Veggie Italian Bake

NOTE: Oh, lawd. I finally tried it. Too many zucchinis, I think. Changed up the recipe some.

This is adapted from a low-carb (noodle-free) lasagna from the Dashing Dish blog.

Veg/Sauce layer:
3 medium zucchinis
1 large yellow onion, diced

1 (16oz) package frozen spinach
2 cups black beans (I made mine from scratch in a crock pot the day before. Cheap!)
1 (15oz) can or jar of pizza sauce
2 cloves of garlic, minced (I use the stuff from a jar)
4 Tbsp Italian seasoning

Cheese layer:
1 (32oz) container of ricotta cheese (I've also made this using 16oz of cottage cheese, which was also good)
1/2 cup grated parmesan (using the powdered kind may help thicken up the juices)
Topping:
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (this varies, depending how cheesy I want it to be)

1. Slice all the zucchinis into medallions, salt them, and cook them until soft in a stock pot (not crock pot). Salt them lightly to draw out the moisture. This takes a while and requires quite a bit of periodic stirring. Alternatively, spread them on a couple cookie sheets and roast them at 425F for five minutes on each side.

2. If you haven't used the oven yet, preheat the oven to 375F. Microwave the spinach according to the package directions.

3. VEGGIES: In a large non-stick skillet, cook the onion, mushrooms, and garlic until the onion's soft. Combine the rest of the veggies (including zucchini & beans), the seasonings, and the entire can or jar of pizza sauce in the skillet with the onion, mushrooms, and garlic. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. CHEESE: Mix the ricotta (or cottage cheese) & the parmesan cheese.

5. Spray a 9x13" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Begin with a layer of the veg mix, top it with a layer of the cheese mix, then sprinkle mozzarella on top of that cheese mix if you like. Continue like this until the casserole dish is full ending with a layer of mozzarella on top.

6. Cover with foil (try not to let the foil touch the mozzarella) and bake at 375F for 1 hour.

7. Remove the foil and bake another 5-10 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and/or brown (brown cheese doesn't sound good, though).

8. CAREFULLY remove from oven. It will probably have a lot of hot, boiling liquid around the edges. Let the casserole rest for about 10 minutes before serving.


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The thinking behind the modifications I made:
1. Beans instead of meat
I am a cheapskate plus I have a family history of gout, so I am trying to cut back on meat.
I realize this recipe probably does not count as low-carb since it includes black beans, but I'd rather have black beans than pasta if I'm having carbs.

2. Spices
I doubled the garlic & spices as per usual.

3. Pizza sauce rather than spaghetti sauce
This is a juicy recipe with all the veg, so you don't really need a ton of spaghetti sauce. I've also noticed that it seems to be easier to find pizza sauce that doesn't contain high fructose corn syrup (or other sugars) than it is to find a clean spaghetti sauce.

4. Zucchini medallions rather than strips
I made it once using the strips that the Dashing Dish called for. I found it to be too much trouble for a supposed structure that was lost when I dished up the portion, anyway. I'm far too lazy for such a low return on investment.

5. Omission of broccoli & cauliflower
I like broccoli but not in spaghetti sauce. It turns out that everything fills the casserole dish very nicely without the cauliflower, too (which was not as gross in the spaghetti sauce as broccoli, but still yuck).

Veggie Chili

This is adapted from the Chock-Full-of-Veggies Chili Recipe I found on Food.com.

Basically, I think that celery is bullshit in any kind of chili and this chili was too bland, so I doubled the spices.

I also use kidney beans instead of pinto beans and added cayenne pepper.*

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 bell peppers, chopped
1 1/2 cups mushrooms, chopped [I don't really measure these, I just use one of those little 8oz packages]
1 large onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced [I use the stuff from a jar]
2 tablespoon chili powder
2 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes [make sure you buy plain ones, and check the label for high fructose corn syrup]
Cayenne pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add peppers, mushrooms, onion, and garlic. Cook about 7 minutes until vegetables begin to soften. Add seasonings and continue to cook an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add beans and tomatoes with all their juices and bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer 25 to 30 minutes, until chili is fragrant and slightly thickened.

I'm eating mine with grated cheddar cheese & a dollop of cottage cheese stirred in. I have beer, but I forgot to chill it. Maybe I'll have those with leftovers tomorrow night. :-)

*forgot to add cayenne pepper to the written recipe. Oops! Edited 3/11/2014.

Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients:
Corn Tortillas (about a 12-20 pack)
1 Can Enchilada Sauce
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 Bag (16oz by weight) Grated Velveeta (or Cheddar) Cheese
1.5 lbs. Ground Beef
1 Onion (optional)

Brown ground beef with chopped up onion.  (About half way through
browning, soak tortillas in water on the side) Once brown, drain grease.
Mix ground beef, enchilada sauce, cream of chicken soup, and cream of
mushroom soup over medium heat.  Put a thin layer of "mixture" in the
bottom of a 13 x 9 casserole dish.  Tear tortillas into quarters.  Put a
layer of tortillas, then a layer of mixture, and a thin layer of cheese
and repeat until it's all used (top layer should be cheese, of course).
(The Velveeta cheese is very thick when it melts in this, so you don't
want a SOLID layer of cheese, just kind of sprinkle it around)

New Theme Song

I know I've gone on a lot about Bon Jovi lately. This is one reason: inspiration. This is my new theme song. Note: it does bother me that the title should be "Every Day" rather than "Everyday," but I'm trying to see the forest rather than just trees.

