Zucchini Crouton Casserole

Original Recipe HERE

This was called Baked Zucchini Parmesan by its creator, but I think of breadcrumb-dredged-and-fried-in-oil goodness when I hear "parmesan."  So I'm changing its name.

This was super easy to make, especially since all the prep can be done ahead of time.  Just assemble the dish when it's time to bake, and voila.  I added an extra zucchini layer to make it more vegetable-y to balance out the copious amount of croutons. I wasn't sure how mushy the zucchini would get, but it was cooked through while retaining some crispness.  Next time, I will coarsely chop (smash?) the croutons a bit for more even coverage.  *N* ate two helpings and told me that now she likes zucchini (a declaration that is only good until the next time the vegetable is served to her, then all bets are off).  *J* ate all the croutons and cheese, as expected, and refused the zucchini.  When I shot down his request for more croutons, telling him he had to eat the zucchini first, he picked at his dish until every grain of rice was gone.  But he was stubborn about the green stuff.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked rice [I used brown instant rice]
1 egg
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 large or 3 medium zucchini
2 cups spaghetti sauce
2 to 3 cups croutons
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese [or your favorite blend]

Directions
(1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
(2) In a bowl, combine egg and spices. Mix thoroughly.  Add rice; mix again.
(3) Add olive oil to the bottom of a 9x13" pan; spread evenly.
(4) Spread rice mixture in bottom of pan.
(5) Peel zucchini.  Slice lengthwise in 1/4″ thick slices. Place a single layer of zucchini slices on the r6ce.
(6) Pour one cup of spaghetti sauce over zucchini; spread evenly.
(7) Sprinkle one cup of cheese over the spaghetti sauce.
(8) Repeat zucchini / sauce / cheese steps.
(9) Layer croutons over cheese.
(10) Sprinkle remaining cheese over croutons.
(11) Cover with foil; bake 25 minutes. Remove foil; bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Kid Participation:
* Mix rice, spices, & egg
* Spread rice mixture
* Layer zucchini
* Sprinkle cheese
* Sprinkle croutons
* Smash croutons, if they are having a temper tantrum and need a constructive outlet for their emotions

Vanilla Cream Sauce

Original Recipe HERE

I made these waffles, and they were a bust.  Mushy, flat, and a great disappointment in texture.  Taste was pretty good (though note to self: cut down the ginger slighty), so I'll give them one more shot.  But the suggested sauce to serve them with was great.  It tasted very similar to melted vanilla ice cream.  Pseudo ice cream for breakfast?  Yes, please.  I'll be referencing it in the future as an alternative to maple syrup when I host elegant brunches and fancy luncheons.  And they'd also be a good compliment to the frozen Kashi waffles I serve our kids.  Both are equally likely scenarios...  I halved it to feed four people, but the ingredients below are the regular amounts.

Ingredients

2 cups milk [I used a mix of skim and 2%]

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

pinch of salt

1 Tablespoon butter

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

(1) Add the milk to a sauce pan; heat over medium heat until bubbles form around the edge of the pan.

(2) Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt together in a separate bowl.

(3) Gradually add dry ingredients to the milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens a bit. Do not boil.

(4) Remove pan from heat.  Add butter and vanilla; stir until melted and combined.  Keep sauce slightly warm prior to serving.

Kid Participation: None.

Spinach Cake Muffins

Original Recipe HERE

The name doesn't sound appealing, and while *N*'s suggestion of "Slime Muffins" doesn't, either, I think it's more fun.  So this recipe may go by that from now on.

This should be a helpful recipe to have whenever:

(1)  I have the urge to bake something and want it to be (1a) easy, and (1b) only comprised of ingredients I already have, (2) I have a surprise 15 minutes of time with just my daughter and want to do something (2a) fun, (2b) easy, and (2c) not very messy, (3) I have a hankering for something dessert-like but know that I'll eat at least 70% of whatever I make, so it needs to (3a) make a relatively small quantity, and (3b) be something I can convince myself is semi-healthy.

