Zucchini Gratin

Zucchini Gratin, inspired by Ina Garten

Our celebration for July 4th involved a cookout with a few friends, very low key this year. Ribs were prepared, and we each brought a side dish, easy on me, easy on the hostess. My contribution to the meal was a zucchini gratin. The reason for the zucchini dish is simple -- we have been the recipients of LOTS of zucchini. I'd made a huge pot of ratatouille ( You can find my recipe here.) earlier in the week, and we still had those leftovers in the refrigerator.

I decided to make a different casserole to take along. I found the original gratin recipe HERE on the Food Network website, by Ina Garten. I love her take on most recipes, but sometimes I  find them to be very rich, and they often include some rather expensive ingredients. This recipe for Zucchini Gratin included Gruyere cheese. I looked for it at my big box store, hoping for a bargain, but no such luck. I think they had every kind of cheese, except Gruyere. I then went to our least expensive grocery store, and they had it, cut into 7 oz. chunks, for $9.99. Yes, that is correct, less than 1/2 a lb. for $9.99. I hightailed it over to the domestic cheese refrigerated case and purchased a humble block of Swiss cheese for around $4 per pound. I also used less butter than Ina and I used 1% lowfat milk, instead of the full fat she favors. In addition, I was too lazy to make fresh bread crumbs, so I used plain ones from the pantry. AND GUESS WHAT? It was delicious.

So, I can honestly say, thanks, Ina, for the wonderful inspiration. The flavor was very delicate and had a slightly sweet taste, probably a combination of the onions and fresh ground nutmeg. Don't omit the nutmeg, and use freshly grated if you possibly can, it makes a huge difference! And if you want to spring for the Gruyere cheese, go for it! This dish looked great, tasted delicious, and wasn't that bad for us. It also cooked up quickly, after a fairly easy morning prep.

Will I make it again? Absolutely. And the 6 eaters at the party ate almost every bit of it, the truest test of all: Crowd approval. There was a little bit of a small serving leftover, but that didn't last long.....just sayin'.

Zucchini and onions in the pan,
milk poured over, thickening. 

 Zucchini Gratin

4 T. butter, divided use
2 lbs. zucchini, washed and cut into 1/8" rounds
3 large yellow onions, halved and sliced into half moons
3 T. flour
1/4 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg
1 cup low fat milk
1 cup grated Swiss Cheese
3/4 cup plain bread crumbs
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Butter or spray with cooking spray a 13 X 9" casserole. 

In a large, heavy skillet, melt 3 T. butter and add the onion. Saute' the onion for 10 - 15 minutes over medium to low heat, until soft and just starting to caramelize. Add the zucchini and stir until combined with the onion. Cook for another 10 minutes. Add the salt and pepper and sprinkle the zucchini with the flour. Gently stir the flour into the vegetables until the flour is absorbed, with no white, dry flour showing. Add the milk and turn the heat up. Continue to stir gently, so you don't break up the zucchini. Bring the mixture to a boil, while it makes a sauce and thickens. As soon as it thickens, turn off the heat. 

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. 

Pour the zucchini/onion mixture to the prepared casserole, spreading it in an even layer. Mix the grated Swiss cheese with the breadcrumbs and sprinkle evenly over the top of the vegetables. Dot the topping with the remaining 1 T. butter, cut into small pieces. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, until brown and bubbly. Serves 6 - 8. 

Zucchini Gratin, hot and browned from the oven.

Quick and Easy, Healthy Marinara Sauce

When we say spaghetti at our house, we mean meat sauce. That's what spaghetti meant to my family when I was growing up and that's what it means when my kids ask for spaghetti. My mom was a pretty good cook, but there were a few dishes she really made well. One of them was meat sauce. She simmered it all afternoon and made enough to freeze so that we could have it again. I've tinkered around with her original method over the years, but it's still pretty close to what she made and what her mother made.

All that being said, over the years I've added different sauces to my cooking rotation (here's one). Lately, I've been making a super healthy marinara sauce. I got my inspiration from Giada on the Food Network, but have tweaked it just a little but, like I almost always do. For one thing, since it's just me and the hub around the house most of the time these days, I only make enough sauce to feed the 2 of us. It's a quick and easy sauce and full of veggies, so you can feel very virtuous when wolfing down your pasta. I found some delicious chicken meatballs by Sabatini at my local big box store, and often add 2 or 3 per person. Couldn't be easier! Whether you are vegetarian, trying to cook a little healthier of just need something good and quick to get on the table, you are going to love this recipe, I promise! If you are serving more than two, just double it. (This picture shows the sauce with the chicken meatballs added, but it's super good without them, too.)

