Summer Squash & Spinach Gratin

I realize summer is over but squash is at my farmer’s market year round. I found the original recipe for this from the gorgeous Hot Moody Mess ladies’ website.  Don’t let the name full you, they are all kinds of hot who figured out how to drop the moody mess.  I tweaked the recipe a bit trying to cut even more calories but either recipe will produce a tasty dish that can be served as a side or even the main dish if you are not married to a man who believes all meals should have a meat as the star of the plate.

You can find the original recipe here.

This is not one of my super easy sides because it does take some time to prepare. HOWEVER, we eat brown rice often in my household. If I know I’m going to make this dish within a day or two of eating brown rice, I will make extra rice and save it.

If you do the chopping ahead of time and measure out your seasoning in a separate dish, mince your garlic, it makes it easier. Also, I use Oregano in pretty much everything. Oregano has been shown over the years to support the immune system. I always look for ways to aide the immune system. The original recipe called for dried thyme which is just as good of flavor as Oregano.

Summer Squash & Spinach Gratin
About 6 servings. Per serving: 184 calories, 16 g of carbs, 10 g of fat, 8 g of protein, 5 g of sugar

1 or 1.5 cups spinach
4 medium summer squash chopped into ½ cubes
2 tbspns olive oil
1 tspn olive oil (to drizzle over finished dish before putting in oven)
2 or 3 large garlic cloves minced
1 medium onion chopped
1 tspn salt
Pepper to taste
1 tspn oregano
¾ cups cooked brown rice
1 tbspn Earth Balance butter spread
½ cup liquid egg whites
½ cup part skim, mozzarella cheese (shredded)
¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
¼ cup bread crumbs

Cook the rice ahead of time. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Spray a deep dish pie pan or casserole dish.
• In a large skillet, cook the onions over medium heat in 2 tbspns of olive oil. Cook until translucent. Then add the garlic. Cook only about 30 seconds.
• Then add your squash and cook for about five minutes, stirring frequently.
• Once your squash is cooked (tender but not too soft, season with the salt, pepper and oregano.
• Combine the rice with the butter in another bowl.
• Remove the squash and onions from heat. Add the rice, eggs whites, mozzarella and spinach.
• Stir mixture well. Pour into the baking dish.
• Add the crumbled feta to the top of the mixture. Then sprinkle the bread crumbs.
• Finally, drizzle the remaining tspn of olive oil over the final mixture and place in oven.

Cook for about 40 or 45 minutes until the top is brown and the gratin is sizzling. Wait about 10 minutes before serving. Can also be served at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Storms in Texas

Fall and Spring are my two favorite seasons.  In Texas, both produce pretty much the same weather so it’s almost unfair to pick one over the other.  The air is crisp. The sky is blue and one of my two favorite sports is in season (football or baseball).  Unfortunately, both seasons also produce severe storms in my neck of the woods. In fact, most will say I live in Tornado Ally.  Now that we have an underground storm shelter, storms don’t bother me – when I’m home.  Storms are no longer my problem. The slow cooker is! Last week, we had our second severe storm of the second tornado season.  I awoke Monday morning and was excited to get a new recipe in the slow cooker.  It’s a very simple recipe. Peeled garlic cloves (not minced) on the bottom of the slow cooker (about 20 or so), either a whole chicken with a half of a lemon stuffed inside or about 3 pounds of chicken breast (and the lemon in the middle of the breasts), fresh thyme and rosemary, paprika, salt and pepper. Cook on low for about 6 hours.  I quietly prepared the ingredients while everyone still slept before I started sounding alarms to get up for school.  As I put the lid on the pot, a flash of lightening lit up the house. I thought for a brief minute, ‘man, it would be bad if the electricity went off and ruined all of this chicken.’  We had just experienced a severe storm the week prior and lost electricity for 11 hours. We were the lucky ones. Some lost power for three or four days. I have no idea why I didn’t go with my gut and elect to do something else for dinner that day, but I didn’t and off to work I went.  All day I thought about that chicken.  What would I put with it? How would my house smell when we got home? I’d have a new recipe for a blog post and couldn’t wait.  The time finally came and we arrived home.  I just wanted to get in the door and check on my chicken.  As soon as I opened the door, I heard it.  The dreaded beep of the security system telling me the power had gone out at some point during the day. ‘Oh no!’ I thought. Then I hoped maybe the power had recently gone off… even though the storm had passed about 30 minutes after we left the house…and no aroma of garlic chicken hit me as I walked in the door. ‘Maybe I can pop it in the oven… Maybe the electricity only blinked and the cooker stayed on…’ I raced to the corner of the kitchen where dinner usually cooks and my heart sank as I peered into a pot of pink, raw, cold meat sitting on the counter long enough for salmonella to grow.

Now, instead of a post titled “French Bistro Slow Cooker Chicken,” we have “Storms in Texas.” This weekend I will add this to my weekly menu again and check the weather before I fire up the slow cooker.  At least we received some much needed rain in Texas.