"Everyday"

I used to be the kind of guy
Who'd never let you look inside
I'd smile when I was crying
I had nothing but a life to loose
Thought I had a lot to prove
In my life there's no denying

Goodbye to all my yesterdays
Goodbye, so long, I'm on my way

I've had enough of cryin'
Bleedin', sweatin', dyin'
Hear me when I say
Gonna live my life everyday
I'm gonna touch the sky
And I spread these wings and fly
I ain't here to play
I'm gonna live my life everyday

Change, everybody's feeling strange
Never gonna be the same
Makes you wonder how the world keeps turning
Life, learning how to live my life
Learning how to pick my fights
Take my shots while I'm still burning

Goodbye to all those rainy nights
Goodbye, so long, I'm moving on

I've had enough of cryin'
Bleedin', sweatin', dyin'
Hear me when I say
Gonna live my life everyday
I'm gonna touch the sky
And I spread these wings and fly
I ain't here to play
I'm gonna live my life everyday

Hit the gas, take the wheel
I've just made myself a deal
There ain't nothing gonna get in my way
Everyday

Goodbye, so long, I'm moving on

I've had enough of cryin'
Bleedin', sweatin', dyin'
Hear me when I say
Gonna live my life everyday
I'm gonna touch the sky
And I spread these wings and fly
I ain't here to play
I'm gonna live my life everyday

I, oh I, oh I, I'm gonna live my life everyday
I (gonna touch the sky), oh I (spread these wings and fly), oh I
I'm gonna live my life everyday

I Saw Bon Jovi Perform Live

I'm not a big concert-goer, but my friend needed someone to go with them. My first impression of the show was that it's like being in the television during a live broadcast, only the people around me were a bit douchier.

                                                            Tico Torres on drums.

I saw some tense interaction when an older white lady tried to get a younger Latina to sit down so she could see. Twice. This, of course, resulted in the Latina standing for the entire show and making both of them look like entitled, bratty children to those around them.

The crowd's energy lagged a bit. But this makes sense, when you think about it. It was a Tuesday evening during the school year. The crowd was made up of working adults and perhaps some of their children, pushing the boundaries of the regular weekday bedtime after a long day at school and work. But Bon Jovi worked hard to get everyone to snap out of it.

The show was amazing. I'd never been to any event that even touched the professionalism of this show.

Jon Bon Jovi works his ass off! That dude is in great shape all around: muscles, strong voice, amazing cardio stamina. Huge props to both the band & crew for such an impressive show!

I am now a Bon Jovi fan.

Being the nerd that I am, I naturally began reading up on the band as soon as I was back to the car (as a passenger).

The original four band members are:
Jon Bon Jovi (lead vocals & guitar)
Richie Sambora (guitar)
David Bryan (keyboards)
Tico Torres (drums)

I learned that Richie Sambora quit the tour in August. I've never seen him perform, but the show didn't seem to suffer.

Jon Bon Jovi's parents were both Marines, which may speak to his worth ethic. (I've worked with Marines. I've never met a lazy Marine.)

Bon Jovi has been together and performing for 30 years. I am 40. It's no wonder the concert sounded like a soundtrack of my life.

I encourage you to support this band however you can. I know they're not small or just starting out, but their product is solid. That should be rewarded.

If you aren't convinced to support the band itself, you may be interested in supporting the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation through donations of money and/or your time. The JBJ Soul Foundation's mission: "to combat issues that force families and individuals into economic despair."

They have my support.

Words to live by

Favoriting & retweeting this on Twitter was not enough.

Before asking people to grow a thicker skin, question whether you need to keep stabbing them.
— Adam Smith (@noneconomical) October 1, 2013

Almond Chocolate Mug Cake

I bought some almond flour and wanted to try it in a mug cake like the one I'd been making from the My Kids Eat Squid blog. I found a paleo version on the Delighted Momma blog and adapted it using what I knew from the MKES recipe. Turned out sort of Almond-Joy-ish and totally hit the spot. I love the balance that taking a little plain cream cheese with each bite gives it.


1 Tbsp Coconut oil
3 Tbsp Almond flour
3 Tbsp Cocoa powder
2 Tbsp Honey
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 Egg
1/8 cup Cream cheese

Melt the coconut oil in the mug in the microwave for about 20 seconds. If it's not completely melted after 20 seconds, just stir it around in the mug until it's fully melted.

Using a fork, mix the almond flour, cocoa powder, honey, and vanilla extract into the melted coconut oil. Once the coconut oil has cooled down a bit, mix in the egg.

NOTE: Ensure that the egg is mixed in well, or you'll end up with a cake with a pocket of cooked egg white somewhere in there. Not mixing it well can also lead to the cake exploding when the egg cooks.

Once the egg is properly incorporated, microwave on high for 2 minutes.

THE CAKE WILL BE TOO HOT TO EAT RIGHT AWAY.

Top with the cream cheese. Let the cream cheese melt on it for about 3-5 minutes while the cake cools.

Optional mix-ins:
-Nuts
-Cinnamon
-Low-sugar Smuckers Strawberry Jam
-Chocolate chips

That chocolate mug cake on my blog tastes like shit when you make it with Splenda.

— Apparent Aphasia (@binkytoes) September 4, 2013