Creamy Baked Leeks

This baked leek casserole reminds me of the creamed onions that were always on my grandma's table at Thanksgiving or Christmas. Joe is sensitive to large amounts of onions, so he enjoys the milder onion-asparagus taste of leeks much better. This is a quick and easy side dish, that comes together in about half an hour.

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp ground mustard
Dash hot sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 medium leeks, tough green leaves removed and halved lengthwise

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with oil.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan, then whisk in the flour. Gradually stir in the milk and then the cheese until melted. Season with garlic powder, mustard, hot sauce, salt, and pepper.

Arrange the leeks in a single layer on the pan. Pour the cheese sauce over the leeks. Bake for 25-30 minutes in the preheated oven, until leeks are tender and sauce is bubbly.

Serves 4.

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Mushroom and Caramelized Onion Lasagna

You may have noticed that one of our favorite meatless dinner combos contains mushrooms, caramelized onions, and cheese. These are the besties of Meatless Mondays, and they can show up for dinner anytime. Of course, we shave off a lot of fat by using fat-free dairy and just a tiny amount of oil. If you use Barilla's no-boil lasagna sheets, which are awesome, you save a whole lot of time and don't have to handle those boiling-hot floppy boiled noodles.

Ingredients

For the white sauce

4 cups milk
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
4 tbsp butter
1/3 cup flour
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp nutmeg

For the lasagna

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

12 oz mushrooms, thinly sliced

2/3 cup yellow onion, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp thyme leaves, minced

12 sheets Barilla no-cook lasagna sheets (or regular lasagna, cooked)

Directions

Heat the milk and broth in a medium saucepan until nearly simmering. In a separate pan, melt the butter, then whisk in the flour until smooth and slightly browned. Slowly whisk it into the milk, then add the salt, pepper, Parmesan, and nutmeg, and simmer until thick and creamy, about 10 minutes.

Grease a 9x12 baking dish, and heat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large frying pan, melt half the butter and oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and saute until tender and slightly browned. Set aside, then melt the rest of the butter and oil. Add the onions and cover for 5 minutes. Remove the lid, then add the sugar, reduce the heat to medium, and saute until soft, brown, and caramelized. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the mushrooms, thyme, salt and pepper into the frying pan and cook and stir 2 minutes more.

Spread about 1/4 cup of sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles on the bottom, then spread with 1/3 of the remaining white sauce. Sprinkle with half of the mushroom-onion mixture. Add three more lasagna sheets, then pour in the next 1/3 of the white sauce. Add the last three lasagna noodles and top with the rest of the white sauce. Sprinkle with the remainder of the mushrooms and caramelized onions.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, until the lasagna is bubbly and cooked through. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. We usually add a little more Parmesan cheese to our individual servings.

Serves 6-8.

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Potatoes Gratin Savoyard

Potatoes au gratin, or scalloped potatoes, are one of my favorite ways to make spuds, because what's better than a casserole of cream, butter, cheese, and potatoes? Well, we found something even better. Yes we did.

Flipping through Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", I found this recipe for a casserole of potatoes cooked with butter, beef broth, and plenty of Swiss cheese. The flavor is astounding. It makes regular potatoes au gratin seem bland and boring.

Like always, we did our best to lighten up this recipe. I can't imagine how the French could eat like this every day without an epidemic of heart disease. Maybe French butter is healthier, or something.

Ingredients

6 cups red-skinned potatoes, sliced 1/8" thick

4 tbsp butter

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup grated low-fat Swiss cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup hot beef broth

Directions

Soak the potatoes in cold water for 15 minutes, to remove the sticky starch from the surface. Dry on paper towels.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 10-inch round or 9x12 square casserole dish with cooking spray. Spread half the potatoes in the dish, then dot with half the butter and cheese. Spread the rest of the potatoes on top, and add the rest of the butter and cheese.

Stir together the garlic, salt and pepper, and broth. Pour over the potatoes. 

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the cheese is slightly browned on top.

Serves 6.

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Italian Fontina-Cabbage Pasta Bake

Last summer, my adorable niece, who is still about five years old in my mind, graduated from high school. She's the baby who made me an aunt for the first time, and I still remember crying when I got the call she was born. The whole family headed over to Ann Arbor for her graduation party.

This is the only picture I could find of the very large graduation party, and my niece is not in it. The Boy, however, is prominently displayed.

Because her little brother and I have birthdays close to the party date, we did a little celebrating, and then spread the circle wider to include my brother-in-law's sister and Joe and I think about three other people. And so my brother-in-law's parents Don and Adair, who I adore, gave Joe and I a new cookbook: Italian Country Cooking by Loukie Werle.

