Vegetarian Freezer Cooking: Spontaneous Session

Spontaneous freezer cooking sessions don't always work out, but I was on a roll one day recently and decided to see what I could get made, both to eat now and to stash in the freezer.

I started with a large container of cooked brown rice that I made the other day (2 cups uncooked), a bunch of kale that I needed to use up, and a bag of potatoes, which I decided to use to make a cheesy hash brown casserole.

First I boiled the water for nine medium-large potatoes, cooked them for 15 minutes, and cooked them.

Meanwhile, I shredded two blocks of cheddar cheese in the food processor and dumped it in a bowl. There was no need to clean out the processor before using it to shred a large bunch of dinosaur kale because the cheese and kale were going to end up together in a casserole anyway. :) It conveniently made exactly two cups of shredded kale (and my favorite part: it was super fast!)

One cup of kale went into a freezer bag for freezing, the other cup of kale was mixed with 4 cups of the cooked brown rice, eggs, milk, cheese, and other ingredients to make a kale brown rice casserole.

I'll use the extra kale to make a potato kale quiche!

I still had a lot of brown rice left and I noticed that right there on the other page of my cookbook was another easy brown rice casserole recipe, so I grabbed some beans, frozen corn, salsa, and more cheese, mixed it up, and plopped it in a freezer bag. (We'll see how it turns out when I defrost it and bake it!)

I returned to the potatoes, peeled the skins, grated them (easier than I thought it would be), and assembled the potato casserole. My original plan was to bake half and freeze half (to see how it would freeze), but I ended up baking the entire thing for a neighborhood happy hour. I'll definitely make it again because the neighbors inhaled the whole thing... no pictures, unfortunately!

I have two parboiled potatoes left (seemed like I had enough potatoes after I grated 7) that I stuck in the fridge, I quickly grated them and fried them with a little butter for dinner the next night, they were just as tasty as the casserole.

I also had cheese left that I used to assemble some bean and cheese quesadillas, which are always nice to have on hand for lunches, snacks, even a very simple dinner.

So in all, not a ton of items made it to the freezer: only 1 bag of shredded kale, 1 brown rice and bean casserole, and 12 Bean and Cheese Quesadillas.

But we also had the potato casserole and kale brown rice casserole along with two extra potatoes, so I consider it to be a successful session, and it took less than two hours!

You can read about another vegetarian freezer cooking session here.

Kale Brown Rice Casserole

If you're looking for more ways to add greens to you diet, this is a great way to to do it--either for breakfast/lunch, or as a side dish for dinner!

Ingredients:

4 cups cooked brown rice (I used seasoned brown rice that was cooked in chicken or vegetable stock)
1 cup kale (or other green such as spinach or Swiss chard--I like dinosaur kale) minced in the food processor
1 1/4 cups milk
4 eggs
1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes (I skipped this)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheese (optional)

Preheat over to 375 degrees. I shred both my cheese and mince my kale in the food processor.

(I used a lot of that cheese for other recipes!)

Combine brown rice and minced kale, then put into a baking dish.

I layered half the cheese in the middle of the casserole.

Combine milk, eggs, nutmeg, salt, and pepper (and nutritional yeast if using) and pour over the kale brown rice mixture. Bake for 40 minutes or until firm.

Recipe adapted from The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook by Cathe Olson.

Fast Easy Potato Salad with Picky Eater Option

My kids are sometimes very willing to try different things, and other times not. For some reason, they are very picky about a food that most kids have no problem eating... potatoes. For instance, my daughter loves mashed potatoes, and my son won't touch them (maybe a texture thing? He doesn't like mushy foods...) He prefers very simple baked potatoes, which my daughter isn't excited about.

As for the adults in the family, we like variety, and we'll eat potatoes any old way, but what I really like is a FAST recipe, because potatoes take some time to make, especially if you want them to taste really good! I can put this recipe together in 45 minutes beginning to end and it's so good that I've made it twice in the past week.

I found and tried this recipe from Southern Living Magazine, and it worked really well for us. Here is what I did to make it work for the entire family:

Ingredients:

For the potatoes:
2 pounds small fingerling potatoes (I used red potatoes), halved or quartered
1 tsp salt

For the dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon whole grain mustard
2 teaspoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (I omitted this, but if you like heat...)

