How to diet fast 1 week

Chili Rellenos Bake is a healthier and easier-to-make version of Chili Rellenos.  And just as delicious!

This recipe for Chili Rellenos Bake is a healthier and easier-to-make version of Chile Rellenos, a well-known Mexican dish of stuffed, battered and deep-fried green chiles filled with cheese. The recipe came from my former neighbor Brooke, who shared it with me after I tasted her version at a neighborhood block party.  I changed the recipe slightly to make it a bit more South Beach Diet friendly, but essentially this idea of layered green chiles and cheese held together with a little egg came from Brooke's recipe.  (Thanks Brooke!)

This vegetarian cheesy treat is my post this week for Meatless Monday, and if you're looking for something easy but knock-your-socks-off delicious for holiday visitors, this is sure to be a hit.  I've enjoyed this many times for a breakfast dish, but you can also cut it into small squares and serve with toothpicks for a holiday appetizer.

(This ultra-delicious Swiss Chard and Goat Cheese Custard Bake is today's pick for the month of  Daily Phase One Recipes.  I love this flavor combination, and I'd eat this for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  You can see all the recipes from the month by clicking Daily Phase One Recipes.  Check after the recipe for Phase One Flashbacks from this day in 2012 and 2013.)

My food preferences have changed since I've been writing this blog, and one good change is the way I've developed such an appreciation for greens.  I confess that before I started growing them in my garden, I never cooked much with Red Russian Kale, dark green curly kale, or Swiss chard.  Now these uber-healthful greens have turned into something I love experimenting with every year when the garden is producing them, but I've also started buying greens from the store more often.   I've made a few different breakfast dishes with greens baked into the eggs, but this Swiss Chard and Goat Cheese Custard Bake is a bit different, with a generous amount of goat cheese (the soft type that comes in a log) combined with milk and then mixed into just enough eggs to bind it together into a barely-firm custard.  I loved the flavor combination with the Swiss chard, goat cheese, and other cheeses, and although you could certainly eat this for breakfast I've been eating it for a light dinner for the last couple of days.

(For Phase One Fridays I highlight Phase One recipes from the past that have been my personal favorites, and this delicious Spinach and Mozzarella Egg Bake is something I'd love for breakfast.  If  you ever buy those big packages of spinach from Costco and end up letting some of it go bad, keep this recipe in mind as a good way to use up the spinach!)

If you look at my recipe category section for Eggs, you'll see that I've come up with a lot of variations for South Beach Diet friendly breakfast casseroles through the years.  I make breakfast casseroles on the weekend, cut into individual servings, and keep in a container in the fridge to eat for breakfast all through the week.  I still have favorite breakfast casseroles that I make regularly, but for a while now I've been making a variation I'm calling an "egg bake."  This is a similar to a breakfast casserole, but with lots of vegetables, meat, or cheese, and just enough egg to barely hold it together.  This particular version with spinach and a generous amount of low-fat mozzarella is something I've made at least six times in the last couple of months, so I think it's officially a favorite.  I love the idea of starting out the day with a big serving of spinach, and this is so delicious you won't even think about eating something that's good for you!