Vegetarian Marinara Sauce with Chicken Meatballs

Vegetarian Marinara Sauce
2 T. olive oil
1 small onion
2 - 3 garlic cloves
4 baby carrots or 1 regular carrot
1 stalk celery
1  14.5 oz. can organic diced tomatoes
1/4 c. dry red wine
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
a pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. dried basil or 1 T. minced fresh basil
1/4 tsp. sugar
Put the onion, garlic, carrots and celery into a mini food chopper and pulse until they are of uniform size and well chopped. If you don't have a mini food chopper, chop them all together until they are finely diced. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed, deep skillet over low heat. Add the veggies and saute' them until they are soft and fragrant. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, basil and sugar. Bring the sauce to a boil. Cover the skillet, turn the heat down to low and cook for 30 minutes. Serve over your favorite pasta. If you are adding meatballs, simmer them for at least 20 minutes along with the sauce. This is a thick and chunky marinara, so stir it often and keep the heat low. Serves 2.

Chicken Stir Fry

Growing up, I don't believe I ever even heard of a "stir fry". My mother never made stir fry, but she did make what she called Pepper Steak. Basically, it was a cheaper grade of steak, sauteed in a little oil -- Wesson Vegetable, I am certain -- with green peppers, onions, celery and lots of soy sauce. She would pour 2 - 3 cups of beef bouillon over this, added in some salt and pepper, and let it cook for at least an hour, over low heat. Closer to dinner time, she made some rice -- always Uncle Ben's Converted, don't ask me why -- and thickened up the broth with a teaspoon or two of cornstarch mixed with 2/3 cup of water. She said the cornstarch would make the broth smooth, no lumps, and she was right. That was the extent of "Chinese" cooking in our house. Tasty, but not too exciting, it seems like comfort food to me, now that I am the grown up. Since we lived in lots of different places, and spent 3 years in Germany, there was not always take-out food available to us, and I guess she figured it out the best that she could!

However, I digress. Stir fry is an easy way to get your vegetables and use up a leftover chicken breast or two. I like to marinate the chicken for for some added flavor. My family likes things spicy so I am always looking for easy ways to "kick it up a notch"! Try my way the first time you make this, and then do it YOUR way. A stir fry is easy, good for you and tasty...plus you get to eat all your vegetables in one meal! Let me say, however, that in my opinion, a good stir fry ALWAYS has onions, garlic, celery and bean sprouts. The other veggies can be anything you want or like, but I've always got to have those basic elements.

Chicken Stir Fry For Four

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Marinated in:

1 tsp. Chinese mustard powder

1 tsp. Chinese 5 spice powder

2 T. soy sauce

2 T. fish sauce

1 tsp. rice wine vinegar

Get your rice going: the ratio is always 2 to 1-- that is two cups water, brought to a boil, add in one cup of rice, turn it down and cover it, cook for 16+ minutes until the water is absorbed and you will have 3 cups of rice.

Next prepare your vegetables, chopping everything and slicing it up before you start:

1 medium onion, sliced

2 - 3 sliced garlic cloves

3 ribs celery, cleaned and sliced on the diagonal

1 - 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped

1/2 c. green pepper, cut in matchsticks OR 1/2 c. shredded carrot

1 c. chopped broccoli

1 c. bean sprouts

Peanut Oil for the stir frying

salt and pepper

a little more soy sauce

1 cup chicken broth

2 - 3 tsp. cornstarch mixed with about 1/2 cup water

Get your pan screaming hot. I use a wok, but any heavy bottomed, large frying pan will work, as long as it has fairly deep sides. Pour a little peanut oil over the bottom and and add in your chicken. Stir that rapidly until it begins to brown and turn opaque. Remove your chicken to a clean bowl (NOT the bowl you had the marinade in -- cross contamination!!) and begin to stir fry your veggies, starting with the heavier ones, like onions, peppers, broccoli and celery. Never overload your pan, always make sure you have room for things to cook and stir around. Remove and add in more as you need too. Don't add the bean sprouts until the very last thing, as they are tender and don't take long to cook. When you've cooked it all up, put it ALL back into the pan, and pour over the chicken broth, a few more T. of soy sauce and lastly the corn starch and water combination. Bring this mixture to a boil, and let it cook through over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Voila, stir fry.....serve over rice.

Don't forget to pass the Sirachi Sauce and crispy rice noodles! Pick up some egg rolls or spring rolls -- it's almost a party! Stir fry at home is tasty and good for you!