Dinner-Time Egg and Vegetable Casserole

This one-dish meal started with an easy-enough thought – baked eggs with vegetables. Sounds simple enough, but I couldn’t find a version that worked for all of us. I started out with broccoli quiche: too rich for family dinner, and the kids didn't really care for it. Next I tested crustless versions, eventually arriving at a recipe that dramatically reduced the amount of cheese that had been in the first, over-the-top fat-laden pie, but the kids never really warmed to it.

This fall I experimented with the classic rectangular “casserole” shape, adding more vegetables and the sautéing step. The happy accident of the cauliflower (I was a little short on broccoli that day) tipped this into the keeper category. Sautéed cauliflower is sweet and nutty, adding tons of flavor. It does tend to disintegrate, and used alone it wouldn’t stand up to the eggs and cheese, but as a little grace note of flavor it was lovely.

This makes 6 generous main-meal servings, and could stretch to 8 if served with salad and bread, so don’t be put off by the full dozen eggs. 

Dinner Time Egg and Vegetable Casserole

12 eggs (or 6 eggs and equivalent 6 eggs, Egg Beaters substitute)

½ brick (4 oz) Neufchatel or low fat cream cheese

Generous splash (about 2 tablespoons) 2 percent milk

About 1/2 inch squeeze of garlic from tube (or 1 clove garlic chopped fine)

Salt and pepper

Oil for sauteeing

1 medium waxy potato, peeled and diced

2 ½ cups fresh broccoli florets

¾ cup fresh cauliflower florets

1 carrot, peeled, diced

1 medium onion, diced

½ tsp. marjoram

¼ tsp. thyme

½ tsp. Penzey’s Herbes de Provence (or increase marjoram and thyme)

½ to ¾ cup grated cheese (for the top). I used a low-fat Mexican blend, but I think something with more intensity, like a better-quality sharp cheddar, not pre-grated, would have been better.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large skillet or sauté pan, cook the vegetables in the following order: Potato until starting to brown a bit. Lower heat slightly and add onion, carrot. Cook for about 2 minutes, then add broccoli and cauliflower and the herbs. Cook until broccoli and cauliflower are about half cooked.

Note: If you prefer a more appetizing green color, steam the broccoli separately until partially cooked, then blanch in cold water. I sacrificed color for the sautéed flavor.

Meanwhile, spray a 9 x 13 glass casserole pan with oil. In a bowl, beat eggs. Add milk and cream cheese to eggs and mix (I used a whisk, then immersion blender, because I am lazy, but a stand or hand mixer would probably get a fluffier outcome.) Add the garlic, salt, and pepper. 

When vegetables are partially cooked, put them in the casserole dish. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables. Sprinkle top sparingly with the grated cheese. You want enough cheese to get a hint every couple of bites, but don’t coat the top like pizza.

Cook uncovered for 25 minutes, until casserole is puffy and top is brown.

Squash and Black Bean Taco Filling

I haven't been blogging much lately. Or cooking much. Is it the change of the weather? The cold that has dragged on for weeks? Or did I mention it’s NaNoWriMo? (National Novel Writing Month. I’m, um, behind on my word count. ‘Nuff said.)

The boys adore Mexican-inspired food and they would eat beans with cheese and sour cream several times a week if it was offered. This evening the idea was to maximize the wonderful healthy ingredients – black beans, fresh vegetables – and make it so flavorful the kids wouldn’t ask for the sour cream and cheese (yeah, not happening yet. I’m raising the Dairy Council’s biggest fans.) Nothing especially original here, just the familiar flavors we all like mixed and matched with the fresh produce of the season.

The kids had this on soft corn tortillas, but it was also good served low-carb style, plain in a bowl.

