Polenta and Veggie Casserole: It's What's For Dinner

As the main family "Chef", I can honestly say that at least 5 nights out of 7, I ask myself "So, what should I make for dinner?". And it doesn't help when both our oldest, and hubby, have the same query when they respectively return from school and work. Being responsible for everyone's stomachs can be both daunting, and exciting. I've created some pretty amazing meals in our tiny kitchen, but some, well, not so much. 

This one here though, usually gets rave reviews. Save from the teen, who's all but refusing to ingest vegetable matter these days. I've never seen this dish anywhere, so I'm going to go ahead and claim it as my own little concoction. It came about from having very little time to throw together a nice healthy meal, and trying to use what I had on hand. I've always loved Ratatouille, and lasagna, and this is a sort of mashup of these two. 

Preheat your oven at 375C

Ingredients:

I used

2 medium zucchinis and 2 Chinese eggplants, sliced.

1 pack of polenta (I use the 'log' type from Aurora), cut into 1cm thick slices.

1 large can of diced tomatoes mixed with 1 can of pasta sauce of your choice (You can definitely use your own homemade tomato sauce instead, but like I said, this is a "Use What You've Got" type of dish)

About 1.5 cups of shredded Mozzarella (or any cheese you've got that melts well)

Some extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste.

I used a ceramic casserole dish, about 9"x12".

 

I start with oiling the bottom of my dish, and adding a splash of tomato sauce. I then begin layering with the polenta rounds, add a bit more sauce, then start laying down neat rows of sliced eggplant and zucchini. I like to add a bit of sauce in between each layer, just enough to cover, not drown the ingredients.

And you start again layering your ingredients, until they've all been used up. 

Then generously cover it all with your shredded cheese, add a bit of salt & pepper to taste, cover, and place in your preheated oven for 35 minutes. Uncover, and bake for an additional 20 minutes until the cheese is completely melted, and forms a lovely golden crust. 

When using tinfoil to cover, tent it a bit, to ensure that it won't eat up all the cheese.

Oooey Gooey crispy cheese perfection! I wish you could smell it! 

You can dole out and serve this on its own, or as a side with baked chicken breast, or a nice turkey meatloaf. As with most casseroles and other saucy dishes, this tastes even better the next day. And from a dish this size, I could easily serve out 8-9 very healthy portions.

I love experimenting with this dish too, sometimes adding thinly sliced red onion, yellow zucchini, tomatoes, large eggplant slices. And different fresh herbs, like large sweet basil leaves, or marjoram, oregano, rosemary, summer savory, or thyme sprigs. The possibilities are endless!

I hope your family will love trying this dish as much as mine does :)

TTFN!

Jewels

Mini Pita Pocket Treats

For those of you who may not know, we recently found out that our little family will be expanding by one more little Soul in July. This news came as quite a shock to Darling and myself, but, as with our last little addition, we welcomed the news with open hearts, and soon, arms :)

Sadly, I saw a repeat of Hyperemesis Gravidarum with this little nugget, which means that my energy levels, and desire to do anything around the kitchen were nil at best. On good days, I might be able to slap together one meal for the whole family. On bad days, which were most of them up until about a week ago, there was just no way I could even lift my head from the couch. It was a bit tougher this time around, as there was a wee toddler needing parental supervision. Let's just say, I've got a few new permanent pieces of toddler art on the walls, and some furniture... ;)

Here is one quick and easy "slap it together" meal that everyone seems to like, regardless of how many times I've offered it. I found these delicious little pita pockets at our local grocers, and not only are they perfect for for tiny toddler hands, they were perfect bite size bits for Dad and Mimi too.

I started by making a large omelet for everyone, but couldn't stand even looking at it, so when I spied these little pockets on the counter, I got an idea. I started by slicing one edge of them to open the pocket, and carefully filled each one with egg, leaving enough room for ketchup or anything else they might want to add to the pocket.

Everyone got 3-4 on their plates, thinking that would be enough, but then they all went for seconds. And thirds.

Come snack time, I still had a hungry horde (Honestly, it amazes me how much food my family can toss back; meanwhile, I was just barely able to breathe the food fumes...) I had a few of the pockets left, so I slapped something else together: I filled them with cream cheese and fresh sliced strawberries.

Now, you could get a bit fancy and add a sprinkle of cinnamon and maple sugar, but these strawberries were so sweet and flavorful, I just left them as-is.

And these, I was actually able to enjoy.

So there you have it, just a few quick and easy tasty treats. Hope you enjoy them.

TTFN

Jewels