I promised Don and Adair I would post some recipes, but life and rotator cuff surgery came between me and cooking. Finally, I'm posting a casserole. One casserole is all I've got, folks.

Cucina Povera is the simpler food that country people all over Italy enjoy rather than a Michelin-starred meal. It's the Italian equivalent of a hot dish at a Midwestern potluck. There are a lot of pasta-and-legume meals with tomatoes and greens filling in for high-priced ingredients. This book makes me want to grow a garden again, right in the middle of a January in Chicago.

So here you go. This will fill you up and keep you warm.

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
2/3 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp sage, chopped (fresh is great if you have it)
10 oz rigatoni or penne pasta
1 large floury potato, like Yukon gold or russet, peeled and diced
5 cups savoy or napa cabbage, shredded
1 cup fontina or provolone cheese, shredded

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the pasta according to package directions, then drain and return to the pot with fresh water. Add the potatoes and boil 7 minutes more. Drain.

Heat the oil in a frying pan, then add the onions and saute until tender. Add the garlic and sage and cook, stirring, until sticky. Add 1/2 cup hot water and the cabbage and saute until tender.

Grease a 9x12 casserole dish and add the cabbage mixture, pasta and potatoes, and half the cheese. Stir, then top with the other half of the cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Serves 4-6.

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Aunt Monica's Chicken Divan

My Aunt Monica is the first person I remember showing real joy when she was cooking. There are plenty of fine everyday cooks in my family, but my flamboyant Aunt Monica was the one humming while she cooked, and giggling and making us taste little pieces of everything before she put it into the recipe.

Chicken Divan is one of those quintessential 70s casseroles that might not be trendy right now but is still really awesome. It's forever tied to Aunt Monica in my mind because she used to make it in Grandma's kitchen if there was a crowd at the holidays.

My parents, the dog, and my sister would drive from the farm in Michigan to the big city of Waukegan in Illinois. When our station wagon ran up  I-94 highway past the big Magikist lips sign, we knew we were almost to Grandma's place.

Come to think of it, I have no idea what Magikist was trying to sell us when all the red lights flickered on.

It also just occurred to me that I can't imagine my grandma sharing her kitchen with anyone. Aunt Monica was a powerful force of nature, just like my grandma, and surely there were lightning strikes at some point.

Yet every holiday all the cousins would be shooed down to the rumpus room (yes, that's what it was, and I can describe the rumpus), and all the adults would settle in at the kitchen table with cigarettes and big 70s pipes and cocktails and catch up. Back then, my mom smoked only when she was around her mother, who made her nervous. It must have been a smoky kitchen!

Aunt Monica would announce when the casserole was ready and she would bring it out with a flourish and some sort of comment that has always made me imagine this was an exotic and fancy dish for special occasions. As it surely can be.

I'm pretty sure boneless skinless chicken breasts and cream of whatever soup were not in my Aunt's original recipe, but I've posted an easy version and a bit of an upscale version, depending on how you feel about cooking on a particular day.

I think it's also worth noting that this is one of a handful of recipes I've ever tried in which I actually don't mind broccoli, because I really don't like it.

Quick Chicken Divan

2 cups canned chicken, drained, or cubed chicken breast cooked until no longer pink

2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen broccoli florets 

1 can cream of chicken soup and 1/2 cup milk

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups cooked rice (try Minute Rice if you're in a hurry)

1 tsp dry mustard

1 slice of bread

Instructions

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9x12 casserole dish.  Stir together all ingredients except bread, and pour into the casserole dish. Chop the bread into fine crumbs and sprinkle on top, then spray the crumbs with oil. Bake for 20 minutes, or until cooked through and bubbly.

Serves 4.

Gourmet Chicken Divan

For the Sauce

3 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

2 1/2 cups milk

1/3 cup sherry

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp curry powder

Salt and pepper to taste

For the Casserole

4 chicken thighs, skin removed

2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen broccoli florets

1 cup cooked rice

1 cup shredded cheddar

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs

2 tbsp butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x12 baking dish.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, then stir in the flour. Cook and stir until the flour is browned, then pour in the milk. Whisk the sauce until smooth, then bring to a simmer. Cook 10 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened. Stir in the sherry, nutmeg, mustard, curry, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer gently for 5 minutes longer. Set aside.

In a large frying pan, brown the chicken pieces on all sides. Stir together broccoli, rice, and cheese, then spread into the casserole dish. Arrange the chicken over the top. Pour the milk sauce over the chicken. 

Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the casserole. Drizzle with the melted butter, then pop in the oven. Cook 25 minutes, or the chicken juices run clear when you pierce the pieces with a fork. 

