Zucchini Casserole

à la green bean casserole, but with crispy fried jalapeño topping instead of the usual French fried onions.

We harvested some of the zucchinis from the garden.

I used my trusty Spiralizer to spiralize the zucchinis. Then, salted it and placed it in a colander lined with a towel to absorb the liquids for about 20 minutes while getting the cheese sauce ready for the casserole.

Much like Kohlrabi Au Gratin, this casserole is creamy and cheesy, thanks to heavy cream and cheese; but being conscious of fat consumption, the amount is not too generous, just enough to create the illusion of rich casserole.

And, our local supermarket had French's™ Crispy jalapeños that I wanted to try. Casserole topping seemed the best use for it at this time.

Squeeze out excess water from the spiralized zucchini before assembling in the casserole dish. Make a quick and simple cheese sauce by heating some cream and melting some cheese in it with favorite seasoning.

Bake in a 375°F oven for about 35 to 40 minutes til flavors meld and the cheese is bubbly. Top with the crispy fried jalapeños and bake 3 or 4 minutes more.

Chicken Enchilada with Spinach and Beet Greens

I wanted to use up the chicken breasts that the other adult brought home recently. Kids suggested Orange Chicken. And, after the recent pressure-cooker chicken breasts, the other adult was open to anything I came up with. 

As I was putting away the clean pressure cooker in the lower cupboard, its unassuming cousin, my little Crock-pot® slow cooker, peeked out shyly. The decision was made: Throw in a couple of chicken breasts, some herbs and spices and leave it overnight and wake up to a perfectly juicy, tender, fall-apart chicken, effortlessly. Which is what I did.

The chicken breasts stewed in the crock-pot with some brown sugar, Braggs liquid aminos, white wine vinegar, mirin, cumin powder, and chili powder.

Now what to do with the fall-apart crockpot chicken, was the question. Chicken Enchiladas Rojas seemed like the thing.

Rather than rolled up corn tortillas, this is layered like lasagna which makes it so much easier to assemble.

The sauce is just store-bought El Pato™ Jalapeño Salsa mixed with some Valentina™ Salsa Picante. Sometimes I make the sauce with tomato paste and chipotle in adobo sauce.

Some leftover home made black beans refried beans was handy, plus Colby Jack, queso fresco, and mozzarella, and home garden spinach leaves that bolted.

Ingredients:
18 to 24 corn tortillas
3 cups grated cheeses, combined
1½ to 2 cups sauce
1 cup packed spinach leaves
1 cup chopped beet greens
2 cups mushy, flavorful refried beans
vegetable oil spray

Preparation

1. Spray some vegetable oil and lay the corn tortillas overlapping slightly. 
2. Then spread a layer of sauce, refried beans, shredded spicy chicken, greens, and cheese, in the casserole baking dish. Keep layering and finish with corn tortilla layer on top, reserving some sauce and cheese.
3. Cover with Aluminum foil and bake in a 400°F oven for about 15 minutes. 
4. Then remove the foil, top with sauce and bake uncovered for 5 more minutes. 
5. Turn off the oven. Top with reserved cheese and leave it in the oven for a few more minutes till cheese melts in residual heat.
6. Serve warm, garnished with cilantro and spring onions, and a side of plain Greek yogurt and Salsa Picante for dipping

Farro Eggplant Kale Casserole

Farro cooks chewy and moist in a rice cooker with 2 cups water/stock per cup of farro. Sliced zucchini, sliced eggplant, sliced tomatoes, kale are are good layers to add to this casserole. This time, I went with whatever was handy. Casseroles are perfect to use up leftovers.

Ingredients
2 cups cooked farro, seasoned
½ cup seasoned ricotta cheese
½ cup colby jack cheese, grated
½ red onion sliced thinly
½ cup sliced black olives
1 cup seasoned cooked ground turkey (optional - I use TVP instead)
1 long Chinese eggplant, sliced into rounds
1 cup chopped kale


Preparation

1. Assemble in layers: onions, farro, ricotta, olives, colby jack, eggplant, farro, TVP or ground turkey, ricotta, kale, olives colby jack
2. Cover with an aluminium foil and bake in 425°F oven for about 30 minutes
3. Top with thin sliced zucchini and serve warm with cucumber raita

Eggplant Slices with Crunchy French Fried Onions

'Tis the season... for the crunchy french fried onions in casseroles and anything else I can think of.

A hot batch of Green Bean Casserole is a comfort food around this time, especially for my daughter and myself-- the others at home can take it or leave it. And, for us, the french fried onions is the main attraction.

This time, the love of eggplant and the love of french fried onions managed to come together for this delicious dish. Any eggplant would be fine of course, cooking time might vary based on size and thickness of slices...

