Garden Breakfast Skillet a great suggestion for any meal (dinner, too!)

That trip across the Texas-Oklahoma border for Hubby’s regularly scheduled physical exam last week netted us more than just a stellar report on his lowered cholesterol level. Roadside veggie stands that are part of the Chickasaw Nation’s provision for its “elder” citizens always rate a stopover on our trips across the Red River.

The stand proprietors were wagging their heads with regret about their low supply this year because of the drought. They apologized for a reduced amount of offerings. But I saw tomatoes the size of grapefruit and giant piles of nice zucchini, yellow squash, and onions, among other items. I had no trouble finding produce to fill up my grocery bags to bring back to Texas.

I also brought home with me a few new recipe cards from the Chickasaw Nutrition Services, which has offices just across from the clinic where Hubby gets his physical. One I couldn’t wait to try was Garden Breakfast Skillet, an omelet-like dish that just happened to use my newly acquired tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, and onion. Even though the recipe had breakfast in the title, I stirred this up for our meal last evening. Wonderful, quick, and healthy! Who could ask for three better adjectives (especially the quick part on a busy Monday) to describe a dinner?

Garden Breakfast Skillet

2 cloves garlic, chopped

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

1 cup zucchini, chopped

1 cup green Bell pepper, chopped

1/4 cup green onions, sliced (I subbed with white onion)

1 tablespoon margarine

1 medium tomato, diced

4 eggs (or 1 cup egg substitute)

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup fat-free mozzarella cheese, shredded

dash paprika

In a large skillet over medium-high heat sauté garlic, mushrooms, zucchini, green pepper, and onions in margarine for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in tomato. In a separate bowl beat the eggs, water, mustard, and pepper. Pour egg mixture over vegetables in skillet; reduce to medium heat. Cover skillet and cook for 5-10 minutes or until eggs are set. Sprinkle with cheese and paprika. Cut into wedges and serve. Makes 8 servings.

Squash in tortilla soup a wonderful addition to a dime-a-dozen dish

Whoever heard of squash in tortilla soup? Yet that’s exactly the feature that drew me to this recipe. One-half pound yellow summer squash floating in chicken broth with grape tomatoes alongside it (and garnished with avocado, cilantro, and baked tortilla strips) sounded as though it would be a winner of a meal. It was.

Tortilla soup recipes are a dime a dozen; I usually love every one I try, but none ever has been a standout quite like this one (thanks, Prevention magazine, September 2011 issue).

While the squash appealed to my taste buds, Hubby called attention to the chipotle “kick” after the first few bites had settled in. “It’s a good kick, though,” he explained. I noted that anything labeled tortilla soup has to have that South of the Border jolt. We both also liked the toasted tortilla strips cut up to top the soup—good way to use up extra tortillas that (at our house, at least) seem to just lounge around in the fridge.

This recipe made enough to warm the insides of the two of us for a couple of days. With the pre-autumn temps lowering slightly this week, we didn’t mind the “inside-warming” a bit.

Tortilla Soup

1 medium white onion, quartered

1 1/2 pounds grape tomatoes, halved

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 pound yellow summer squash, sliced

8 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 teaspoon adobo sauce (from canned chipotles)

1 avocado, chopped

1/2 cup cilantro sprigs

3 (6-inch) yellow corn tortillas, sliced and toasted (I broiled mine briefly in the oven)

On foil-lined baking sheet broil onion and 1 pound of the tomatoes; broil 5 inches from heat. Turn until slightly charred, about 5 minutes. Coarsely chop in food processor; add garlic and chop further. Into a kettle add tomato-garlic mixture, squash, broth, adobo sauce, and remaining tomatoes. Simmer 20 minutes. Serve in bowls topped with avocado, cilantro, and toasted tortilla strips. Makes 6 servings.

Crustless Harvest Pizza gives "pizza night" new, more healthy meaning

This was just the best of the best! With fall days winding down and cranberry Christmas days approaching, recipes with the word harvest in them soon will be relegated to next-year's fall wish list. But on this, the last day of November, I can't think of a better way to give autumn a proper sendoff than to tell you about this Crustless Harvest Pizza. When I first saw the recipe, I wasn't impressed. Hours later, after the dish it produced made a satisfying dinner, I was sorry I hadn't prepared it many, many times previously.