Serves 4-6.

Extra note: if you're only feeding a few people and nobody likes leftovers, split the casserole in two and freeze one half in a small baking pan for another dinner when you're too busy to cook.

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Pigs in a Blanket Breakfast Bake

A few weeks ago I was craving pigs in a blanket - perhaps craving isn't the right word. I'm pretty sure sausages in buttermilk pancakes were dancing through my dreams. Hey, there are worse things I could be obsessing about, right?

I told Joe the grand vision I had for a brunch pancake bake: apples, breakfast sausages, pancake batter, syrup. He came up with this recipe for Mother's Day brunch - basically it's an upside-down buttermilk cake with caramelized apples and savory sausage. My gosh, this is so amazingly good that I want this for breakfast every day!

Next, I'm going to challenge my master chef to make these into on-the-go breakfast muffins. We used a pie pan, so he actually has a bit of buttermilk pancake batter left over for him to experiment with. We're also going to serve this when all our family is in town for First Born's college graduation in June. Are you hungry, family?

P.S. I'm sure this works well with boxed pancake mix as well, if you want to save a minute or two in stirring together the dry ingredients. We've never made from-scratch buttermilk pancakes though, and Joe says he's never going back to something like Bisquick!

Ingredients

For the Batter
2  cups flour
1  tsp baking soda
2  tsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2  eggs, beaten
2  cups buttermilk
3 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla

For the Casserole

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup butter 

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 large apple, peeled and thinly sliced

1 package turkey sausage links cut into 1/2" pieces (we really love fully-cooked Bob Evans breakfast sausage)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and oil a 9x13 pan or a large pie pan. If you use the pie pan, you will have some pancake batter left over for later!

Stir together the dry batter ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat together the wet ingredients, then beat in the flour mixture until smooth and well combined. Set aside. (Note: you can make this a day or two earlier and keep it in the fridge - whip it well before using.)

Place the brown sugar, butter, and syrup in a small saucepan and heat to boiling, stirring frequently. Let cool.

Arrange the apple slices in the bottom of the pan and pour the syrup over them. If the sausage is not precooked, brown the pieces in a skillet. Sprinkle the sausage pieces over the apples. Pour the pancake batter on top. 

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Tip the pan over onto a platter and cut into squares or wedges as you prefer.

Serves 4-6.

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Turkey Cordon Bleu Casserole

This casserole recipe from my sister-in-law Carolyn is so quick and easy that it's perfect for using up leftover turkey and for feeding holiday houseguests. Why spend all your time in the kitchen, when there's so much fun to be had? It's so delicious that people will forget they're eating leftovers.

This is also perfect for feeding a crowd any time of year. In Iowa, where Carolyn lives, this is a staple on buffets and church hot-dish suppers. The recipe can easily be scaled up for large groups. Substitute chicken if you don't have any turkey.

Ingredients

2 cups plain croutons
2 cups turkey, cubed
2 cups ham, cubed
2 c. grated Swiss cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup (we like the low-fat, low-sodium kind)
1 c. water
1 cup finely crushed bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Butter a 2 quart casserole dish. Spread the croutons on the bottom. Add half of the turkey and ham cubes. Sprinkle half of the cheese over the meat. Then pour half of the chicken soup/water mixture over. Repeat meat, cheese, soup mixture.

Sprinkle bread crumbs on top and season with salt and pepper. Bake, covered at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

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Creamy Beef Pot Pie

This creamy-savory pot pie is a dressed-up version of one of my Mom's economical comfort foods. When I was a kid, there were never any leftovers when she made this for dinner. Recently I was craving that old-time meal, so we turned out the vegetable bin and whipped up this fabulous casserole.

There were leftovers, but I had them for lunch the next day.

Ingredients

1 pound very lean ground beef (you can use lean ground turkey if you prefer)

1 cup white onion, chopped

1 cup carrot, peeled and chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 red pepper, seeded and chopped

1 1/2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp thyme

1 1/3 cups fat-free milk

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup flour

1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

1 tube Pillsbury Crescent Rounds

Directions

Crumble the meat into a frying pan and cook until completely browned. Drain off the fat and set the meat aside. In the same pan, saute all the vegetables and thyme until tender. Add the meat back to the pan and keep warm.

In a small saucepan, heat the milk until bubbles form at the edge. Slowly whisk in the flour, cayenne, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until thickened to the consistency of gravy, about 10-15 minutes. If it gets too thick, add a bit more milk. Off heat, stir in the sour cream. Stir the sauce into the meat mixture, and pour it into a 9x12 casserole pan.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Open the crescent rounds and unroll them onto a cutting board. They should pull apart into long strips; cut 1/3 of these strips in half. Starting in one corner of the casserole pan, lay one long strip along the long side and a short strip along the short side. Begin alternating the long and short strips, laying them over and under to form a basket weave (a helper is very useful during the weaving!).

Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling is hot and bubbly.

Serves 4-6.

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Easy Broccoli-Stuffed Manicotti Casserole

Just like one of our previous presidents, I am not a big fan of broccoli. It isn't just the fact that broccoli is one of those cruciferous (members of the mustard family) vegetables like cabbage or Brussels sprouts, and those veggies make terrible explosions in my stomach. It's just that I don't like the taste too much. When our daughters were young, I used to buy giant cans of cheese sauce to drizzle over their vegetables to encourage them to eat more. I always want to drown my broccoli in a gallon of cheese sauce.

But Joe brought home a bag of large manicotti tubes and some beautiful fresh broccoli, and set about making a quick and easy casserole even I would love. He picked me up from work the other night, and I was dead tired but I could smell a glorious fragrance of pomodoro sauce in his clothes. The end result was a cheap, delicious, and fairly low-fat casserole that only tasted of broccoli in a good way.

Large pasta shells work just as well as large manicotti tubes.

Ingredients

1 box jumbo manicotti or pasta shells
1 1/2 cups broccoli
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp dried oregano, or 1 1/2 tsp fresh
1/2 tsp dried basil, or 1 1/2 tsp fresh
3 cups Basic Tomato Sauce or canned pasta sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cook the pasta according to package directions, on the firm side of "done". Drain and set aside. Grease a 9x11 pan and spread 1/2 cup of tomato sauce in the bottom of the pan.

Finely chop the broccoli and steam in the microwave or on the stove until cooked but slightly crisp, then set aside.

Place the ricotta, egg, Parmesan, oregano, and basil in a thick gallon-size zip-top plastic bag. Squeeze the contents so that the ingredients mix well (if you have little ones around, this is a great job for them to do!). Add the broccoli and squeeze again until well mixed. Then, squeeze the filling into one corner of the plastic bag.

This filling looks blue-tinged because the plastic bag was light blue.

Snip the corner off the plastic bag, then squeeze out an equal amount of ricotta filling into each piece of pasta.  Arrange the filled pasta in the baking pan. Pour the remaining tomato sauce over the top, then sprinkle with cheese.

Cover the pan with foil, and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake 10-15 more minutes, until the casserole is heated through and the sauce is bubbly.

Serves 4-6.

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Potato and Kale Enchiladas

My friend Rebecca Stahr is a talented artist in pen and ink, pencil, photography, watercolor, encaustic, and oils. She has an attic studio to die for: filled with thousands of colors and artworks and brushes, and quirky art inspiration like a deer's skull wearing a Mardi Gras hat, mounds of rusty found objects and milkweed pods, and blowtorches and fire extinguishers for flaming encaustic wax resin.

This fall and winter she's been focusing on developing her art business (Rebecca J. Stahr, artist), gallery shows at the College of Lake County and Highland Park's Art Center, and exploring the nature of art and creation in her sketchbook blog. 

She's also working to develop an "Artists' Tribe", a group of artists who mentor and encourage each other in the sometimes lonely and insecure process of developing art that is authentic to their personal vision.

.h

That's a lot to accomplish all at once, especially in the art world where the competition is so fierce! So she asked me, food lover and cooking fanatic, to prepare some meals for her family so they don't starve and eat healthy while she and her husband both manage high-pressure vocations.

Oh, there's a catch, though - a big challenge for me. Her family is vegan and gluten free due to multiple food allergies, and there's a lot they can't eat. As for me, the more meat the better, and I do love my breads and pastas and all the other gluten-laden foods that are probably aggravating my rhuematoid arthritis. But how could I pass up a chance to learn entirely new ways of cooking? The creative side of my mind was spinning with the excitement of experimenting with food in a way that's completely new to me.

Here, then, is one of the first meals I made for her. The potato and kale make a lovely and filling enchilada, and the sauce punches up the flavor so I don't miss a bit of the meat I usually put in the rolls. I admit, though, that the batch I made for my dinner had a sprinkle of cheese on top. Just a little. But if you're vegan and don't like vegan cheese, you probably won't even crave that.

This recipe was inspired by the cookbook Veganomicon.