Instructions:

As the recipe states, wash, quarter, and place the red potatoes in cold water with salt. Bring to a boil then simmer on low for 15 minutes. Immediately strain potatoes and place in a bowl to cool to room temperature for an additional 15 minutes. (You don't want them to get too cooked/soft.)

EXTRA STEP: Remove a portion of the cooked potatoes from the main bowl. Mix with a bit of salted butter and keep warm while preparing the rest of dinner (or reheat them before serving... or serve them room temperature as the Plainest Potato Salad Ever). Serve to the picky eaters!

While preparing potatoes, combine the mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, parsley, salt, pepper(s), and garlic in a small bowl and whisk together.

When ready to serve, add preferred amount of dressing to potatoes. Note: you will probably have more dresssing than you need, so you can use the extra, as a topping for fish, or steamed asparagus, or just save it to use as salad dressing on a salad!

It's Barely a Recipe: Shallot Green Beans

My grandmother served Green Beans with Shallots and Hazelnuts for Easter dinner earlier this year, and they were delicious! I adjusted the recipe to make it into an easy weeknight side dish. I make it in small amounts because my kids will only eat green beans with nothing on them. :)

Ingredients:

• Steamed Green Beans (1/2 pound)
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 shallot, sliced thinly
• optional: raw or toasted nuts, such as sliced almonds

Cook or steam your green beans as you normally would--I typically use frozen Hericot Verts from Trader Joe's.

While the green beans are cooking, heat olive oil over medium heat in a small skillet. Add sliced shallots, stirring often to separate pieces. Watch them carefully, as they get brown and crisp up quickly.

Add warm green beans to pan, stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Marinated Flank Steak, Shallot Green Beans, Brown Rice Pilaf

Linked to URS!

Potato Kale Quiche (or Frittata)

One of my favorite things to do with fresh kale is to make it up into Potato-Kale Quiche as described in Cathe Olson's Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook. It's delicious! Sometimes I want to enjoy the quiche without the pie crust, so I modify the recipe to make a frittata, which is the version picture above. Both recipes follow:

To make a Quiche:

Ingredients

• 1 Pie Crust (either from scratch or store-bought), partially pre-baked
• 1 Tablesppon olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cups diced potatoes (I like to use redskin potatoes, and leave the skins on)
• 2 packed cups chopped kale, washed, still damp, with large stems removed (or more--I usually add the entire bunch of kale if it isn't too big) or you can try another green such as spinach or swiss chard
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt (I add more)
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper (I add more)
• Pinch ground nutmeg
• 1 cup (4 oz) shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese (or whatever you have on hand)

1. Heat olive oil to medium heat in large skillet (ideally one with a lid). Saute onion for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add diced potato and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes with the lid on, but stir frequently as potatoes will stick to the bottom of the pan a little. Add your freshly washed, chopped kale, stir to combine, and replace lid (helps the kale to steam). Cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and nutmeg to mixture, stirring to combine.

2. Transfer potato-kale mixture to partially pre-baked piecrust. (I mound the ingredients in the middle a bit to make room for the egg mixture.) Top the mixture evenly with the grated cheese.

3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Pour slowly and evenly over potato-kale mixture. (You may not need all of the egg mixture--be sure you don't overfill the piecrust!)

4. Bake at 375 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Slice and serve.

 For a Potato-Kale Frittata:

Complete Step 1 as instructed above. Be sure to cook the potato-kale mixture in a frittata pan or a pan that is oven-safe.

2. Spread the mixture evenly in the pan and top with the shredded cheese.

3. REPLACE the eggs and milk listed above with 12 eggs whisked together in a mixing bowl (omit milk entirely). Pour evenly over potato-kale mixture. I like to stir the mixture gently to distribute the eggs a bit.

4. Bake the pan in the oven at 350 degress for 30-35 minutes. Slice and serve.

Pineapple Zucchini Bread

 

 

I decided to give pineapple zucchini bread a try when I ended up with one of those huge zucchinis that seem to grow in the garden overnight! I updated a recipe from my husband's family to reduce fat and added sugar. I could never understand the appeal of zucchini in a quick bread before, but this stuff is delicious!