Healthy, colorful yellow squash and zucchini, sliced into 1-inch slices, form the "harvest" of veggies on top. The crust is formed from the solidification of ricotta cheese, egg, and Parmesan cheese surrounding it as the dish bakes. The addition of chopped red and green pepper and green onion, sauteed, made one of the most colorful food items I've ever seen.

Believe it or not, when this emerged from the oven and cooled, it sliced with a pizza cutter into nice little squares that were firm and delightful. It gave the term "pizza night" new meaning, as those who are on restricted eating plans can feel as though they can still enjoy a good pizza slice without harming their health. My recipe source, the Celebrating a Healthy Harvest cookbook, has yielded another winner. In fact, even though the recipe has a fall-sounding name, I can't imagine a dinner quicker and easier to rev one up for a winter evening of decorating the Christmas tree!

Crustless Harvest Pizza

1 medium zucchini, sliced in 1-inch slices

1 yellow squash, sliced in 1-inch slices

1/2 red pepper and 1/2 green pepper, chopped

1/4 cup green onion, chopped

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups low-fat ricotta cheese

1 egg, slightly beaten (I used egg substitute)

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 garlic cloves, diced

1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1 teaspoon pepper

3/4 cup mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In small, nonstick skillet saute red and green peppers and green onion until tender. Set aside. Combine ricotta, egg, Parmesan, garlic, salt, and pepper, Spread mixture in a greased 8-by-8-inch baking pan (I used a glass pan). Spread mozzarella over ricotta. Lay squash slices over the top. Spread peppers and green-onion mixture over squash slices. Bake for 20 minutes or until the pizza firms up and is browned. Remove from oven and let pizza sit for 5 minutes before you cut it. Makes 8 squares.

This squash melange certainly rated best in our pre-Thanksgiving "show"

The saved recipe that once appeared in the newspaper stated only that it was "Best of Show—All American Casserole Contest". Since I cut the clipping out long ago, I didn't preserve with it the headline saying "Best of Show" where or when. The State Fair of Texas? Some other kind of local bakeoff? My info was incomplete. Yet any recipe that's labeled "best" of something, I eventually have to try.

So as I planned my menu for my "drive-by" Thanksgiving I mentioned in yesterday's blog, I automatically zeroed in on this choice, because I saw it had been a winner. Only winners for my family for this special gift we were handed of our son dropping in for a pre-Thanksgiving visit.

Fresh zucchini and fresh yellow squash, called for to make the casserole, were vegetables we had on hand after our recent stop at the Oklahoma farm stand I mentioned in a previous blog. They were diced and boiled and mixed with sour cream and cheddar cheese. On top went crushed butter crackers. Hubby and I enjoy the fact that a lightly salted variety of Ritz crackers (officially called Hint of Salt) is available; this works well for snacking in Hubby's sodium-restricted eating plan. These crackers I now used crushed for the crust on top.

Ultimately this squash melange looked fabulous in the mix of Thanksgiving offerings on our buffet table. Even some avowed non-squash-eaters that dined on this recipe gave it rave reviews and wanted to know how it was made.

The "Best-of-Show" title for this casserole certainly lived up to its name. Days later when we were cleaning up leftovers, everyone was begging for the last morsel of this tasty dish that couldn’t be more Thanksgiving fare than if it had been served by the Pilgrims.

Yellow Squash-Zucchini Casserole

6 cups large diced yellow and zucchini squash

vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

1 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup grated (2-percent milk) cheddar cheese

1 cup crushed butter crackers (tried with Ritz lightly salted variety)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sauté squash in a little vegetable oil over medium-low heat until it is soft, about 15 to 20 minutes. Line colander with clean dishtowel or cheese cloth. Place cooked squash in lined colander; squeeze out excess moisture and set squash aside. Sauté onion in butter for 5 minutes; remove from pan and mix all ingredients together except cracker crumbs. Pour in buttered casserole; top with cracker crumbs. Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Makes 8 servings.