Easy Cheese-y Veggie Bake

As most of you know, David is a vegetarian. Honestly, three and a half years ago I was hoping this was a "phase" that wouldn't last. But, here we are, still a meatless family, for the most part. Maxwell and I do eat meat, but since it doesn't make sense to make different meals for everyone, we don't have much meat in the house and rarely eat it ourselves. I substitute the missing protein with soy, "fake meats," beans, and nuts.

Last night as I was making dinner, the whole house was smelling yummy, so I thought I would share one of my veggie recipes with you. Several of my mommy friends have asked what kind of dinners I make since we are vegetarian. Here's an inexpensive, super yummy, EASY recipe that I love! I originally found the idea on Kraftfoods.com, but over the last 4 or 5 times I have made this, I have tweaked it enough to make it even better tasting...and better for us! Last night Dave came in from work raving about how great dinner smelled, and as I lifted the lid on the casserole dish to scoop away the leftovers he said, "Wow, it still smells fantastic!"

That made me feel terrific! I am not the best cook, but throughout the *almost* five years we have been married and eight that we have been together, I think I have gotten better. I like to try new things, and I am learning how to change things up to meet our needs. What I really love to do is bake, and I can follow a recipe like a pro, but because of my waistline and binging tendencies I just can't have those yummy baked goods around all the time!



Here's what you'll need to make the Veggie Bake, if you'd like to give it a go:

1 box cornbread stuffing mix (prepared per listed directions)
**I use vegetable broth instead of water**

1/2 cup diced yellow onion
6-7 cloves garlic, minced (more or less to taste! We're a garlic family, I think I used more than this!)
3 cups fresh broccoli, diced
2 cups frozen veggies (Last night I used corn, carrots and peas, as that's what I had on hand-you can be creative!)
1 14.5 oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
cooking spray
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 eggs & 1 egg white
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 350*. Prepare stuffing mix as directed. Set aside.

Heat skillet and spray with cooking spray. Cook onions and garlic for 5 minutes over medium heat, add broccoli and heat for 2-3 minutes. Add frozen veggies and garlic powder and heat until cooked through. Finally, add beans and heat until cooked, about 5 minutes.

Beat eggs, egg white and parmesan cheese in a bowl.

Spoon veggie and bean mixture into a lightly greased baking pan or casserole dish, spread egg and cheese mixture over veggies.
This is the point where I thought, "Man, this looks good! I should take a picture an post it on my blog!" :o)

Top evenly with prepared stuffing and bake 20-25 minutes, until the center is set. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes. Remove and cool slightly before serving.

Adding the cheddar cheese stage


Finished Product! It kinda sets up like a quiche.



ENJOY!!

Something else that David and I have been doing...
At the beginning of the year we made a resolution, and for the most part have stuck to it. Every Sunday we make a menu for the week, and try new recipes. We've had quite a few hits and a few misses. The menu is fantastic though, as it streamlines our grocery shopping process, and it cuts down on over-buying foods that may end up going bad! One rule on trying new recipes: they can't have a ton of prep work or take a long time to prepare. I've got two little ones dancing around my feet when I cook dinner!