Ingredients

For the Sauce:

2 tbsp oil

2/3 cup onion, diced

2/3 cup red bell pepper, chopped

1 tbsp chili powder

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp oregano 

1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp salt

For the Filling:

1 lb. red-skinned potatoes

1/2 pound kale, washed, trimmed, and chopped

3 tbsp oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup vegetable broth or water
3 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 cup toasted pepitas, chopped coarsely

2 tsp salt, or to taste

12-14 corn tortillas

Chopped tomatoes, lettuce, and cheese (optional)

Instructions

In a large saucepan, saute the pepper and onion in oil until tender. Stir in the rest of the sauce ingredients. Using an immersion blender or a food processor, puree the sauce. Bring to a boil in the pan, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Cut the potatoes into 1-inch cubes and boil them until nearly tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain and set aside.In a large skillet, heat the oil, then saute the garlic for 1 minute on medium heat. Add the kale and saute 5 minutes or until wilted, stirring constantly. Stir in the potatoes, pepitas, lime juice, and salt.  Cover and cook 3 minutes. Mash the potatoes slightly with the back of a spoon.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x12 casserole pan, then spread out 1/2 cup of sauce in the bottom of the pan. On a flat griddle or frying pan, heat the corn tortillas until soft and pliable.

Pour half of the enchilada sauce onto a plate, and lay a tortilla on the plate. Spoon 1/3 cup of potato mixture onto the tortilla. Roll up the tortilla and place, seam side down, in the casserole pan. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, then drizzle with the remaining sauce.

Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, until the centers are cooked and the casserole is heated through. Top with tomato and lettuce before serving.

Serves 4-6.

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Vegetable Tamale Pie with Green Salsa

The origin of this recipe is a funny, if slightly embarrassing story. A couple of my friends came over once for a tamale-making party. We also decided to make some roasted pepper salsa and cranberry-apple chutney, and I was teaching them how to can the extra sauce.

There was also a bottle of tequila, fresh limes, and some Grand Marnier that we shook into some very strong Margaritas. And a mason jar of cranberry-soaked moonshine.

Cranberry moonshine. Lord help me.

By sunset, we'd canned eight pints of salsa and seven half-pints of cranberry chutney, the chicken mixture had stewed all day into a luscious shredded filling, and the portobello and corn filling smelled fantastic. The limes were all gone, and one or all of us might or might not have done a shot of tequila.

And man, those cranberries had soaked up a powerful amount of moonshine. They were little Molotov cocktails bursting in our mouths.

We were working diligently on spreading homemade masa dough into corn wrappers and these tamales - oh, they were the most beautiful ones I've ever made. I was feeling wonderful about my recipe-teaching skills.

But I unwrapped the first ones and they were dry and crumbly...make that powdery, actually. The filling was out of this world, but the corn dough was dry as dust. I read back over my recipe and realized, somewhere in the midst of joking and sipping and stirring and filling, I'd forgotten to add the broth to the dough. Gah!

The next day, after I asked my friends if anyone remembered what happened to the beaters for my mixer, we decided that the remaining tamales could be saved by unwrapping them, mixing the dough with some broth and salsa, and layering them in a casserole dish.

It turned out so well that this may become a staple in our home. You don't have to wrap a casserole in leaves, after all, and this is the hardest part.

Ingredients

2 cups shortening
4 cups masa flour or tamale flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 cups vegetable broth
2 tsp oil
1 pound portobello, button, or other mushroom mixture, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup onion, sliced
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
2 cups salsa verde
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

Put the shortening in a mixer or food processor and mix until soft and creamy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, and garlic, then slowly add it to the shortening. Pour the broth in a little at a time while mixing until the dough is thoroughly mixed. It should be similar to a very sticky bread dough or a very firm muffin batter.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 11 casserole dish. Spread half the dough into the dish.

In a large frying pan, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the mushrooms and onions and saute until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the corn and 1 cup of salsa. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer with a lid on for 10 minutes.

Spread the vegetable mixture over the dough in the casserole pan, then spread the rest of the dough over the top. Drizzle the remaining salsa over the top. If you are not a strict vegan, this is an excellent time to top the pie with a mixture of shredded chihuahua and cotija cheeses.

Cover the dish with foil, set it in the middle rack, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the pie is cooked through and the tamale dough is crumbly.

Serve with chopped cilantro and additional salsa verde, if desired.

Serves 4-6.

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Kale and Ricotta White Bean Casserole

Originally a recipe we found on a Weight Watchers board, we've experimented with this dish to make it more satisfying, filling, and popping with flavor for a meatless Monday. It's also pretty quick to make, but you can make it ahead and freeze or refrigerate it until you're ready to cook it. When we're in a hurry, we use 2 cups of frozen spinach, which does not need to be sauteed before adding it to the casserole.

