Summer Squash Casserole

The local summer squash has been looking very good lately, and my daughter actually asked for some summer squash (she usually avoids zucchini). Then I remembered this casserole that my mother in law made us when we were in Michigan visiting them. The live on a dairy farm and My FIL always has a large garden going. Maranda has been able to pick fresh raspberries (her favorite) ever since she could remember. She was also able to see how the squash (both summer and zucchini) grew, she got to pick apples, grapes, strawberries, and carrots, green beans, and many more depending on what time of year we visit. I even went out with her to dig up some potatoes, she wasn't into getting her hands dirty for that!

Maybe some corn...she is out standing in a corn field...don't get lost! She was real little here.

She a little older in this one. Mmm... raspberries right off the bush. She would ask for a bowl to put the berries in, but she would come back and it would be empty. She ate them all! :D

Have you ever had sugar snap peas fresh from the garden? Nothing better!

Her dad wanted a picture of her on the tractor, she couldn't reach the pedals yet to plow the field!

I think I have some more photos when she was in between these too ages. I might not of scanned them yet! Later...

Back to the recipe! This is what I had to go by(note the cow, she has a lot of cow things). It seems the recipe is from Wade's Aunt Myla. You know how some of these old or I should say "classic" recipes are. I will type just what it says, and then tell you what I did!

Boil 10 minutes: 2 small (ok I'm not sure what it says here I think it says small) sliced, with
1 tsp salt
1/2 med onion
1/2 cup grated carrots
Brown: 1 pound ground beef
Add: 1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup sour cream (I used low fat)
Place: squash mixture on bottom of casserole dish, spread meat over top.
melt: 1/2 cup oleo
Add: 1 package instant stuffing mix & spices
Spread: over meat mixture
Bake at 325 degrees to brown topping.
I used two zucchini and 2 summer squash and sliced them. I didn't boil them first because my husband doesn't like the squash mushy. I figured it would cook just right with out the boil. Since the carrots are shredded they will cook in a short time too.

I used ground chicken instead of beef, and brown the onions (I like to use shallots) with the meat. I just used a vegetable peeler to shred the carrots. I did use Campbell cream of chicken soup, the low sodium one.

I used Stove Stop whole wheat stuffing and seasoning. I also added some of my Bonne Herbes blend on the squash, and I used butter instead of oleo, but used less than 1/2 cup. Baked for about 25-30 minutes. Until the top is browned and the squash is tender.

This is my kind of comfort food. Healthy, but with a little butter and stuffing thrown in!

Everyone was happy and ate it! I was lucky to have some leftovers for lunch!

Happy Friday! See you on Sunday for Tailgating time! Maybe I'll bring this along!

Tailgating Time
Pot Luck Friday

Linguine with Zucchini Ribbons

I still enjoy using zucchini all times of the year. This is a quick and easy way to make an interesting linguine, and use up some of the summer zucchini and fresh herbs that you still have. I used a recipe that I ran across on Chow.com and adjusted it to what I had on hand. I had to quick get a photo and didn't get a picture with the herbs on it. I think that what the problem with making a quick meal is taking the time for photos...so I guess we're lucky to see any!

.INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup mixed seeds (I used sunflower and pumpkin seeds)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium shallots, very thinly sliced (I diced mine)
1 medium lemon, zest finely grated and juice reserved separately
3 medium zucchini
12 ounces linguine
1/2 cup chopped assorted fresh herbs (use a mixture of chives, parsley, chervil, tarragon, and basil or whatever you have in your garden), plus more for garnish
2 1/2 ounces asiago cheese, finely shredded or grated (about 1 cup), plus extra shavings for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Heat a small frying pan over medium heat, add seeds, and toast, shaking the pan occasionally, until golden, about 3 minutes. Remove seeds from the pan and set aside.
Heat butter and oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When butter foams, add shallots and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots are soft and translucent, about 7 minutes. Stir in toasted seed and lemon zest, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and remove from heat.
Trim ends off of zucchini. Using a julienne peeler or a mandolin, cut the skin and first layer of flesh from each squash in long ribbons. (You should have about 3 cups.) Alternatively, you can use a knife to slice the skin and first layer of flesh off each side of the squash (creating four 1/8-inch-thick slices), and then julienne each piece into 1/8-inch-wide ribbons. Reserve remaining squash for another use.
Cook linguine according to the package directions. When about 1 minute of cooking time remains, add squash noodles to the pot. When linguine is cooked and squash is tender, drain well in a colander and then return to the empty pot.
Add shallot mixture, lemon juice, herbs, and 1/2 of the grated cheese. Season with salt and lots of freshly ground pepper and toss well. Transfer pasta to a serving platter and garnish with more fresh herbs and cheese shavings.

