Brunch Strata

From Taste of Home


(not the best photo, I know...)

Ingredients:
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
3 small zucchini, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)
1 medium green pepper, chopped
2 cups cubed fully cooked ham
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup half-and-half cream
12 eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups cubed day-old bread
3 cups (12 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables and ham; cook and stir until vegetables are tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain and pat dry.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and cream until smooth. Gradually beat in eggs. Stir in the remaining ingredients and vegetable mixture.

Transfer to two greased 11-in. x 7-in. baking dishes. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Comments:
I halved this recipe because, good gracious, I don't need that many leftovers! Once again, a good deal of prep work, but yielding a satisfactory result. I do think it needs... something. I'm not altogether sure what that might be. Adam voted for more meat. I'm thinking it just needs a flavor boost with some herbs or something.

Nice 'N' Easy Italian Chicken

From Crock-Pot Favorite Slow Cooker Recipes



Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 26oz jar pasta sauce
hot cooked spaghetti

Directions:
Combine all ingredients except pasta in slow cooker. Cover; cook on low 6-8 hours or until chicken is tender. Serve over spaghetti.

Comments:
Not much out there that's easier to make than this. This is the classic "throw some stuff in the crockpot and forget about it" meal. It turned out really well. I did use a red pepper rather than the green since I think green peppers tend to overpower everything else in the dish. It does make a lot for just two people so I ended up freezing a bunch. We'll see how it tastes when it's thawed.

Mango Chicken with Plum Sauce

From Taste of Home



Ingredients:
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1/2 pound fresh snow peas, trimmed
2 large carrots, sliced diagonally
2 medium zucchini, sliced
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 medium sweet red pepper, sliced
1 can (4 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, drained
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 pound finely chopped cooked chicken breast (about 3 cups)
2 medium mangoes, peeled and mashed
1/2 cup plum sauce
2 cups hot cooked brown rice
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Directions:
In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt; stir in broth and teriyaki sauce until smooth. Cook and stir until thickened. Set aside.

In a large skillet or wok, stir-fry the snow peas, carrots, zucchini, onion, pepper and water chestnuts in oil until crisp-tender. Add the chicken, mangoes and broth mixture; heat through. Stir in plum sauce. Serve with rice. Sprinkle with almonds.

Comments:
This dish perfectly represents the difference between my food preferences and Adam's. I'd eat this every day. Seriously. Adam? He said it was ok and he'd like to have it again...in a year.

Anyway, left out the water chestnuts because they're on Adam's "hell no" food list. Also didn't add the almonds because... ok, because I forgot. Stir-fries require mad multi-tasking skillz and I failed on that one. Oh well. It was fine without them. I used my rice cooker for the first time in ages. I love it! I wish I didn't have to make 4 cups of rice to use it... but when I do it's the best rice ever. Do they make smaller rice cookers? I should google that later...

Pasta Primavera with Provolone

From Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook



Ingredients:
1 tsp olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 green or red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 cup coarsely chopped plum tomatoes
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
3 cups cooked short-cut pasta (penne, shells, etc)
1/3 cup shredded provolone cheese
1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, heat the oil. Saute the onions, garlic, bell pepper, and zucchini until the onions are golden, about 5 minutes.

2. Stir in the tomatoes, broth, salt, parsley, oregano, and red pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Pour over the pasta, then stir in the provolone and Parmesan.

Serves 4. POINTS Value per serving: 5

Comments:
This was very good. I used the garlic olive oil I'm so crazy about again. Good mix of colors and flavors. The zucchini, pepper, onions, and tomato were all finds at the local farmer's market and we got the provolone from a local dairy store. Yay locally grown food! A very easy dish to make, good to eat, and will make a bunch of leftovers unless you halve the recipe!

Summer Vegetable Frittata

From Cooking Light



Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup diced zucchini
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped seeded tomato
9 large eggs

Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in a 10-inch nonstick broiler-proof skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini, bell pepper, onion, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, and garlic. Cover and cook 7 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomato. Cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until liquid evaporates.

2. Combine eggs, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/8 teaspoon black pepper in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk until frothy. Pour egg mixture into pan over vegetables, stirring gently. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 15 minutes or until almost set in the center.

3. Preheat broiler.

4. Broil frittata 3 minutes or until set. Invert onto a serving platter; cut into 8 wedges.

Comments:
Pretty simple. It didn't take 15 minutes for the eggs to set though - maybe 10. The flavor isn't very bold. I didn't really even taste the vegetables. It could have used something - don't know what. Adam dumped a whole bunch of mozz/gruyere on his half, so perhaps his was better.