If you follow Weight Watchers, one 1-cup serving is 4 points plus and counts for 2 vegetable servings and one milk serving. If you don't follow Weight Watchers, just know that it's a low-calorie dish full of veggies and fiber and a healthy dose of fat-free dairy.

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 cups kale or spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup white onion, chopped
2 clove garlic, minced
8 oz fresh mushroom(s), sliced
2 15-oz cans Great Northern or Cannellini beans, drained
1 cup fat-free ricotta cheese
1/4 cup egg substitute
1 tsp basil, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups coarse low-fat bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp parsley, minced

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x11 pan with cooking oil.

In a skillet, heat the oil and pepper flakes until the pepper begins to sizzle. Add the kale or spinach, onions, garlic, and mushrooms. Saute until slightly tender, then place in a bowl.

Stir together the ricotta, egg,, and basil, and add to the vegetables. Stir in the salt and pepper. Spread this mixture out into the baking pan. Mix together the bread crumbs, Parmesan, and parsley, then sprinkle over the top.

Bake until the topping is golden brown and the casserole is heated through, about 25 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 4-6.

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Moussaka

A few weeks ago, we asked our Facebook fans what recipes they'd like to try, or meals they'd like to learn how to make. My mom responded that she'd like a recipe for ground lamb. I thought, "Perfect! We'll try making moussaka!"

Moussaka (moo-sah-KA) is probably one of the best-known traditional Greek dishes, after spanakopita, a spinach and cheese pie I absolutely love. The dish has origins in Turkish and Egyptian cooking, and in all those cultures it's a hearty casserole of ground meat and vegetables, sometimes topped with a luscious custard-y cheese and egg sauce the French call bechamel. In Greek cooking, the layers of vegetables, meat, and bechamel sauce are cooked separately, then assembled and baked in a casserole dish.

My parents came to visit us last weekend. After a long day touring Milwaukee's Third Ward, we planned to come home and cook moussaka together while the guys went to a model train store to feed my dad's current obsession hobby.

Milwaukee's river walk - and our new boat? I wish!

When we got home, we found we were too tired to cook, and all the cheeses we bought in the market were more than tempting with some fresh fruit and crackers for dinner. We bought gouda and havarti with dill, and several exceptional white cheddars with apricots, mangoes, and blueberries. Good choices.

I sent half the ground lamb home with my mom along with a promise to post the recipe. It was absolutely delicious! We lightened the recipe a bit by using lower-fat white sauce ingredients and by steaming the eggplant and potatoes rather than frying them.

The bechamel sauce really makes the recipe, so be sure you take the time to stir it slowly and let it simmer into an ivory custard.

Ingredients

1 large eggplant, cut into 1" cubes

4  medium potatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick

For the meat

1 1/2 lb. ground lamb, beef, pork, or any combination of those meats
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup white wine
2 medium Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 tsp oregano
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 cups water
Salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce

4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
6 tbsp flour
3 eggs, beaten, or 3/4 cup egg substitute
3 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup hard yellow cheese, grated and divided in half
4 cups milk

Directions

Place the sliced eggplant into a bowl of water with 1 tbsp salt, and allow it to soak for 30-60 minutes to remove the bitterness from the peel. Drain, then steam the eggplant with the potatoes in a steamer on top of the stove or in the microwave. The vegetables should be nearly tender when done, but not so tender that it will fall apart in the oven.

In a large frying pan, brown the meat with the onion and garlic. Add the wine, tomato, oregano, parsley, salt and pepper, nutmeg, and water. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the tomato is softened and the liquid is thick.

Oil a 9x12 casserole dish. Lay down a layer of the potatoes, then a layer of the eggplant. Cover with a layer of the meat mixture. Repeat with the rest of the vegetables and meat.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the oil and butter together in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the flour and stir until the mixture becomes a smooth roux. Whisk together the milk and egg, the slowly pour it into the flour mixture, stirring constantly. If there are any lumps, mix it with a whisk or hand mixture until perfectly smooth. Simmer on low heat until the sauce begins to thicken. Then add the sugar, salt, pepper, cinnamon and half the cheese and stir until creamy again. Stir and simmer until it is the consistency of thin pudding or yogurt.

Pour the bechamel sauce evenly over the top of the casserole dish, then sprinkle with the other half of the cheese. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the sauce is set and the top is golden brown. Let sit for 5-10 minutes to firm up the casserole before cutting into squares and serving (otherwise, the layers sort of slide apart on the dish).

Serves 4-6.

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Chicken Asparagus Swiss Casserole

This is an elegant and flavorful casserole quick enough for a weeknight dinner, but special enough for company. If you don't like the taste of wine in your food, substitute chicken broth.

