Cheesy Mashed Veggie Bake

Do you tend to end up with random pieces of veggies in the bin? I know I do and my Cheesy Mashed Veggie Bake is how I use them up.

It's effortless and it makes for a yummy side dish that can be paired with just about anything. Certainly beats the ho-hum of the usual potato or rice sides. 

This is a great way to get the family to look at the cauliflower in a new light.  What I personally like about using cauliflower is how light and airy it makes the veggie bake. I love the creaminess the egg and cream mixtures provides and the nuttiness of the Parmesan.

Serve with meat, poultry, pork, seafood, soup ... okay serve it with just about anything.  Even on its own with a light salad its fantastic!  My favorite is with meatloaf with a ladle of gravy over the top.

It's a big hit with the Hub, who went in for seconds and thirds the last time I made this recipe.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

• 3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, rough chopped
• 1 large sweet potato, rough chopped
• 1 head of cauliflower, rough chopped
• 2 large carrots, rough chopped
• 1 large sweet onion (vidalia is best), rough chopped
• Cold water or Chicken stock (enough to cover veggies)
• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 2 egg whites + 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup cream or half & half (yes, you can use fat free half&half)
• 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste
• More Parmesan to sprinkle over top - as much or as little as you'd like

1. Place the first five ingredients in a pot with deep sides, cover with cold water or stock, add  2 teaspoons of salt. Cover and bring to a boil. 
2. Boil for 10-15 minutes or until a a knife goes through the potatoes with ease.
3. Strain well in colander, return veggies to the hot pan, turn off heat and allow excess water to evaporate from veggies in pan. Using a masher begin mashing to preferred consistency. (I like texture in my mash so I do not over mash).
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
5. Add the remaining six ingredients to a bowl. Adjust seasonings as needed. Mix well to incorporate.
6. Slowly add and stir the egg mixture to the mashed vegetables taking care to not scramble the eggs.
7. Spoon into a lightly greased 11"x 7" baking dish.
8. Top with additional Parmesan, if desired.
9. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until top is golden.

Cheers!

Lemon-Garlic Bucatini and Panchetta

Pasta ... who doesn't love it?

You know what my favorite pasta is? Bucatini!
If you've never had it, it looks like spaghetti, except it's thicker and has a hole running right through it from end to end.

And you know what that means right? Sauce gets in there, so there's sauce a inside and out. Now tell me that doesn't sound divinely delicious.

Now add panchetta (Italian "bacon" - unsmoked pork belly), garlic, cream, lemon and cheese. Lots of yummy, salty, nutty Parmesan cheese. Oh goodness, I want to get into the kitchen and make this again, it's so good!

So easy to make and the entire meal comes together in under 30 minutes. Thirty minutes to the tang of lemon, the nuttiness of Parm and the slurp of the bucatini.

If you want to jazz it up a little, add a pound of shrimp when you get to step 4. Shrimp and panchetta really play nicely together. I think you'll like it.

Round the meal out with a salad, garlic bread and your favorite wine and you are set.

Leftovers, yeah, even better the next day.  Add a splash of cream when you heat it up to loosen it up, and sprinkle with Parm. Lunch anyone?

Serves 2 - 4

• 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 8oz panchetta - diced
• 1 teaspoon finely minced garlic (or more to taste)
• zest of one lemon, thinly sliced (set aside a few strands
• Juice of one lemon
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 egg -  beaten
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 1/2 cups fresh, grated Parmesan cheese (no canned cheese - please) reserve 1/2 cup for sprinkling over each serving
• 1 pound cooked bucatini
• Palm full of Italian parsley, chopped 

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of the oil and panchetta.
2. Saute panchetta until crispy, stirring often
3. Lower heat to medium-low
4. Add 1/2 tablespoon oil followed by the garlic and lemon zest - stirring continuously to avoid burning. Cook 2-3 minutes.
5. Stir in cream and egg, stirring continuously cook till almost bubbling
6. Briskly stir in wine to incorporate into cream mixture
7. Add 1 cup of Parmesan, the bucatini and parsley, stir well to distribute throughout.
8. Top with chopped parsley, stir well.

Serve into deep bowl, top each with additional Parmesan and enjoy!

Baked Custard-y Zucchini and Squash

Like most individuals I hate waste, especially when it comes to food.  It pains me to throw out food because it has gone bad because I just didn't have time to get to it.

