Tasty Tuesday: Summer Casserole

My mom has a pretty large garden, so on our last visit out to see her, she sent me home with a couple of large zucchinis. In my quest to find a recipe for a casserole that uses chicken and zucchini, but did NOT contain sour cream or cream of chicken soup, I came across this recipe from the Taste of Home website. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for, so I adapted it to create what I am calling Summer Casserole. Ben loves the chicken in this casserole, and Sam, as usual, cleared his plate!

Summer Casserole

 

 1 medium zucchini, peeled, quartered and sliced

1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 medium onion, sliced

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon pepper

dash of salt

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut-up and cooked

1 cup chicken-flavored stuffing mix

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet, cook zucchini and carrots in 1 tablespoon oil 5-6 minutes or until tender; drain and set aside. In the same skillet, saute the onion in remaining oil for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, basil, oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper and chicken; cook for 5 minutes longer or until heated through. Remove from heat; gently stir in zucchini and carrots.

Place in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Top with stuffing mix; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Bake, uncovered 5 minutes longer. Yield: 6 servings


Note: The next time I make this, I plan to simmer the vegetables in water instead of sauteing in oil to cut down on some of the fat content.

Tasty Tuesday: "Sam's Favorite Muffins"

In my great quest to find sneaky ways to get Owen to eat vegetables, I came across these awesome muffins. I think the recipe came from some 25 year old Disney cookbook from my mom's house. They were originally called "Good Morning Muffins", but I changed the name after Sam (my 5 year old "step-son"), kept raving about how they were his favorite. So now they are "Sam's Favorite Muffins", although everyone in the house devours them. Enjoy!



 

Sam's Favorite Muffins              

3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup grated apples
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line it with paper liners and set aside. Blend the eggs, sugar, and oil until well combined. Stir in the grated apples and carrots. 

In a separate bowl, sift* the flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Blend the dry ingredients with the apple mixture until just combined. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins and bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Makes 12 muffins.


Note: I do find these muffins to taste slightly "eggy", so I usually add a little more cinnamon than what is called for. I have also substituted 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce for half of the vegetable oil a few times in an attempt to make them a little healthier. This does give them a slightly more apple flavor, and also makes the texture a little denser. I only bake mine for 20 minutes, otherwise they are dry and over-cooked.


*Possibly a sign of how old the cookbook is? Does anyone sift anymore? I'm pretty sure most of these ingredients are sold pre-sifted now.