Veggie Love

Zucchini Herb Casserole

I don't love my veggies. I love my carbs and my sugars and my ice creams and my pizzas.

Unfortunately, my body does not love the things that I love.

The more research that I do, the more I am convinced that the best thing for me to do would be to start a completely new lifestyle including a plant-based diet. I admit, when I cut out dairy and meat and fast food and packaged crap from Walmart, I feel a GAZILLION times better. I lose that belly pudge immediately. I have more energy, my emotions aren't crazy all over the place, my tummy feels happier, my skin looks healthier. You'd think that all of this would make it easy for me to change my eating habits, but NO. I'm a stress eater. And I'm pretty much always stressin'. So, I turn to the cookies/brownies/cupcakes/ice cream on the regular.

Making sure that I eat my veggies is a real CHALLENGE for me. Like, SERIOUSLY. So, when I come across a vegetable-filled recipe that I actually enjoy, I hold onto that thing - it is Pinned, printed, and slipped into a page protector in my prized recipe binder. And then, I actually make it more than once.

Technically, I didn't find this recipe on Pinterest. I was just browsing the Internets for vegetarian/vegan recipes, and I came across Happy Cow. You can find healthy recipes, follow their blog, and even search for vegetarian/vegan/natural food restaurants in your area! Anyhow, I came across this recipe for a Zucchini Herb Casserole and thought I would try it out, because zucchini is on my "okay" veggie list. I've grown to appreciate it over the years, as my family has always grown it in our summer gardens.

This recipe is fairly simple. The most difficult part is the chopping, which I despise. Knives make me nervous, I'm clumsy, and I always end up making a mess. This recipe also calls for chopped onions, which I love, but GOOD GRAVY, my eyes buuuuurn and I end up with a waterfall of tears running down my face when I have to chop them. But it's worth it.

The original recipe basically calls for zucchini, onion, garlic, rice, and herbs. This is totally fine. But I like to add more veggies to switch it up a bit and make it even healthier than it already is. So, here's my version:

Veggie Love Casserole
(based off the Zucchini Herb Casserole recipe found on happycow.net)

2 tablespoon EVOO

1 large fresh zucchini, cubed

1 medium yellow squash

2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 medium carrot, shredded

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 can garbanzo beans

1 cup cooked brown rice

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, chopped

1-1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon basil

Instructions

Heat oil in a large cooking pan, and stir in zucchini, squash, garlic, carrot, and onions. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften slightly. Remove from heat. Add tomatoes, garbanzo beans, rice, garlic salt, paprika, oregano, and basil. Mix, then spoon into baking dish. Bake uncovered in 350F degree oven for 30 minutes.

You can leave it just like that and have a lovely vegan dish. My family doesn't like to be that healthy, though, so I usually sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top, as soon as it comes out of the oven. Next time, I might try it with some broccoli, eggplant, or black olives. This is one of those recipes where you can kind of just throw in whatever vegetables you happen to have layin' around.

The best thing about this dish is that everyone in my family likes it, so when I make it, I'm encouraging all of them to eat their veggies, too!

I don't know about you, but I love to have a good soundtrack going when I'm working in the kitchen. While I was cooking up this tasty dish, I had an AMAZING station playing on Pandora. I started it based on Fitz & the Tantrums, and it kept playing stuff from Two Door Cinema Club to Miles Davis to John Legend to The Strokes and all sorts of other great bands! I was definitely dancing around the kitchen while I was whipping this up. So, here's a lovely track to inspire you, the next time you get cookin'.