Healthy, Freezable Quinoa Casserole

Veggie & Quinoa Casserole (individual servings)

Once Kate transitioned from baby food (purees) to toddler-friendly table food, I researched various recipes for meals that could be frozen and reheated easily while still maintaining good texture and taste.  This recipe is great because it combines one of my new favorite grains (quinoa) and veggies for a nutritional punch.

Speaking of quinoa. . . I was very intimidated by this grain before I started cooking with it regularly.  Now it is one of my favorite, go-to grains . . . especially since it is gluten-free!  I highly recommend you try it if you haven’t had it before.

As you know, I am a working mom and try to prepare meals on the weekends for the week ahead so I can spend more quality time with Kate and TC between work and bedtime.  During Kate's two-hour nap I usually cook the meals and place in freezer bags or containers, labeling with cooking instructions so it is easy for TC to prepare as well.  I prepare this dish in muffin cups for individual servings and then place in large freezer bags to take out one at a time as needed.  This also makes it easier to take to the babysitter’s for Kate to have for lunch.

I start by preparing the quinoa according to the package directions.  This typically consists of one cup of quinoa and 2 cups water.  I bring it to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes.

While the quinoa is simmering, I steam a package of frozen broccoli and carrots (or whatever veggies you like).  Once the veggies are steamed, I place them in the food processor and chop to fine bits.  I do this because I use veggies that Kate is not fond of eating in whole form.  For instance, she loves eating peas and green beans so I do not include them in this dish since she will eat them whole.  For some reason, she doesn’t mind the veggies diced in this dish.

Once the quinoa is done simmering, I add the diced veggies and combine.

Next, I add the mozzarella cheese.  The cheese is not necessary but I think it gives it a nice creamy texture.

I place muffin tin cups in my muffin pan and then fill with the mixture. I bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.

Once completely cooled, I place in a large freezer bag and take out as I need.  Delish!

Enjoy!

Rachael

Veggie & Quinoa Casserole

1 cup Quinoa

1 package frozen broccoli

1 package frozen carrots

1 cup Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place muffin cups in a muffin tin.

Add quinoa to 2 cups water.  Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer for 30 minutes.  While quinoa is simmering steam the veggies in the microwave.  Place steamed veggies in a food processor and chop until fine.

Once quinoa is cooked and veggies are chopped, mix together.  Add mozzarella cheese.

Put mixture into muffin cups.  Bake for 12 minutes.

Let cool completely and then transfer to freezer bags and freeze.  Take out as needed.

Eggless Breakfast Casserole?!?!

Cheesy Sausage and Hashbrown Casserole

I always looked forward to holiday breakfasts as a child.  These mostly consisted of hashbrowns, sausage or bacon (sometimes both!), eggs and biscuits.  I could eat this ‘breakfast’ meal morning, noon and night.

This particular recipe started with a search for a Father’s Day breakfast meal that didn’t have any egg (TC and sis have allergies/intolerances) but was still delicious and filling.  Everything I would normally prepare (based on what I had as a child) would not meet the allergen needs.  Pinterest to the rescue!!

I could tell my entire family was skeptical as I explained it was eggless.  So often this means bland and tasteless or funky textures.  This put all those misconceptions to rest.

It was such a hit I included it in the rotation of my frozen meals I cook on the weekend for week night dinners.  Look for a post soon on how I prepare the week’s dinners on the weekend for fast and easy homemade meals on weeknights!  As always, below is the recipe and link.  Please excuse the laundry basket in the photo below! :)

First, I started preheating the oven to 375 degrees and browned the sausage on my stovetop.

Next, I chopped up the cooked ham.  You can purchase it already diced if you like.

In a large bowl (and I mean seriously large) I combined the hashbrowns, ham, sausage, cream of potato soup, sour cream, and cheddar cheese.

Next, I spread the mixture into the casserole dishes.  My mixture made enough for 3 small casserole dishes.

Bake for one hour.  The top should be golden brown.

This dish can be served as a casserole (as I made) or in individual ramekin dishes.  Next time I think I will add green peppers and maybe some other veggies.  What would you add, if anything, to this dish?

Enjoy!

