I made something similar to my quick Sausage and Pepper idea but used bulgur instead of pasta and added green beans to the sauce simply because I had them. Really any vegetables would work and I was actually mad at myself for forgetting I had some summer squash in the fridge. They would have soaked up the sauce deliciously and bulked up the meal even more! Regardless, the idea is the same, brown some onion with the sausage. Add some veggies, simmer in a quick sauce and serve over your favorite grain/pasta. For me it will always be bulgur from now on, The earthy, nutty taste went wonderfully with the sweet sausage and tomato sauce. Even better then rice in my opinion!

Here’s what I did….

• 1 cup of dry bulgur (140g)
• 2 cups of water
• 1 sweet onion
• 1 package of Sweet Turkey Sausage cut in pieces (easier to do when partially frozen)
• 2 Bell peppers (I used red it’s what I had from the farm)
• About 1 cup of Green Beans
• 1 15oz can of tomato sauce (I use Contadina Tomato Sauce, 15 oz (Pack of 24))
• 1 tsp dried basil

Bring the water and bulgur to a boil, cover and lower to a simmer for 15 minutes.

While the bulgur is cooking spray a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Start to cook the onion over medium high heat. Add the sausage and brown it. Add the peppers and green beans.

After a minute or two add the can of sauce plus about 1/4 can of water (just to get the stuff that sticks in the can.) Sprinkle with basil and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 5 minutes allowing the flavors to merge.

At this point the bulgur should be done, scoop about 1/2 a cup and top with about a cup and half of the sausage/veggie mixture with sauce. I got 5 servings using my 1/2 cup ladle as a scoop. Depending on how many veggie you use this makes 5 hearty servings you could probably stretch it to make even more but I had two hungry boys! It was the first day of kindergarten! :)

Anyway, with stocks running low my options were pretty limited. I had a package of chicken tenders in the freezer and a container of sun dried tomatoes I bought for Feta month (for some reason feta inspired me to try sun dried tomatoes, not sure why) in the fridge. I decided it was time to use the tomatoes by making a sauce and pair it with some simple chicken fingers "breaded" in parmesan cheese and dried herbs.

The result was an absolute hit! While cooking the little guy actually walked in to the kitchen and said "MMmmmm it smells DELICIOUS in here! When’s dinner??" It totally cracked me up an put a smile on my face. :)

Here’s what I did….

• 1 tsp of olive oil
• 1/2 sweet onion
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 6oz sun dried tomatoes (dried NOT packed in oil)
• 2 cups of water
• About 3/4 lb of chicken tenders or boneless chicken breast cut into tender size pieces
• 6-8 oz of you favorite whole wheat pasta
• 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp rosemary
• Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Sauté the onion and garlic over medium high heat with the olive oil until transparent and just browning. Add the sun dried tomatoes….

…and 2 cups of water. Crank up to high and bring to a boil. Continue to boil for 5 minutes. Then remove from heat and let sit while you prepare the other ingredients.

Place a pot of water on the stove over high and bring to a boil to cook your pasta.

Mix the parmesan cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper and place in a large ziplock bag. Put the raw chicken tenders in the bag and shake to coat. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Lay your coated chicken down and cook in the preheated 425 degree oven for about 10 minute until cooked thru.

Now back to the sauce. Pour the pot of boiled sun dried tomatoes into a blender or food processor and puree. (This is when the little guy walked in to smell the glorious smell!)

At this point your pasta should be done. Drain and toss with the pureed tomatoes.

Pull the chicken out of the oven and serve the pasta with 2-3 chicken tenders.

No nutritional info on this one just yet hence the "idea" categorization. It’s one of those family meals that are just hard to calculate because servings vary but I really wanted to share it hoping to inspire. I will tell you I used 8oz of pasta and the 3/4 lbs of chicken. The sauce to pasta ratio was perfect but we had a leftover serving. The chicken was so good I wish I made more. :) Oh! and proof that the little guy went gaga over this, here’s a little before and after dinner. Notice the thumbs up. :)

It worked out great as I had friend over for lunch today. The 6oz was perfect to make two loaded cheesesteaks. I decided to use a wrap to make it fun, light and full of fiber. Plus, I really didn’t have any other options. ;)

Here’s how I made them…

• 1/2 a sweet onion chopped
• 1 green bell pepper chopped
• 6oz of leftover london broil or other cooked beef/steak
• 2oz Fancy Shredded Mexican Cheese blend
• 2 Large Whole Wheat Wraps
• Ketchup :)

Heat a skillet over medium heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Cook the onion until just browning then add the peppers and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt.

Cook for about 2-3 minutes and then add the beef. Cook for another minute or two until the beef is warmed thru. You don’t really want to overcook it as it will start to get tough.

