"Vegetarian" Lasagna

I am always looking for something to add vegetables to our meals rather than just as a side.  I am not really creative there and Miss L is now in a phase of hit or miss on whether she likes vegetables and Miss A could not care any less as long as the food is in front of her.  I found this recipe browsing Pinterest (surprised?) and it was in a list of "8 weeks of easy recipes" from a website called, Moms Who Think.


So, while I am not a huge fan of mushroom I purchased all the necessary ingredients.  I had pasta sauce already on hand from a great sale and oddly enough I also had feta on hand that I needed to use sooner than later.  I have the word vegetarian in quotes in this post because I happened to have some left over pasta sauce that had some Italian sausage in it.  I added more sauce to the recipe as an estimate.  Go with what works for you.  Also, 24oz of mozzarella was a lot of cheese.  I didn't use it all by any means.  I will be using in in another meal later this week.  Be sure not to cook the vegetables too much as they will become too mushy during baking.  While I almost left the feta off because Miss L has not been such a fan of feta in the past.  However, she seemed to like it and it adds a whole new dimension -- must. add. feta.

This meal, while messy for my one year old, went over very well!  Great leftovers and the girls gobbled it up!  Totally worth the mess.  Totally.

Vegetarian Lasagna Ingredients:

4 medium zucchini
1 package of fresh mushrooms (amount depends on taste)
1 medium onion
Fresh garlic (to taste)
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach
28 oz. jar pasta sauce
24 oz. mozzarella cheese
8 oz. feta cheese
Olive Oil (to coat the pan)
Lasagna Noodles

Directions:

1. Boil lasagna noodles until al dente. Mince zucchini, mushrooms, onion and garlic.

2. Coat pan with oil and sauté vegetables until tender. Add defrosted spinach. Add pasta sauce.

3. Layer vegetable mixture on top of noodles; add mozzarella cheese on each layer.

4. Top with feta cheese. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 until brown and bubbly.

5. Serve with warmed Italian bread. (Or maybe a fresh green salad!) 

Menu Plan Wednesday

It's been awhile since I have done one of these.  Mostly because my menus, in essence, have been fly by the seat of my pants.  Also, the menu was at the mercy of how I was feeling from day to day.  Cooked vegetables are still a nemesis and so there has been a slight suffering nutritionally in that area.  It makes me sad.  So, I am trying to remedy that and kind of just suck it up.

I don't usually put days of the week to go with the meals but this week we are going to because certain meals this week need to go on certain days.  Some are flexible and others are not.  This gets us to the end of the month!  YAHOO!

• Wednesday - Chicken, Spinach, Alfredo Pockets
• Thursday - BBQ Chicken & Corn (Crockpot Meal)
• Friday - Hot Dogs & Veggie Fries (only the girls will be having this, Husband & I are going out to celebrate!)
• Saturday - Chicken Nuggets, Veggies, Mac & Cheese (Miss A's Birthday Dinner and of course cake)
• Sunday - Leftovers, Sandwiches (It's a big day for our household and I am pretty sure we will be wiped out!)
• Monday - Hashbrown Crusted Quiche with Bacon & Biscuits
• Tuesday - Ham & Cheese Sliders with Veggie Fries
• Wednesday - Chicken Cordon Bleu (Crockpot), Broccoli, Red Potatoes  

What are you having this week?  I know you want to share your recipes!  FYI:  At least 4 of these meals came from Pinterest.  Thank you!

Vegetable Bake

Last Wednesday we were invited to have dinner with friends.  I was to bring a fruit or vegetable dish.  I thought veggies would be better and I had a ton on hand.  What to do?  I am pretty weak in the area of creating yummy vegetable dishes.  Also, we would be travelling so I didn't think sauted veggies would do very well.  I tend to get them a little too over done and that didn't really sound like something lovely to take to dinner --- where there would also be a variety of ages as far a children.  So, off to look around for something on the internet.  I just typed in "vegetable bake" and found quite a few options.

The recipe I decided on made me a little nervous as I read reviews.  "This is bland."  "This was a little too egg-y."  "This is great!"  Who do you believe?  I took some things into consideration and just went for it -- remember this is not always my strong suit.  Then end result was really super yummy!  The kids even liked it enough that the hostess asked for the recipe with my alterations.  They were more than happy to take the leftovers so this is the photo I got because forgot to take a picture before.

Here is what we ended up with:

Vegetable Bake


3 C frozen cut green beans, thawed & drained (one review used fresh)
2 medium green peppers, chopped
1 C petite diced canned tomatoes, drained and rinsed*
2 C shredded cheddar cheese
3 C zucchini, chopped OR shredded**
1 onion, chopped (this was a review addition - worth it!)
1 C biscuit/baking mix (i.e. Bisquick)***
1/2 t salt (kosher or sea)
1/2 t cayenne pepper****
5 eggs*****
1 C milk
1 t thyme, ground******
1 t garlic powder******
1 t oregano******

Preheat oven to 350F

Place beans peppers in a grease 13x9x2 inch baking dish.  Top with tomatoes, cheese, zucchini, and onions (in that order).  In a bowl combine the biscuit mix, salt, cayenne, eggs and milk until the eggs are folded in well and all is wet.  There will be some clumps.  Pour over  vegetables.

