Vegetable Lasagna

I completely forgot about this recipe!  I found it years ago in a magazine and it's so yummy!  A bit time consuming but so worth it!

Vegetable Lasagna

1 (10 oz) frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1 (12 oz) lowfat cottage cheese (I used labneh in the Middle East)

1 egg, beaten

2 tsp olive oil

3/4 cup minced onion

1 cup sliced mushrooms

2 cloves garlic

1 (14.5 oz cans tomatoes, drained, chopped)

1/4 cup fresh parsley

1/4 cup dry red wine (I used vinegar)

1/4 cup tomato paste

2 tsp dried whole basil

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dark brown sugar

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp salt

6 lasagna noodles, uncooked

5 cup sliced zuchini

1 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella

2 TBSP Parmesan

Press spinach to drain.  Combine spinach, cottage cheese and egg-set aside.  Coat large pan with spray- sauté onion 3 minutes.  Add mushroom and garlic- sauté until tender.  Add tomatoes and next 8 ingredients- stir well.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered- 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.  Coat dish (12x8) with cooking spray.  Spoon 1/3 tomato mixture into dish.  Arrange 3 noodles lengthwise over tomatoes.  Top with 1 1/4 cup spinach.  Layer 2 1/2 cups zucchini over spinach and sprinkle with 1/2 cup mozzarella.  Repeat layers.  Top with remaining tomato mixture.  Cover and refrigerate 8 hours.  Bake covered at 350 for 1 1/2 hours.  Uncover and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan before serving.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.  

Black bean pineapple salad

This is a yummy accompaniment to any Mexican feast.  We love it with taco salads or fajitas.  I've altered it a good bit over the years to suit what we can find here and the tastes that we like.  

Black bean pineapple salad/salsa

1/2 lb dry black beans cooked in salted water or 2-3 cans black beans

pineapple tidbits with a little juice

chopped red pepper, red onion and celery

Dressing

1/4 cup lime juice

3-4 TBSP honey

2 TBSP olive oil

salt to taste

Combine veggies in serving bowl.  Mix dressing and pour over veggies.  Chill for 6-8 hours before serving to let flavors blend. 

Corn and Zucchini Queso Chowder

This is going to become a regular in our fall/winter soup rotation- extra bonus that it's vegetarian and therefore even less expensive!  Super yummy!

Corn and Zucchini Queso Chowder

1/4 cup butter

1 cup chopped red pepper

1 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups whole kernel corn

2 cups chopped zucchini

1/4 tsp ground cumin

28 oz chicken broth

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup half and half

1 cup shredded monterey jack

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar

Melt butter in Dutch oven over medium/high heat; add pepper, onion and garlic and sauté 4-5 minutes until tender.  Add corn, zucchini, and cumin and saute 4-5 more minutes.  Gradually stir in broth, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of pan.  Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low, simmering 15 minutes.  Whisk together flour and next 2 ingredients.  Stir into veggie mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly 5 minutes or until thickened.  Reduce heat to low.  Add cheeses, and cook, stirring constantly, until cheeses melt and mixture is thoroughly heated.  Serve topped with bacon bits, sour cream, cheese and chives.  

Broccoli Slaw

I love broccoli in almost any form.  My kids do too making it a pretty popular choice around here.  It's gotten easier and easier to find as we've lived overseas, and now it's actually pretty affordable.  It always bugs me though, the way they cut it in the stores because they leave a huge amount of the stalk on so you end up paying mostly for that since they weigh it by the kilo.  I bought a bunch of broccoli last week and was cutting it up and prepping it for freezing and storing and I remembered broccoli slaw.  I had a favorite recipe for this that we used in the states where you can conveniently buy shredded broccoli slaw pre-packaged.  I had so much stalk that I realized I could use my food processor and shred it with some of the broccoli to make my own broccoli slaw.  It turned out great.  For those of you in the states, you can buy it pre-packaged or you can shred it yourself or just use the broccoli   florets.  Either way it's yummy!

Broccoli Slaw

1 pound broccoli chopped, or shredded broccoli stalks, or pre-packaged broccoli slaw

1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1/4 cup sunflower kernels, toasted

2 pkgs Ramen noodles crumbled (reserve seasoning packets)

grated carrots, red cabbage for color, if desired

Dressing

1/3 cup oil

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

1 ramen seasoning packet (chicken flavor)

Combine veggies, nuts, and noodles.  Mix dressing ingredients and pour over all.  Serve immediately.

Homemade Baking Mix (Bisquick substitute)

I've loved discovering this recipe!  It's opened up a whole new world of baking- sausage balls, red lobster cheese biscuits.  I mean, we can occasionally find Bisquick but it's SOOO expensive I don't let myself buy it

Baking Mix

10 c. flour (can do half white/half wheat)

6 TBSP baking powder

1 1/2 TBSP salt

1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 cup sugar

2 cups vegetable shortening

2 cups powdered milk

Sift together first 5 ingredients three times.  With pastry cutter, cut in shortening to consistency of cornmeal.   Store in covered container at room temperature.  Use as substitute for Bisquick in recipes