These are very basic-tasting muffins, bordering on bland.  I guess they could be dressed up with some sort of frosting, but since they remind me more of a banana or zucchini bread in texture and taste, I left them alone.  The only things I'd change from the original recipe are (1) less (or no) salt, and (2) experiment with some cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup fresh spinach, packed
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

(1) Preheat oven to 350 F.  Grease a 24-cup muffin tin.
(2) Puree the first six ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

(3) Combine the dry ingredients in a large separate bowl; whisk well.

(4) Pour the spinach puree into the dry ingredients.  Mix until combined.
(5) Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.
(6) Bake for 12 minutes [mine were done at 11].  Immediately remove muffins from tin; place them on a cooling rack.

Kid Participation:

* Dump ingredients into bowl of food processor

* Run processor and declare batter "digusting"

* Whisk dry ingredients

* Stir wet and dry ingredients together

* Proclaim the finished product tasty and eat crow pie about the "disgusting" comment

Cranberry & Horseradish Relish

This recipe was given to me by my brother with the title of "Mrs. Stamberg's Cranberry Relish."  I have no idea who that is, so my apologies for removing her name from the recipe here.  But I have no way of authenticating or verifying who this mystery woman is, so better safe than sorry.  Also, maybe someone will tack my name onto it from now on and pass it along, and I can take credit...  Would that technically be plagarism?

The original recipe said this makes 1.5 pints, but I didn't measure the final product.  Surprisingly, even my kids ate their portion of this.  And all the adults at Christmas dinner really liked it.  I was told that the horseradish "threatens to overpower the other flavors but backs off at the last second."  We served it with a spiral ham.

 

Ingredients

2 cups whole raw cranberries, washed

1 small onion

3/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup sugar

1 to 2 tablespoons white horseradish from a jar [I used one]

Directions

(1) Grind the raw berries and onion together, preferably with a meat grinder ir food processor, until texture is still slightly crunchy and coarse.

(2) Add everything else and mix.  Put in a plastic container and freeze.

(3) Early on the morning of the day it will be served, move it from freezer to refrigerator compartment to thaw.  The relish will be thick, creamy, pink, and with some icy slivers left.

Kid Participation:

* Push buttons on food processor (or grinding meat grinder like in the Olden Days)

* Mix everything together

Roasted Potatoes, Sausage, & Peppers

Original Recipe HERE

I don't like working with uncooked sausage because so often you're asked to remove it from its casing.  And that procedure is nasty enough to make me lose my appetite.  But this one allows you to leave the sausage in its virginal state, so I was able to prepare the recipe without too much dry heaving.  And cooked sausage is well worth the torture it puts my gag reflect through.  The amounts and varieties of ingredients here are very forgiving: use a green pepper, use different potatoes, or use different seasonings.  The end result, as I made it, was delicious.  Husband claimed the leftovers for lunch the next day before he'd even finished eating.  The kids ate the potatoes and sausage voluntarily and begrudgingly ate the few vegetable pieces I insisted upon.

Apparently it reheated well, so I think this would also be a good meal to bring to a pot luck or to a family that just had a baby or something along those lines.  Hence the label I'm going to create right now: good for sharing.  Not creative at all, but it's enough to jog my memory.  I think it might be redundant with my "potluck" label, but I'll just use both to be safe.

Ingredients

1.5 pounds potatoes [I used red]

1 medium onion

2 red bell peppers

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon chopped rosemary (fresh or dry)

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

olive oil spray

1 pound uncooked Italian chicken sausage

Directions

(1) Preheat oven to 375°. Spray one large non-stick baking sheet (or 2 small ones) with olive oil spray.  Line with foil first if desired.

(2) Scrub potatoes.  Leave skin on if desired.  Cut into 1x1/2" pieces.

(3) De-seed red peppers.  Cut into 1" pieces.

(4) In a large bowl, combine potatoes, peppers, olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary and garlic powder.  Mix well to ensure even coating.