Bake, uncovered, in the preheated oven for 55-60 minutes or until puffed and a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

* Original recipe called for "6 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped"  I prefer canned tomatoes for a variety of reasons.  You can play around with it or use your favorite variety of tomato.

**Original had chopped zucchini.  I think I had been looking at a zucchini bread recipe too much the day before and only saw shredded... that is, until I was done shredding.  Either way would be fine.

***I had a whole wheat version of Bisquick.  I am trying to figure out a good substitute for this and have yet to find one that I am satisfied with (read- that doesn't involve Crisco)  If you have ideas, let me know.  Also, there was a bit more than a cup of this in my mix.  I didn't level it off, nor was it heaping.

****A person in the household could not have this ingredient so it was left out.  You could substitute with Tabasco, paprika, or some other spice.

*****Original recipe called for 6 eggs.  I reduced to one to help eliminate the "egg-y" comment.

******I added these spices to the recipe to make it not so bland.  They are approximate and probably a little on the low side.

Baby Food

I am sure that I have blogged about this somewhere before.  Maybe not.  But this week I am all over making Miss A's baby food.  Well, at least her vegetables.  I may get to the fruit that she has in the mornings another day.  Recently, the price of baby food increased by ten cents.  I was not thrilled to have that added to my grocery budget.  I remembered that I had stocked up on quite a few bag of frozen vegetables (with no added salt or anything) that were about the price of one can of baby food... maybe less?  I also remembered one of the reasons that I told Husband as to why I "needed" to have a BlendTec was to make baby food.  Here's where the rubber met the road.

I remember having a bit of difficulty getting the vegetables just right in our old blender.  Same story for our food processor.  Boy Howdy! (Miss L's newest phrase) The BlendTec made light work of the baby food making.  Fast.  Super easy clean up.  Plus, I had just made seven meals worth of food in less than 10 minutes.  I scooped the food into ice cube trays and put them in the freezer for a few hours.  Then I popped them all out and put them in a freezer bag (with the help of my two year old).  It was actually great fun!  I made peas, broccoli (which you generally cannot get in the jars) and green beans.  I have some fresh yellow squash and zucchini that are waiting to be steamed and then blended.

How easy is it?  Steam vegetables.  Toss in blender.  Add a little water if needed.  Puree to desired consistency.  Put in ice cube tray.  Freeze.  Ta-da!

We may still buy a couple of jars to have on hand for convenience.  However, I just threw a couple of ice cubes into an airtight container and took it too a friends house.  I think the trick is to know that it will be melted by the time you need it or have access to a microwave to warm it up a bit.  Or, I guess you can go the hot water bath if you have some time and your baby is not screaming at you for food.

I love the way the food looks, too.  Not grey-ish green, but fresh!  Novel idea, right?  I love that I am paying about .62-cents for seven meals rather than for one or two meals.  There are so many ways to make your own baby food.  I just happen to really love my BlendTec.  You also need to do what is best for you -- it's not a crime to buy jarred baby food.  Please don't hear me saying that -- we'll probably have some around for times at church or other places.  We'll see.

Do hear me say that this is the most frugal way to feed a baby... unless you are managing to get jar food for free.  I am not that person.  ha ha ha!!

Husband thinks I have gone crazy green natural.  I just told him I am just stretching our food budget even farther.  That's always a good thing.

Artichoke Chicken

On my birthday I made a pretty yummy meal for our family.  Husband had already taken me out for my birthday and this meal was pretty simple so don't feel too bad for me.  Plus, apparently my birthday is also National Artichoke Day.  (They have a day for everything these days.)  A couple of people have asked for it so I thought that I would post it here so I can keep track of it, too.

It's a Phase 1 qualified meal for those who are familiar with The South Beach Diet.  My husband loves artichokes so we cannot really go wrong with this one.

Artichoke Chicken


4 T extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/2" thickness.
1 bag (approx. 16 oz) frozen small whole onions
1 can (13 3/4 oz) chicken broth or stock
1 T balsamic vinegar
Salt
Ground Black Pepper
1 package (approx. 10 oz) frozen artichoke hearts

Heat 2 T of EVOO in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes, tuning once, or until browned on both sides.  Remove chicken to large bowl.  Empty pan, carefully wipe down with paper towel.

Heat remaining 2 T oil in the skillet.  Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until lightly browned.  return the chicken to the pan and add the chicken broth and vinegar, season with salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add the artichoke hearts and cook for 10 minutes, or until the artichokes are tender and the meat registers a temperature of 170 (juices running clear).

** If you want to use fresh small onions or artichoke hearts this may be a place where it is not so cost effective.  Plus, I have yet to figure out on my own how to just get the heart of the artichoke.  A bag of hearts here was about $3 and you cannot buy enough fresh ones for that price.