What is the best part of your day?
Is it the satisfaction of family around the table enjoying a meal together? Is it in the evening when everyone sits down to relax? All the rushing of the day is over, stomachs are full, the dishes and homework are done, and all there is to do is … nothing. Or is it the peaceful feeling you get when everyone in the house is finally asleep and you sit and enjoy the quiet? I think those “ah” moments have a direct correlation to a feeling of
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accomplishment.
At our house, a rewarding time is 8:30 in the morning. The bus has just pulled out of the yard, and the turmoil of getting everyone up, ready and out the door is over. I just sit and sip coffee and make plans for the day. I do not think that I could manage without these few moments to regroup. I also take this time to menu plan. I check out some of the new recipes that will help use produce still lurking on the counter.
Layered rice lasagna
2 cups uncooked instant rice 500 mL
1/4 cup grated parmesan 60 mL
cheese
1 package (10 oz.) frozen 284 mL
chopped spinach, thawed and
squeezed dry
11/2 cups cottage cheese 375 mL
2 tablespoons milk 25 mL
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jar pasta sauce 750 mL 2 cups shredded mozzarella 500 mL
or marble cheese
8 slices ham
Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Prepare rice according to package directions. Stir in the parmesan cheese; reserve. Stir the spinach with cottage cheese, milk and garlic until combined; reserve.
Spoon 1/4 cup (60 mL) of the pasta sauce into a greased eight inch (20 cm) square baking dish. Gently press half of the rice into the baking dish in an even layer; sprinkle with 1/2 cup (125 mL) mozzarella cheese. Spread half of the spinach mixture over the cheese.
Top with half of the ham slices, overlapping as needed. Spoon half of the remaining pasta sauce over the ham. Repeat the layers, ending with the sauce. Bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining cheese and heat until bubbly and golden. Let stand for five minutes before slicing. I have also added in two fresh tomatoes to the pasta sauce for extra taste.
Makes six servings.
Source: the Minute Rice Kitchen.
Zucchini snacking cake
A great way to use zucchini from the garden.
1/2 cup butter or margarine 125 mL
13/4 cups sugar 425 mL
1/2 cup oil 125 mL
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 5 mL
21/2 cups all-purpose flour 625 mL
2 tablespoons cocoa 25 mL
1 teaspoon baking soda 5 mL
1/2 teaspoon baking powder 2 mL
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 2 mL
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 2 mL
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg 0.5 mL
1/2 cup buttermilk 125 mL
2 cups grated zucchini 500 mL
1 cup chocolate chips 250 mL
Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Cream butter and sugar. Beat in oil, eggs and vanilla. Combine the dry ingredients; add to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Stir in zucchini. Pour into a greased nine x 13 inch (22 x 33 cm) pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Grandma Jake’s apple crumble
It’s apple season. Since apples are available year round, it’s easy to forget autumn is harvest time in Canadian orchards. There is nothing like a fresh crisp apple. Try this comforting recipe that my grandmother, my mother and now I enjoy serving. Easy, quick and tasty – what more could you ask for?
4 cups sliced apples 1 L
1 cup sugar 250 mL
2 teaspoons flour 10 mL
Preheat oven to 325 F (160 C). Mix the
apples with the sugar and flour and place in
an eight inch square (20 cm) baking dish.
Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar 125 mL
1/2 cup rolled oats 125 mL
1/2 cup flour 125 mL
1/2 cup butter 125 mL
In a mixing bowl, combine until crumbly all the topping ingredients. Place over the apple mixture. Bake for 45 minutes. Serve with ice cream, if desired.
Nutrition tips
- Did you know that all apples are loaded with nutrients, but are not created equal? Red apples contain the most quercetin (antioxidant) because of the deeper pigment and quercetin is mainly concentrated in the skin.
- Give the kids all the spaghetti sauce and salsa that they want. Our digestive system will absorb approximately four times more lycopene, an antioxidant thought to deter heart disease and some cancers, from cooked tomatoes than from fresh tomatoes. Processing breaks down the tomato’s cell walls and helps the body’s absorption capabilities.
- Fresh or frozen? Given the choice between juice from a carton or frozen concentrate, opt for the frozen, which has about 25 percent more vitamin C. Since this nutrient breaks down over time, freezing the juice in concentrate form slows the process until the concentrate is mixed with water to make juice.
- Vitamin D increases life expectancy. A recent study found that those who take vitamin D supplements can increase their life expectancies by one to two years. The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, adds to the growing body of evidence that “the sunshine vitamin” is not just good for strengthening bones but also appears to
increase survival. The cancer society recommends that adults take 1,000 IU of vitamin D daily as the sun is not strong enough in the
fall and winter to produce enough.
Sources: Weightwatchers.com, Health Canada and the Canadian Cancer Society.
Brown or white?
Dear TEAM: Is brown sugar better for me than white? – B.C., Rosetown, Sask.
Dear B.C.: The truth is, not really. The main ingredient in both types is sucrose. Brown sugar just has molasses added for flavour
and colour. Molasses has small amounts of potassium and calcium, but not enough to make a huge difference. Each variety has about 15 calories per teaspoon.
Jodie Mirosovsky is a home economist from Rosetown, Sask., and one of four columnists comprising Team Resources. Send correspondence in care of this newspaper, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 2C4 or contact them at team@producer.com.