 

Ingredients:

• 10 Tablespoons butter
• 2 cups sugar (or less to taste)
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 3 cups flour (I used 2 cups white and 1 cup of white whole wheat)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 cups crushed pineapple, drained (I used a 20 oz can)
• 1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans) 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 standard loaf pans with waxed paper.

Since I was using a huge zucchini with fully developed seeds, I scooped the seeds out before shredding the zucchini in a food processor.

In a mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla, and grated zucchini. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients (flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon) then gradually add to wet mixture, being careful not to overmix. Lastly, add the crushed pineapple and nuts.

 

Ladle mixture into baking pans and bake for 1 hour. (If using smaller baking pans, bake for 35-45 minutes.

 

 

Find more zucchini recipes here!

Peach Berry Crisp (Topping)

What I should do is follow The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook and make a lightly sweetened, healthier topping for my Peach Berry Crisp Filling. But, I don't.

Here is what I do instead--based on this Summer Fruit Crisp Recipe:

For an 8 x 8 size pan:

• 3/4 cups flour (I use winter white whole wheat)
• 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 3 Tablespoons sugar (or sweetener of choice)
• pinch of salt
• 5 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans or more to taste

Combine flour, sugars, and salt. Add cold butter chunks and blend into the mixture with a pastry blender, add vanilla extract and nuts. After adding the nuts, I just use my hand to further blend the mixture, which will be sandy and chunky.

After blending for about 30 seconds (it will still be not fully mixed) sprinkle handfuls of the mixture over your Peach Berry Crisp Filling, breaking up the larger buttery lumps. (If you are freezing the crisp topping, put the mixture in a quart-size freezer bag and freeze.) Empty the remaining flour and sugar over top of filling, covering fruit mixture evenly.

I tripled this recipe so that I could freeze two portions of topping to use on future fresh fruit crisps. I'm hoping for some nice peaches and raspberries at the produce stands on the way to the beach in a few days!

Bake at 375 degrees for 30-45 minutes. Serve warm over ice cream OR a healthier choice would be fat-free plain or vanilla yogurt. I've been enjoying Trader Joe's fat-free vanilla Greek yogurt with it for breakfast. You could dust the top with powdered sugar, but I consider that to be overkill. :)

Linked to Ultimate Recipe Swap!

Peach Berry Crisp (filling)

Peaches and Blueberries, defrosting before adding Crisp Topping

I have an amazing recipe for Summer Fruit Crisp that makes a 13 x 9 pan of pure heavenly delight... except it sure has a lot of sugar in it! To cut down on the sugar, I revised the filling portion of the recipe to follow the crisp recipe from the cookbook The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook: Whole Foods To Nourish Pregnant And Breastfeeding Women - And Their Families. The result is tart fruit with a sweet crisp topping that goes well over vanilla ice cream. (I only make this a few times each summer for obvious reasons--calorie counters beware!)

I also reduced the size of the recipe to fit an 8 x 8 pan because my husband and I have very little self control around this dessert. Just double the quantities to make enough for a 13 x 9 pan.

Ingredients:

• 7-8 fresh peaches, quartered, pitted, and peeled
• 1 cup berries (I like fresh raspberries, or frozen blueberries if I don't have anything else on hand, or just add a couple more peaches)
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice (or juice of 1 lemon)
• 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 Tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional: better for apples and pears)

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl, stir gently to combine. To freeze, dump the fruit and all the juices in a gallon size freezer bag and freeze until needed. To bake immediately, place the mixture in an 8 x 8 pan and top with Peach Berry Crisp topping. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes. Serve warm over vanilla ice cream. Try not to eat the entire pan in one sitting!

Fried Zucchini

I made our eggplant stew today, and I used the huge zucchini I had from my grandparents' garden. I decided to use the remaining amount to make fried zucchini, with thoughts that my kids might eat it.

Ingredients:

• Large Zucchini, thinly sliced (1/4 inch thick)
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup flour
• butter and/or olive oil 1-2 Tablespoons

Sprinkle both sides of zucchini slices with salt and pepper to taste. Heat oil and/or butter (I use both) in skillet over medium heat. Place flour in shallow dish, add zucchini, turning to coat with a thin layer of flour. Add zucchini slices to skillet and fry for several minutes. Turn and fry for 2-3 more minutes, then place cooked zucchini on paper towels to absorb excess oil.

