- Show all
- Featured Posts
- Uncategorized
- Z2-Appetizers & Snacks
- Z2-Beef
- Z2-Beverages
- Z2-Desserts
- Z2-Entrees
- Z2-Pork
- Z2-Poultry
- Z2-Salads
- Z2-Sauces & Dressings
- Z2-Seafood
- Z2-Sides
- Z2-Soup
- Z2-Vegetarian
- Z3-Appetizers & Snacks
- Z3-Beef
- Z3-Desserts
- Z3-Entrees
- Z3-Pork
- Z3-Poultry
- Z3-Sauces & Dressings
- Z3-Seafood
- Z3-Sides
- Z3-Soups & Stews
- Z3-Vegetarian
- Z3.5-Appetizers
- Z3.5-Beef
- Z3.5-Desserts
- Z3.5-Entrees
- Z3.5-Pork
- Z3.5-Poultry
- Z3.5-Seafood
- Z3.5-Sides
- Z3.5-Soups & Stews
- Z3.5-Vegetarian
- ZS-5 Ingredients or Less
- ZS-Dieter Favorites
- ZS-Holiday
- ZS-Zola to Go
- ZSpecialties
Chili #4
Z2-Beef,ZS-Zola to Go,Z2-Soup,ZSpecialties,Z2-Entrees
I have designed several chili recipes for Plan Z. This is one of those that is very straightforward and simple. It doesn’t even have a lot of ingredients.
Shrimp Cocktail Chowder
Talk about easy to make. This soup is done in a flash. If you’re like me you’ll make a triple batch. You can freeze the portions and just add shrimp bits when you go to serve it.
Creamed Orzo with Leeks and Parmesan
Z3.5-Sides,ZSpecialties,Z3.5-Entrees,Z3.5-Vegetarian,ZS-Holiday
Orzo is a wonderful, tiny pasta. This is the most requested side dish recipe I get from dinner guests–but watch your portion size. Enjoy!
Chili Con Carne
Z2-Soup,ZS-Zola to Go,Z2-Entrees,ZSpecialties,Z2-Beef,ZS-Dieter Favorites
This is a meaty chili with some veggies tossed in for crunch factor. Makes a satisfying lunch.
Turkey or Chicken Meatloaf
For a change of pace you can try a unique meatloaf. This one comes with an optional extra sauce in case you want to really ramp up the flavor.
Creamy Leek Pie
ZS-Zola to Go,Z3-Sides,Z3-Vegetarian,ZSpecialties,Z3-Entrees
This recipe makes a yummy vegetarian lunch or side dish to go with a protein. I also put it in Zola to GO! because it can travel to a buffet.
Roasted Fennel
ZS-5 Ingredients or Less,Z2-Vegetarian,ZSpecialties,Z2-Sides
Fennel has a distinct flavor, but when it's roasted, the flavor mellows. If you like fennel, this recipe is great, and it's very easy to make.
Tomato Steak Stew
Made this tonight and was very happy with it – it would count as your vegetable and your meat although you could definitely add a green salad. I found it to be very filling.
Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Z3-Appetizers & Snacks,ZSpecialties,Z3-Vegetarian,ZS-Holiday
Talk about comfort food. This is the pure definition. Thankfully fat doesn’t make you fat so you can eat this at parties and not feel the guilt.
Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
Dieter Jessica made this meal on one of her first days of ZReduction. It was so delicious she wanted to share it with everyone.
Summer Veggie Casserole with Pepperoni
This dish is easy to put together. The spouse or the kids can help chop and it comes together fast. You can be doing other things while your dinner bakes in the oven. Makes great leftovers, too.
Chicken Chili Enchilada Casserole
This casserole tastes just like a zippy chicken enchilada without the major carbohydrate intake.
Mexican Chicken Stew
ZS-Zola to Go,Z2-Soup,ZSpecialties,Z2-Poultry,ZS-Dieter Favorites,Z2-Entrees
This is a great Zola to Go! dish, perfect for those cold days for lunch.
Cabbage Rolls
We were really happy with the way it turned out and I think you could adjust the seasonings to your own taste if you want more garlic or more salt, etc.
Pumpkin Mousse
ZS-Holiday,Z3-Desserts,ZSpecialties
Light and dreamy. If you like pumpkin you’ll love this smooth and easy dessert.
Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Casserole
When you get into the second portion of ZReboot you can start to experiment with a little more carbohydrates. Try this at week 4 – 6 of ZReboot and see how you do.
Creamy Tomato Shrimp Chowder
Talk about easy to make. This dish is done in a flash. If you’re like me, you’ll make a triple batch of the tomato base. You can freeze the portions.
Creole Meatloaf
ZSpecialties,Z2-Beef,ZS-Dieter Favorites,Z2-Entrees
This is a wonderfully moist meatloaf. It has a kick from the Cajun spices but not all that much and you can adjust according to taste. This transports well to work.
Italian Pepper Steak in a Crock Pot
This is a great crock pot recipe. Super simple but really tasty.
Beef Stroganoff
You can have your stroganoff and eat it too! Most stroganoff recipes are served over rice or a big pile of noodles. You don’t have to do that. You have other choices.
Easy Enchiladas
This dish comes together in a flash. If you are doing beef enchiladas, I recommend red sauce. If you are doing chicken, I recommend you go wild and use a green sauce.
