Squash and Egg Casserole

This morning, we are having a goodbye breakfast for our lab tech, Matt.  He has decided to leave us and head to the Big Apple to work at Sloan-Kettering while waiting for an answer on his medical school applications.  I decided that maybe it was time to do something a little different in saying goodbye to Matt.  So I asked him if he liked breakfast.  He responded with a resounding yes.  Instead of asking the boss to pay for lunch (and be limited to 3 restaurants because of the lab's allergies), I invited our colleague's lab to join us and asked everyone to bring a dish to pass.  My dish, because I am still trying to use up everything I got during the 2 weeks Renee was in Italy, is an egg casserole.  I decided on this because I knew I had turkey bacon and a summer squash in my refrigerator.  This morning, when I went to get ingredients together, I discovered a second summer squash.  So instead of making a strata type casserole (which is a bit of a problem for me and for my boss who is celiac), I decided to just use the squash and bacon.

Squash and Bacon Egg Casserole
Note: I used turkey bacon in this recipe because I had it in my refrigerator and it's easy because it's precooked.  If you prefer, you can use regular bacon (which we often get from the CSA), but you would need to cook it before adding it to the casserole.  And if you are cooking bacon, you might as well cook up some onions as well ;).  I didn't put onion in this casserole because it was sort of a dump and bake recipe today.  I would do it differently given the time and availability of ingredients.

•  1 lb smoked turkey bacon
• 2 medium yellow crookneck squash*, halved and sliced thin
• 4 cups cheese (I used sharp cheddar and Italian blend)
• 12 eggs*
• 2 1/4 cups milk* (I used skim)
• salt, pepper and dried basil, to taste

Dice the bacon; place bacon and squash into baking dish and mix well.  Sprinkle with cheese.  In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk and seasonings; beat until smooth.  Pour egg mixture over squash and bacon.  Bake 10 minutes at 400F and then reduce heat to 350F.  Bake and additional 15-20 minutes or until a knife, inserted into the center of the casserole, comes out clean.

*CSA ingredients. 

Ratatouille

I know it's late in summer for me to admit that I have made my first ratatouille of the season.  However, this is my favorite dish when I have summer squashes available.  Since I am limited in volume that I can eat, I suppose I have avoided making this because I don't know how I will use it.  However, I will give you some ideas at the end of the recipe.  Since it is still quite warm (and thus, my apartment is warm), I am still not willing to use my oven or stovetop to cook, so this recipe is developed for a slow cooker.  I will also mention that I make many different varieties of ratatouille, including one that is sort of a tomato-based sauce-like version.  This version, is more based on eggplant and squash and has an entirely different taste and feel, but there is a pleasant sweetness that I really enjoy.

Slow Cooker Ratatouille

• 1 medium eggplant, diced
• 1 large sweet onion*, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic*, minced
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 small yellow zucchini*, sliced (may use green zucchini if you have them)
• 1 medium crookneck squash*, halved and sliced
• 4 small tomatoes*, thin wedges
• 8 small bell peppers, mixed colors, large dice
•  1 Tbsp dried herbs (I use basil, but you could also use oregano, marjarom or whatever you like)

 Prepare vegetables.  Turn slow cooker to HIGH; add onion slices, garlic and eggplant.  Drizzle with olive oil; cover and cook for 1 hour, or until onions are soft. Turn cooker to LOW; add remaining ingredients.  Cook for 6-8 hours until vegetables are soft, but not mushy.

Note: this recipe, while it has tomatoes in it, is not as tomato-based as many versions are.  However, there is a nice sweetness from the eggplant and onions that is unique to ratatouille.  Serving possibilities: as a side dish, over pasta as a sort of primevera sauce, use as a filling for omelets, used as a wrap filling.  While I would love to use this as an entree, since I've had gastric surgery, I can only use it as a side dish or in omelets.  There is not enough protein to warrent using it as a meal.  

*CSA Ingredients
 

Corn

We got the first of the sweet corn for the summer.  I have been waiting for this because I like to cut it from the cob and freeze it.  You do not have to blanch corn before you freeze it (I found out last year). So, I will take about 2 cups of the corn to make tortilla soup and then split the rest between two bags, just in case Renee doesn't get more corn in the next two weeks.  I took the last two full packages, so she will take the next two. 