I haven't been spending as much time on the computer as I have been this summer. With work at the school and helping with homework. We still take the time to enjoy the wonderful sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico at our local beaches. Wade has Sundays and Mondays off so we try to go at least one of those evenings that he has off. Otherwise he gets home after dark.

This was Monday evening, and there were so many sea birds out there, diving and eating.

I tried to catch the pelican just as he hit the water. Once we saw two pelicans land in the water at the same time side by side, both caught a fish, ate it, then flew off again at the same time!

Have yourself a wonderful evening!

Zucchini Lasagna - Martha Monday

This week was my choice for Martha Monday's. I wanted something easy and healthy and made good use of the seasonal vegetables. The Martha Stewart recipe I chose was Zucchini Lasagna that was published in her Everyday Food magazine. Unlike so many of her recipes this one was fairly easy! Using the no-boil lasagna noodle really help with the ease of this recipe! I had a box on hand and I wanted to use them, so another good reason to choose it. I just don't make regular lasagna much, because it makes so much and my daughter isn't that big on the red sauce.

It turned out good and we really enjoyed it, but of course I made a few...tiny adjustments. She calls for low fat cheese which is fine. I didn't use all the cream cheese because I used regular cream cheese and I used more mozzarella in the layers. I added more garlic, Herbs de Provence, and some red pepper flakes. It was nice it called for an 8x8 dish, a good size for my family. I did add some eggplant that I needed to use up before it went bad.

Ingredients
Serves 4.

Olive oil, for baking dish
8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, room temperature
1 container (15 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 medium zucchini, (8 ounces each) halved lengthwise, then sliced thinly crosswise (I used some eggplant too)
1 garlic clove, minced (I used 3)
2 teaspoons dried oregano (I used marjoram, and some herb blend)
6 no-boil lasagna noodles
2 ounces shredded (1/2 cup) part-skim mozzarella cheese (I used more and added to the layers)


Directions
1.Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil an 8-inch square baking dish; set aside.
2.In a medium bowl, stir together cream cheese and ricotta; season with salt and pepper. In another medium bowl, combine zucchini, garlic, and oregano; season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine.
3.Spread 1/3 zucchini mixture in prepared baking dish; top with two lasagna noodles, then 1/3 ricotta mixture. Repeat twice with remaining zucchini mixture, noodles, and ricotta mixture, finishing with the ricotta mixture. Sprinkle with mozzarella.
4.Cover baking dish with aluminum foil; bake until bubbly and noodles are tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove foil; bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes more. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
From Everyday Food, September 2006

It is nice and creamy, and I probably should of used all the cream cheese!

It filled the dish above the top, so I had some food pick I put in the center so the cheese would stick to the foil.

The foil comes off and a final toasting in the oven. I knew it would settle a little when it cooked.

I liked the texture of the zucchini, I sliced it pretty thin, but it didn't come out mushy at all. I also like the different texture that the eggplant gave it. There was less eggplant than zucchini, and that worked out nice. It was so good and creamy. I was worried that there wouldn't be enough sauce, but there was just enough sauce.

The nice thing about this recipe it works well with any changes that you want to give it, or not. I was thinking maybe some toasted walnuts to give a little crunch, but then regular lasagna doesn't crunch....just a thought!
If you would like to see how others did on this recipe check out Brette's blog Martha and Me for a list of those that like to participate in...

Please feel free to join us...you can cook along with us, or do a craft! It's all in fun! You can join the fun check here at Martha and Me !