Easy South Beach Recipes Calabacitas

I've had a lot of comments from people who like the Easy South Beach Recipes I've been posting which have only five ingredients or less. I'm going to sneak this one in, but you'll need to use a bit of salt and pepper to go with the five main ingredients. Calabacitas is a traditional recipe of the American southwest, and this easy version is so good, I had it for lunch two days last week. Traditional recipes for Calabacitas sometimes include things like corn or tomatoes, which I didn't use. I purposely left out the corn to make the recipe more South Beach friendly, and didn't think it needed the tomatoes. You could use them if you like the sound of tomatoes in this. But do try making it; I think you'll be impressed at how much flavor you can get from just a few ingredients.

Easy Calabacitas or Squash with Onions, Chiles, and Cheese
(about 4 servings, recipe created by Kalyn with inspiration from many sources)

4 medium zucchini or yellow squash
(or use two of each like I did)
1 onion, chopped
1 can (4 oz.) diced green chiles (also called Anaheim chiles, do not use jalapenos unless you like really spicy food)
1 cup plus 1/4 cup grated low fat Mexican cheese blend or grated cheddar cheese
1 T olive oil, (more or less depending on your pan)
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Wash squash and cut lengthwise into fourths, then into slices about 3/4 inch thick. Heat olive oil in heavy frying pan. Add onion and saute 2-3 minutes, until starting to wilt. Add squash and saute about 4 minutes, or until squash seems not quite half cooked.

Add canned green chiles with juice to the pan and cook 6-8 minutes more, until squash is cooked but still slightly chewy. (This is a personal preference, but I prefer mine a little on the crisp side. Cook a little longer if you prefer a softer texture. More mature squash will take a bit longer to cook.)

Sprinkle one cup of cheese over and cook 1-2 minutes more, stirring until cheese is melted and squash is partly coated with cheese. Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper and serve immediately with a bit more cheese sprinkled over each serving.

I used Kraft Mexican Four Cheese Blend which is a mixture of reduced fat Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby, and Mozarella cheese. If you buy the 2% milk cheese, there is about 6 grams of fat in a serving. If you can't find this cheese, use any reduced fat cheddar.

The cheese I used is actually one of the foods with the new "South Beach Diet approved" logo, and this is a great dish for the South Beach Diet any phase. Calabacitas would taste great with Friday Night Salmon or Sauteed Tilapia with Parmesan Crust, which could qualify as an easy recipe too!

Since summer squash is one of the world's healthiest foods, this is my entry for ARF-5-A-Day at Sweetnicks. Head over there tomorrow night to see what other healthy recipes people have concocted using fruits, veggies, and anti-oxidant rich foods.

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