Done with salad... for now

It couldn't last forever. Sometimes a plate of salad, however delicious, just doesn't cut it. Last night was one such night. We needed a hot meal, quite frankly. So I decided to try out something from my new cookbook -  Williams Sonoma's 365 days of  One Pot Meals. You know how I feel about things that all go in one pot. That is my kind of meal! The way I feel about Williams Sonoma, meanwhile, is mixed. In my next life, I wouldn't mind at all having a kitchen stocked with over-priced shiny All Clad cookware, and special appliances that only make one esoteric kind of Swedish breakfast doughnut. However, in this life, I find going into Williams Sonoma fills me with a combination of sticker-shock and disgust. However, this cookbook looks pretty good - and I will be cooking all the dishes I fancy from it in my Target saucepans, after breakfasting on cold cereal. So there.

What I like about this cookbook is that it is organized by day - not that you have to cook that particular dish on that particular day. That would be a tad OCD. However, because it is organized in this way, it means it is easier to cook seasonally. True enough, it makes it a little more difficult to act on the impulse to, say, cook something with beef, since it doesn't give you a section with beef recipes; instead they are dotted throughout the book depending on what other seasonal ingredients accompany the meat. However, there is an index. And if the way the book is organized means you browse more, then sobeit. Personally, I love nothing more than sitting, 'window-eating', by flipping through a cookbook. For someone addicted to trying out new recipes, this is a treat indeed.

Whilst the dishes claim to be 'one-pot meals', I do think that some need a side of vegetables, if we are to get anywhere near the 53 portions of fruit and vegetables we are supposed to put away each day. (Possibly an exaggeration, but forgive me, as I have no patience for dietary recommendations today, having heard on the radio this morning that women should have no more than 8 alcoholic drinks per day. WHAT???!) So to accompany the beef dish below, I baked some zucchini. Now, I realize that this is about as far from in season as humanly possible, but I'm trying, and the zucchini was already in my fridge, so my carbon footprint was already perilously swollen. And it's a side, so know that at least 3/4 of the meal below is seasonally appropriate! My aim with the zucchini was basically to 'pull a Jessica Seinfeld' of sorts, and hide the fact that it was zucchini, a vegetable which 2 1/2 out of 3 of my kids claim is "disgusting" (for number 3, it varies, in a completely frustrating, random fashion). Clearly I was forgetting that all three kids are substantially older than 3, and are of at least average intelligence, so this strategy failed. But hey, my job is to put the healthy stuff on the table. I can't force-feed it to them. And it simply meant that there was more for my husband and I to enjoy.

Beef and Wild Rice Casserole
Serves 6

1 cup long-grain and wild rice blend
2 cups chicken broth
1 TBSP butter
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic salt
10 oz mushrooms, chopped
10 oz fresh baby spinach
8 oz sliced Muenster cheese (or any mild, cheese, if you can't get Muenster)

1. In a small saucepan with a tight fitting lid, bring rice, broth and butter to a boil, cover and simmer for 50 minutes, until all liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.
2. Heat 1 TBSP olive oil in a large frying pan and cook beef, breaking it up as you go, until no longer pink. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
3. Saute onion in fat left in the pan until it begins to soften, then add garlic, cumin, garlic salt and pepper to taste. Saute together, stirring continuously, for a further 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and toss to coat with the oil. Saute the mixture until the mushrooms are soft, browning, and have released their liquid. Mix mushroom mixture and rice into bowl with the beef. and stir to combine.
4. In the now empty frying pan, stir fry the spinach until wilted with some salt and pepper, adding more olive oil if necessary (I didn't need to).
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
6. Spray a 9" x 9" (or equivalent) baking dish, with olive oil spray, then add half of the beef mixture. Cover the beef layer with the spinach, then a layer of cheese slices. Add remaining beef, then put remaining cheese slices on the top.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly (if, like me, you make the casserole ahead, to cook later that day, then bake for 20 minutes so that it reheats through).

Oven-Roasted Zucchini (Courgette)
Serves 6
From foodnetwork.com

olive oil spray
3 zucchini, sliced into 1/8"-1/4" rounds
salt and pepper
pinch of paprika
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs (or any coarse breadcrumbs, if you can't find panko)
1/4 cup grated parmesan
8 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped from stems and chopped.
1 TBSP olive oil

1. Unless your oven is already on for the casserole, preheat it to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Spray a 9"x13" pan with oil spray, then arrange the zucchini in rows of overlapping slices in the pan.
3. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika.
4. Make the topping, by mixing together the panko, parmesan, thyme and some salt and pepper. Add olive oil and stir until the breadcrumbs are all soaked with a yellow tint from the oil. Sprinkle this topping over the zucchini and bake until top is golden brown (30-35 minutes).