MAY LIGHTEN UP BLOG HOP

Welcome to this month's blog hop, the theme for Lightening Up in May is Picnics. Today in the United States is Memorial Day, a day to pay respects and honor to ALL those that have served in our country's military.

 Memorial Day is also the official kickoff to summer and picnic season here. So, find a place to kick off your shoes, enjoy a cold drink and hop through the four featured blogs highlighting picnic food recipes.

                                                          French Roasted-
                                   Vegetable Sandwich


Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 45 mins
Serves: 6
Similar to muffuletta, this sandwich has roasted vegetables layered in place of the heavy deli meats. Perfect for picnics or large parties (cut into smaller wedges if part of a buffet), this sandwich can be made early in the morning and refrigerated until serving time.

Ingredients  

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary ( I don't care for rosemary so substitute Cavender's
         Greek seasonings)
1 small eggplant, peeled and cut into thick slices
1 red bell pepper, quartered  (we love red peppers so I used 2, 1.5 is a perfect fit for the 8"
          bread)
1 tomato, halved
1 large onion, cut into thick slices
1 round loaf  Italian bread (8" diameter)
2 tablespoons fat-free plain greek yogurt
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup tightly packed spinach leaves

Directions

1.Preheat the oven to 400°F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Combine the oil, garlic, and rosemary in a small bowl.


2.Arrange the eggplant, pepper, and tomato on the baking sheet. Brush with the oil mixture. Bake for 45 minutes or until the vegetables are golden brown and tender. After 20 minutes add the onions.

3.Split the bread horizontally and scoop out the interior, leaving a 1" shell. (Reserve the crumbs for another use.) Spread the yogurt over the bottom of the shell and sprinkle with the vinegar. Arrange the vegetables over the vinegar. Sprinkle with the Parmesan. Top with the spinach. (ummmm yea I forgot to do this in the one I made for the photo shoot)

4.Place the top of the bread over the filling. Press on the bread to make good contact with the vegetables. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes or until chilled. Cut into wedges.

Enjoy with a side of potato salad or a bowl of soup.

Nutritional Facts per serving

CALORIES 206.5 CAL
FAT 7 G
SATURATED FAT 0.8 G
SODIUM 269.2 MG
CARBOHYDRATES 31.7 G
TOTAL SUGARS 7.1 G
DIETARY FIBER 7.5 G
PROTEIN 9.9 G

Since we have readers from all over the world, we want you to be able to easily convert measurements as needed. These links take you to conversion charts. We hope you find them helpful.

http://www.botanical.com/botanical/cvcookix.html
http://www.startcooking.com/blog/333/Measurement-and-Conversion-Charts
http://www.pioneerthinking.com/measure.html

Are you interested in winning the May blog hop prize? After you have visited all 4 of us email me at neusebrats{at}aol{com} with the answer to this month's question.
The question for this month's prize is... If you had one serving of each of these dishes at your picnic how many calories would you consume? Email your answer to neusebrats{at}aol{dot}com for a chance to win this month's prize.


May Menu
http://www.BEglorious.blogspot.com/
            French Roasted vegetable Sandwich (Beverly)
http://www.melissagross.blogspot.com/
           Grilled Vegetable Kabobs (Melissa)
http://www.holadayshappyhearts.blogspot.com/
           Pasta with Spinach and Feta (Rachel)
http://www.overatourplace.blogspot.com/
           Eton Mess (Amy)

*Blogger has been having a few issues this week so if you can't get to one of the blogs just hop back here for the other links. It has also been having MAJOR comment issues, hopefully you will be able to comment on our blogs but be sure you email me to have a chance at the prize :)