 1 bunch green onions, chopped 1 teaspoon salt 1-pound boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into strips 1 onions, thinly sliced 1 cup sliced cabbage 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced 1-cup water or veggie broth 2 tablespoons tamari 2 tablespoons splenda ________________________________________ DIRECTIONS: Stir in a sprayed pan, 2 cloves minced garlic, ginger root, green onions and salt. Stir-fry until onion becomes translucent, about 2 minutes. Add chicken and stir until opaque, about 3 minutes. Add remaining 4 cloves minced garlic and stir. Add onions, cabbage, bell pepper, and 1/2 cup of the broth/water and cover. In a small bowl, mix the remaining 1/2-cup broth/water, soy sauce, and splenda. Add sauce mixture to wok/skillet and stir until chicken and vegetables are coated with the sauce. Serve immediately.

Marinated and Grilled Veggies INGREDIENTS: 1/2 cup thickly sliced zucchini 1/2 cup sliced red bell pepper 1/2 cup sliced yellow bell pepper 1/2 cup sliced yellow squash 1/2 cup sliced red onion 16 large fresh button mushrooms 16 cherry tomatoes 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup tamari 1/4 cup lemon juice 1/2 clove garlic, crushed DIRECTIONS: Place the zucchini, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, squash, red onion, mushrooms, and tomatoes in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix together olive oil, tamari, lemon juice, and garlic. Pour over the vegetables. Cover bowl, and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Preheat grill for medium heat. Lightly oil grate. Remove vegetables from marinade, and place on preheated grill. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, or until tender. Serves 8 When I make this I weigh out my own veggies and make sure that is the one I eat, for everyone else I just put on whatever and everyone loves it. You can adjust the veggies to suit your own menu planner.

Marvellously Mashed Cauliflower 1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets 1 cup water 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon fresh chives, chopped 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/2 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped 1 tablespoon Chicken or veggie broth (optional since the cauliflower has water in it) In a medium pot, place cauliflower with water and bring to a quick boil. Lower heat to simmer and cover. Cook for an additional 12 minutes or until soft. Drain, transfer cauliflower to a bowl, and mash. Blend in garlic, chives, onion powder, parsley, and broth with the mashed cauliflower. Serve hot. Pi’s notes: Only use broth if you think it is too thick otherwise omit it. As well, I use my stick blender to mash since it really makes it very smooth.

Veggie Nuggets Ingredients Leftover steamed veg: - brocolli, cauliflower, cabbage. Leftover sauteed veg: - mushrooms, onions. Fresh herbs(optional) Olive oil spray Salt and pepper to taste. Method Whizz all leftover veggies in food processor and remove to mixing bowl. Add finely chopped fresh herbs of choice, if using. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Take a dollop of the veggie mixture and form into little balls. Place on a flat oven tray lined with baking parchment paper sprayed with olive oil. Spray the nuggets with olive oil and place tray in preheated oven at 350 for 15 mins, or until golden brown. PI's Notes: I was looking for something to do with leftover veggies that I had in the fridge. I had something similar to this ages ago in a restaurant, so I thought I would try it. These are the veggies I used, but I guess you could use whatever you have on hand...I used a little oregano, but again you can do whatever you wish. Also, whizz the veggies long enough that they are chopped up really well so they will roll, but not so much that they start giving off water.

