Ham and Spinach Strata

I love brunch foods.  I love breakfast foods.  I could eat morning foods anytime of day.  This is a dish that is especially versatile.  A strata is a savory egg casserole using day old (read: stale) bread and this time, it's filled with Mediterranean style flavors--spinach, red bell peppers, feta cheese and diced ham to make it even more substantial.  The lovely thing about a strata is that it's begging for you to use any fillings you have on hand (read: a great way to use up leftovers--see my note below for some suggestions).  Simple, economical and able to be assembled ahead and popped into the oven whenever you're ready, this is an excellent dish to keep in mind for upcoming brunch-centered celebrations (read: Easter, Mother's Day, Baby Showers) and also lazy Saturday mornings. 

Ham and Spinach Strata
6 cups cubed (or torn into bite sized pieces) bread: day old French bread is lovely, croissants are elegant, you can even use leftover hot dog buns if that's what needs to be used up--sometimes they do!
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 medium onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 red bell pepper, diced (about 1/2 cup)
1 12 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups (1 8 oz package) shredded cheese (Italian blend is nice, feel free to experiment)
1/4 cup feta cheese (optional)
2 cups diced ham
8 eggs
1 cup milk or half and half
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

Directions: Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.  Spread half of the bread cubes in the bottom of the dish.  Set aside.  In a large saute pan, melt butter over medium high heat.  Add onion, and saute, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened (2-3 minutes).  Add bell pepper and saute for 2-3 minutes longer or until bell pepper is crisp-tender.  Stir in chopped spinach and season with garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Spoon spinach mixture evenly over bottom layer of bread pieces.  Sprinkle cheeses over spinach layer and cover with remaining bread cubes.  In a large bowl, beat together eggs and milk. Stir in dry mustard and season egg mixture with additional salt and pepper.  Pour over casserole.  At this point, you can cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. 
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350.  Bake uncovered until puffed and golden, about 45-55 minutes. 

note: Experiment with different combinations depending on what you have on hand: Chopped broccoli and cheddar cheese, breakfast sausage and mushrooms, asparagus and Swiss cheese, green chiles, corn and pepper jack...the possibilities are endless.

Crowd Pleasing Pasta Bake

You may have noticed I do quite a few baked pasta dishes.  This is because they're economical, can easily feed a crowd, able to be made ahead and who can't resist some form of pasta, sauce and cheese?  They're a perfect dish to bring to someone who needs a meal or to feed a crowd when you're hosting. 

This is a recipe that has gone over quite well with our gang and is a snap to put together.  I almost always have ingredients on hand to do some variation of it.  The staples are the usual: pasta, marinara and mozzarella but with a tangy surprise of a layer of cream cheese (I will maintain that few things are not improved by the addition of a little--or lot--of cream cheese).  This time, I used turkey Italian sausage, sliced mushrooms and roasted red peppers and it was a particularly delicious combination (feel free to modify the mix ins based on your own individual tastes--sauteed onion and bell pepper would be great, shredded rotisserie chicken, olives, artichoke hearts, chopped spinach, you get the idea...).  Also, there's a variation at the bottom that allows you to cut down on the prep time even more if you are able to make it ahead!

Crowd Pleasing Pasta Bake

1 20 oz. package turkey Italian sausage, casings removed (or 1 pound ground beef or turkey)
1 16 oz box shaped pasta (penne, rotini etc.)
1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce
8 oz fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 cup roasted red peppers, thinly sliced
1 8 oz package cream cheese (I used 1/3 less fat Neufchatel), softened to room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream (I used reduced fat)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet, brown sausage or ground meat over medium high heat, stirring frequently to break up into small pieces.  When fully cooked, drain if necessary and set aside.  Prepare pasta according to package directions, making sure to drain it when it is still very firm (a bit harder than you would want to eat it).  Drain, return to cooking pot and set aside.  Add pasta sauce, mushrooms, red peppers and cooked sausage into pot with cooked pasta.  Stir until well combined.  In a small bowl, stir together cream cheese and sour cream until smooth and well combined.  Lightly grease a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.  Pour half of pasta mixture into bottom of baking dish.  Spoon cream cheese mixture over pasta spreading as evenly as possible.  Top with remaining pasta mixture.  Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until pasta is heated through and bubbling.  Remove foil for last 10 minutes of baking to allow cheeses to brown.

