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.