(5) Pour onto the prepared baking sheet and place in the center of the oven; bake 15 minutes.

(6) While cooking, peel onion. Cut into quarters; cut outer layers one more time so pieces are uniform size. Separate layers.

(7) Slice each sausage link into 6 or 7 pieces.

(8) Add the sausage and onions to the baking sheet.  Continue to bake, tossing once or twice, for 25-35 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through.  Monitor carefully to ensure vegetables don't char.

Kid Participation: None.  And exposing them to uncooked sausage might turn them into vegetarians.

Pumpkin Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

Original Recipe HERE

I was looking for a frosting recipe that was more interesting than a basic buttercream and thought this was seasonally appropriate.  Poor Husband; his birthday always is the guinea pig one where I try recipes I've never made before.  Luckily this one turned out well.  It's not sweet, so pairing it with the chocolate zucchini cake (which also wasn't very sweet) was a good match since I wasn't looking for a traditional sugar-laden dessert.  And if Husband didn't like it, there's always next year to try something new.  I'm sure he's already anticipating it with dread excitement.

I doubled it for a 9x13" sheet cake and it was more than enough.

Ingredients (for non-doubled recipe)

8 oz Philadelphia 1/3 fat cream cheese (do not use fat free)

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

5 Tablespoons packed brown sugar

Directions

(1) Allow cream cheese to soften to room temperature.

(2) Add pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and brown sugar to cream cheese.  Using a hand mixer, beat until smooth.

Cream Biscuits & Sausage Gravy

Original Recipe HERE

This is definitely not a recipe for anyone trying to lose weight (or avoid a heart attack), but it was great "comfort"-style food.  I was a little confused on the sausage to buy, but I found a 12-ounce pack of Bob Evans links (a 12 count).  It was a bit hard to crumble it well enough, and I ended up chopping it further on a cutting board.  Next time I'll try one of those large packages that seems to be ready to burst and makes me wonder if that sudden tingling I'm feeling in my left arm is imaginary or cause for concern.  Or I'll spring for chicken sausage if I can find it.

It wasn't until I had started making this for dinner that I realized in the original post that it's a breakfast food.  Oops.  That has never stopped me before...and it just meant that I didn't have to wait another 24 hours to justify eating the leftovers.  *J* didn't eat much, but he has entered a picky phase.  *N* ate it and asked for a second bowl (which she didn't finish).  However, both kids enjoyed having the biscuits the next morning spread with honey and jelly.

Ingredients

* Cream Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting the work surface

2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream [I only had 1 cup and used half-and-half for the rest]
* Sausage Gravy
12 oz bulk pork sausage
1/2 cup chopped onion [optional]
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk [I used 1 cup 2%  and 1 cup skim]
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions
* Cream Biscuits
(1) Preheat oven to 425º. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
(2) In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
(3) Stir in 1 1/4 cups of cream with a wooden spoon until a dough forms (about 30 seconds). Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
(4) Use the remaining 1/4 cup of cream to moisten any flour left in the bowl; add to the dough. Gather into a ball and knead for about 30 seconds or until smooth.
(5) Shape the dough into a 3/4" thick circle. Using a 2 1/2" floured cutter (approximately), cut the biscuits into rounds and place on prepared baking sheet. Reshape the dough once to cut additional biscuits.
(6) Bake biscuits until golden brown (about 15 minutes), rotating the pan halfway through baking.
* Sausage Gravy (prepare while biscuits are in the oven)
(1) Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook until well-browned (about 7 minutes), breaking it up as much as possible.
(2) Transfer to a plate and set aside, keeping the rendered fat in the pan.
(3) Add onion to skillet; sautee until just tender.
(4) Sprinkle flour into skillet and whisk for about 1 minute.
(5) Continue whisking while slowly adding the milk. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer about 2 minutes. (6) Add a generous pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Stir in sausage.  Serve over split biscuits.

Kid Participation:
* Whisk dry biscuit ingredients
* Knead dough
* Roll dough
* Cut out biscuit shapes (or free-form their own)