Roasted Squash to Ratatouille

A recent rummaging through my produce drawers yeilded yellow squash, zucchini - (which my darling husband did not know until like a week ago, was a squash - married to me no less, for almost 11 years!!! - but I digress) an eggplant and one sorry lonely red pepper.  Not really feeling up for a whole lot of active cooking time - I decided to chop it all - add to it an onion, the requisite garlic, some cleaning out the fridge tomato paste, a little Italian herb, and a healthy splash of EVOO.  Tossed in a big ole bowl and spread on a sheet pan, into the 425 oven for 40 minutes with a stir half way and we had ourselves a WINNER.  Served as a side one night and a topper for my salad the next, the sheer volume of veggies used in the original made a planned over inevitable.

Squash, Eggplant, Onion, Red Pepper.........................Ratatouille!! And no not the animated rat who cooks!

According to Wikipedia "Ratatouille is usually served as a side dish, but may also be served as a meal on its own (accompanied by pasta, rice or bread). Tomatoes are a key ingredient, with garlic, onions, courgette (zucchini), aubergine (eggplant), bell peppers, marjoram and basil, or bay leaf and thyme, or a mix of green herbs like herbes de Provence. There is much debate on how to make a traditional ratatouille.

As my blog clearly shows I don't find it within myself to feel the need to adhere to tradition when it comes to cooking.  I had the roasted veg that on it's own had an excellent flavor profile, I simply wanted to tweak it to change what we already had into new and even more spectacular.

My original dish was pretty chunky so I more finely chopped the veg and added capers, olives, and some tomatoes.   For a touch of summer a cube of pesto and a small squeeze of lemon.  Even more perfection.

Garth and the Luck of the Irish

My Grandfather Garth was a pretty awesome guy.  Always a twinkle in his blue eyes and the whitest legs you have ever, ever, laid your eyes upon.  Always quick with a joke and never having met a stranger - he was the first person to tell me I was beautiful.  LOVER of ice cream, I remember fondly the sunday bar's he would create for sister and I.  During their marriage, the LOVE of his life, my grandmother Joise, they very nearly never spent a night apart.  Great man, greatly missed.

His favorite thing for Josie to make was her stuffed cabbage rolls.  And while I don't remember ever her making them or having them served to me, I always remember that they were his favorite.

In honor of Garth and as a way to use up a bit of PlannedOver cooked rice, I present Stuffed Cabbage Rolls!!

Blanch cabbage leaves in salted boiling water for 4 minutes each.  Set aside to cool.  Sautee onions and ground beef until no longer pink.  Add cooked rice, a splash of whostershire sauce and stir to combine.  Fill leaves with rice mixture, roll and place seam side down in a baking dish.  Top with tomato sauce.  Bake 350 for 40 minutes!

 Enjoy!!! Happy Eating!!

Cheesy Broccoli Rice PlannedOver Part 2

I do promise I am nearing the end - for now- of what it is that you should be doing with the various stages of broccoli I found myself with.  From Soup to casserole to cakes and now for it's final incarnation - Fried Rice!!  It has been said and I find it to be quite true that indeed necessity is the mother of all invention.  And while I am not opposed, per se, to straight out of the fridge left overs - on occasion that is - I find it much more compelling to create something new and unique.   This desire for new tastes and flavors combined with my overly healthy desire to NOT WASTE food was the birthplace of turning something into something else.  Now add to that mix my busy schedule which necessitates a high degree of organization, and thus plannedovers were born. 

And don't get me wrong.  There is no NEED for this much planning and organizing and forethought always.  For you.  For me my desire to have a wonderful dinner on a daily basis - trumps pretty much all else and so the neurosis continues!  Come along for the ride - it's sure to be a tasty one!

Fried Rice

I sauteed some onion and peas in a touch of sesame and garlic oil added the rice and a little soy sauce and once heated drizzled a beaten egg turning over with a spatula to ensure the egg was thoroughly cooked.

Enjoy!!! Happy Eating!!!

Cheesy Broccoli Rice Plannedover Part 1

And thus continues the never ending saga of broccoli around my parts.  I hope you too have as much as an affinity for the tree top cruciferous vegetables as I certainly seem to.   Who can guess if I had to google how to spell THAT word? 

Lots of broccoli called for more creativity and I was on it, sorry could not help myself, like white on rice.  So the planned over rice was stripped of its top cheesy layer, and tossed in a bowl with some bread crumbs until it "held"  I took the cheese and sandwiched it between two rice patties carefully sealing the edges as to not allow any cheese to escape.  Cheese oozing out of the rice cakes in the pan, bad.  Cheese oozing out of the rice cakes on your plate, very, very good!

