If there’s a Fourth of July cookout in your plans next week and you need a break from hamburgers and hot dogs, then this is your lucky day. This is easy enough for a backyard cookout but special enough for a casual dinner party.

Pair these sandwiches with some grilled corn on the cob and a watermelon and feta salad and you have yourself a meal to celebrate your freedom from barbecue boredom!

Grilled Eggplant & Portobello Sandwich

adapted from Eating Well

serves 4

Ingredients:

1 small clove garlic, chopped

1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 medium eggplant (about 1 pound), sliced into 1/2-inch rounds

2 large or 3 medium portobello mushroom caps, gills removed

Canola or olive oil cooking spray

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

8 slices whole-wheat sandwich bread, lightly grilled or toasted

2 cups arugula, or spinach, stemmed and chopped if large

1 large tomato, sliced

Directions:

1.  Preheat grill to medium-high.

2.  Mash garlic into a paste using the back of a spoon. (It works well on a cutting board.) Combine mashed garlic with mayonnaise and lemon juice in a small bowl. Set aside. (You’ve just made aioli – congratulations!)

3.  Spray both sides of the eggplant slices and mushroom caps with cooking spray and season with salt and pepper. Grill the vegetables, turning once, until tender and browned on both sides. This should take 2-3 minutes per side for the eggplant and 3-4 minutes for the mushrooms. Allow to cool a bit and then slice the mushrooms.

4.  Spread 1 1/2 teaspoons of the garlic mayonnaise (aioli) on each piece of bread using a pastry brush or a knife. Layer the eggplant, mushrooms, arugula (or spinach) and tomato slices onto 4 slices of bread and top with the remaining bread to make sandwiches.

Here’s a lovely little salad that works equally well as a side dish or a light lunch! I love Mediterranean flavors in the summer and this combination is perfect – especially the salty bite from the feta and olives.  It doesn’t hurt that it’s super quick to prepare, either!

Mediterranean Bean Salad

serves 8 as a side dish

Ingredients:

1 can garbanzo beans

1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup Roma tomato, diced

1/4 cup black olives, sliced

2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

1/8 cup red onion, finely chopped

Dressing:

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons Greek yogurt

1/2 cup English cucumber, diced

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  Drain and rinse garbanzo beans in a colander, running water over them until it stops bubbling. Transfer beans to a medium bowl.

2.  Add rest of salad ingredients (parsley through onion).

3. Add the dressing ingredients to a glass jar , and shake to mix. Pour dressing over  salad and toss to coat with dressing. Keep refrigerated.

I don’t know about you but when I see a Buffalo Chicken Salad on a menu I want it.  Unfortunately, most of the time, the chicken is fried, the salad has a mound of shredded cheese, and it’s doused in a high fat dressing. Consequently, I rarely order it when I’m out. I wanted something I could make at home to scratch the itch and this is it.

The buffalo sauce on the chicken has just enough kick and the homemade bleu cheese dressing trims the fat compared to what you’d find in a restaurant. A serving of this salad clocks in at just about 250 calories leaving plenty of room for an appetizer, cocktail, or dessert! That’s my idea of a great Friday night meal.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

adapted from Ellie Krieger

serves 4

Ingredients:

Directions: