Summer Vegetable Gratin

The idea for me to start a food blog came to me by one of my co-workers. Because she did, I bring her in her own small taste of everything I make. She also forwards recipes that she finds to me that I might be interested in making. Maybe she's interested in eating it? I'm not sure which way that goes, but this is a recipe that she sent to me that just sounded very fitting for this time of year when everyone needs that new recipe for their abundant crop of zucchini and summer squash and their just picked tomatoes.

INGREDIENTS:
6T extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1lb zucchini, ends trimmed and sliced crosswise into 1/4" thick slices
1lb yellow summer squash, ends trimmed and sliced crosswise into 1/4" thick slices
2 tsp salt
1-1/2lbs ripe tomatoes (3-4 large), sliced 1/4" thick (see TIP)
2 medium onions, halved lengthwise and sliced thin (about 3 cups)
3/4 tsp black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dry thyme
1C. seasoned bread crumbs or panko
1C grated parmesan cheese
1 large shallot, minced

TIP: I have found that the tomatoes-on-the-vine at the grocery store are usually less expensive than the Roma or Beefsteak tomatoes. I pull them off the vine so I'm not paying for that too!

Adjust oven rack to upper middle position and heat oven to 400°. Brush a 9x13" casserole dish with 1T olive oil

Toss zucchini and summer squash slices with 1 tsp salt in a large bowl.

then transfer to a colander set over a bowl

Let stand until zucchini and squash release about 3T of liquid, about 45 minutes.
Place tomato slices in a single layer on double paper towels

and sprinkle evenly with 1/2 tsp salt. Let stand 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat 1T olive oil in a 12" non-stick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onions

1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened and dark golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Careful you don't burn them. Turn the heat down if they are cooking too fast. You want then to caramelize and they need the time to do that.

Set them aside.
In a small bowl, combine garlic, 3T olive oil, 1/2 tsp black pepper and the thyme in a small bowl. I crush the thyme between my fingers to try to get them to not be so stick-like in my food. It's more of a powder and I can hide it from my husband, who is not a fan of thyme.
Oops, no pic, sorry!
In a large bowl, toss the zucchini and squash with half of the garlic oil mixture

then arrange in greased baking dish

Arrange caramelized onions in an even layer over the squash.

I found the easiest way to do this was with tongs!
Place a double layer of paper towels over the tomatoes and press firmly to dry the tomatoes, then slightly overlap them on top of the onion layer

spoon remaining garlic oil mixture evenly over the tomatoes.

Bake until vegetables are tender and tomatoes start to brown on the edges, about 40-45 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium-sized bowl, combine the bread crumbs, 1T olive oil, Parmesan cheese and shallots. Set aside until casserole is done.
Remove casserole from oven and increase temperature to 450°. Sprinkle bread crumb mixture evenly over the top of the tomatoes.

Once the temperature has reached 450°, return the casserole to the oven and bake until bubbling and cheese is lightly browned, about 5-10 minutes.

Let stand at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving.
Mmmmm.....
Enjoy and thanks for reading!

Stuffed Green Peppers

This is one of my favorites, and it's so easy to make with ingredients you probably already have. You can substitute red or yellow peppers if your family prefers, I just like this with the green ones. Make sure you get large ones so you can really smoosh the stuffing into them.
Here's a TIP: make sure that your husband, or any family member that cooks in your house knows that you will be using the ground beef that you know is in the freezer before you go to take it out and defrost it and it's not there. I actually ended up using 1/2lb ground beef and 1lb of meatball/meatloaf mix for these. I'm sure you could also use ground chicken or turkey too.

INGREDIENTS: ** see bottom of blog for European conversions
2C. water
1C. uncooked white rice
3 large green bell peppers
1-1/2lbs. lean ground beef
1 onion, diced
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 (28oz) jar spaghetti sauce
2C. shredded mozzarella/cheddar cheese

Cut the peppers in half and remove the core and seeds. Place into a 13x9" baking pan lined with foil.

Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Set the rice aside.
Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, brown the ground beef.

With a slotted spoon, drain the ground beef to a plate covered with a paper towl

Remove the remaining oil from the pan, return the pan to the heat, and add the cooked beef, onion

rice

cumin, chili powder, cayenne, garlic powder, salt, pepper and worcestershire.

Now add the jar of spaghetti sauce

and mix it all up with a big, heavy spoon

Simmer it on the stove over low heat for about 10 minutes to get all the flavors happy.
Remove it from the heat and add half of the cheese and mix thoroughly.
Spoon the mixture into the peppers.

There's going to be a lot of mixture, so I fill all of them as much as I can while holding the pepper, then I put them into the pan and smoosh as much of the remaining filling that I can evenly onto the top of the peppers.
Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.
Remove them from the oven

and top with remaining cheese

Return them to the oven for 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted. Mine took 7 minutes.

Because you don't pre-cook the peppers, they come out with a slight crunch to them and are not soggy at all.
Enjoy and thanks for reading!

UPDATE:
I was asked to convert the measurements for a friend of mine in The Netherlands. Hope this is right :)

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 litre water
180g uncooked white rice
3 large green bell peppers
675g lean ground beef
1 onion, diced
2ml cumin
2ml chili powder
1-2ml cayenne pepper
2ml garlic powder
15ml Worcestershire sauce
2ml salt
1ml ground black pepper
1 (830ml) jar spaghetti sauce
225g shredded mozzarella/cheddar cheese

Pesto Chicken and Ravioli

Someone commented on Facebook today that I use all healthy ingredients when I cook. I would love to agree with her, but if you've read the recipes I've posted, you would know that is not all true. I've never claimed to cook all healthy food, I enjoy cooking and I love to eat. That's why I'll be a member of Weight Watchers in some capacity for the rest of my life. Saying that, I've learned portion control and moderation, both which are important to lead a healthy lifestyle. The food that I am posting tastes good to me and my husband, and it is my hope that you will find a recipe that interests you enough to try it, and let me know how it turns out, and whether your family enjoyed too!

Let's cook!
I've been making this for my husband for as long as I can remember. It's a very easy dish, and takes about 30 minutes from start to finish, and it's a one-dish wonder, so it's a keeper in my book.

INGREDIENTS:
1T olive oil
1lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1C. chicken broth
1 pkg (9oz) refrigerated cheese-filled ravioli
2-3 zucchini, cut into 1/4" slices
1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/4C. pesto
Parmesan cheese, if desired

Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken

in oil about 4 minutes, turning occasionally, until brown. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon to a plate covered with paper towels so it can drain.

Put the same skillet back on the stove and on medium-high heat, add the broth and ravioli.

Heat it until it boils, then reduce the heat to low. Cover it and let it simmer for about 4 minutes.
Stir in the zucchini

the red pepper

and the chicken that's been draining on the paper towel

Now, here is where I wished I had used the skillet that I have with the 2" edge instead of the regular 12" frying pan. It would have made the next step a ton easier.
Cook over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally (this is where the higher edges would have been really nice)

until vegetables are crisp tender and the chicken is no longer pink in the center. I sometimes cover the pan just to make sure that the chicken cooks through, but this can make the vegetables a bit more... I don't want to say soggy, but they're not as crispy, still tasty though.
Add the pesto

and stir to combine and heated through, about 1-2 minutes. Here is where you can sprinkle on the Parmesan cheese, although I don't. Both the ravioli and the pesto have cheese, so I prefer to let the person who is eating it add cheese if they want to.
I usually enjoy a piece of garlic Texas toast with this.

Thank you for reading and feel free to leave me a comment.
Enjoy!

Cheddar Broccoli Soup

I made this recipe by request. It tastes very similar to a recipe made by Panera Bread. I was actually tweaking it as I was making it, because it really matters what type of ingredient you use for certain things, such as whether you use salted or low sodium or unsalted broth or stock, whether you purchase shredded cheese in a package or buy a block and shred it yourself, and so on. So you have to be careful of the amount of salt you add when you start out. You can always add more later, but you can't take it out if you add to much.

INGREDIENTS:
1 onion, chopped
6T Butter
1/3C. flour
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
3C. milk
1C half and half
4C. Chicken Stock
1 carrot, shredded
4C. broccoli florets and stems (about 12oz)
1 1/2C shredded cheddar cheese

Chop your onions; set aside.

Shred or grate your carrot using either a box grater or a mandolin; set aside.

Prepare your broccoli; set aside.

Measure out your flour, salt and pepper into small cup; set aside.
In a large saucepan, bring the chicken broth to a boil. Add the carrot and broccoli and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in another saucepan over medium-high heat, sauté the onions in the butter until tender, about 5 minutes.

Now your broccoli has cooked for 5 minutes. Test it to make sure that it's tender and turn the heat down to low while you finish the other saucepan with the onions in it.

Add the flour, salt and pepper to the onions, and stir continuously using a whisk for about 2 minutes.

Using the whisk, gradually add the milk/cream to the onions and flour, about 1/4C. at a time and whisk constantly until all of the milk is added and mixture is thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.

Using a hand-held blender(I prefer the term boat motor - that IS what it sounds like), blend broccoli mixture to desired consistency.

My husband likes big chunks of broccoli, but I seem to have over-mixed it. Oh well, can't go back now.
-You can also add the broccoli to a regular blender or food processor and blend to desired consistency. If you do that, return the blended broccoli back to the saucepan it cooked in.

Add the milk mixture to the broccoli mixture and bring up to a simmer.

Add the cheese and stir until combined and heated through.

Do not let it boil or the cheese will separate and curdle, and that won't taste good at all.

Thank you again for taking the time to read my blog. Leave a comment if you can.
Have a great day!