Savory Zucchini Casserole

Happy Sunday! 

I hope you are all enjoying a nice weekend filled with relaxation and sunshine!  We have been so busy lately doing stuff around our house, including building our first massive above ground vegetable garden.  I cannot wait until we have fresh herbs and vegetables from our garden to make this tasty recipe I have to share with you today.  

I got this recipe from my friend Ron's mom.  Ron constantly used to talk about this casserole so I knew that I had to try it.  His mom was so kind to share this recipe with me and now it's one of my go-to summer recipes.

The consistency of this recipe is less like a true casserole and more like a corn bread (minus the corn - of course).  I love to make this savory casserole to serve alongside pulled pork and BBQ baked beans.  It is the perfect addition to a great summer meal!

Savory Zucchini Casserole

Serves 12-15

3 cups zucchini, shredded (about 2.5 medium zucchini)
1/2 cup onion, chopped or shredded
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
1 cup Bisquick
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly cracked pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Oregano (1 tsp fresh or 1/2 tsp dried)
1/2 cup veggie or canola oil
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a 9x13" casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Set aside.

Shred zucchini using a hand shredder or food processor.   The shredding blade on the food processor gets this task accomplished in less than 2 minutes.  I also use the same blade to shred the onion right into the zucchini mixture.

Combine zucchini, onion, garlic and parmesan cheese in bowl.  Combine Bisquick, salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano is separate bowl. 

Add oil and eggs to zucchini mixture and gently stir.  Once combined, add Bisquick mixture and stir until moist and blended.

Pour mixture into greased casserole dish and bake until top is light golden brown - approximately 35 to 40 minutes.

Cool on wire rack and cut into squares.  Best served warm or at room temperature.  Enjoy!

NOTE:  I also used the shredding blade on my food processor to shred the parmesan cheese.  I found this to be easy and super simple.  If you do not have a food processor, a hand grater works just as well.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

Stay tuned this week for lots of great posts and recipes - including the marriage of these with one of my favorite candy bars (OMG - to die for!) and my famous banana bread.  I'll also be blogging about our veggie garden and of course, my favorite little guy's birthday.  I can't believe my sweet sweet little Henry is going to be four years old this week!!

A Pizza Pie

I hope everyone had a fantastic Easter.  This year, Carl and I spent the holiday with my family and it was great.  My Grandma made sure our bellies were full to the brim and happy.  Along with a 18lb ham (yes, there were only four of us + Henry dog!) - she made homemade scalloped potatoes, my fav mac+cheese, corn bread, broccoli, chocolate cream pie etc etc etc.  To say that I ate a lot was an understatement.  And in true Nicole fashion, I came home and made the recipe below and then proceeded to stuff my face yet again. 

A few days ago on the BIOMO Facebook page, I posted this delicious picture with a caption that said, "Recipe including these tasty morsels on the blog this week.  LIKE if you love caramelized onions!"

 

The post only got four LIKES but that was enough for me to get really excited about posting this recipe.  This is definitely my type of pizza - ALL. THE. WAY.  I love the sweetness of the caramelized onions and the smokiness of the chorizo.  The brie just sends it over the top and it is perfect. Aireen, Charlotte, Kate and Sarai - this one's for you!

Brie, Chorizo and Caramelized Onion Pizza

Serves 4

1 medium vidalia onion
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
few pinches kosher salt
4 oz chorizo, chopped
8 oz brie, sliced
3/4 cup pizza sauce
16oz pizza dough
1 oz grated fresh parmesan

Peel onion and slice in half.  Lay the onion cut side down and slice lengthwise to desired thickness.

Heat oil and butter in a medium or large saute pan at medium/high heat until it starts to shimmer. Add the onion slices and stir to coat with the oil and butter mixture. Spread the onion slices out evenly across the pan and let cook, stirring occasionally.   After 10 minutes, sprinkle a few pinches of kosher salt on onions. 

Let cook for at least 45 minutes (or until golden brown).  Stir onions every few minutes.  This is the tricky part - you want to leave the onions alone enough to brown, but not long enough that they burn.  If you stir them too much, they will not brown.  If you see them starting to cook too fast, lower the stove temperature a little and add a touch more oil.  The onions should be golden and soft upon completion.

While onions are caramelizing, preheat oven and pizza stone to 425 degrees F.  Let oven and stone heat for at least 25 minutes.

Stretch or roll pizza dough and place on hot stone.  Cook dough for 6-8 minutes until a light crust forms. Remove dough from oven/stone using a large spatula or pizza peel.

Spread pizza sauce evenly over crust.  Add slices of brie, followed by chopped chorizo and caramelized onions. Grate the parmesan over the top of the pizza.

Place in oven and cook for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.  Let pizza sit for 5 minutes before slicing.  Enjoy!

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.