Colorful Zucchini Casserole

4 8-inch zucchini

1 med. onion

colorful sweet pepper

1 can sliced stewed tomatoes

Slice all the vegetables, chop the tomatoes and combine in the casserole dish. Bake, covered, at 375° a half hour. Baste the vegetables then return to the oven and continue baking until the zucchini is done the way you like.

Using a turkey baster, baste again, then put most of the juice in a separate container. Pour it over your dog's dry food or put it aside to make vegetable broth. I added mine to the chicken bone broth I'm currently simmering.

Cut up 6oz. cheese and put on top, then sprinkle with 2/3c± seasoned panko breadcrumbs.

Put it under the broiler, set on low, for a few minutes to melt the cheese and crisp up the breadcrumbs. . .Lin

Vegetable-Shrimp Cakes

There are a few things I'm always on a quest to perfect. Gazpacho, Seafood Bisque, Salsa, my version of a Classic Chicken Soup, A Perfect Veggie Burger, and something akin to a Crab Cake. My mother-in-law made exquisite crab salad from canned crab meat, but the idea of canned crab bothers me somehow.  I have langostino in the freezer. If I don't make that into another bisque, I might try them in this recipe with Cajun seasonings.

I was craving shrimp the other day. I have a couple packages unopened, but I found an open bag of Argentinian shrimp that I had used in a previous Shrimp Scampi. I decided it would be a perfect way to work on the 'cake' idea.  These turned out really well!

6oz. finely chopped frozen shrimp

some finely chopped onion, garlic,

 ~ red pepper and mushrooms

a big handful fresh spinach—finely sliced

Italian seasoning, dill, salt, black and red pepper

1-2 eggs

1c Italian Panko breadcrumbs

a little half and half

Mix all the chopped ingredients and the rest of this group in big bowl. When the consistency is right, you may need to add an egg or a little more Panko, it should hold together well, like meatballs or a meatloaf ready to bake. Heat your frying pan and add 2T hearty, dark EVOO. Fry-sizzle a few minutes over medium-high heat, until browned nicely on each side. Transfer to a brown paper bag when done to absorb the excess oil.

Serve with your favorite sides. When cool, these can be packaged into serving portions and frozen. This made 10 patties = 5 nice servings. They turned out well - lots of flavor and crispiness. . .Lin

Parmesan-Panko Roasted Vegetables

3 lg. garlic cloves - minced

½ med. yellow onion - chopped and some minced

½c extra virgin olive oil

½-1t fresh ground Himalayan pink salt

½-1t fresh ground black pepper

1-2T your preferred seasonings:

(Italian, Thanksgiving Herbs, Chili-Lime, etc.)

½c parmesan cheese

½c seasoned panko bread crumbs

In a big bowl combine garlic, minced onion and the rest of first group of ingredients.  Mix then set aside while prepping the vegetables.

3 big carrots

3 stalks of celery

1½# small mixed potatoes

1 med. head of cauliflower - florets

1 can garbanzo beans - drained and rinsed

Cut these in rough chunks, keeping in mind that the carrots and celery will usually take longer to cook than the others in this particular mix.  You may want them a little smaller.

Once the vegetables are ready, add the parmesan and bread crumbs to the bowl, mixing well and quickly, then add the vegetables, stirring and tossing them in the bowl to be sure they're all well coated.  If necessary, drizzle with a little more olive oil to get all that great crumbiness to stick.  Pour out onto a large jellyroll pan covered with parchment paper.

Bake in a 390° oven for 15 minutes after it comes to temperature.  Take it out of the oven, move the vegetables around on the paper to be sure they're all still well coated.  Return to the oven for another 25 minutes.  Raise the heat a bit of you want to dry them out, finish cooking, and have those flavorful crumbs brown them up a bit.  After the second time in the oven, check them.  If they still need a little more time, shut the oven off, and leave them another 15 minutes.

If they're done and browned to your liking, remove the pan now and let cool on top of the stove.  Serve now, or if you too are making this ahead, when cooled, put in a covered container and refrigerate.  To serve, put carefully, back on a parchment paper-lined pan and 'bake' to just dry and heat them, for 20 minutes at about 350°.

Okay. . .take a moment to inhale!!!  C'mon now. . .Another deep breath. . . !  😀 Your kitchen will be beautifully scented by now!  Stop and appreciate this! 😊 Today's the Monday before Thanksgiving, and living in the USA, I'll be having my the part of my family, that lives nearby, here, at my Little-House-On-The-Creek, for a big Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday.  I'm doing some pre-cooking to avoid the 'last-minute-Thanksgiving-morning-frazzle' factor!  I also have a potluck lunch for my Tuesday Morning Bible Study tomorrow.  I'm going to make (yet another) variation on my Mediterranean Pasta Salad for that.  If it turns out well, I'll post my recipe later.

Happy Monday Everyone!
To those of you who celebrate it along with me. . .HAPPY 🙏 THANKSGIVING to you!! . . . Lin