Turn on the oven broiler. Lay two large whole wheat tortillas on a sheet of aluminum foil. Split the the steak mixture between the two tortillas and top each with an oz of cheese. Place under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese melts.

Remove from the oven, squirt with a bit of ketchup and wrap like a burrito.

Enjoy!

Nutritional Value will vary based in your tortilla. If mine were a little smaller I could have easily gotten 3 wraps out of this recipes. I actually had a little leftover and out wraps were stuffed. Pair with with a salad or some cut veggies and you have a super satisfying 8 point meal! Want to make it lighter? Halve the cheese to save a point!

London Broil is actually not a cut of meat although I always see packages of beef listed as such. I believe it’s a cooking process. Generally I buy choice cuts that are labeled "London Broil" which are about 1 inch thick and a pound. It’s more then enough for us and allows me to cook dinner up quickly having just enough leftovers to make a cheese steak or two the next day. :) (I may do that for lunch tomorrow :)

I made this one tonight and it was devoured by both the husband and child. I LOVE it when that happens! Here’s what I did…

• About a pound of choice London Broil cut beef
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin

Pull the defrosted London Broil out of the fridge an hour or two before dinner. A room temperature steak cooks better. Honestly, I pull mine out of the freezer in the morning and defrost it all day on the counter. By dinner time it’s perfect. (Note: I realize some may disagree with this method for food safety reasons but it works for me.)

Make the dry rub by mixing all the dry spices together. Sprinkle the rub on both sides of the london broil using all of it.

Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Make sure it nice and hot and then add the steak.

Cook it for 4 minutes then flip.

Cook for an additional 4 minutes. If you’re london broil is thicker then an inch you may want to transfer the meat to a preheated 350 degree oven to finish cooking. For my cut the 4 minutes per side was perfect.

Remove from the skillet and let rest for at least 10 minutes! This is the hardest part, I know, but think of it as past of the cooking process. The meat is still actually cooking during this time.

After 10 mintues cut the beef against the grain so that you can see lines up and down the cuts.

I served mine with corn of the cob and sugar snap peas. It was a perfect summer meal!

As for nutritional info I’ll base it on cooked beef. The number of servings will vary based on the size of your cut. I usually count all my lean protiens like this as a point an ounce, it works for me.

My solution… Order a small to minimize leftovers and make a simple salad on the side. Genius right?!? Sorry.. patting myself on the back for this one. Pizza is by far me weakness. So I had one slice and a cup of this salad for a wonderful, satisfying dinner!

You may have noticed that anytime I put "Quick" in front of an idea it using some convenience item. This time it’s a store bought light italian dressing. Normally I like to experiment with my own combination of ingredients to use as dressing but having a light italian on hand is great in a pinch!

• 1 can of Northern (White) Beans drained and rinsed
• 1 pint of grape tomatoes halved
• 1-2 cups of raw spinach chopped
• 1/4 of Red Onion chopped (or more to taste)
• 2 tbsp of your favorite Light Italian Dressing

Toss all ingredients together and eat! Really… that’s exactly what I did although letting it sit probably would have been a good idea. I’m sure it will be even better tomorrow. :) I had to make it fast to pair it with that pizza.

Nutritional Information will vary based on your dressing but here’s an estimate. My normal site is down for calculations so I couldn’t pull a sugar figure.

The husband wasn’t game but I had a friend come over and try it. She thought it was tasty and loved the cilantro. I think I may need to start cooking for others. ;)

The only thing I think I’ll do differently next time is a bit more feta. I’m not too sure I used enough. I’ll post exactly how I made it and if you give it a try you can always bump up the feta.

• Half of a sweet onion
• 1 medium yellow squash (You could always use a zucchini too!)
• 1/2 cup of whole wheat couscous uncooked (I use RiceSelect )
• 5 oz of Pomegranate Juice
• About 1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped
• 1/4 cup (34g) crumbled Feta

Heat a medium-sized pot over medium heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Add the onion and sauté until browning.

Once the onion is brown, add the yellow squash and cook for a few minutes.

Add the dry couscous and Pom juice. It should almost immediately come to a boil. Stir, remove from heat and cover. Here’s what it looks like just before covering.

While the couscous is cooking, prepare the cilantro and weigh out the feta.

After 5 minutes the couscous should have soaked up the pom juice. uncover, add the the cilantro and feta.

Toss.

You could eat it warm but I preferred it chilled. :)

FULL DISCLOSURE: I have partnered with ATHENOS Feta to serve as one of ATHENOS Change for the Feta Bloggers. I am compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes blogging about my cooking experiences with ATHENOS Feta. I have also been compensated for the food purchased for my Change for the Feta creations. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments. Click here to see all my Feta Ideas!!