The chicken tortilla soup that I am making today is one that I found on the internet years ago and it has always worked out beautifully. It always comes out a bit different every time I make it because I am not loyal to any brand of salsa and just that little change can change the flavor of this wonderful soup.  I will actually name the brands that I use today, but you can use whatever brands you like.

Amy's Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
Adapted from: http://www.a-crock-cook.com/amys-crock-pot-chicken-tortilla-soup.html

• 1 1/2 lb. (750g) chicken breast halves*
• 3 cups enchilada chicken broth* (from cooking enchilada chicken)
• 1 cup water
• 2 - 15oz. (420g) cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups fresh corn kernals*
• 2 - 14.5oz cans of Rotel tomatoes
• 1 - 14 oz. (410ml) can of tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup hungarian peppers*, chopped
• 1 c. hot salsa (0rtega Thick and Chunky Mild)
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 T. ground cumin

Place all ingredients into crock pot.  Cook on LOW for 4-6 hours.  Remove chicken breasts and cool: shred chicken and return to pot.  Garnish with tortilla chips, cheese, tomatoes, avocados, etc. as desired.

Note: I had fresh broth from cooking a whole chicken and chose to use that instead of canned broth.  If you do not have fresh broth available, use 4 cups canned stock (if available) or broth.  When I have them available, I also opt to roast tomatoes with jalapenos instead of using Rotel.

*CSA ingredients

Enchilada Chicken

The one advantage of having been grounded this weekend is that I have time to cook.  I have an extra chicken since we got two in a row, so I offered one of them to my husband.  Originally, I was going to have to carry it up to MI and cook it up there.  Since I wasn't allowed to travel, I decided to cook it for him here.  I had gotten a packet of Rick Bayless's Enchilada Sauce (with roasted garlic and tomatoes).  I have tried his taco sauce and it was really good, so I am excited to see how this tastes.  Of course, my husband likes everything spicy (and enchilada sauce is usually quite mild), so I added jalapenos to the mix.  All of this was cooked in a crock pot.  I love cooking whole chickens in the crock pot because they always come out moist and beautiful.

Enchilada Chicken 

• 1 (4.5-5 pound) free-range chicken*
• 1 pkg Rick Bayless's enchilada sauce (with roasted garlic and tomatoes)
• 1/2 jar Jalapeno slices

Remove neck and giblets from cavity of chicken.  Place chicken upside-down into crock pot.  Pour enchilada sauce over the chicken.  Place jalapeno slices around and inside chicken cavity.  Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.  Using a quick-read thermometer, make sure that the temperature is 160F when placed in the thickest part of the thigh. 

*CSA ingredients

Fresh salad

It seems that this summer I am craving fresh.  So, when I needed to come up with another side for a picnic, I decided to go with cucumber tomato salad again.  However, this time, I had artichoke hearts available too.  I wasn't able to attend the picnic because I am still recovering from the anesthesia from when they removed my IVC filter on Wednesday.  However, I went ahead and made the salad so that my husband could enjoy it this week.

Greek Cucumber Salad

• 1 (15-oz) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 (14-oz) can quartered artichoke hearts, diced
• 1 large tomato*, diced
• 1 medium cucumber*, diced

Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans; remove any loose skins.  Place beans in a zippered bag with olive oil and vinagar: marinate overnight.  Pour beans into a large bowl; dice other vegetables and add to the beans.  Toss with dressing.  Top with feta cheese just before serving, if desired.

 
*CSA ingredients

And It Continues

I would like to believe that someday I will have a medical procedure and I will not have some sort of complication.  Yesterday, they removed my IVC filter.  It took them 3 hours because the filter had tilted and scar tissue had started to grow over the top.  It appears that at least one of the struts had the same issue.  When they finally were able to hook the filter, they sent the sheath down to cover the hooks and one of the hooks broke off.  So, I now, permanently, have a small piece of plastic in my inferior vena cava.  I was told that it was nothing to worry about because the scar tissue covers it and thus it will no longer be a blood clot risk.  The alternative was to attempt to retrieve the piece, but because of the scar tissue that presented a bleeding risk. 

Needless to say, with all of the other things than have happened through all of this, my boss is not pleased.  He was going to call a cardiologist friend to see what her opinion was.  But in the meantime, I was told that he reviewed the x-ray and had two other doctors review it and "it's fine."  All I can do is hope and pray.  These experiences are not encouraging me to want to recommend our hospital to others.  It's really sad. After this latest episode, I probably will write the letter that my boss requested me to write.  I didn't want to at first, but there is just so much that has not gone exactly right and someone should know.

