Zucchini, Tomato & Mozzarella Casserole

September 14, 2017 Leave a Comment

Zucchini, Tomato and Mozzarella Casserole

This is a super easy, comforting side dish, perfect for all those zucchini and tomatoes over-flowing your garden! I adapted the recipe from Melissa’s Southern Style Kitchen, she used halved zucchini with Gouda cheese, I sliced mine and used Mozzarella. There are endless ways you can make this dish but the spices in the recipe below really hit the spot with me! You could easily add your favorite cooked protein to the layers to create a complete meal, this particular recipe would be great with a spicy Italian sausage.

Zucchini, Tomato & Mozzarella Casserole

Serves 4 as a side dish

Ingredients
  • 2 medium zucchini, sliced length-wise (10-12 slices total)
  • 2 Roma tomatoes thinly sliced (18 slices total)
  • salt
  • 3 Tbsp ghee or butter, melted (olive or avocado oil would be good too)
  • ¼ tsp garlic salt
  • ¼ tsp onion powder
  • ¼ tsp dry Italian seasoning
  • ¼ tsp black pepper or to taste
  • 4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
  • ¼ cup gluten free panko breadcrumbs (I used Ian’s)
  • 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 tsp dry basil
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F and spray an 8×8 glass dish with cooking spray or lightly grease with butter/oil.
  2. Place the tomato slices on a paper towel and sprinkle lightly with salt. Gently press another paper towel on top and allow to sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
  3. Slice the zucchini lengthwise into ¼” slices to yield 5-6 per zucchini.
  4. Mix 2 Tbsp melted ghee/oil with the garlic salt, onion powder, dry Italian seasoning and black pepper.
  5. Place one layer of zucchini in the bottom of the casserole dish. Brush the tops of the zucchini lightly with the seasoned ghee/oil. Place a layer of tomatoes on top of the zucchini.
  6. Sprinkle with ½ of the mozzarella cheese.
  7. Repeat the layers of zucchini (brushed with seasoned ghee/oil), tomato and remaining mozzarella cheese.
  8. Toss the panko breadcrumbs, dry basil and grated Parmesan cheese with the remaining 1 Tbsp of ghee/oil and sprinkle over the mozzarella cheese, lightly pressing down.
  9. Bake for 30 minutes or until fork tender.
  10. Enjoy!
Filed Under: Main Dishes, Recipes, Side Dishes Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Spicy Stuffed Poblano Peppers

March 8, 2014 Leave a Comment

photo 4

Ingredients:

  • 4 large poblano chiles
  • 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
  • 1/2 medium white onion, chopped
  • 1 large clove garlic, chopped
  • 1 Serrano pepper, chopped
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 ⁄8 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
  • 2 cups cooked quinoa
  • 6 oz. grated sharp Cheddar
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 Tbsp. lime juice
  • black pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Slit the chiles from stem to tip and carefully remove the seeds, leaving the stems intact.  Set aside while you prepare the filling.

Purée the tomatoes, onion, garlic, Serrano, oregano, cumin, cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp. salt in a food processor or high-speed blender. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the purée and cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid has evaporated and the mixture looks thick and pulpy, 8 to 12 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the chicken and quinoa, and then half of the cheese, the cilantro, and the lime juice. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Divide the filling evenly among the peppers.

Place the stuffed peppers into a 9×13 glass baking dish, pour about 1/2″ of water in the bottom of the baking dish and cover tightly with foil.  Bake for 40-50 minutes or until peppers are tender.  Remove the foil and top the peppers with the remaining 3 oz. of cheese…bake until golden and bubbly.

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Shredded Flank Steak ~ Ropa Vieja ~ Coconut Flour Tortillas

April 25, 2012 17 Comments

Ropa Vieja on Coconut Flour Tortillas

Pressure Cooker Shredded Flank Steak

2 pounds flank steak

sea salt

1 large onion, quartered

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup chicken broth

Sprinkle flank steak with sea salt.  Place flank steak, quartered onion, garlic and broth in the bottom of a pressure cooker.  Bring liquid to a boil over medium high heat.  Place lid on pressure cooker and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes.  You may need to lower the burner to maintain proper pressure setting.

***Note:  I use a Kuhn Rikon 5 QT Pressure Cooker…If you have a different model cook according to manufacturer’s instructions included with your cooker.***

Remove from heat, release pressure.  Carefully remove lid.  Remove the flank steak to a cutting board and allow it to cool slightly.  Once cool enough to handle, shred the beef with two forks, coarsely chop and set aside.

For Ropa Vieja:

1 large onion, chopped

1 large green bell pepper, chopped

2 tsp. butter or oil of choice

4 garlic cloves, minced

15 ounces chopped tomatoes, undrained (I use Pomi)

2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

2 tsp. hot sauce

1 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. black pepper

In a large skillet, saute chopped onion and bell pepper in butter (or oil) over medium-high heat until tender.  Add minced garlic and saute 2 minutes.  Stir in salt, tomatoes, lime juice, hot sauce, cumin and black pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid has evaporated.  Add shredded flank steak to tomato mixture and stir until well combined.  Serve warm on coconut flour tortillas with a dollop of guacamole.

Shredded Flank Steak over sautéed onions and jalapenos with fresh tomatoes and cilantro

For Sautéed Onions and Jalapenos:

2 large onions, roughly chopped

2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped

1 Tbsp. butter or oil

salt and pepper to taste

2 Roma tomatoes, chopped

Fresh cilantro, chopped

In a large skillet, heat butter or oil over medium high heat, saute onions and jalapenos until soft.  Plate onions and jalapenos in a shallow soup bowl, top with shredded flank steak, chopped tomatoes and cilantro.  Serve warm.

Coconut Flour Tortillas

If you haven’t invested in the new Paleo Comfort Foods cookbook yet you are truly missing out…EVERY recipe I have tried has been completely amazing, including this recipe for Coconut Flour Tortillas.

Coconut Flour Tortillas:

1/4 cup coconut flour

8 large egg whites (about 1 cup)

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. chile powder (optional)

1/2 cup water

butter or coconut oil for frying

Whisk all the ingredients in a large bowl until smooth.  Preheat an 8″ nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Place about 1 tsp. butter or oil in the pan and swirl to coat evenly.  Ladle 2-3 Tbsp. of batter in the pan, tip the pan from side to side to get a thin layer of batter across the entire surface.  Once the first side is golden brown, use a very thin spatula to flip over to the opposite side again cooking until golden brown.  Remove the tortilla to a wire rack and repeat the entire process beginning with the oil or butter.  This recipe makes about 8 tortillas.  I like mine a bit thicker than a regular tortilla but you can add more water to make the batter thinner which will yield a thinner tortilla.

This recipe is shared at:

Fight Back Friday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Gluten-Free Wednesdays

Filed Under: Main Dishes, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,
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