Asparagus is already looking delicious around here this year, so when they finally start sprouting up north, I bet it will be a good crop. If you find tough stalks in your asparagus, the ones that never get tender no matter how long you cook them, peel off the outer skin with a paring knife. You'll save more of the vegetable that way than just throwing out the bottom of the stems.

Ingredients

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cups asparagus spears, cut into 2" pieces
1/2 tsp tarragon, crumbled
1 tsp dry ground mustard
2/3 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 cup dry white wine
2/3 cup white bread crumbs or Panko crumbs
2 tbsp parmesan or romano cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Lay the chicken breasts on a cutting board and put your (non-cutting) hand on top. With a sharp knife, cut through each chicken breast lengthwise to produce two thinner breasts. This will make the chicken cook more quickly while staying tender during the cooking time.

Oil an 8x8 casserole dish with cooking spray. Place two breasts in the casserole, then sprinkle with half the asparagus, tarragon, mustard, and cheese. Pour half the wine over the chicken. Layer the rest of the chicken and other ingredients on top, then pour on the rest of the wine. Stir together the bread crumbs and parmesan, then sprinkle on top of the casserole.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the asparagus is tender.

Serves 4.

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Chiles Rellenos Breakfast Casserole (Egg, Cheese, and Green Chile casserole)

We've been making this mild egg, green chilies, and cheese casserole for ages. It's perfect for a brunch dish or a light dinner. When I made this casserole yesterday, I knew Joe had a busy week ahead and would need to eat on the run. I wrapped up his casserole in a flour tortilla so he could eat breakfast to-go. Yum.

If you follow Weight Watchers, 1/6 of this casserole is approximately 4 points and counts for 1 dairy and 1 veggie.

Ingredients

1 tsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped red pepper
2 4-oz cans diced mild or hot green chilies (your preference; I don't like spicy foods first thing in the morning!)
1 1/2 cups egg substitute
2/3 cup low-fat cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1 cup chopped and seeded tomato
1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Directions

Heat frying pan, then add the olive oil. Saute onion and red pepper until slightly tender. Stir in green chilies and cook for 5 minutes on low heat.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and oil an 8-inch square casserole pan. 

Whisk together the egg substitute and sour cream. Stir in the pepper mixture, cheddar, and tomato. Pour into the casserole pan and top with the Monterey Jack cheese.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown, and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. You can add red or green salsa before serving, if you'd like.

Serves 4-6.

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Low-Fat Cheese Enchiladas

The week after a holiday, we're always feeling the urge to scale back our cooking and eat a bit lighter. What we love about this low-fat enchilada casserole is that we can throw this together in the morning before work (or the night before), pull it out in the evening, and relax while it bakes. Yum!

Ingredients

2 cups chopped white onion

1 tbsp oil

2 cups fat-free sharp cheddar cheese, shredded and divided

1 1/2 cups fat-free sour cream

2 tbsp fresh cilantro

8 large flour tortillas

1 16 oz can red enchilada sauce (we like La Preferida or Goya brand; you can find this sauce next to the salsas)

2 cups chopped lettuce or cabbage

1 cup chopped tomato

Directions

Cook the onion in the oil until tender. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the 1 1/2 cups of cheese, the sour cream, and cilantro and mix well. Spray a casserole dish with oil, then spread 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce over the bottom.

Heat the tortillas in the microwave for 30 seconds, or until flexible. Spoon 1/8 of the cheese mixture in a line down the center of a tortilla, leaving room at all ends. Fold the bottom and top ends up over the mixture. Roll the tortilla up and place in the casserole dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover the casserole with a lid or foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil  and sprinkle with the last 1/2 cup of cheese. Cook for 15-20 minutes more, until the center is hot and bubbly.

Top with the lettuce and tomato before serving. 

Serves 4-6.

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Pecan Orange Sweet Potato Casserole

Are you ready to start cooking for Thanksgiving? We're looking forward to all those special holiday dishes! For years, we made that traditional candied sweet potato casserole with the miniature marshmallows on top. The kids loved it. But now that we're all grown up, this velvety casserole with a bit of spice and a caramel-ly pecan topping is much more satisfying. It may sound odd to add a dash of cayenne, but wait until you taste the magic that it adds to these sweet potatoes.

Check back here for more Thanksgiving recipes, and at the end of the week, some recipes to use up all those yummy turkey leftovers.