In the meantime, I am dealing with a very poorly placed bandage that they wouldn't allow me to change.  It's preventing range of motion for my neck to the point that I didn't feel safe driving.  AND I think it is causing me a lot of pain.  If I am right, when I remove it tomorrow, most of my issues will go away.  I am hoping.  Just so you can see, here's a picture of the bandage.  I will be glad to have it off tomorrow.

Recycle and Reuse

Have you ever wondered what to do with all those plastic grocery bags that you just can't seem to get rid of?  I was next door at Sunnyside Up Breakfast Nook and Gallery visiting Robin, Schulz, the owner.  She had a new artist visiting and was looking at her goods.  As we looked through beautiful scarves and pins, she asked if anyone was selling market bags.  She pulled a couple out and lo and behold, they were crocheted from plastic grocery bags.  They were so cool looking (and such a great way to reuse these nuisance bags), I asked her how to make them.  Here is a step-by-step in case you are interested in learning!

1) Lay grocery bag flat

2) Roll bag lengthwise

3) Cut off the bottom seam

4) Make bands by cutting strips about 1/2-1/3 inch in width

5) Unroll the bands and thread one through another

6) Form knot by taking other end of threaded loop and threading through threaded loop (did I say thread enough?) similar to how you would thread a lanyard

7) Pull the knot tight by pulling both bands (note, if you pull from the far end of each band, you are more likely to get the knot centered correctly)

8) Repeat with remaining bands and roll into a ball.  Then you can use these knotted strands in place of yarn when creating your market bag.

This pattern can be found at: http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/L10485.html?utm_source=20120713_July13&utm_medium=Emails&utm_campaign=Weeklynewsletter&utm_content=P-SimpleCrochetTote

Note: it may take some time to consistantly string the bands evenly.  I have not finished the bag yet, so I haven't figured out what to do with excess that is sticking out.  I am sure you just weave it into the stitches, but I will have to let you know when I finish.

Salads

It is once again that time of year: time for the departmental picnic.  Every year, our lab manager pulls up the calender for Case's Squire Valleevue Farm to see when we can hold our picnic.  I am really grateful for her because she does all the work: reserving the shelter, picking up most of the food, grilling, sending out emails, getting people to bring sports equipment, water balloons and water guns (yes, we get wet during this picnic).  All I have to do is come up with side dishes. 

Since our boss is celiac, I have, in the past, gone with a quinoa and kale salad.  It's a good fall-back when you need to go gluten free.  However, in the past, I have also managed to eat all of the fruits and vegetables from my share on a timely basis.  This year, I have a lot of more vegetables and fruit available because I eat these things so slowly now.  So, I decided to go with two salads, both gluten-free, that are quite different from quinoa salad.

Summer Fruit Salad
While another person is bringing a fruit salad, I have learned over the years that in the summertime, that usually means watermelon.  I have issues with watermelon due to my seasonal allergies (it makes me itch), so I made a small summer salad without any form of melon.

• 1 medium mango, pitted and diced
• 1 pint blueberries, washed*
• 2 medium free-stone peaches, sliced thin*
• 6 small apricots, quartered*
• 1/3 cup orange juice

Prepare all of the fruit and combine in a bowl.  Pour orange juice over fruit and mix well.

 
Cucumber Salad
Since our lab manager is from Jordon, we always know we will have tabbouli and baba ganoush at the picnic.  This year, I decided to do a fresh vegetable salad with garbanzo beans that I felt compliment The other items.  

• 1 medium cucumber, diced*
• 1 large tomato, diced*
• 1 15-oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 4 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp honey*
• 4 oz feta cheese

Prepare vegetables and place in bowl.  Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans and mix with vegetables.  Mix oil, lemon juice and honey in a small bowl.  Pour over vegetable mixture and stir.  Refrigerate overnight to marinate.  Just before serving, mix in feta cheese.

  
*CSA ingredients

Greens and Chicken

Last night, I searched recipes for bok choy because I really needed to use up some baby bok choy I had gotten a couple weeks ago.  I found a recipe for chicken adobo that looked really good and could be made in a slow-cooker, which meant it could cook while I was sleeping.  While the recipe calls for several heads of bok choy, I also had a fairly good size bunch of kale I needed to use up, so I combined the baby bok choy and kale to give the dish some depth.