The husband wasn’t too impressed with the rice but he liked the salmon. The little guy liked the rice, not the salmon. I liked both! ;)

Here’s what I did…

• 4 tbsp lime juice, separated
• 1 tsp dried cilantro
• 1 tbsp honey (21g)
• 2 salmon fillets
• About 1/2 lb raw kale chopped
• 3-4 scallions diced
• 2 cups of cooked brown rice (I use the 90 second bagged kind)
• About 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• Kosher Salt

Whisk 2 tbsp of lime juice with 1 tbsp honey, 1 tsp of dried cilantro and a pinch of salt to make the marinade.

Pour the marinade over the salmon and let sit while preparing the rice.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray. add the kale, 1 tbsp of the lime juice and a pinch or two of salt. Cook for about a minute until wilting.

Add the scallions, brown rice, cilantro, remaining tbsp of lime juice and another pinch of salt. Combine everything well allowing the flavors to merge.

Heat a second skillet over medium-high heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Cook the salmon 2-3 minutes a side depending on thickness. After the first flip pour any leftover marinade over the fillets.

Serve the salmon over the rice with another veggie on the side. I went with broccoli. One veggie all three of us can agree on. ;)

No nutritional info on this one.. it’s 2 salmon servings, 3 rice servings and my brain just can’t handle it right now. lol According to my “Roni Math” I’d count the salmon and 1/3 of the rice as 9 points.

Who knew you could scrape out the guts of a zucchini, mix it up with a few simple ingredients and BAM! having a filling and tasty dish!

The feta mixed with the tomato paste making a creamy pizza type of sauce and the Zucchini was cooked just soften enough to hold the filling. It was really tasty!

• 1 medium to large Zucchini
• 1/4 cup (34g) ATHENOS Tomato Basil Feta
• 4 tbsp (66g) Tomato Paste
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp (5g) Grated Parmesan Cheese
• Sprinkle of Parsley

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

Cut the Zucchini in half longwise. Scoop out the inside using a melon baller or tablespoon.

Chop any large zucchini pieces that you scooped out and place in a mixing bowl with the feta, tomato paste, garlic powder and oregano. Mix well to coat everything. The tomato paste and feta will start to combine.

Put the zucchini mixture back into the zucchini boats. Top with the parmesan and parsley. Bake for 25 minutes. Longer if you like a softer zucchini.

Here’s a close up!

FULL DISCLOSURE: I have partnered with ATHENOS Feta to serve as one of ATHENOS Change for the Feta Bloggers. I am compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes blogging about my cooking experiences with ATHENOS Feta. I have also been compensated for the food purchased for my Change for the Feta creations. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments. Click here to see all my Feta Ideas!!

So I googled "Feta Eggplant" and look at all the pretty pictures. Noticing that some recipes had chickpeas, I devised my plan! :)

The result was, honestly, better then I expected! The feta roasted up and melted over everything mixing with the basil creating this wonderful flavor. Add in the awesome texture from the soft eggplant, yummy chickpeas, sweet tomatoes and there you have it!

• 2 Small Eggplants cut into small chunks
• 1 tsp (5g) olive oil
• Kosher Salt
• About 1 cup Grape Tomatoes halved
• About 1 cup Fresh Basil Leaves chopped
• 1 15oz can Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans) drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup (68g) of Crumbled Feta

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees

Prep all the ingredients.

Toss everything in a bowl until well coasted and mixed.

pour into a casserole dish.

Bake for 30 minutes tossing once or twice during cooking.

Now you can eat it straight up, put it in a pita, on a wrap or serve it on a bed of baby spinach like I did. :)

I’m splitting this into 3 servings about 1 cup each but you could use this as a side dish instead of a main course and get a lot more servings out of it.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I have partnered with ATHENOS Feta to serve as one of ATHENOS Change for the Feta Bloggers. I am compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes blogging about my cooking experiences with ATHENOS Feta. I have also been compensated for the food purchased for my Change for the Feta creations. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments. Click here to see all my Feta Ideas!!

Unfortunately I don’t have a grill at the moment so I cooked these on the George Foreman. I don’t think they suffered at all. I still got a nice crisp outer shell and a moist inside. They held together perfectly! The only thing I may do differently next time is add a bit of garlic. Other then that my first stab is a keeper for me!

As for husband and child.. they stuck with regular old boring burgers. Which is totally fine by me. I now have 6 frozen patties to pull out for a quick meal!

