Chile Rellenos Casserole

I made this a couple of nights ago, but we had a last-minute glitch, so we didn't eat it until last night. It was good, but while I was making it (and confirmed last night), I was thinking that salsa instead of chiles would add a lot of flavor. I really think that, now! Ha!

So, here's what I did, along with the salsa suggestion and a guess as to quantity!

Serves 4

2 cans, 7 oz. each, whole green chiles, rinsed and seeded

1 large red bell pepper, cut into strips

1 medium shallot, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese

8 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

1/4 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 bunch cilantro, leaves chopped

4 green onions, thinly sliced

Opt.: 2 medium tomatoes, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with canola oil (or olive oil) spray. Lay opened and cleaned chiles in a single layer on the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle the bell pepper, shallot, and minced garlic over the chiles. Sprinkle the cheese over everything!

In a large bowl, mix eggs, milk, paprika, salt, and pepper with a fork or a whisk. Pour this mixture over the cheese.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 40 minutes, or until the top is slightly browned. Remove from oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes to make cutting easier. Top each serving with cilantro, green onion, and optional tomatoes.

OPTION: Instead of using chiles, red pepper, shallot, and garlic, substitute 1 cup--this is the "guess" part!--of salsa. I think medium would be good--a little zip mitigated by the eggs, milk, and cheese. Finish the dish as directed above, and top with cilantro and green onions. I think this would taste great! AND it would be a lot easier than chopping stuff! Ha! Enjoy, either way!

Zucchini "Quiche", Crustless

Okay, this "quiche" has no cheese!  I just couldn't think of another name to call it!  Ha!

My dad is still having health issues, and we've gotten tired of eating in more-or-less fast food places--the kind where you order at a counter, and someone brings it to you!--AND fast food places!  So, I've been making what I think of as "blender food."  I went from lots of soups, which we also got tired of, to other things that involve some sort of cooking.  This is probably the longest, time-wise, thing I've made.

 

It has occurred to me that these are good for those of us who "run and gun," to use my brother's descriptive phrase, pretty often!  They're also good for those of us who hate to cook and want to spend as little time as possible doing so!  Ha!

 

350 degrees F.

4 servings

 

Quiche:

1/8 small onion

1 small clove garlic

1 small zucchini

4 large eggs

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

OPT: If you're not using the sauce, you can add one of these to perk up the flavor:  1/2 tsp. of dried basil, dried thyme, dried oregano, dried rosemary, dried savory, or any other herb you like!

 

OPT:  Lemon Basil Sauce

1 small clove garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tbs. lemon juice

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

OPT:  1 tsp. sugar, or its equivalent, if the lemon juice is too tart!

1/4 c. packed basil shreds

 

OPT:  2 green onions, thinly sliced

 

For the quiche:

Put onion in a blender, and pulse until it's coarsely chopped.  Add garlic, and pulse it.  Add zucchini, and pulse it until it's coarsely chopped.  Add eggs, salt, and pepper, and blend it until everything's mixed, but not necessarily smooth.  Put this into a sprayed, 8x8 baking dish, and bake at 350 degrees F. until the top is light brown and a knife tip inserted into the middle comes out clean.

 

For the sauce:

Put the garlic clove, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and sugar (if you're using it), and blend.  Pour into the measuring cup you used, and add the basil shreds.  Stir.  

 

To serve:  put 1/4 of the quiche on a plate.  Spoon some of the sauce over it, spreading the basil leaves with the back of the spoon.  Add green onions, if you're using them.  Enjoy!

What I Ate for Dinner: Breakfast Time!

This is what I eat for breakfast, Monday-Friday (and sometimes on the weekends, too!). I started eating this when I started trying to eat a LOT more protein, and it has just enough junk-food associations to be something I'm willing to eat first thing in the morning. (I've always been someone who prefers biscuits and gravy to oatmeal for breakfast. I can't STAND fat-free carbs for breakfast: they upset my stomach like WHOA.)

I don't normally post nutritional breakdowns, but since I did this specifically to get the nutritional content, I happen to know these (approximate) numbers:
Calories: 270
Carbs: Beats me. Not very many, that's for sure.
Protein: 40 grams. Yeah, you read that right. FORTY. GRAMS. (But I'm NEVER hungry before lunch anymore, so that's nice.)
Fat: 7-10 grams, depending on how much non-stick spray you use.

The Recipe:
Non-stick spray
3/4 cup egg substitute (or 3 whole eggs, though that changes the nutritional info above)
1 slice Veggie cheese, American flavor
2 slices Jennie-O Turkey Ham*
Salt and pepper

Spray some non-stick spray into a microwave-safe bowl and pour in 3/4 cup of egg substitute. (You can use 3 real eggs, but then you have to crack and scramble. I'm in a hurry in the morning, so I stick with substitute.) Microwave for about 2 minutes.