I had two zucchinis and two yellow squash in the veggie bin and I knew that once the work week hit, they were not getting used.  Their end was getting closer.

While I made my Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Portobello Mushrooms (recipe coming next Monday), I figured why not just go ahead and make something with the squashes. I was chopping veggies up anyway, what difference did it make if I chopped a few more.

So I sliced and diced away and this is what resulted from a very quick impromptu, on the spot, made it up as I went, vegetable side dish. I wanted cheesy and I wanted something a little creamy and custardy. That's a lot of "eee"s or is that "y's"!

Did I mention it turned out delicious? No?

Well, it did and the Hub, you remember him - the ever present food barometer, he had thirds and took the rest for lunch the next day.

Serves 4 - 6

• 2 zucchinis, sliced on the diagonal
• 2 yellow squash, sliced on the diagonal
• 2/3 cup of heavy cream or half and half
• 1/2 cup egg whites (like egg beaters)
• 3/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese PLUS 1/2 cup reserved and set aside
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Pinch of grated nutmeg
• 6 slices provolone cheese

1. Preheat oven at 375 degreesF
2. Spray a 11" x 7" baking dish with non-stick spray.
3. Place zucchini and squash in dish
4. In a medium sized bowl add cream, whites, 3/4 cup of Parmesan, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir until well incorporated and pour over vegetables in baking dish
5. Sprinkle the reserved Parmesan over top and bake for 40 minutes
6. Top with provolone cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and just slightly browned.  

Serve with an arugula salad dressed with my  Roasted Garlic Lemon-Dijon Vinaigrette , warm, toasted baguette and a crisp white wine.  Perfect for a simple lunch or light dinner.

Recipe Notes:
Want to cut the fat and not use heavy cream? Use fat free half & half, it works just fine.

Mini Sweet Peppers Stuffed with Chicken, Goat Cheese and Sun-dried Tomatoes

Sometimes you want or rather crave a big plate of baked, cheesy, saucy goodness that generally comes from a baked pasta dish, but you don't want the overload of carbs that go with it. My Mini Sweet Peppers Stuffed with Chicken, Goat Cheese and Sun-dried Tomatoes tackles that craving head-on without weighing you down with carbs. The mini peppers are sweet, the chicken filling is creamy and gets a nice zip from the green onions and a tang from the goat cheese. They are baked in a cheese sauce that incorporates just a bit of the filling and then sprinkled with gruyere cheese. It satisfies that craving and doesn't leave you feeling ... stuffed.

Serves 4

For the stuffing:
1 pound of chicken breast (raw), cut in small chunks or you may use ground chicken
6 green onions, white and green parts, roughly chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
2 ounces goat cheese
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
10-15 mini sweet peppers

Remove tops of each pepper, remove seeds and veins. Set aside. Place the chicken breast chunks in the bowl of a food processor. (If using a mini food processor work in batches). Process until it is almost a smooth paste. Set aside.
Do the same for the green onions and sun-dried tomatoes. Add to chicken.
Add the remaining ingredients except for the peppers, to the chicken. Mix well so that all the ingredients are well incorporated. Set aside 1 cup of the filling. Using a piping tip and bag or a heavy duty zip bag, with a corner snipped off, generously fill each pepper. Lay the peppers, in rows, in an 8x8 greased baking dish.

For the sauce and assembly:
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup milk (avoid using skim milk)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 cup of reserved chicken filling
2 ounces room temperature goat cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Pepper to taste
1/2 cup gruyere cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a sauce over medium heat melt the butter and then add the flour. Stirring well to incorporate, cook for 2-3 minutes, lower heat to avoid scorching. Slowly whisk in milk, until the roux - flour and butter mixture - is incorporated. As milk starts to thicken, add in all the remaining ingredients except the gruyere cheese.
Once sauce is thickened, pour over the stuffed mini peppers. Sprinkle the top with the gruyere cheese. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool 10 minutes to allow the sauce and cheese to firm up just a bit.

Serve with egg noodles, steamed green beans or a light romaine and arugula salad and a glass of white wine. ENJOY!

Recipe tips:
This tip came from a reader.  If you like a crunchy crust run it under the broiler for a minute or two. Do be sure to keep any eye on it to avoid burning.