Reducing the Fat on a Southern Favorite: Squash Casserole

I don't know about you but I grew up on this stuff!  Summer squash begins arriving (in season) during spring and summer months at your local farmers market.  There are several yummy ways to prepare: grilling, sauteing, or casseroling it.  I decided to look up some recipes of casseroles and found most are full of fat, including mayonnaise, milk, cream of mushroom soup, Velveeta, and cheese.  I could not imagine making any of those recipes.  I decided {like most nights} to make my own recipe.

Ingredients:
1 box of reduced fat Velveeta cheese
1 can of Rotel tomatoes
1/2 cup of non-fat milk
1 can of reduced fat cream of mushroom soup
1 onion
6-8 yellow squash
1 package of mushrooms
salt
pepper
EVO

Preparation:
Heat pan with EVO.  Chop onions and add to pan of EVO. Slice squash and mushrooms thinly and add to onions and EVO.  'Sweat' the onions or saute for 8 minutes.  Next, add the cream of mushroom soup, milk, salt, and pepper.  Stir the mixture well and add a can of drained Rotel tomatoes.  Next, chop the Velveeta into cubes and add to the mixture.  Pour the mixture into a small casserole dish and bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Add on ideas:
Ground beef and instant rice could be added to this recipe for a full meal.  In addition, one could add a layer of Panko bread crumbs to the top of this casserole.

Cake, Cakes and more Cakes!

"A cake is a very good test of an oven: if it browns too much on one side and not on the other, it's not your fault - you need to have your oven checked"- Delia Smith :)

Easy Breakfast Casserole

This is an easy casserole to make, if you have all the ingredients on hand.

Ingredients:
4-6 eggs (depending on size of casserole
1 package of southwestern hash browns (or several potatoes, bell peppers, and onions- chopped finely)
1 package of shredded cheese
5 slices of turkey bacon or bacon
1/4 cup of milk or half and half
dash of salt and pepper
EVO

Preparation:

First, preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Next, heat a pan of EVO, in order to saute hash browns (or potato and vegetable mixture).  Spray a casserole dish with EVO and set aside.  Once hash browns are beginning to crisp, add them to the casserole dish.  Take a spatula and smooth out hash brown layer until it is covering the bottom of the dish.  In a separate bowl, mix eggs, milk, salt, and pepper.  Whisk the mixture until well mixed. Next, fold the cheese into the mixture and pour on top of hashbrowns. Finally, add strips of bacon across the top of egg mixture.  Place in an oven for 20-30 minutes or until egg mixture rises and looks like a quiche/souffle.

Chicken and Dumpling soup

Best Chicken and Dumpling Recipe: Tyler Florence.

Ingredients

Chicken and Stock:

• 1 (3 to 31/2 pound) whole organic chicken
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 sprigs thyme
• 4 to 5 black peppercorns
• 1 head garlic, split through the equator
• 2 tablespoons salt

Directions

Buttermilk-Chive Dumplings:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup chopped chives
• 3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk

Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup frozen pearl onions
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• Freshly ground black pepper, for garnish
• Chopped chives, for garnish

For the stock:

Place the chicken and all stock ingredients in a large Dutch oven and cover with water. Set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 1 hour until the chicken is tender. Skim the surface of fat and scum as it cooks.

When done remove the chicken to a cutting board. Strain the stock and shred the meat into big pieces - the stock will be used for the sauce and the chicken will be folded into it.

For the dumplings:

Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, using a whisk, lightly beat the eggs, chives and buttermilk together; pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold. Mix just until the dough comes together; the batter should be thick and cake-like.

To prepare sauce: In a Dutch oven, over medium heat, add the butter and oil. Add the carrot, celery, garlic, and bay leaves and saute until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour to make a roux. Continue to stir and cook for 2 minutes to coat the flour and remove the starchy taste. Slowly pour in the chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Add frozen peas and pearl onions.

Let sauce simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. Stir in heavy cream.

Fold the reserved shredded chicken into the sauce and bring up to a simmer. Using 2 spoons, carefully drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dumpling batter into the hot mixture. The dumplings should cover the top of the sauce, but should not be touching or crowded. Let the dumplings poach for 10 to 15 minutes until they are firm and puffy. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Season with freshly cracked black pepper and garnish with chopped chives before serving.

Presto, enjoy your hard work with a nice glass of wine!