While that zaps, put your ham on a plate. When the eggs are done, put the ham in the microwave (COVERED!) for 1 minute.

While the ham zaps, tear the Veggie cheese into bits and throw it in the eggs with some salt and pepper. Mix the whole thing together with a fork. (It's ok if the eggs are still a little runny - they're going back into the microwave.)

Take the ham out, and put the egg mixture back in for 1 minute.

Take the eggs out, use the fork to stir the "cheese" in, and dump them on your plate with the ham.

Eat fast, you're running late! ;)


*Note: the ham requires advance planning. I buy the Jennie-O Turkey ham in a package as close to 2 lb as I can, then cut it into 16 as-equal-as-possible slices (the nutritional breakdown on the package is for 2 oz of "ham", so it evens out). I pack the slices in sandwich bags, 4 to a bag, and put them in the freezer. Then I just pull a bag out and throw it in the fridge when I use the last of the bag that was ALREADY in the fridge. It's thawed by the next morning.

Crab Quiche

YUM. What's not to love about crabby, eggy goodness in a PIE CRUST? Ok, the pie crust is optional. This will work just fine in a pie dish without the crust, as long as you are generous with the non-stick spray. I've also used this recipe to make egg "muffins." It's been a while since I did that, but I think it made about 16 muffins. Either way, it's good stuff. :)

The Recipe:
1 cup crab (imitation crab works fine, too)
1 ¼ cup sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
½ small white onion, chopped (or ½ cup frozen, pre-chopped onion)
4 eggs
1 cup milk
¼ tsp pepper
½ tsp hot sauce - optional
½ cup Parmesan cheese
1 prepared pie crust, NOT prebaked (or make your own) - optional

Preheat the oven to 450. If you’re not using a piecrust, spray a baking dish liberally with non-stick spray. (Seriously. None of that nanosecond spraying – this will need some help coming out of the pan.)

Combine the crab, Cheddar cheese and onion in the bottom of the pie crust. Mix the eggs, milk, pepper and hot sauce in a bowl, and pour it over the mixture in the pie crust. Top with Parmesan cheese.

For best results, bake at 450 for 10 minutes; then reduce the heat to 350 and bake for 30 more minutes.
OR: instead of preheating to 450, just preheat oven to 350 and bake 40-50 minutes. This is good, but not quite AS good. I’m just saying.

You’ll know it’s done when a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

This is also one of my favorite "on-the-go" lunches, because you can eat it cold or at room temperature. Either way it tastes FANTASTIC.

Mistakes and Leftovers Casserole!

I accidentally opened a can of stewed tomatoes and didn't want to waste them (my dad's Depression era influence is showing!), so I opened my fridge and found a few leftovers that would work together! Woohoo! Dinner!

1 Tbl. olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1 bell pepper (mine was red; they're the ripest), sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced (or 2 frozen cubes, 1/4 tsp. powder, or 2 tsp. jarred)
1 small zucchini, quartered and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 Tbl. water
1 poblano pepper, de-seeded, washed, and sliced horizontally (for smaller pieces) (Plastic gloves are a good idea. If the pepper isn't completely ripe, the juice might burn your hands where it touches. If this happens, use a mix of 1/2 water and 1/2 apple cider vinegar—doesn't have to be exact--and submerge the burned parts. This is my mother's first aid, and I've found that it works better than any commercial product or any medical advice I've ever used, seen, or heard! You may have to do it a few times, but it DOES work! A little aloe gel afterwards keeps it from blistering, if the burn is minor.)
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. oregano leaves, crushed when adding
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

1 14.5 oz. can stewed tomatoes (my "oops" moment!)
Juice of 1 lime
6 eggs (4 would work, too, but it makes less!)
1 Tbl. milk or water
Cheddar cheese, grated

OPT: sliced green onions and/or sour cream for garnish (Sour cream will lessen any heat intensity in the event of rogue seeds or an extra warm poblano pepper!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large skillet, sauté onion until slightly cooked. Add pepper and garlic, and cook until pepper is softened. Add the zucchini and water, cover, and steam for a couple of minutes (I was in a bigger hurry than I had time to sauté the zucchini!). Add the pepper and spices, and mix everything together. Let it cook for a minute, so the spices are fragrant. Add the tomatoes, stir, and cook for 3 or 4 minutes.  Add the lime juice, and again, mix everything together. Pour into an oil-sprayed 9x13 baking dish. Set aside.

Crack eggs into a mixing bowl; add liquid. Beat with a whisk or a fork until it's smooth. Gently pour over vegetable mixture. Sprinkle grated cheese over the top, using a lot if you like things cheesy!

Cover and bake it for 30 minutes. The melted cheese will make this creamy, and the small amounts of spices make it interesting without being overwhelming! Garnish with sour cream and green onions, if you'd like. MMMMMM!