Variation: A shortcut if you're preparing the night before, do not cook pasta.  Add 1 1/2 cups water to pasta sauce and continue assembly directions as above.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  Bake covered at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for additional 10 minutes.

Tamale Pie

Well, after the toothache we must all have after eating a whole bowl of cookie dough from the last post, I thought I would post something healthier.  I really love making this tamale pie because it's really more one of those concept recipes--meaning it's easy to vary the filling based on what you have on hand.  What makes the "tamale" part is a soft polenta made from regular, old cornmeal.  Then, the filling possibilities are endless--taco meat, shredded beef, refried beans, fajita style chicken, you get the picture... For this particular night, I made a vegetarian version filled with black beans and green chiles to pair with some really delicious Chicken Green Chile sausages I picked up (thank you, new Sunflower Market, for opening up right near my Thursday morning Bible study!). 


Tamale Pie (Black Bean variation)

Polenta
3 cups water
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon chicken base (I love "Better than Bouillon" brand--or bouillon cube)
1 cup yellow corn meal (the kind you make cornbread with)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese, divided

Black Bean Filling:
1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles (or 1 can Rotel), drained (or substitute salsa)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chile powder
1/2 cup (or one small can) diced green chiles

Garnishes as desired: shredded lettuce, diced tomato, sour cream, diced avocado, chopped cilantro, black olives, jalapenos, etc.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

To prepare filling, combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally and keeping warm while preparing the polenta. 

To prepare the polenta, in a medium sauce pan bring water, milk and chicken base or bouillon cube to a boil (watch it very carefully as it will boil over very quickly with that milk in it.  I am not sure why milk boils over like crazy given the opportunity, but you do not want to clean that mess up!).  Immediately whisk in cornmeal and lower heat to medium low and continue to whisk until all the water is absorbed and the mixture is thick and bubbly (about 1 minute).  Stir in cheese to melt.  Working quickly, as the polenta will firm up quickly, pour half of polenta mixture into a greased baking dish (8x8 or round casserole).  Pour filling over top of bottom layer (or spread over any desired filling), sprinkle with 1/2 cup of shredded cheese, and spread remaining polenta over top of filling topping with the remaining cheese.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until cheese on top is melted and browning and filling is bubbly. 

To serve, top individual servings with desired garnishes.

Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

In the checkout lane of several grocery stores, I have been referred to as the "weird produce girl."  I frequently challenge the checker in his/her memory of obscure produce codes.  What can I say?  I've never met a vegetable I haven't liked (unless you count parsley, which I would consider an herb--hate that grassy-tasting stuff!).

I definitely find joy in buying some of the more overlooked vegetables, such as the root vegetables featured in this recipe.  Winter is the season for root vegetables, i.e. vegetables that grow under the ground (look for them for around a dollar a pound).  Today, I want to share them with you in a Shepherd's Pie.  Filling and comforting, think of this dish as the "Snuggy" among entrees.  Tender vegetables and savory ground meat all cozy under a blanket of mashed potatoes (in this case, a mixture of both sweet and regular potatoes--if you do all sweet potatoes, it feels a little too cloyingly sweet like perhaps it should be covered in marshmallows and featured next to the roast turkey). 