I don’t know if any of u have tried any Indian food...especially this one dish called butter chicken its basically made of a creamy curry/tomato sauce..i made sumthing like it tonite..without the cream of course and the heaps of oil...was basically as good as the real thing!!! Mock Butter Chicken Ingredients: Chicken thigh or chicken breast allowance cut up into pieces Half a tomato - I use an all natural tomato paste about 2 tablespoons 30 g of finely chopped onions 1 clove garlic Ginger - the size of the clove ½ tsp of tumeric ½ tsp of cumin ½ tsp of chilli powder ½ tsp of garam masala ¼ tsp of paprika ¼ tsp of cinnamon salt to taste fresh coriander as a garnish 1-2.5 cups of water depends on how much soup/sauce you want, but this dish is to be eaten with the soup 1 tsp of oil or you can use cooking spray Method: Spray or add oil to a non stick pan, add onions and caramelize for about 5 mins Form a paste of garlic and ginger with a hand blender, and add to pot, let sit for about 2 mins Add chicken pieces Add tomato paste, mix to cover Add some of the water, throw in all spices Let simmer, to get sauce thick Add more water as needed Let simmer Add fresh coriander Serve and enjoy with crispy mountain bread Some side notes Its best to use the little bit of oil I just find it cooks better all those spices are quite strong and if u cannot handle spicy things than add chilli powder and garam masala to taste…turmeric is very important to Indian cooking and also the sauce should turn out to look like a creamy orangey tomato sauce…also the water amount is dependant to what you want, u can always add some more…also I didn’t really measure out all the ingredients because Indian cooking varies to what u want basically a pinch of whatever you want here and there, i tried my best to make equiv measurements but add things to ur taste…hope u enjoy it!...made me feel so much better to eat sumthin with a lil more flavour ***This is Brownie's recipe but another one of my all time fave's so I thought I would put it in here!

Baked Salmon INGREDIENTS: 2 cloves garlic, minced 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon dried basil 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped 2 fillets salmon (amount according to menu planner) DIRECTIONS: In a medium glass bowl, prepare marinade by mixing garlic, olive oil, basil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and parsley. Place salmon fillets in a medium glass baking dish, and cover with the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator about 1 hour, turning occasionally. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Place fillets in aluminum foil, cover with marinade, and seal. Place sealed salmon in the glass dish, and bake 35 to 45 minutes, until easily flaked with a fork.

Ginger Grilled Pork Tenderloin • 2 whole pork tenderloins (about 1 1/2 pounds total) • 2 cups broth • 4 tablespoons grated fresh ginger • 2 tablespoons tamari • 2 tablespoons oil • 2 cloves garlic, minced Combine all ingredients in a zip lock plastic bag; seal bag and refrigerate 2 to 24 hours. Remove tenderloins from marinade; discarding marinade. Grill tenderloins over medium hot coals, turning occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes, until thermometer inserted reads 155ºF. Slice to serve.

Spiced Up Chicken • 2 1/2 teaspoons paprika • 2 teaspoons garlic powder • 1 teaspoon salt • 1 teaspoon onion powder • 1 teaspoon dried thyme • 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (use to your taste) • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves In a medium bowl, mix together the paprika, garlic powder, salt, onion powder, thyme, cayenne pepper, and ground black pepper. Set aside. Preheat grill for medium-high heat. Rub some the seasoning mix onto both sides of the chicken breasts. Lightly oil the grill grate. Place chicken on the grill, and cook for 6 to 8 minutes on each side, until juices run clear.

INGREDIENTS: 1/2 cup paprika 1/4 cup kosher salt, finely ground 1/4 cup splenda 2 tablespoons mustard powder 1/4 cup chili powder 1/4 cup ground cumin 2 tablespoons ground black pepper 1/4 cup granulated garlic 2 tablespoons cayenne (optional depending in your taste) PREPARATION: Mix all ingredients and store in a tightly covered container. You'll want to keep some in a shaker next to the grill or stove. Keeps indefinitely but won't last long.

This is a wet rub that is wonderful on chicken and lamb. Moroccan Spice Rub INGREDIENTS: 1 small onion, finely chopped 1/2 cup olive oil 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon paprika 2 teaspoons ginger 2 teaspoons salt (kosher) 1 teaspoon cumin 1/2 teaspoon turmeric PREPARATION: Combine all ingredients and store in a nonreactive airtight container.

Tandoori Rub INGREDIENTS: 1 tablespoon ginger 1 tablespoon cumin 1 tablespoon coriander 1 tablespoon paprika 1 tablespoon turmeric 1 tablespoon salt 1 tablespoon cayenne PREPARATION: Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container. Really good on chicken and fish.