Grilled Vegetable Sandwiches

This week's feature was inspired by something called "Take and Bake" bread I found in the bakery at Whole Foods. I picked up a loaf of ciabatta, baked it for seven minutes at home, and assembled grilled veggie sandwiches (recipe below).

If you are a CooksAid subscriber, you know that we feature one vegetarian recipe a week, along with a seafood recipe, a chicken recipe, and a couple of other recipes featuring beef, pork, and/or other meats. This goes along with our idea of a well-balanced diet.

If you don't usually eat at least one meatless dinner per week, you may want to give it a try. Adding a vegetarian dinner to your week can increase your intake of plant-based foods, which has a number of health benefits such as helping you maintain a healthy weight; lowering your blood pressure; improving your cholesterol levels; and reducing your risk of heart disease, diabetes and certain types of cancer.

Here's this week's recipe - you won't even miss the meat!

Grilled Vegetable Sandwiches

Servings: 2

¼ cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
1 + 1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
½ teaspoon dried thyme
Cooking spray
½ zucchini squash, sliced at an angle into ¼-inch slices
½ summer squash, sliced at an angle into ¼-inch slices
¼ yellow onion, sliced into ¼-inch strips
½ red bell pepper, sliced into ¼-inch strips
¼ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small loaf Ciabatta bread (about 5 ounces), sliced in half down the middle, then lengthwise to make 4 slices

1. In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, horseradish, and thyme. Set aside.
2. Coat a grill pan with cooking spray, or use nonstick foil on an outdoor grill. Heat grill pan or grill over medium-high. Spread out vegetables on pan or foil, season with salt and pepper, and cook about five minutes, turning once.
3. In a medium bowl, toss vegetables with 1 teaspoon lemon juice and oil.
4. Toast bread in a toaster or on the grill for about 45 seconds. Spread mayonnaise mixture on bread, top with vegetables, and serve.

Nutrition Information
(For ½ recipe) 340 calories; 45 g carbohydrate; 8 g protein; 15 g fat (2 g saturated); 4 g fiber; 920 mg sodium. Exchanges: 2.5 starches; 2.5 fats; 1.5 vegetables.

Side suggestions. Fruit salad.

--posted by Krisha--

Grilled Steak Salad (with Bleu Cheese Vinaigrette)

This week's recipe, Grilled Steak Salad, was inspired by the perfect weather we are finally having in New England. As a girl who grew up in Texas, I welcomed the milder, shorter summers when I first moved to Boston. But after living here for five years and spending this past winter cooped up inside with our new baby, Mia, I found myself dreaming of the hot sun, flip flops, sunscreen, and warm skin.

Cut to summer. It is the end of June, and it finally looks like good weather is upon us. For my husband, Kevin, and me, that means getting out on the grill and eating all of our meals on the deck.

What to cook? When creating this recipe, I was attempting to "summerize" my go-to meal at my favorite restaurant: Abe and Louie's salad and a nice steak (not to mention a good bottle of red wine). That's what inspired this recipe. It received rave reviews from Kevin, and I think the bleu cheese vinaigrette could be my signature dressing:

Grilled Steak Salad

Servings: 2

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 + 2 tablespoons crumbled bleu cheese
½ pound top loin (strip) steak, visible fat removed
1/8 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
3 cups romaine lettuce, coarsely chopped
2 small tomatoes, seeded and chopped
½ small red onion, chopped

1. Prepare vinaigrette by whisking together mustard, vinegar, oil, 2 tablespoons bleu cheese, and pepper. Set aside.
2. Prepare outdoor or indoor grill.
3. Season steak with salt and pepper, and grill 4-6 minutes per side, depending on thickness of steak and desired degree of doneness. Let cool slightly then slice into ½-inch strips.
4. Toss together lettuce, tomatoes, and red onion. Arrange steak slices on top of salad, drizzle with vinaigrette, and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons bleu cheese.

Nutrition Information
(For ½ of recipe) 440 calories; 8 g carbohydrate; 39 g protein; 28 g fat (8.5 g sat); 3 g fiber; 385 mg sodium. Exchanges: 4 fats; 3.5 vegetables; 3 lean meats.

Serving suggestion: Warm dinner rolls or breadsticks.

--posted by Krisha--