Ingredients

4 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup milk
2 large eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp grated orange rind

For the topping:

2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup Pecans, finely chopped
1/3 cup Flour
6 tbsp butter

Directions

Simmer the sweet potatoes in a saucepan of water, or microwave them in water until they are fork-tender. Drain them thoroughly and mash them in a large bowl (we like them a little lumpy). Stir in all the rest of the ingredients. Pour it into an 8-inch square baking pan.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix together the topping ingredients with a fork until it is crumbly and well combined. Sprinkle over the top of the casserole. Bake in a 400-degree oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

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Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

This is one of my absolutely favorite comfort foods ever. A good ham is proof that God loves us. I usually make this after serving a big ham for a holiday dinner, because there are always all those good bits and pieces left over, and this is so easy to make after a big fancy holiday meal.

If you don't happen to have cooked a big ham lately, you can use any kind of ham, from lunch meat slices to a can of Spam or a ham butt end. Joe recently brought home a butt (snicker) that our local grocery store had deeply reduced in price. After we sliced up a bunch for ham sandwiches, and cut out the bone for soup, I made a big casserole of scalloped potatoes and ham.

By the way, if you don't have any ham, or are on a very tight budget, the potatoes themselves are a filling and yummy meal or side dish on their own.

Ingredients

1 medium yellow onion

1/3 cup chopped yellow pepper 

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup flour

2 cups fat-free milk, heated

10 medium-sized red-skinned potatoes (I like the smooth, creamy texture of red potatoes for this recipe)

2 cups chicken broth

3 cups chopped ham

Cooking spray

2/3 cup bread crumbs

Directions

Peel and chop the onion. Melt the oil and butter together in a saucepan. Saute the onion and pepper together until tender. Add the garlic. Stir in the flour until it is moistened and sticks to the vegetable pieces. Pour in the hot milk and stir very well until smooth. You might need to whisk the mixture to get any flour lumps out. Allow to simmer.

Scrub the potatoes and cut them into 1/2 inch thick slices. Put them into a pot with the chicken broth and bring it to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer it until the potato slices are almost tender but still a little hard when you poke them with a fork. 

Drain the potatoes, and pour the cooking broth into the milk mixture. Heat the mixture to a boil and reduce heat and let it simmer about 20 minutes, stirring frequently, or until very thick like pudding or gravy.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spray or oil a 9x12" casserole pan. Spread a few spoonfuls of the white sauce in the bottom of the pan. Arrange 1/2 of the potatoes on top, then half of the ham. If you want to get artistic, you can arrange the potato circles in overlapping rows, or "scallops", which is one reason for the name of this recipe.

Pour half of the white sauce over this layer. Add another layer of potatoes and ham, and then pour the rest of the sauce on top. Make sure there is at least 1/2" rim above the food so that it won't boil over in the oven and make a mess. It's OK if you have to discard or freeze some leftover white sauce. There are a million things you can do with it.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil and put it in the oven. Cook for 20 minutes, then remove the foil. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top, then spray them with cooking spray. Cook for 10-20 minutes more, or until the potatoes are tender but not falling completely apart, and the breadcrumbs are nice and browned.

This is great with cooked peas or a fresh green salad.

Serves 6 - 8.

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Winter Squash, Pine Nut, and Golden Raisin Lasagna

I
 think that this recipe originally came from Weight Watchers, but Joe has made some magically delicious modifications. The result is an unusual and hearty winter dinner that we also like to serve at fall dinner parties.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups fat-free evaporated milk
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
10 oz dry lasagna noodles, cooked al dente (about 12 noodles)
10 oz cooked winter squash, thawed if frozen
1 cup shredded fat-free mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup golden seedless raisins
1/2 cup pine nuts

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Place flour in a small saucepan and very gradually whisk in milk and garlic. Warm over low heat, stirring constantly, until sauce simmers and is thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

Spread 1/4 cup of cheese sauce over bottom of a 9 X 13-inch glass or metal pan and cover with 3 lasagna noodles; top with 1/3 of squash and 1/2 cup of cheese sauce. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup of raisins.

Cover with 3 more lasagna noodles and spread with 1/3 of remaining squash and 1/2 cup of cheese sauce; sprinkle with 1/4 cup of raisins. Cover with 3 more lasagna noodles and top with remaining squash and raisins; cover with last 3 lasagna noodles, pressing sheets firmly down. Top with remaining cheese sauce; sprinkle with pine nuts and remaining mozzarella cheese.

Cook for 30-45 minutes, until golden brown on top and bubbly.

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Corn Souffle

This is a cheap, quick, and easy dinner to make when you're really busy. A box of corn mix, eggs, and cans of corn are almost all you need!

Ingredients:

16 oz. can creamed corn
16 oz. can whole corn, drained
I package of corn muffin mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 beaten eggs, or 1/2 cup egg substitute
8 oz. sour cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 30 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Pour into a greased round baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, and the top is golden.

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