Squash and Black Beans Taco Filling

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 medium red or yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon ground pepper

1 small or ½ large butternut (or other hard-shelled) squash, peeled and diced in small pieces

1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 can corn, drained

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

About 2 tablespoons jarred salsa

1 small can tomato sauce, divided

(Hot sauce or cayenne, optional)

In a large skillet or saucepan, saute onion, garlic, and bell pepper about 2 minutes over medium low heat, until just starting to soften. Add cumin, oregano and pepper and stir to coat. Add squash pieces and continue to sauté until the outside of the squash is starting to soften. Add the diced tomatoes, corn, black beans, salsa and half of the tomato sauce. Stir and cover. Cook on medium-low heat until squash is soft but firm (time will vary depending on how small the pieces are – 15-20 minutes.)  If mixture is too dry, add more tomato sauce. If mixture is too soupy, remove lid and stir more frequently. The filling should end up thick and lumpy, with squash pieces cooked but firm and holding their shape.

Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro. Serve with taco shells or tortillas and other taco toppings like lettuce, tomato, sour cream, scallions and grated cheese.Serves 4 (generously as taco filling, adequately served alone.)

Why do I end up with photos like this? Anyway, there is taco filling under all that lettuce.
And look, evidence that children actually will eat the green stuff!

Ratings: The kids gave this two thumbs up, although they started out a little iffy about the squash in the mix. I thought it was a bit carb-heavy with the tortilla, and might leave out the corn next time.

Couscous Volcanoes

This is really just a variation of (family favorite) stuffed acorn squash with rice, but with an Italian twist. The creamy couscous complemented the smooth texture of the squash, while the pesto highlighted its nutty undertones of flavor. 

If you have the time to bake the squash, this is a fast meal to prepare, and it got a big thumbs-up from all diners, even the one who “doesn’t like vegetables.”

Couscous Volcanoes

Makes 4 large servings

2 acorn squash, cut in half, seeded, and baked until soft. (place squash upside down on baking sheet with lip; cook for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees, or until soft.)

Filling

Olive or vegetable oil for cooking

1 medium red, yellow, or orange bell pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small can (15 oz) diced tomatoes (stewed with garlic and bell peppers style, if available)

1 small can tomato sauce

About ¼ cup basil pesto (made with basil, olive oil, pine nuts and parmesan)

About 1/2 cup meat-substitute crumbles, defrosted in microwave

1 cup (dry) plain couscous (prepared according to package directions)

Fresh grated parmesan cheese

Leave oven on, or preheat to 350 degrees. In large skillet, sauté the bell pepper, onion, and garlic until vegetables are beginning to soften. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, pesto and crumbles. Cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes.

While vegetables and sauce are simmering, cook couscous according to package directions and put aside.

When sauce flavors have mixed, turn off heat. Put aside about 1/2 cup of the sauce. Add couscous and about ½ cup grated fresh parmesan to the remaining sauce. Stir to mix thoroughly. Use an ice cream scoop to heap filling in squash shells in “volcano” style. Drizzle each volcano with a bit of sauce “lava.” Shave some fresh parmesan on top of that.

Place in oven until cheese melts, about 5-10 minutes. Garnish with fresh thyme or oregano.

Tomatoes 5 and 6: Panini with Cheese, Garden Tomato, and Pesto; Black Bean salad

The tomato vines in the Tiny Garden are yellowing and looking fallish, although I still have one or two stragglers ripening on the counter.  Still - 80 degree October weather or not - it's time to finish off the Summer 2011 Tomatoes posts with this Saturday lunch we all loved a few weeks ago.

Panini with cheese, garden tomato and basil, pesto, and 3 cheeses

I'm not saying this was a healthy choice, but mmmm. Seriously, these are the panini you eat in your dreams. If you have very good dreams.

To use the ripe, juicy tomatoes without making the sandwiches soggy I sliced them thin and let them sit between pieces of paper towel while I prepared everything else. One slice of bread got a layer of pesto mayonnaise (just fresh basil pesto mixed with a little Hellman’s). Then a layer of cheese (muenster), a few slices of (jarred) roasted red pepper, a thin layer of a more piquant cheese (irish swiss - it was on sale), the tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, and one more layer of cheese (provolone until I ran out, and then mozzarella). 

I don’t have a sandwich press, so I improvised. Make sure either the top of the sandwich or the bottom of the upper pan has been oiled.