Into a pan with a squirt of EVOO and just a little time to turn blah boring beige into delightfully golden brown. 

Delish!  Enjoy and Happy Eating!!

Stay tuned for just what in the world this crazy woman is up to with the never-ending broccoli plannedover next week!

Part Two of my broccoli overloaded surplus.

So now I have a mess of Broccoli soup to contend with and while a stint in the freezer is always a great option  - who doesn't love to have something at the ready to pull out at a moments notice?  The recent ice storms here - yes ICE STORMS - in the sunny south - have altered my viewpoint of the merits of a too too full freezer.  So I had to come up with a plan b.  I remembered my mom's mom Anna and the broccoli casserole she would make only just for me upon my summer visits.  Although I am sure it was chock full of Cream of something soup - I LOVED that she made it for me and I really did not like to share.

Fond memories present I found in addition to my broccoli soup some cooked rice and violia Cheesy Broccoli Rice casserole was born.  Have you ever noticed that if you prepose pretty much anything with the word Cheesy it becomes appetizing?  Try it - you'll see. Rice Casserole.  Cheesy rice casserole.  Enchiladas or Cheesy Enchiladas.  Broccoli or Cheesy Broccoli.  I rest my case.

I mixed broccoli soup with cooked rice, topped it off with some shredded cheddar.  Bake in a 350 oven 35-40 minutes until heated through and it's reached it's perfect level of cheesy!

Enjoy! Happy Eating!

And now......what to do with PlannedOver Cheesy Broccoli Rice part I

Costco and Broccoli Stalks

A long time ago in a forest far away lived a whole very big bunch of broccoli.  Won't you join us please on this four part planned over that will take us on an unprecedented use of plannedover product.

It all began with a trip to Costco.  In which I shopped without consulting my fridge for inventory and now I have a new rule, a new shopping rule that is, that I will share with you so you can learn from the error of my ways.  Do not go to Costco straight from the airport after you have been gone for a week and buy industrial sized (IS) bags of vegetables.  Just do not, bad idea.  There is however, one caveat to this rule which proves you are the ultimate planner because your have made sure your fridge was empty when you left. In THAT case you can shop freely for extra large portions of perishables to your hearts content.  I however found my self with 1.5 IS bags of broccoli AND a small bit of mostly stems in a produce bag hiding in the back corner.  I had a LOT of broccoli.  Even my darling husband who NEVER complains about anything that I make feebly requested to have one day broccoli free.  So I had to get REALLY creative.

I triaged my supply and determined the stalks and half empty old IS bag of broccoli needed to go sooner rather than later.  What to do with stalks and oldish broccoli?  You could make the Broccoli Pesto I wrote about here ages ago.  Or you can keep it simple and oh so satisfying by throwing the broccoli bits, some onion and potato, and some stock into a big ole pot and you can make soup.  Broccoli soup is healthy, a great use of excess and unwanted broccoli parts, and most importantly deliciously comforting food.   Top with some cheddar cheese perhaps a dollop of sour cream and thoroughly enjoy!

Maybe not the most appetizing photo- but hey it's hard to take a picture of steaming soup!  Try Food and Wine's recipe!

And now..... what to do with our planned over Broccoli Soup???

Happy Eating!

The Reincarnation of the Roast of PlannedOver Future

A not so Long long time ago (humming when the music dies) I wrote a post about the Roast of PlannedOver Future - and while we did enjoy the roast first go around, knowing that I have something cooked and in the freezer and ready to incorporate into a fabulous dinner - gives me immense satisfaction.  What can I say??? I'm a planner!  I do and have realized after talking with friends and meeting new people that not everyone shares my affliction for needing to plan.  Some are in fact, quite happy to have no clue what they will be eating for dinner that night, even if it is RAPIDLY approaching dinner time.  I have not found myself to have that capacity, it sounds nice - if only on paper.

So after we enjoyed the roast I subdivided into two portions and vaccusealed and labeled the plannedovers and into the freezer to await their rebirth into a hectic work day meal.   On this particular occasion I knew it would be a late night for me so I needed something simple for my darling husband to simply heat and eat.  That coupled with the cold temperatures of late led me to make something warmy and comforty and I decided on a stuffed spud.  To keep it as simple as possible I shredded the meat and added it to a homemade bechamel style cheese sauce, using up the last bits of several bags of shredded cheese including mexican and Cheddar.  Ready to simply heat and pour over baked potatoes.  Add a simple salad and some steamed broccoli and dinner is DONE!!

Shredded Meat in Cheese Sauce

Happy Eating!!! Enjoy!