Showing posts with label casserole. Show all posts
Showing posts with label casserole. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Egg-Free, Gluten-Free Zucchini Lasagna

My poor husband arrived home early from work, sick with a miserable cold. I made him a warm cup of apple cider vinegar and honey for his cold, and just served him up a plate of homemade zucchini lasagna for his tummy. That ought to make him feel a little better.

The recipe is from my challenge cookbook The Gluten-Free Vegetarian Cook by Donna Klein, on page 130.

If you are hoping to drop a few pounds this winter, as I am, then recipes that are satisfying, nutritious and lower in calories are the ticket. Klein's lasagna recipe is egg, gluten and pasta free!

Reserve 4 large zucchini from your garden or when shopping at your local produce stand or market, pick up four (4) 7-8 ounce organic zucchinis. If you have the time to make your own spaghetti sauce, all the better.

Because there are neither eggs nor pasta to thicken this dish, the lasagna has more of a soupy consistency, but also more flavor. I recommending serving it up in individual pasta bowls.


Ingredients:

4 zucchini, unpeeled, trimmed and cut into 1/8 inch lengthwise slices
1 cup non-fat ricotta cheese, gluten-free
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese, gluten-free
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
26-ounce jar of pasta sauce (preferably tomato basil)
8 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella, gluten-free
1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese, gluten-free

Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 375-degrees.
  2. Fill stock pot with water and bring to a boil.
  3. Lightly oil a 13x9 baking dish.
  4. Add zucchini to the boiling water and cook 2-3 minutes. Drain and set aside on paper towels to dry.
  5. In a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta and cottage cheeses, parsley, salt and pepper.
  6. In another bowl mix together the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
  7. Make layers in the baking dish in this order: 1/3 of the zucchini, half of the pasta sauce, 1/3 of the zucchini, all of the ricotta and cottage cheese mixture, half of the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese mixture, the remaining 1/3 zucchini, the remaining pasta sauce, and top with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan mixture.
  8. Cover with a lid or an oiled piece of foil (use wax paper first, if the cover will touch the top of the lasagna).
  9. Bake covered for 35-minutes and uncovered for an additional 7-10 minutes.
  10. I recommend finish the cooking time by leaving the lasagna under the broiler for 3 minutes.
  11. Let rest 10-minutes, before cutting and serving in pasta bowls.
Serves 6

Note: Klein's recipe is ideal for serving during summer zucchini harvest time. She says you can prepare this dish 24 hours in advance and refrigerate. If you do, add 15 more minutes to the cooking time.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Sweet Potatoes with a Tropical Twist

Sweet Potatoes with a Tropical Twist is a lightly-fruited alternative to the heavily-candied , syrupy, marshmellowed sweet potatoes of Thanksgivings Past, which  will hopefully encourage some of you who don't like the traditional recipes to enjoy sweet potatoes not only during the holidays, but year round.



Ingredients:

24 ounces of fresh or canned organic, sweet potatoes or yams
3 ripe bananas
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/4 cup macadamia nuts, chopped fine
4-8 ounces of pineapple, tidbits or crushed
1/4 cup corn flakes (or gluten-free flaked cereal)
1/8 cup coconut, shredded (optional)
1/4 cup melted butter

Directions:
  1. Buy local, and use as many fresh and organic ingredients as possible.
  2. Cook sweet potatoes until tender, if using fresh.
  3. Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
  4. Mash sweet potatoes, bananas, cinnamon and salt.
  5. Spread pineapple in the bottom of the baking dish; layer mashed mix next and top with a thin layer of brown sugar, and top that with a mix of nuts and corn flakes (shredded, sweetened coconut an option).
  6. Pour melted butter over the top.
  7. Bake for 45-50 minutes.
Serves 4-6.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Wine-Curried Fruit for the Holidays

An elegant casserole to serve dinner guests. I baked this fruit medley to take as a buffet side dish for a holiday party we attended and for the day-after-thanksgiving feast this year. It was a big hit both times!




Ingredients:

2 Bananas
1- 29 oz. can of Peaches, halved
1 - 26 oz. can of Pears, halved
1 - 20 oz. can of Pineapple, chunks
2 - 6.5 oz. cans of Mandarin Oranges
1 - 8 oz. jar of Maraschino Cherries
1/2 cup Butter (1 stick), softened
1/2 Brown Sugar
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
1/2 cup Dry White Wine
1 teaspoon Curry Powder
Pecans, chopped or halved (optional)

Use as many organic ingredients as you can, when making this recipe. Check with your local natural foods market for their selection of organic canned products.





Directions: 

  1. Diagonally slice the bananas in 1-1/2 inch chunks.
  2. Drain the juice from all the other fruit and arrange all in a 2-1/2 quart baking dish.
  3. In a sauce pan, combine the sugar, softened butter, cornstarch, wine and curry powder and cook, stirring continually, until it begins to thicken.
  4. Pour the sauce over the fruit.
  5. Bake uncovered in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 15-20 minutes.
  6. Serve hot.

Serves 12-14