Ingredients
2 Chinese or Japanese long eggplants, sliced to about ½ inch thick
2 to 3 tablespoons Sambal oelek
½ cup french fried onions
¼ to ½ cup grated cheddar or Colby jack
salt to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preparation

1. Pre-heat the oven to 425°F
2. Salt the eggplant slices and allow to rest to draw out the water; drain on a paper towel
3. Brush some olive oil on both sides of the eggplant slices, arrange in a roasting pan and roast in a 425°F oven for about 15 minutes, flipping the slices over part-way
4. Spread some Sambal oelek, grated cheese and top with french fried onions on each of the roasted egggplant slices and put it back in the 425°F oven for another 4 minutes till cheese melts and the french fried onions are crispy
5. Serve warm as an accompaniment to a steaming bowl of soup for a cold winter meal.

Collard Greens and White Bean Casserole

Greens. What's not to like about them, right? Packed with important nutrients and readily available, greens seem like the obvious choice for daily consumption. Of course, the tough part is learning which greens to eat, how best to cook them, or should we cook them at all, and is it true that eating greens raw is always better...

Mature collard and kale and mustard greens and radish tops and such are so much tastier after steaming or light sautéing, and I'd rather not eat the woody stems. But, tender dandelion leaves, arugula, and baby spinach are wonderful raw, especially in salads.

Radish tops, Beet tops, Pea shoots, Turnip tops, Sorrel, even small Dandelion leaves- I relish them all as much as the usual Chard, Kale, Collard, Mustard, Spinach greens plus the everyday varieties of lettuces and cabbages.

Anyway, enough expounding on the virtues of the greens... This Collard greens casserole recipe is quite simple and lends itself to many possibilities. If I feel indulgent, I cook it much like the traditional Green Bean Casserole recipe with the French fried onions adding the crunch. Sometimes the sauce is creamy and cheesy, and at other times it is full of flavorful herbs in a tomato base. Sometimes it is layered and baked much like Eggplant Parmesan or Lasagna; and sometimes, collard greens are thrown together with other vegetables and finished off with a layer of melted cheese on top.

I don't have exact measures for this recipe - that's the nice thing about casseroles, it is hard to get them wrong.

Ingredients
Chopped collard greens, steamed till a bit tender
Cooked white beans or black-eyed peas or Mayo Coba beans
Andouille chicken sausage (optional), cooked, diced
small red and orange bell peppers, diced
Onion, chopped
Garlic minced
1 Tbsp oil
Tomato sauce
salt to taste

herbs/spices: lemon pepper, paprika, cumin, parsley

Cheese for topping: Colby Jack, Mozzarella, freshly grated

Preparation

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375°F
2. Heat the oil in a pan, sauté the onions, garlic, bell peppers; add the tomato sauce, cook for a few minutes
3. Combine all the ingredients in a casserole dish, and stir in some of the grated cheese, reserving the rest for topping
4. Bake in a 375°F oven for about 20 minutes, checking once or twice
5. Top with the rest of the grated cheese and cook for another 5 minutes or so till the cheese melts

Whole Okra Casserole topped with Crispy Fried Onions

A wonderful way to enjoy okra, this casserole can be saucy or not. I prefer the saucy casserole as a main meal whereas this dry version pictured here makes a wonderful side.

I've tried tomato-based sauce, cheese-sauce and a combination of both, and I like the combination - more tomato flavor and a bit of cheesiness- piping hot from the oven for a cold winter night meal.

Store-bought Crispy Friend Onions works well - I get it at local Indian store - am not adventurous enough to make the fried onions from scratch.

Whole frozen okra is my preference as it is par-cooked and ready to go for a quick meal.

Ingredients
1 lb whole frozen okra, thawed
optional: cooked corn kernels, red bell peppers diced
salt to taste

for the sauce:
½ cup colby jack and mozzarella grated (or any favorite melt-y cheese)
1 cup canned tomato sauce (more or less)
¼ cup vegetable/chicken stock or water (as needed)
spices: cumin powder, coriander powder, oregano powder, smoked paprika powder (or any favorite combination)

1½ to 2 cups crispy friend onions

Preparation

1. In a casserole dish, layer the thawed whole okra, pour the sauce and cheese, and about half the crispy friend onions, salt to taste, stir well adding water/stock as needed
2. Bake in a 350°F oven for about 25 minutes till bubbly and thick; top with rest of the crispy fried onions and bake for another 4-5 minutes till the topping browns to desired crunchiness
3. Garnish and serve warm, adjust salt to taste

Sweet Potato and Green Apple with Marshmallows

Sweet Potatoes or Yams along with slightly tart green apples, dusted with some brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, baked till done, dotted with marshmallows at the end so it turns gooey, hot off the oven, is certainly a late fall treat I don't make often.

While not my favorite, this casserole is certainly a nice addition to Thanksgiving or Christmas menu. I prefer the white marshmallows, but, kids liked the pastel colored ones which is what I used in this recipe.

I par-cook the yams/sweet potatoes in the microwave first to cut down on baking time.

