Birthday party in one casserole dish—thankful for this veggie lasagna . . . and another year of life

It’s my birthday and I can cook what I want to. That’s my maxim on this day as I celebrate another year of life. Hubby asked what kind of birthday celebration I wanted. I replied that this was no big milestone year—just thankfulness for being able to rejoice in another year lived.

But I did specify these three things: that we would get up and run the Two-Mile Bridge (over Lake Ray Hubbard) as we had on his 65th, months back (we’ll do this as soon as I get this blog posted) and that I would make myself a birthday casserole and a birthday pie. Seems like a fairly easy wish-list to achieve.

The birthday casserole I spotted was for Zucchini-and-Spinach Lasagna. The recipe appeared in the August 2011 issue of Southern Living magazine and was featured as being one way to use farmers' market finds, which were plentiful during the summer.

I love any kind of lasagna but hate all the fuss. Compared to preparing the meat-and-tomato sauce traditional version, this was a snap. To make lasagna you'll always have to contend with the layers and with stirring up the various elements in separate pans, so you’ll always have some degree of complex cleanup. But the wonderful, healthy ingredients that blend together so delightfully represent a reward for all that.

Even though today’s the official day, Hubby and I sneaked in a few bites of Zucchini-and-Spinach Lasagna last night. After all, how can I post something about this dish on my blog if I don’t first sample it?

Ahhh—smooth, well-blended, flavorful, filling, nutritious. Loved this menu item! Truly a birthday party in one casserole dish! A happy birthday present indeed.

Zucchini-and-Spinach Lasagna

1 (8-ounce) container whipped chive-and-onion cream cheese

1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

1 teaspoon salt

5 medium zucchini, thinly sliced (about 2 1/2 pounds)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 (10-ounce) package fresh spinach

2 garlic cloves, pressed

6 lasagna noodles, cooked according to package instructions (the recipe specified no-boil lasagna noodles, but I subbed the regular variety I had on hand)

1 (7-ounce)package shredded mozzarella cheese

Garnish: fresh basil leaves

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Stir together first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Sauté zucchini in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat 3 to 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Add spinach; gently toss until wilted. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Spoon one-third of vegetables into a lightly greased, 9-inch square baking dish; top with 2 cooked and drained noodles and one-third of the ricotta mixture. Repeat twice. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake, covered with aluminum foil that you have lightly sprayed with cooking spray to keep it from sticking to lasagna, at 425 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until bubbly and noodles are tender. Uncover and bake 5 to 10 minutes or until golden. Let stand 10 minutes. Garnish, if desired. Makes 4 servings.

What got this “Wow!” of “Wow!”s from Hubby? Not chocolate decadence but greens casserole!

After being my accomplice for all the 212 blog entries I’ve completed, Hubby has sampled every dish I’ve prepared before I entered each recipe. That’s a lot of taste-testing in more than a year—and a lot of “attagirl!” affirmations on his part.

I can’t think of any recipe in those 212 that Hubby hasn’t complimented—some more vociferously than others, of course, but Hubby always been free with the superlatives. Makes my job as chief cook and apprentice food blogger much easier, I must say.

But for him to be forthcoming with the remark, “This has to go down as my all-time favorite of anything you’ve cooked”, I had to take notice. “You mean one of your favorites?” I queried. “No, the ABSOLUTE favorite.” Well, that’s sayin’ somethin’, for sure.

Mind you, this wasn’t Chocolate Decadence or some sicky-sweet multilayer dessert he was puffing. It was none other than today’s blog subject, Greens Casserole with Mozzarella. Perhaps this happened because his own greens from his own garden (and the tail-end of them, mind you) represented the impetus for the recipe. But Hubby kept bragging and gushing and going back for more casserole. At one point he suggested that this was THE DISH I needed to bring to the next family gathering. At another point he walked into my office crunching a tortilla chip and murmuring, “This would make a good dip, too.”

Well, onto this attention-getting recipe, which took the last of the last of our 2011 crop of collard greens but was a fitting sayonara to them. It merely was a mixture of wilted greens, a sauce of milk, butter, flour, and cheeses and a topping of dry bread crumbs with Mozzarella cheese sprinkled on. I baked it in a 7-inch-by-11-inch casserole dish. It didn’t last long. (Recipe source: www.nikibone.com) Using my own homemade chicken broth, skim milk, part-skim (instead of whole-milk) ricotta cheese, and whole-wheat bread for the dry breadcrumbs were the redeeming health features, besides of course, the fresh-from-the-garden green leafies. As we know, collard greens provide anticancer properties and offer an excellent source of vitamins B6 and C, carotene, chlorophyll, and manganese. One cup of collard greens provides more than 70 percent of the recommended daily allowance for vitamin C.

Bye-bye, collard greens. You’ve been a blast and taught us a lot and been the star of our winter garden. We’ll for sure remember you at the time of next year’s plantings.

Greens Casserole with Mozzarella

1 1/2 pounds collard greens, washed and trimmed

salt (or salt substitute) and freshly ground back pepper

1 cup chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup skim milk

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup ricotta cheese, whole milk or part skin

3 tablespoons dry bread crumbs

2 ounces Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Butter a 1 1/2-quart baking dish or casserole; preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut out and discard the tough stems from the greens; cut out thick center ribs. Rinse all the greens and shake off any excess water; chop them into 1/2-inch pieces. In a large skillet cook the greens over low heat; add them by handfuls and stir them down as they wilt. Add 1/2 cup of water if the greens seem dry; then cover the skillet and braise for 10 to 15 minutes or until tender. Pour off any liquid left in the skillet; then season the greens to your preference with salt and pepper. Transfer greens to a bowl and set aside. Heat the broth and milk in a saucepan, just until bubbles form around the edge of the pan. In the large skillet melt the butter over low heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring for one minute. Add the hot broth mixture all at once and stir over medium heat until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Whisk in the grated Parmesan and ricotta. Stir the greens into the cheese sauce; pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs and then sprinkle the grated mozzarella over the top; bake for 20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and the mozzarella is melted and lightly browned. Serve immediately. Serves 6.