Slow-Cooker Chicken Adobo with Greens
Adapted from: http://projectroe.wordpress.com/2011/03/02/slow-cooker-chicken-adobo-with-bok-choy/

• 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs (may substitute whole chicken, cut up*)
• 2 2/3 cup cider vinegar
• 1 1/3 cup tamari or light soy sauce
• 4 Tbsp light brown sugar
• 1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced*
• sweet paprika, to taste
• 2 heads baby bok choy*
• 1 bunch kale*

Slice onion thinly and place in bottom slow cooker.  Mix vinegar, soy sauce and brown sugar; pour over onions.  Place chicken thighs over mixture and sprinkle with paprika.  Cover and cook on LOW 7-8 hours.  Wash greens thoroughly and chop into bite-sized pieces.  Turn slow cooker to HIGH; place greens on top of chicken.  Cook 10 minutes until greens are bright green.  Serve over rice, if desired.

Note: this recipe has quite a vinegary taste.  If you prefer a more sweet sauce, you may add a couple more tablespoons of brown sugar to cut the acid.

*CSA ingredients

Easy Crockpot Chicken

One of the frustrating things about summer for me is that I have no air conditioning in my apartment.  Last week, the temperatures averaged in the high-90's with a heat index in the 100's.  So, obviously, not the type of weather where you want to be firing up your stove or oven.  That is why I LOVE my crock-pot.  I have used a crock-pot since the day I moved away from home because of the convenience.  However, in the summertime, there are weeks where I would not have any home cooking if it weren't for the crock-pot!

This week, I had chicken thighs in my freezer and was really trying to figure out what to make.  I apologize because only one of the ingredients was actually a Fresh Fork product, however, by the end of summer, I can guarantee that almost everything in this dish could be from Fresh Fork.  It makes a really nice spicy chicken that you could serve over rice or noodles or put in tortillas for burritos or over tortilla chips for nachos.

Creamy Spicy Chicken

• 1-1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, frozen (may substitute 4 cups cooked, shredded chicken*)
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes with chiles (substitute 1 large heirloom tomato with one hot pepper, diced*)
• 2 cups frozen sweet corn*
• 1 can Black Beans, drained & rinsed (substitued 2 C cooked black turtle beans*)
• 8 oz Philadelphia fat-free cream cheese (substitute fresh cream cheese, any fat content*)

Place chicken in bottom of crock-pot.  Pour remaining ingredients on top.  Cover and cook on LOW 6-8 hours, stirring every couple hours.  When finished cooking, remove chicken thighs and cool.  Shred chicken and return to mixture.  Allow to cool about 30 minutes before serving.  Serve over rice, noodles, in tortillas as tacos or burritos or over tortilla chips as nachos.

*CSA ingredients 

Progress

Last week was interesting in many ways.  First, I had my next follow-up with the bariatric surgery.  I have now officially lost 76.3 pounds.  The bariatric nurse came into the room exclaiming that I was now at a 6 month weight loss only three and a half months after surgery.  She also told me that I am still very restricted in stomach capacity compared to most at this stage (which probably explains the weight loss).  I started to get concerned that I was doing something wrong, but she said that as long as I am meeting my nutritional needs and getting exercise in, there was nothing wrong with my current status. 

I also would like to point out that I lost 27.3 pounds before the surgery and that is included in the total weight loss.  So if you take what I have lost since surgery and divide it by the number of weeks, it comes out to a 3.5lbs/week rate of loss. I think that is very reasonable.  I am glad that things continue to go in the right direction.  I got worried for a while as I was trying to get past the 300lb mark.  I only managed to lose about 2 lbs in 3 weeks while my body fought against breaking that barrier.  The rapid weight-loss after I finally broke it was simply my body catching up.  It has slowed back down to what appears to be 2-3.5 lbs a week now.  I am happy with that.

I just wanted to share a picture I took this weekend because I finally have a pair of pants that basically fit.  I am quite please with how my body is starting to look and I am hopeful that I might actually be able to have a reasonable ratio between my hips and waist at some point in time (I am very pear shaped).

For those of you who follow my blog for my recipes, I am hoping to get back to cooking this week.  Last week was unbearably hot and I could not convince myself to fire up my stove or oven.  Living in an apartment with no a/c makes it very difficult to be on top of cooking.  We have some great produce that I desperately need to cook, so look for some food entries this week!