Try not to eat all of them at once. Offer them to your children, then eat the ones you served to them after they turn up their noses. 

This would also work well with a large eggplant. Delicious, and barely a recipe!



Vegetarian Freezer Cooking: Coping with Summer Garden Excess

We are swimming in produce, so I think I will need to do a quick session of vegetarian freezer cooking this week!

I have a bunch of eggplant(s?) from my grandparents' garden which will go well with a zucchini from my garden in an Eggplant Stew over Couscous recipe, which is basically ratatouille. I'll make and freeze the stew, then make fresh couscous as needed. I'll also freeze 3/4 cup portions to eat for breakfast.

My grandparents also gave me a ginormous zucchini which I'll make into a Summer Squash Frittata, which I'll freeze in indidividual servings (makes 8) for quick breakfasts. I haven't tried to freeze a frittata before, so this is an experiment!

I also have a bunch of peaches that I'm not going to be able to eat in time, so I think I'll make up the fruit filling for my favorite Peach Blueberry Crisp--recipe to come. I'll also make up multiple batches of Crisp Topping--one for this fruit, and several more for Future Fruit.

Lastly I need to make a point to cure some Lavender Sugar so that I have enough to make a big batch of Lemon Lavender Cookies--a recipe from Fix, Freeze, Feast: The Delicious, Money-Saving Way to Feed Your Family. I'll post about that recipe soon, too.

My New Favorite Snack

Linked to Wordless Wednesday.



Whole Wheat Couscous with Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes

This recipe is incredibly versatile as a side dish or a potluck dish:

• You can serve it either hot or at room temperature
• It makes 6-8 large servings for an affordable price, especially if you make it using produce from your garden
• It's great as leftovers, especially when the cherry tomatoes burst and the tangy tomato juice soaks into the couscous
• It's a great way to use a large quantity of cherry or grape tomatoes quickly--you know, when they are on their last legs and getting a little too soft to add to a salad.
• If you finely dice a portion of the yellow squash, you can serve the couscous only portion to a picky child and they will not notice that they are eating onions and squash with the couscous. (Ask me how I know!)

Adapted from The All New Joy of Cooking, page 268:
Ingredients:

• 2 T olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 lbs zucchini and/or yellow squash (I use 4 medium: 2 green, 2 yellow) in larger bite-sized pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock (I try to use bone soup or homemade vegetable stock)
• 2 T chopped fresh thyme, or 2 tsp dried
• 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1 1/2 cups quick cooking whole wheat couscous (I find this at Trader Joe's)
• 24-36 Cherry or Grape tomatoes (to taste; I like extra)

Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onions, cook 5 minutes, then add squash and zucchini. Cook, stirring often, until some onions and squash are browned a bit. Don't overcook to avoid the squash getting soft and soggy. Add minced garlic, stir, and cook for an additional minute. Add stock, thyme, and salt, stirring to combine. Bring mixture to a boil, then simmer for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in whole wheat couscous. Cover and let stand until couscous has absorbed the stock, about 8-10 minutes. Add cherry tomatoes, stirring to combine, and cover again to gently warm tomatoes up a few minutes longer. Serve warm immediately, or at room temperature later.

It's Barely a Recipe: Tomato Cucumber Salad

A few months ago I tried a little too hard to add more salads and fresh greens to my diet. I ended up with low energy and a touch of anemia. I've accepted that I need a significant amount of protein in each meal to make it all the way through the day without crashing, and a hard boiled egg and a few nuts on top of a salad aren't going to be enough for me.

I do still want to integrate salads into my meals, though, and this is the salad that I plan to continue inhaling until the fresh tomatoes and cucumbers from the farmer's market run out!

Ingredients:

• Fresh cucumbers (1/2 cucumber per person)
• Fresh tomatoes (1 medium tomato per person)
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• Basalmic Vinegar

I liked to peel just a few strips of skin off the cucumbers because apparently the skins contain a lot of fiber and nutrients. I halve them lengthwise, and the I scoop out the seeds with a melon baller (to make them burpless, don't eat the seeds!) I cut them into large chunks for this salad, or into sticks for dipping into hummus, etc.