Bread Crust Zucchini Quiche

From All Recipes.com



Ingredients:
3 slices whole wheat bread
1 tablespoon butter, softened
2 cups sliced zucchini
1 large tomato, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Cut bread slices in half diagonally, and arrange around edge of 9-inch pie plate.

2. In a medium skillet, melt butter and saute zucchini until tender, about 3-5 minutes. Add tomato and oregano, and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the flour, and spoon mixture into center of the bread-lined pie plate.

3. In a bowl, mix the cottage cheese, eggs, yogurt, and 1/2 the Parmesan cheese. Spoon this mixture over the vegetables in the pie plate, and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.

4. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until firm in center.

Comments:
This was good, but I didn't even bother to take a picture of it when it was cut because it was so runny. Adam thinks it was the fault of the cottage cheese since the eggs were cooked through. In any case, good flavor, bad presentation.

Angel's Pasta

From All Recipes.com



Ingredients:
8 ounces angel hair pasta
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 zucchini, sliced
salt and pepper to taste
3 tomatoes, chopped
12 leaves fresh basil
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Pour in oil and saute garlic until golden. Stir in zucchini, salt and pepper. Saute 2 minutes, then mix in tomato and cook a few minutes more. Chop basil and add to vegetables right before mixing with pasta.
3. Combine pasta and vegetables. Serve topped with mozzarella.

Comments:
This was another pretty easy recipe. I can never time things so the pasta and accompaniments are done at the same time though. Grrr. Nice, light dinner. I tend to forget how much I love zucchini when I don't have it for awhile.

Black Bean, Corn, and Zucchini Enchiladas

From Recipezaar



Ingredients:
1 teaspoon canola oil
2 cups diced zucchini
10 ounces frozen corn
15 ounces black beans, rinsed
2 cups enchilada sauce, divided (recipe follows)
cooking spray
8 (8 inch) whole wheat tortillas
2 cups shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese, divided

Enchilada sauce
1 teaspoon canola oil
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
28 ounces crushed tomatoes

Directions:
To make sauce:
Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat and add onion and garlic. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes Stir in broth and remaining ingredients. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes Makes 3 cups!

To assemble and cook enchiladas:
Preheat oven to 350. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet on medium high. Add zucchini and corn; saute 5 mins or until tender. Remove from heat and then stir in the black beans. Spread a cup of the enchilada sauce in the bottom on a 13x9 or larger baking dish coating with cooking spray. Spoon about 1/2 cup of the vegetable mix down the center of a tortilla and sprinkle with a couple of tbs. of the cheese. Roll the tortilla and place it seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat and then top with remaining enchilada sauce.

Bake for 30 mins and then add the remaining cheese on the top and cook for 10 mins or until cheese melts.

Comments:
I cheated and bought canned enchilada sauce. Perhaps a mistake, since that's the part I liked the least about this dish. The filling is great and I ate the leftovers that didn't fit in the tortillas by itself and was very happy. I didn't dig the enchilada sauce and will probably disassemble them when I eat the leftovers. Adam didn't mind them - except for the beans.

Zucchini Frittata

From Taste of Home Annual Recipes 2004.



Ingredients:
butter
onion
garlic
zucchini
eggs
ground mustard
bacon
salt & pepper
cheese
green onions

Comments:
This looked really good and not too horrible for our health. I did cook the bacon up and then use the fat to cook the onions instead of butter. But I figure you have to live a little, right? Pretty simple, mighty tasty. I swapped out the Swiss cheese for some cheddar but followed the recipe other than that.

Vegetable Chili

From Taste of Home



Ingredients:
onions
green pepper
garlic
water
vegetable oil
carrots
potatoes
chicken broth
chili powder
sugar
cumin
oregano
zucchini
squash
crushed tomatoes
ketchup
kidney beans
garbanzo beans
black beans
black-eyed peas

Comments:
Despite the lengthy list of ingredients, this chili is actually pretty easy to make once you get all the veggies chopped and cans opened. It's relatively quick and tastes great. I'm thinking next time I make this I might try and convert it to a crockpot recipe. We'll see how that goes.

Turkey-Stuffed Zucchini Boats

From Robin Miller via Foodnetwork.com



Ingredients:
zucchini
ground turkey
poultry seasoning
egg white
salt & pepper
tomato sauce
chicken broth
chili sauce
cider vinegar
brown sugar
thyme
sour cream
artichoke hearts
Parmesan cheese
oregano
bread crumbs

Comments:
I made this once before when our parents came over for something. I liked it and so I decided to try it again. The meatballs used to fill the zucchini cook in the slow cooker all day and get smooshed up for the stuffing. It's a pretty easy recipe and tastes great and they're actually pretty healthy too.