Rachael

Cheesy Sausage and Hashbrown Casserole

1 (32 oz.) package of frozen hashbrowns

2 packages pork sausage

10 oz, cooked ham, diced

2 (10.75 oz.) condensed cream of potato soup

1 (16 oz.) sour cream

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease the desired casserole dish (at least one 9 x 13).

Brown sausage in a skillet on the stovetop, drain and set aside.  Chop cooked ham.  In a large bowl, combine hashbrowns, ham, sausage, cream of potato soup, sour cream, and shredded cheddar cheese.

Spread evenly onto desired baking dish.

Bake for one hour, until lightly browned. 

http://www.travelandphotographytoday.com/cheesy-sausage-and-ham-hash-brown-casserole#more-4953

Fresh Blackberry Cobbler

BLACKBERRY TIME!

One thing you should know about me is that I am a wannabe gardener.  It never fails that every March I tell my husband, TC, how I would love to plant a garden that year.  We could plant tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, zucchini, strawberries, corn….and the list goes on and on.  (Yes, I have very lofty goals!)  He looks at me, smiles politely and every year, asks, “But who would water it and pick the veggies in July when it is so hot outside you complain about having to walk from the air conditioned house to the air conditioned car?”  (This man truly knows me).  Needless to say, we do not have a garden.

We do, however, as I learned a couple weeks ago, have blackberry bushes.  I have lived in this house for almost six years and this is the first I have heard of these blackberry bushes!  (After TC’s comment above- you have probably reached the conclusion I do not take frequent walks on our 3.5 acres to inspect what kind of plants and bushes we have growing.)

What should one do with ripe blackberries?  Make blackberry cobbler, of course!

After putting Kate to bed this evening I went, measuring cup in hand, to the blackberry bushes I have heard so much about.  Wow!  There were a TON of blackberries!  They were a bit smaller than I am used to seeing but with the unusually dry spring this made sense.  In the 15 minutes it took me to pick 1.5 cups of these beautiful berries I was reminded of a story my grandparents enjoy telling about my mom. 

When my mom and her brother were young, my grandparents would take them blackberry picking every summer.  The blackberries they picked would be sold and they used the money for their family vacation fund.  It never failed that my mother would just sit and cry in the middle of all these bushes because she hated the heat, was getting bitten by bugs, hated the outdoors, etc., etc.  (Apparently, she was quite the drama queen when she was a child!) I used to join right in and make fun of her with the fam….not anymore!  When I got back to the house this evening I was sweating so much I had to shower and change clothes to be comfortable and I was bitten by so many mosquitos I had to take some Benadryl to keep from scratching the skin off of my feet.  Mom- I am so sorry I made fun of you.  It will not happen again!  J

The recipe I used to make the cobbler is from www.allbisquickrecipes.com .  I had all the ingredients on hand (TC has a gluten intolerance so I used gluten-free Bisquick) so I decided to give it a go.

I removed any remaining stems and washed the berries well.

I mixed cornstarch, sugar, cinnamon, water and the blackberries in a pot, bringing the mixture to a boil and cooking for two minutes.

While this mixture was cooking on the stove, I started on the topping.  In a small bowl I combined the gluten-free Bisquick, sugar, melted butter, and milk.

Once the wet mixture finished cooking on the stove I dumped it into an 8 x 8 glass casserole dish and placed the dry mixture on top. 

I baked it for 25 minutes.  Once cooled, I enjoyed mine with some vanilla ice cream (TC likes his with Cool Whip) and settled into the recliner for some dessert and a rerun episode of the Big Bang Theory.  Perfect way to spend a Thursday night!

I posted the recipe and link below.  Make sure to leave a comment on what you think!

Enjoy!

Rachael

http://www.allbisquickrecipes.com/bisquick-cobbler/bisquick-blackberry-cobbler/

Bisquick Blackberry Cobbler Recipe

2 tbsp cornstarch

¾ cup sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup water

1 ½ cup blackberries

Topping:

1 cup Bisquick

2 tsp. sugar

2 tbsp. butter, melted

¼ cup milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Combine water, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and blackberries.  Bring to boil.  Cook for 2 minutes.  Pour into casserole dish and cover with topping.  Topping:  mix Bisquick, sigar, butter, and milk.  Bake until golden, about 25 to 30 minutes.