Angela’s Shortcut Ratatouille
ZSpecialties,Z2-Vegetarian,ZS-Dieter Favorites,Z2-Entrees
When you need some serious cold weather comfort food, ratatouille hits the spot. This shortcut ratatouille-inspired recipe was submitted by dieter Angela. She Zolafied the original recipe and created a delicious ZReduction veggie sauté that can be made in less than half the time of a traditional ratatouille.
Cheeseburger Casserole
I found this recipe online. I didn’t have to do much to make it Zola. It tastes very much like a cheeseburger. The way to make it exciting though is to make sure you pile on the toppings that you like on your burger. You can feed the whole family with this and no one will miss the bun.
White Bean Stew
This tastes a lot like my mom’s bean soup with the addition of tomato and zucchini.
Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes and Mushrooms
This dish can be made a day ahead and reheated.
Strawberry “Almost Ice Cream”
Z2-Desserts,ZSpecialties,Z2-Beverages,ZS-Dieter Favorites,Z2-Vegetarian
Dieter Claire invented this recipe by modifying the fruit parfait recipe and adding extra frozen strawberries. She says, "it's as close to ice cream as you can get." We agree.
Lobster Thermidor
Lobster thermidor is a classic dish. It’s decadent because of the cost of the lobster but it also has one of the dreamiest sauces you can possibly imagine.
BBQ Bean Hash
Z3.5-Sides,Z3.5-Beef,Z3.5-Entrees
When I was a kid my father traveled a lot. When he was gone, sometimes my mom would let us just fry up some hamburger meat and add a can of Campbell’s baked beans. We called it bean hash. I loved it.
Outlaw Chili Verde
ZSpecialties,Z2-Pork,ZS-Holiday,Z2-Soup
This award-winning chili recipe won best Verde Chili by the International Chili Society in 2018. "Texas Chuck," the creator of this awesome recipe, made this chili using Mild Bills Spices (in case you're trying to get his authentic flavor).
Sloppy Joes
You could call this the “adult version” of Sloppy Joes. It does have some ZIP to it. Don’t be intimidated by the length of the ingredients list. The recipe is worth it. And you probably have most of these ingredients in your pantry.
Zucchini Lasagna
Z3-Beef,ZSpecialties,Z3-Entrees,ZS-Dieter Favorites
This lasagna has no noodles. Standing in for the noodle layers are zucchini sliced the long way.
Instant Pot Corned Beef
When you buy corned beef, there is a little packet of corned beef spices that accompanies the brisket. The secret is to use that and ADD your own corned beef spices to the mix -- after you toast them.
Taco Casserole
This is a throw it together FAST meal for any weeknight. It is not a spicy dish but you can if you wish, add hot sauce at the table for a little extra zing.
Lockdown Chili (Z2 Version)
ZSpecialties,ZS-Dieter Favorites,ZS-Zola to Go,Z2-Beef
What better time to have a spicy chili than when I am in lockdown, practicing social distancing.
Roasted Butternut Squash, Egg and Cheese Casserole
This recipe is for all the vegetarians out there. Thank you dieter Nancy for this photo. For you non-vegetarians this makes a great side dish to go along with a grilled meat. We had this last night with grilled Andouille sausage and had a lovely meal.
Southern Tomato Pie
Z3.5-Appetizers,Z3.5-Vegetarian,ZS-Holiday,Z3.5-Sides,ZSpecialties
Two things I love about living mid-South: fried green tomatoes, and tomato pie.
American Amatriciana
Amatriciana is an Italian dish. Simple and traditional. I am calling this American Amatriciana because the Italian version is made with guanciale or pancetta. I make mine with good ole’ American bacon. This is one of my husband’s favorite dishes. I hope you love it too.
Famous Burger Meatloaf
Z2-Beef,ZS-Dieter Favorites,Z2-Entrees,ZSpecialties
This is a “Whopper” of a meatloaf, designed to taste like the famous burger. I hope you enjoy.
Burger and Egg
It’s all the rage in the big city. Have a runny egg on top of your burger. Well, you can do that in ZReduction too! I just ate mine and I’m stuffed!
Shrimp and Mushroom Casserole
This is elegant comfort food. It’s sort of like the American version of the French dish called Coquille St. Jacque.
Hot Wing Dip
ZSpecialties,ZS-Dieter Favorites,Z3-Poultry,ZS-Holiday,Z3-Appetizers & Snacks
Most folks think of chicken wings as being a guy thing and even a sport fan thing but anyone can love this dip! I served it as a breakfast buffet item and it was hands down the dish that got the most comments and compliments. I think it was because it was so unexpected. The comments came from men and women alike but I must admit the guys were the ones who went gaga over this.
Sunday Chicken
Pierre Franey was a cooking hero of mine. He was the original “60 Minute Gourmet.” I adapted this recipe from one of his and turned it into a wonderful diet meal.
Seafood Crepes
These crepes are very low carb and EASY to make. You can even make them ahead and store them in the refrigerator or freeze them. I made them at the same time I was working on my seafood and sauce for the stuffed crepes but if you’re not that coordinated in the kitchen, you can make the crepes first and just store them. You do have to keep a close eye on the crepes as they cook. Don’t get distracted. It’s much less stressful to make the crepes and then make the sauce. Both come together really fast so you’ll be out of the kitchen in a jiffy anyway.
Mushroom-Bacon Soup
I had a hankering for bacon. My husband wanted mushroom soup. And this recipe was born.


















































