Harvest Pot Pie

2 bunches Swiss chard
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 package ground turkey
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 can (14.5 ounces) low-sodium chicken broth
2 Tablespoons corn starch
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 sheet frozen puff pastry OR pie crust

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat 2-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Rinse chard well; trim stems and then separate at base of leaves. Cut into ½ inch pieces; set aside. Chop leaves.

Place half the leaves in a large nonstick skillet. Cover and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes, until wilted. Transfer to bowl. Repeat with remaining leaves.

Add oil to skillet. Stir in onion, chard stems and carrots; cook 5 minutes.

Stir in turkey, thyme; cook 7 minutes, until carrots are tender.

Stir in wilted leaves. Increase heat to medium-high.

In bowl, blend broth, cornstarch, mustard, salt and pepper. Add to skillet, bring to simmer. Simmer 3 minutes, until thickened and clear.

Transfer to prepared dish. Top with puff pastry or crust, cut a few holes to vent.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, until browned. Cool 15 minutes before serving.

From Family Circle, October 2009.

Casserole Club Note: Thaw completely, follow above baking instructions.
I added double carrots and substituted spinach for some of the Swiss chard (because I thought the bunches were small). Enjoy!

Savory Chicken Oven Dinner

2 cups of 1/2 inch pieces cooked chicken
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condenced cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (I substituted sharp cheddar)
1 cup frozen green beans, thawed
1 1/4 cups Bisquick mix
1/4 cup cold butter or margarine, cubed
1 teasp. dried sage leaves
1 egg, slightly beaten

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees, and spray 8 inch square pan with cooking spray. In baking dish, mix chicken, soup, milk, cheese, and green beans.
2. In medium bowl, mix Bisquick mix, butter and sage with fork or pastry blender until crumbly. Stir in egg. Sprinkle over chicken mixture.
3. Bake 30-35 minutes or until topping is light golden brown.

Ma's Meatballs

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef (85% lean)
1 cup bread crumb (I use Italian Seasoned Progresso)
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 eggs
½ cup romano/parmesan cheese (a combo works best), grated
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
¼ tsp. salt
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped

Directions
Combine all ingredients well. Form into golf-sized flattened balls and fry in skillet until browned on both sides. Place in sauce and allow to simmer for at least 2 hours.

Note: These meatballs freeze well so make a double batch and freeze for later!!

Veggie Pot Pie

Adapted from "Vegetable Pot Pie", Vegetarian Times Issue: March 1, 1998 p. 44
and "Veggie Pot Pie", Allrecipes.com by Pattecake

Note: the cayenne pepper gives it a kick. Good to know ahead of time. My family would prefer I keep it out next time. Admittedly, they are a "mild salsa" kind of crowd. My older daughter enjoyed it when she mixed in sour cream. I enjoyed it as is. It seems flavorful enough without it, so it depends on whether you want a kick.

Ingredients
1/4 to 1/2 cup white wine or vegetable stock (I used 1/2 cup white wine)
1 cup chopped onion
5 ounces mushrooms (I used baby bella)
1 clove garlic
1 cup thinly sliced celery
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
8-10 red potatoes, peeled and diced
1 cups fresh green beans, trimmed and snapped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/3 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
3 cups vegetable broth
1 cup milk or soy milk (I used 1% milk)
1 tsp salt or soy sauce (I used soy sauce)
2 Tbs chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp sage (original called for dried, I used ground)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup cornstarch

Pie Crust - I used two 9" Pillsbury's refrigerated pie crusts. Merged the two into one and rolled out for 11x17.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray 11x7 inch baking dish with vegetable cooking spray.

2. In heavy saucepan, heat wine or stock over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic - cook, stirring often, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, celery, potatoes, carrots, green beans and peas. If mixture begins to dry out, add 1/4 cup more wine or vegetable stock. Cook, stirring often, 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Sprinkle flour over vegetable mixture. Cook until vegetables are barely tender, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

3. In glass measuring cup, combine milk or soy milk and 2 cups vegetable stock, and cornstarch until cornstarch is dissolved. Slowly add to vegetable mixture while whisking constantly. Sauce will start to thicken. Add parsley, salt or soy sauce, thyme, sage, pepper and cayenne. Cook, stirring constantly, until filling is thickened. Remove from heat, transfer mixture to prepared casserole and set aside.