• 1 lb lean ground turkey (at least 90%)
• 1 cup (80g) Old Fashioned Oats
• 2 large egg whites
• 10 oz frozen chopped spinach
• 1/2 cup (68g) ATHENOS crumbles feta (I used Black Peppercorn)

The first thing you need to do is prep the spinach. If you don’t have a 10oz package defrosted simply put it in a strainer and run it under water. It will defrost in no time.

Once it’s defrosted, squeeze as much liquid as you can out and add it and the rest of the ingredients to a bowl.

Combine using your hands. Don’t overwork, just mix it until all the ingredients merge.

Form into 8 patties each about 100g each.

Grill until cooked through! They took about 9 minutes on my goerge foreman. Be sure to spray with some non-stick cooking spray to avoid sticking.

Here’s a closeup of the burger.

I served mine on a whole wheat bun with a sweet roasted pepper on top and a side of grilled zucchini and corn on the cob. Here’s the nutritional information for just the pattys. Serve it any way you like!

Spinach/Feta not yor thing? Check out my other Turkey Burger Ideas… Southwestern Turkey Burgers and Grilled Honey Mustard Turkey Oat Burgers!

FULL DISCLOSURE: I have partnered with ATHENOS Feta to serve as one of ATHENOS Change for the Feta Bloggers. I am compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes blogging about my cooking experiences with ATHENOS Feta. I have also been compensated for the food purchased for my Change for the Feta creations. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments. Click here to see all my Feta Ideas!!

Last night I decided to make up just enough for me. I had some small whole grain soft taco shells and that feta cheese calling my name. Normally I use a bit of mexican cheese blend when I make something like this but I have to admit, I liked the creaminess the feta added.

The secret to the veggies is to bring them just to the point of burning. It makes a GREAT flavor and turns otherwise plain veggies into an amazing tasty dish.

• 2 slices sweet onion chopped
• About 1/4 cup zucchini chopped
• About 1/4 cup yellow squash chopped
• About 1/4 cup pepper (I used a red one) chopped
• 8 grape tomatoes halved
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Kosher Salt
• Black pepper
• Non-stick cooking spray
• 2 small whole wheat taco shells (I use Trader Joe’s brand)
• 1 oz crumbled Feta
• green chili sauce

Heat a small non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Add the onion and LEAVE IT ALONE! For at least 2 minute so that the onion just starts to burn.

Toss the onion around a bit and then add the remaining veggies.

Sprinkle with a bit of Kosher salt and pepper. Toss to coat everthing and then cover.

Now… you will be tempted to open the cover. Don’t touch it for 2 minutes.

After 2 minutes uncover, add the basil and parsley. Toss to coat everything and cover again for 2 more minutes.

Once the 2 minutes are up you should have something that looks like this…

Some of the veggies will be scorched, the flavors will have all mixed and now you are ready to make you delisious tacos!

Warm the shells either in a skillet or in the microwave for a few seconds. Split the veggie filling between the two shells.

Top with the feta, about half ounce on each.

Now you could add a bit of salsa or tabasco but my favorite is Green Pepper Sauce it’s got a great flavor with just enough heat.

Enjoy!

Again, the nutritional info will vary slightly depending on your taco shells. The ones I use are from Trade Joe’s. They are whole grain/low carb and only 45 calories each.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I have partnered with ATHENOS Feta to serve as one of ATHENOS Change for the Feta Bloggers. I am compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes blogging about my cooking experiences with ATHENOS Feta. I have also been compensated for the food purchased for my Change for the Feta creations. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments. Click here to see all my Feta Ideas!!

As the name suggests I’d much rather throw these on the grill however, they work perfectly fine in the oven. So why not?

If you’ve never had grilled cabbage you are in for surprise. It’s hardy, super light in calories and very filling. I flavor mine with a bit of lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, pepper and bacon bits but you could really use anything. Even the toddler was intrigued by this one and asked for a bite. He gave it 2 thumbs up. The husband didn’t eve bother trying it. Just not his thing.

• 1 tsp olive oil (5g)
• 2 tbsp real bacon bits (14g)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper (more or less to taste)
• 1 Medium Head of Cabbage

Preheat the oven (or the grill, you lucky son of a b ;) to 425 degrees.

Mix the olive oil, bacon bits, lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper to make the marinade.

Prepare the cabbage. Rinse it under water and remove any yucky loose leaves.

Cut the head in half on the core..

Then cut the halves in half again…

…to make quarters.

Lay each wedge on a sheet of aluminum foil large enough to wrap it up in. Spoon about 2 tbsp of the marinade on top making sure to get it in all the nooks and crannies.

Wrap each wedge and bake for 20-30 minutes.

I say 20-30 becuase they will continue to cook once you pull them out. If you are going to let them sit for a little while pull them out around the 20 minute mark.

The wedges reheat wonderfull in the oven or the microwave!