We've endured to the end...almost.

Just when I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of this, our experiment is over. I will spare you the "Oh look! It's a overgrown chicken!" victory dance. Yes, today we officially mark the 1 month that we have been living on our food storage, though it seems like about a year. Frankly, I'm glad we did it but I'm also glad that we don't have to on an ongoing basis. We cheated a little but far less than I thought we would. If I remember right, we "fell off the wagon" 4 times this month. Normally, we would have either gone out to eat or gone to the store at least 4 times per week. Ah progress.

I will say however that one of the times we went out was not my fault. I say "fault" like it was a bad thing. Quite the contrary. I just mean it was my husband's idea. It was a day or two after my last post. Brynlee had been complaining about the meals and I was DONE. Mark packed the kids up and "kidnapped" me for dinner. Mmmmmmmm...Sushi! Omega 3 fatty acids fix everything. Dang! Another fat joke waiting to happen. I'll spare you.

Ok... Enough with the wheat. Enough with the food storage. Hmmmm... It's the end of the season. Anyone want a new zucchini recipe?

Zucchini Roll Ups

5-6 Medium Zucchini or Summer Squash, sliced thin lengthwise

4 oz. Whipped Cream Cheese

4 oz. Ricotta Cheese

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1/4 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

1/2 teaspoon Oregano

1/2 teaspoon Parsley Flakes

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper

12 oz. Tomato Sauce - any sort of spaghetti sauce will work but a tomato/basil works best.

1/2 cup Shredded Italian Cheese - Parmesan, Mozzarella, etc. It doesn't matter what kind.

Olive Oil

Grill the zucchini on the BBQ (or Foreman Grill) till bendy and tender. Cover and let sit till cool enough to handle.

Mix cream cheese and ricotta cheese together with seasonings. Pour about 1/2 of the sauce into the bottom of a Pyrex casserole dish. Spread each piece of zucchini with a tablespoon or so of filling. Roll them up like a pinwheel. Place on sauce base.


Spoon remaining sauce on each assembled zucchini roll and top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes (covered with foil.) Remove foil for last 10 minutes of cooking. ...and voila!!

They're SOOOOOO good. This recipe is really easy to change around too. I have made it omitting the cream cheese, substituting the ricotta for cottage cheese and adding shredded chicken to the filling. Use what you have. Italian sausage would be good in the sauce too. As we say at our house ...Iron Chef it!!

Bon appetite!

Ok I know that this post was a bit random but I guess it's better than not posting at all right? Thanks to everyone for your well wishes, words of kindess and advice during the last month. It has really helped make things easier. We love you all!!

On to better and bigger things!! DANG! another fat joke waiting to happen. Sigh...I'm going to McDonalds. :-)