A Small Primer in Root Vegetables:
 Rutabaga: (also known as "swede") firm, round, yellow-fleshed and ranging in shape and size from a baseball to softball, was originally a cross between a turnip and cabbage.  It has a bit of a cabbage taste.
Turnip: similar in size and shape to the rutabaga, mild flavor, firm texture, white with purple near the top.
Parsnip: looks like a white carrot with an extra long root, a bit sweeter and more intensely flavored than a carrot.
Carrot: hopefully, we are all familiar with the humble carrot


Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie
serves a lot -- 6-8 hungry folks
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1/2 pound lean ground hamburger or turkey
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 large carrots, peeled and diced into bite-sized pieces
2 small rutabagas (about 1/2 pound), peeled and diced
2 small turnips (about 1/2 pound), peeled and diced
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup frozen peas3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 medium white (I used plain, ol' russet) potatoes, peeled and diced
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

In a large pot over medium high heat, saute onion in olive oil for 2-3 minutes or until it starts to become translucent.  Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute, stirring frequently, or until garlic becomes fragrant.  Add ground meat and allow to cook until no longer pink.  Stir in ketchup and Worcestershire sauce.  Toss in diced carrot, rutabega and turnips and stir to combine.  Add broth and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until root vegetables become tender (about 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces).  Remove lid, raise heat and allow to simmer uncovered to allow most of liquid to evaporate.  Once most of the liquid is gone, add 1 tablespoon butter and frozen peas.  Stir to combine and remove from heat.

Meanwhile, to make mashed potatoes, place diced sweet potatoes and white potatoes in a medium-sized pot.  Add water to cover and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and cover, simmering until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork (about 20 minutes).  Drain water and add 2 tablespoons butter and milk.  Mash, with a potato masher (or for fluffier texture, whip with a hand-held electric mixer).  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To assemble, preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spoon meat and vegetable mixture (really, it's a stew, right?) into a baking dish (or you can be especially cute and put into individual ramekins.  Spoon mashed potato mixture on top of vegetable mixture.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese (you can also stir some cheese into the mashed potatoes if that floats your boat).  Bake at 400 degrees for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and top is starting to brown.

Chicken Wild Rice Casserole

Since we're taking a trip down culinary memory lane, I thought the next post should pay homage to my Minnesota roots.  Wild rice is a proud Minnesota ingredient and I love the nutty taste and chewy texture.  If we're sticking with the Minnesota theme, the next logical jump would mean to assume the recipe would be a casserole (or a "hot dish," you may hear it called) and no "hot dish" would be complete without at least two canned of condensed cream of .... (fill in the blank) soup!  All kidding aside, this is definitely a comforting dish that is perfect for the changing weather (and Minnesotans know comfort food--what else is there to do during the looonnnggg winters???).  
 
Chicken Wild Rice Casserole
1/2 - 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
Montreal steak seasoning or salt and pepper
1 cup brown rice
1/2 cup wild rice
3 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon butter
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup reduced fat mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
optional goodies, see notes

Bake chicken seasoned with steak seasoning or salt and pepper at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until juices run clear.  Remove from oven and shred chicken into bite sized pieces.  While chicken is cooking, in a medium pot combine rices, butter and bouillon.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook until rice is tender (about 40 minutes).  Or use a rice cooker and set it and forget it! : )
Once rice is cooked through, remove from heat and fluff with fork and allow to stand uncovered to cool a bit.  In a large bowl, thoroughly combine soups, mayonnaise and sour cream.  Add rice and chicken and any optional goodies.  Stir in cheese.  Pour rice mixture into a greased 9x13 pan (or split into two 8x8's for two smaller meals--one for later or to share with a friend!).  Bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes or until rice is heated through and bubbling.  Top with a sprinkle of more Parmesan cheese for garnish.

Notes: You can substitute two boxed wild rice blend mixes (Rice a Roni or another brand) for the rice and bouillon.  Just prepare according to package directions.  For the picture, I used 1 cup of an unseasoned mix from Trader Joe's (includes parboiled brown rice, black barley and radish seeds) and 1/2 cup of wild rice.

Also, there are lots of really delicious stir in possibilities for this recipe (i.e. "goodies").  Some suggestions, sliced mushrooms, artichoke hearts, diced pimento, canned green beans (rinsed and drained), sliced almonds are just a few...feel free to add and experiment!