Thing-A-Day #1: The Really Everything Casserole
Today is the first day of my thing-a-day challenge. I first saw this interesting challenge on Emily's blog. The whole theme is to create something every day and share it online in February, which means I will have to create 29 things this month. It sounds very interesting and challenging. Unfortunately, my first creative endeavor is a little lame, just a dish I created out of my pantry and fridge, out of necessity. It was a very yummy and comforting casserole but I had wanted to write something about a favorite book or author, but I was too busy to sit down for a couple of hours organizing my thoughts. I will have to try harder next time.
The Really Everything Casserole
(serves 2-3)
3 Tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cups chopped celery
1 Granny Smith apple, diced
1 stale roll with sunflower seeds, cubed
1 small carrot, peeled and diced
1/2 zucchini, chopped
3/4 cup English peas (pea pods), ends discarded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup quinoa
2/3 (14 ounce) can butter beans
1 tsp. sage
3/4 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 tsp. salt
1. Over medium-high heat, heat up the olive oil for a minute, then sauté garlic, onion, celery, and apple until everything is lightly caramelized. Add zucchini and pea pods and sauté for a minute or two.
2. Add bread cubes, sage, rosemary, cinnamon and black pepper. Cook for 3-4 minutes until bread gets toasty. Add quinoa and mix well. You should see most vegetables and bread get coated with quinoa. Cook for 2 more minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350F.
4. Pour in the vegetable broth and stir well. Bring to a boil and then cover to simmer for 20 minutes. When the quinoa is mostly cooked, add butter beans. Cook for 5 more minutes. Add salt to taste.
5. Bake in a deep casserole dish for 40-45 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm.
If you happen to have some leftover Mexican rice and beans, feel free to mix it with this casserole. It will be a very nice combo. My ingenious husband did this and thoroughly enjoyed it.
By the way, you can find my thing-a-day blog here.
(serves 2-3)
3 Tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cups chopped celery
1 Granny Smith apple, diced
1 stale roll with sunflower seeds, cubed
1 small carrot, peeled and diced
1/2 zucchini, chopped
3/4 cup English peas (pea pods), ends discarded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup quinoa
2/3 (14 ounce) can butter beans
1 tsp. sage
3/4 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 tsp. salt
1. Over medium-high heat, heat up the olive oil for a minute, then sauté garlic, onion, celery, and apple until everything is lightly caramelized. Add zucchini and pea pods and sauté for a minute or two.
2. Add bread cubes, sage, rosemary, cinnamon and black pepper. Cook for 3-4 minutes until bread gets toasty. Add quinoa and mix well. You should see most vegetables and bread get coated with quinoa. Cook for 2 more minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350F.
4. Pour in the vegetable broth and stir well. Bring to a boil and then cover to simmer for 20 minutes. When the quinoa is mostly cooked, add butter beans. Cook for 5 more minutes. Add salt to taste.
5. Bake in a deep casserole dish for 40-45 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm.
If you happen to have some leftover Mexican rice and beans, feel free to mix it with this casserole. It will be a very nice combo. My ingenious husband did this and thoroughly enjoyed it.
By the way, you can find my thing-a-day blog here.