4. Pour the filling into the 11x17 dish. Roll out dough, arrange over the filling.

Note, if you are going to freeze this dish, I found it much easier to freeze at this point overnight before putting the crust on. Then put crust on and put back in freezer. It didn't sink in or get messy that way. Then wrap with foil and then plastic wrap, and put in freezer.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the crust is brown. NOTE: If heating from frozen, I kept covered with foil & baked mine at 375 degrees F for 1 hour (removing foil after 30 minutes) then increased temperature to 400 degrees and baked 15 more minutes to get the crust more brown.

Spinach Pie

From Everyday Foods, May 2005
Recipe makes TWO pies

Ingredients
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
4 medium onions, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
60 ounces of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 pound feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons dried dill
8 large eggs, lightly beaten
8 ounces frozen phyllo sheets, thawed and thinly sliced

Directions
Make the filling: In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and 2 teaspoons salt; cook until garlic is tender, 1 to 2 minutes.

Transfer mixture to a large bowl; stir in spinach, feta, Parmesan, breadcrumbs, dill, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Fold in eggs until combined.

Divide mixture evenly between two 9-inch springform pans or two 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie plates; press firmly to flatten.

Make the topping: In a large bowl, gently toss sliced phyllo to separate, then toss with remaining 1/2 cup oil until coated. Divide phyllo between pies, covering the tops evenly and completely. (To freeze, cover pies tightly with plastic wrap, being careful not to flatten topping. Bake within 3 months; do not thaw first.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake until heated through and topping is golden brown, about 1 hour 15 minutes for frozen pie (30 minutes for unfrozen pie).

Crockpot Greek Stew

2 cups cubed butternut squash
2 cups chopped carrots
2 onions, chopped
1 cup chopped zucchini
2 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
15 oz. can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
14 oz. can vegetable broth
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 cups hot cooked couscous
1/2 cup tofu feta cheese (optional)
Combine all ingredients except for couscous and tofu feta in a 3-4 quart slow cooker and mix well to combine. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours or until all vegetables are tender. Serve with couscous and sprinkle with feta.

Now that is the original recipe that was posted here: http://www.fatfreevegan.com/crockpot/greek.shtml

For your meals, I doubled the seasoning and omitted the salt as I did for mine. I also used real Feta.

Here are the changes I'd make the next time I cook this:
1. Double the chickpeas (that was Shea's suggestion)
2. Add olives
3. Reduce the carrots by half and increase the zucchini (how are carrots Greek?)
4. Add some oregano

You could easily add some shredded chicken to individual bowls for those who insist upon animal protiens.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND HAZELNUT LASAGNE

Active time: 1 1/2 hr Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr

For squash filling
1 large onion, chopped
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
4 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
1 cup hazelnuts (4 oz), toasted loose skins rubbed off with a kitchen towel, and coarsely chopped

For sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 cups milk
1 bay leaf (not California)
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper

For assembling lasagne
1/2 lb fresh mozzarella, coarsely grated (2 cups)
1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (3 oz)
12 (7- by 3 1/2-inch) sheets no-boil lasagne (1/2 lb)

Make filling:
Cook onion in butter in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 10 minutes. Add squash, garlic, salt, and white pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until squash is just tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in parsley, sage, and nuts. Cool filling.

Make sauce while squash cooks:
Cook garlic in butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring, 1 minute. Whisk in flour and cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add milk in a stream, whisking. Add bay leaf and bring to a boil, whisking constantly, then reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, 10 minutes. Whisk in salt and white pepper and remove from heat. Discard bay leaf. (Cover surface of sauce with wax paper if not using immediately.)

Assemble lasagne: Preheat oven to 425°F.
Toss cheeses together. Spread 1/2 cup sauce in a buttered 13- by 9- by 2-inch glass baking dish (or other shallow 3-quart baking dish) and cover with 3 pasta sheets, leaving spaces between sheets. Spread with 2/3 cup sauce and one third of filling, then sprinkle with a heaping 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat layering 2 more times, beginning with pasta sheets and ending with cheese. Top with remaining 3 pasta sheets, remaining sauce, and remaining cheese.

Tightly cover baking dish with buttered foil and bake lasagne in middle of oven 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until golden and bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes more. Let lasagne stand 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Cooks' note: • Filling and sauce can be made 1 day ahead and kept separately, covered and chilled. Bring to room temperature before assembling.
Makes 6 servings.

Gourmet
December 2001