Black Bean Salad with Fresh Tomatoes

1 can rinsed black beans

Corn from 2 leftover ears of corn on the cob

Sweet onion, about ½ medium

1 large or 2 medium ripe tomatoes, diced

¼ to ½ red bell pepper, chopped

Cilantro – about 2 Tblsp, or to taste [why is there no cilantro showing in this photo? Beats me]

Dressing

About 1/3 cup sweet vinegar (or use wine vinegar and sweeten with some sugar, or both)

About ¼ cup oil

Juice of one lime

Salt and pepper

Alternatively, use more lime juice, oil, and sugar and leave out the vinegar.

The kids don't like the salad although they like all of its component parts. More for us adults - keeps great in a fridge for a quick healthy lunch (and doesn't wilt in a lunchbox, either.)

Tell me that's not meaty (Tofu Kebabs)

Tofu. It's so fast, so delicious - and yet, there is something elusive about cooking with it. I think the most common question people ask when they find out we cook vegetarian meals is, What do you do with tofu?  

I didn't fully get the tofu possibilities until a neighbor grilled marinated tofu for us a few years ago. Wow! And (cue choir) the kids loved it too! But it still took some practice to figure out how to get our tofu to not crumble into cottage cheese-like pieces and slide onto the barbecue grates. 

The secret: Give the tofu time to drain, and time to marinate.

Extra-firm firmness varies. Trader Joe's brand holds together well. Some people suggest freezing first, then thawing, to help get the water out. I think the frozen texture can be a little spongy, but for grilling I don't notice a difference when I made some of both in the same batch.

We like Asian-flavored marinade, but any marinade for chicken or fish should work. We usually serve grilled tofu without any additional sauce except soy sauce at home, but this peanut sauce is great, too. We brought it to our "food on a stick" themed dinner with neighbors a couple of weeks ago and it was a hit.

Drain and Marinate the Tofu

Open and drain 2 1-lb tubs of extra-firm tofu. (portion note: 1 lb is just enough for my family of 4 if we have a couple of sides, but with 2 lbs we will have leftovers. The picture below shows how much 2 lbs makes.) 

For kebabs, the cubes need to be pretty large, so slice each hunk of tofu once the long way (to make two rectangles). For grilling "steaks" slice the hunks twice the long way to make three rectangles the same size as the original hunk, but thinner.

Put a couple of layers of paper towels down on a cookie sheet with a rim on all sides. Put the slices of tofu on the paper towel, then a couple of more paper towels, then either another cookie sheet or a cutting board - something flat - on top of that. Weight the top of that with something heavy (a cookbook, some cans from the pantry, your laptop.) Leave tofu for at least an hour. If you're going to make kebabs, start soaking bamboo skewers now.

Discard the paper towels, drain the cookie sheet, and pat the tofu slices dry. If making kebabs, I like to cut and skewer before marinating. Keep the cubes pretty large - there's no muscle to hold these things on the sticks, so be gentle. Lay the skewered tofu back on the cookie sheet (or something with a rim) and pour marinade on generously. Allow to marinate at least an hour, more is better. If you have the opportunity, gingerly turn the skewers a couple of times while marinating.

Everyday Marinade

1/4 cup soy sauce (or tamari sauce)

1/4 cup sesame oil (half sesame, half canola is fine)

1/4 cup rice wine (or dry sherry)

optional: a few grates of fresh ginger root

Grill

Tofu doesn't need to be cooked the way meat does, so you want a medium-high heat to sear the outside and make nice brown grill lines. If you have a gas grill, preheat for about 15 minutes at 425 or 450 degrees.

Brush some oil on the grates. Have both tongs and spatula ready. Don't overhandle the skewers - let one side get nice and brown before turning.

Peanut Sauce

This peanut sauce was adapted by Tom from a Food Network recipe. Our version is milder for the kids.

Peanut Sauce with Coconut

3/4 cup canned coconut milk

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tsp. mild yellow curry powder

1 tblsp. brown sugar

1 Tblsp. lime juice

1 tsp. canola oil

1 tblsp. soy sauce

Dash of sweet paprika (or cayenne if your diners are up for it.)

Use an immersion blender to mix all ingredients until creamy. Warm in microwave or warming oven and serve as a dipping sauce or pour over tofu kebabs.

Enjoy!