Ingredients
1 large Sweet Potatoes or Yam, sliced
1 large Green Apples, sliced
1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix -or- ½ tsp each ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg
¼ cup brown sugar (more if preferred)
½ cup mini marshmallows
a few Tbsp evaporated milk (optional)

Preparation

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F
2. Arrange the yams or sweet potato slices in a 9-inch baking dish, add about ¼ cup of water, cover and microwave till par-cooked, drain excess water
3. Add the apple slices, spices, brown sugar, and some evaporated milk, stir well, pack down firmly and bake in a 350°F oven for about 30-35 minutes, checking for doneness/charring
4. Dot with marshmallows and place under broiler for a minute or so till gooey, remove from heat, allow to sit for a few minutes, and serve warm

Green Bean Casserole

Green bean casserole is one of my favorites, especially for Thanksgiving dinner. However, this year, I have made it quite a few times in the last few months, not just on Thanksgiving Day, possibly because casseroles are a great alternative to soups for quick and easy weeknight dinners.

Nothing special about this recipe - very much like what comes on the label of Campbell's™ soup cans. I change the seasoning a bit, and prefer Cream of Asparagus soup rather than Cream of Celery.

Frozen French cut green beans and canned soup makes for a quick meal that cooks under 30-35 minutes. If in season, fresh green beans cut into 1" pieces and blanched, along with a creamy sauce from scratch is a nice alternative (adjust cooking time as needed).

While Green bean casserole is typically served as a side dish, I make it a main meal especially on cold fall and winter nights. Seasoning and flavors can be adjusted to taste - I keep it fairly simple for the kids, and add a few drops of Tabasco™ sauce or Franks™ Red Hot for myself and D.

Ingredients
16 oz of frozen French-cut beans, thawed
1 can (10¾ oz) Cream of Asparagus (or Broccoli or Potato) soup
6 oz evaporated milk
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp lemon thyme seasoning (optional)
1 Tbsp French Onion Dip mix
2/3 can of French fried onions (about 4 oz)

Preparation

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375°F; reserve half of the French-fried onions to use as topping at the end
2. In a 9-inch square baking dish, combine all the ingredients, stir well and bake for about 25 minutes till bubbly; if preferred, use about 4oz of evaporated milk (+ a few Tbsp water) instead of 6oz, for a thick casserole
3. Top with the reserved French-fried onions and bake another 3 or 4 minutes to crisp the French-fried onions, taking care not to char them
4. Serve warm

Easy Spinach Casserole

This is an easy, no-fuss mid-week dinner, hot and fresh from the oven, that can be enjoyed on its own, or served with some breads - maybe olive ciabatta or French bread, or even naan or roti.

Ingredients
1 pkg (about 14oz-16oz) frozen cut spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 can cream of celery soup, undiluted
1 Tbsp distilled white vinegar
1 Tbsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp garam masala paste

cooking oil spray
salt to taste

Optional: roasted red peppers, marinated onions and ginger

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F
2. Combine the cream of celery, vinegar, red pepper flakes and garam masala paste, stir well, then add the spinach and mix well
3. Spray an oven-proof casserole dish or a pan with some cooking spray, pour the mixture into it and bake in 375°F oven for about 25-30 minutes, till bubbly and spinach is cooked to your liking, checking to make sure the top doesn't get too dry

Easy Spinach & Cheese Casserole

This is a simple spinach casserole recipe, but, any other vegetable can be used to make a delicious sizzling hot casserole for a mid-week dinner, especially on cold, soggy Spring evenings.

I prefer frozen cut spinach as it is par cooked and I simple have to get it ready by microwaving for a few minutes. Zucchini, summer squash, eggplant, even simple carrots+potatoes+peas make good casserole. Adjust the cheese combination to suit your tastes. I like to go light on the cheese, just enough to bind it all together. Top with some of the reserved cheese and broil towards the end to give a crisp topping.

Ingredients
½ cup Egg Whites*
4 cups cooked chopped spinach, drained well
1 small onion sliced thinly
1-2 cloves of garlic minced finely
½ cup colby jack or aged cheddar, shredded†
½ cup part-skim mozzarella, shredded†
¼ cup crumbled feta
salt to taste

*I use All Whites® liquid egg whites that is fat free and cholesterol free
†I like local Tillamook cheese blocks that I can grate as needed; already shredded packaged cheese usually have additives "to provide non-agglomerating properties" as they label on the package which makes me shudder a bit, even if the additives are food-grade and potentially nutritive :) Besides, it is cheaper to get a huge hunk of cheese than buy small quantities packaged for quick serving...

All right, enough with my discourse... here's the simple recipe.

Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 450°F
2. Combine the ingredients in a casserole dish, stir well, cover with a foil and bake for about 20 minutes, checking often to see if the cheese is bubbling enough for your tastes and if the egg is cooked through
3. If preferred, top with ready-made french fried onions, or pan-fried onions, and broil for a few minutes at the end, just like for green bean casserole
4. Serve warm with ciabatta-olive bread or enjoy it on its own