Zucchini Casserole

I'm a big fan of zucchini in most of it's formats (especially bread). We tend to eat it fairly frequently and I have a couple different recipes that we do, although to be fair steaming it and serving with a little butter is probably what we do the most.

This particular recipe isn't the healthiest and the cook time is an hour, so you have to have that in mind when you're planning dinner, but it was really, really good. Even Elizabeth loved it and that's saying something, she's a good eater, but really has not been a fan of zucchini so far.

Zucchini Casserole

4 slices of bread, cubed
1/4 cup butter melted
2 cups zucchini, cubed (I used approx 1.5 medium zucchini)
1 onion chopped
1 tsp garlic salt
1 egg beaten
2 cups shredded cheese (calls for cheddar, I used colby jack because that's what was in the fridge)

The recipe calls for using the cheese as a topping, but I don't like doing that because then the majority of the dish doesn't have cheese. So I mixed in about a cup and a half and used the last half a cup as topping. I think it works much better that way.

Directions:
Mix it all together and pour into a greased 9x13 casserole dish.
Top with remaining cheese.
Cover with Foil
Bake for 30 minutes Covered.
Bake for 25-30 minutes Uncovered.

Serve!

Week 11 - Crockpot Fiesta Chicken, Corn Fritters and Rosemary Ranch Chicken

It's a pretty light week this week and I'm hoping we don't run out of leftovers. The crockpot dinner was good, our rice was a little mushy though. I think that may have come from sitting in the crockpot for a couple hours before it was time to start the pot, my bad. The corn fritters are great when they're hot out of the pan. As leftovers...they're a little lacking and we weren't huge fans of the Worcestershire sauce as a topping as suggested by the website. I think a little sour cream as a topping would be about right. The Rosemary Ranch Chicken though is one of our FAVORITE marinades and I highly recommend it on the veggies too.

Shopping List

Crockpot Fiesta Chicken

Spiced Corn Fritters

Rosemary Ranch Chicken Kabobs

Step by Step

Spray inside of crock pot with cooking spray.

Small bowl 1

2 tbs lime juice

1 tbs olive oil

1 tsp: cumin, garlic salt & chili powder

(My mix didn’t really make a paste, but I didn’t want the chicken too spicy anyway so I didn’t worry about it. If you want to keep more of the spice, mix the lime juice into the other ingredients slowly until you get the right consistency)

Medium Bowl 2

Dice: one small yellow onion & one bell pepper

Large Bowl 3

Chop two bell peppers into large pieces

Rinsed Mushrooms

Half a red onion cut into large wedges

Large Bowl 4

5 chicken breasts chopped into large (kabob sized) pieces

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Rub spice mixture in Bowl 1 on remaining 5 chicken breasts and set aside.

Heat 2 tbs olive oil on stove and add veggies in Medium bowl 2;

Sauté for a few minutes.

Add:

Salt & Pepper to taste

4 tbs butter

Chicken Broth

1 tsp: cumin, minced garlic, chili powder & oregano

Mix in:

Package of Rice (uncooked)

Cream of Celery soup

½ cup salsa

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro (if using)

1 cup black beans (drained & rinsed)

1 cup frozen corn

Add mixture to the crockpot. Top with seasoned chicken. Set on low for 4-4.5 hours or until chicken is done.

Top with cheese.

Can also serve with sour cream, more salsa and guacamole.

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The marinade recipe is enough just for the chicken. I doubled it and poured half in the large bowl 4 with the chicken, and the other half in large bowl 3 with the veggies.

Marinade:

½ cup olive oil

½ cup ranch dressing

3 tbs Worcestershire Sauce

1 tbs minced fresh rosemary

2 tsp salt

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp white vinegar

¼ tsp black pepper

1 tbs white sugar

Skewer and grill 8-12 minutes, or place on a foil lined large casserole dish and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Prep the fritter batter while the marinade is sitting.

In a large bowl mix:

1 cup flour

¼ tsp baking powder

½ tsp ground coriander

½ tsp Cajun seasoning (or a pinch of cayenne)

1 egg

1 tsp lime juice

½ cup water

1 can of corn (drained)

½ red onion diced

When you put the chicken on the grill (or when there's around 10 minutes left in the oven), heat a pan with enough oil for frying and drop large spoonfuls of the corn mixture when the oil is hot. Flip like a pancake and brown on both sides, only takes a couple minutes. Eat while hot off the skillet with the grilled chicken and veggies.

Enjoy!