Pecan Trout with Mushrooms, Tomato, and Cheese Polenta

Ready for a southern-style meal? They're lightened up considerably, removing extra oil and all traces of cream, but are absolutely delicious and will leave you hoping there are enough leftovers for lunch the next day. The side here, the polenta, is also packed with vegetables, making use of fresh tomato liberally.

Look for instant polenta in your local supermarket, but if you can't find it, you can also make it using cornmeal. It will be a much longer process so the instant is far easier, but it's always an option if you are in a pinch!

Difficulty: medium-easy
Time: 1 hr
Cost: $21.19

Stuffed Shells with Shrimp

I'm not sure if it was the light texture of the shrimp, the fresh marinara sauce, or the creamy cheese blend, but my fiance and I couldn't get enough of these shells. Despite a large serving it was hard to avoid immediately devouring all of them. The flavors paired together perfectly for a delight in every bite. They were also surprisingly easy to make and came together far faster than I thought they would, making it an easy enough meal for a week night.

I paired the shells with some roasted asparagus sprinkled with garlic, black pepper, and a touch of rosemary olive oil. This was a simple and delicious side that worked very well with the meal. However, feel free to substitute in another side. A large salad would also work very well if asparagus isn't in season! You could also go the route of adding some (cooked) veggies directly to the shells, but I think they were delicious just as is.

Difficulty: medium-easy
Time: 1 hr
Cost: $15.47

Salmon Ravioli with Cucumber Sauce and Four Cheese Ravioli with Vodka Sauce

That's right - this dinner featured a duo of homemade ravioli. Amazing. It definitely took a fair amount of effort to make (then still less than doing it completely by hand thanks to my pasta machine and ravioli board) but it was worth it. I made this when having a few friends over for dinner and they were duly impressed. Pull this one out when you're looking for that reaction - or just when you're looking for a cooking-filled afternoon that will result in a delightful dinner.

I made these in two entirely separate batches. As in, I prepared the dough all at once but made the two fillings separately and separately boiled the ravioli. That way I could also make two sauces and toss each batch of ravioli in the relevant sauce. I'm not sure how the cheese ravioli would have tasted with cucumber sauce! I also served this meal with some freshly-prepared bruschetta which is always a classic. It did add starch to the meal but at least each piece was also filled with something good for you (salmon, cucumber, yogurt, tomato!) and by making everything from scratch it cut down considerably on other miscellaneous additions like salt. (I added none.) However, to up the nutrient factor even more, cut down the carbs by eliminating the bread and instead serve a fresh salad - perhaps even an heirloom tomato one!

Difficulty: medium-hard
Time: 4 hours (alone - less if you have a sous chef!)
Cost: $29.57

Recipes and nutrition below the jump!

Mushroom-Green Bean Risotto

Risotto is delicious in all forms, but hardly healthy in general. Rice is full of carbs and calories and risottos often included added salt (as well as salty broth to start) and thick creams and cheeses. Yummy perhaps, but hardly leaving you feeling fit and healthy. This risotto is still carb-heavy, it's hard to avoid that with a rice dish, but it takes out a lot of the vegetable broth (instead using liquid flavored with porcini mushrooms), just uses a bit of reduced fat Parmesan, and packs in some veggies for an extra wallop.

If you use freshly grated Parmesan, full of flavor, you can cut down on the amount in the recipe below. It's a bit of a toss-up. The low-fat version doesn't muster up the same taste as the freshly grated stuff, so you need more of it. In the end, who knows which one ends up better for you!

Difficulty: medium
Time: 1 hr
Cost: $12.69