I chop the tomatoes into large chunks. Combine with cucumbers in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and splash a little basalmic vinagrette on top. Stir to distribute flavors and serve immediately.

It's so good, and It's Barely a Recipe!

Sweet Potato Biscuits

My kids hate sweet potatoes. I get around this by feeding them leftover sweet potatoes hidden inside these delicious sweet potato biscuits. We eat them plain with meals (since they already have half a stick of butter baked inside, why add more?) or I make little ham sandwiches out of them for snacks or lunch--no condiments required. I basically follow Paula Deen's recipe, but I've figured out a few shortcuts that make the recipe come together very quickly:

• I freeze leftover mashed sweet potatoes in 3/4 cup portions, then defrost them as necessary.
• I use Hudson Cream Self Rising Flour, which saves the steps of having to mix the dry ingredients together. This also resolves my reluctance to add 4 teaspoons of baking powder, which seems like a lot!

 Here is my modification of the recipe:

 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups self rising flour (more because other dry ingredients are already added)
• 2 teaspoons of sugar (Paula uses 2 Tablespoons, but I find that 2 teaspoons is enough for my taste. Don't omit the sugar entirely, as a small amount of sugar can enhance the flavor of a recipe)
• 3/4 cup mashed cooked sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 2-4 Tablespoons milk (if needed, depending on moisture level of sweet potatoes)

 

In microwave-safe bowl, defrost sweet potatoes. Add butter and microwave until butter is softened, about 35 seconds. Mix butter and sweet potatoes with a fork.

 

In a larger bowl, measure self-rising flour and sugar. Add sweet potato/butter mixture and blend with pastry blender to form a soft dough ball (I use my hand). Add milk if necessary.

 

Turn dough out onto a floured work surface, coat dough with flour and press into a circle about 1 inch thick. Cut biscuit rounds and transfer to a baking sheet. Reroll remaining dough to cut additional biscuits. Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Feed them to your unsuspecting, sweet-potato-hating children.

This recipe makes approximately 12 medium sized biscuits or 2 dozen mini buscuits--great for a party snack!

Make Your Own Salad Dressing: Italian Dressing

I've owned this neat salad carafe for a long time and I want to get better about using it. I think I bought it at the grocery store long ago with some Italian Dressing mix. It's difficult to see, but on the side of the carafe are marked lines: V for Vinegar, W for Water, and O for Oil. It occurred to me recently that instead of using a salad dressing packet, I can make up my own herb mixture, add the appropriate fluid amounts and shake!

 

This is a quick and easy way to make salad dressing at home, for when you want a simple recipe that makes less of a mess. The Green Goddess dressing I made the other week contained lots of ingredients that needed to be measured or chopped, then mixed in the blender. I filled almost half the dishwasher making that dressing (it was worth it!). This dressing is made up in it's own storage container and only requires a few measuring spoons if you use dry herbs. Today I'm experimenting with some herbs from my garden, so I'll also use a cutting board and knife. Oh, and my lemon juicer; I have a few lemons to use up.

 

I added a little something extra to this dressing to experiment: My grandmother taught me that you can add 1/2 teaspoon of mayonnaise to a dressing and it will act as an emulsifier, meaning it will keep the oil and vinegar from separating.

 

After reading a variety of recipes for inspiration, here's what I made up for this dressing:

• Tarragon Vinegar
• 1 tsp lemon juice (will replace a bit of the water in the carafe measurement)
• Water
• 1/2 tsp Mayonnaise
• Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Minced Fresh Parsley (from the yard)
• 1 Tablespoon Minced Fresh Oregano (from the yard)
• 1 Tablespoon Minced Fresh Basil (from the fridge, needing to be used up!)
• Minced Garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

Measure vinegar into carafe to 'V' line. Add 1 tsp Lemon Juice (preferably fresh), and Water to 'W' line. Add mayonnaise oil to 'O' line. Add finely minced herbs and minced garlic. Close lid securely and shake to combine. Make in advance to allow flavors to blend before serving.

Here is the dressing, freshly shaken!