Spinach Rice Casserole

 So far, this is a favorite!  It makes a ton so I was able to eat it for lunch all week, it has lots of good stuff in it. I am not a huge fan of spinach however I chopped it up so finely, and there is so much other good stuff in it, that the flavor was not overpowering. This is going into my vegetarian hall of fame!

 This recipe called for a lot of ingredients. I am trying to cut back on my dairy so I used almond milk and subbed half the cheese for dairy free "cheese".  I also used brown rice as always.  The eggs and "milk" are listed as optional. Unless you want to make this a vegan dish, I would go ahead and add them. It makes for a  more moist dish. I also used a lot more sunflower seeds than the recipe called for. This was a great move. It added some crunchiness and additional texture to the casserole.

 2 lbs of spinach sounded like a lot. I bought two bags and each bag was 9oz so I used a lot less than it called for. I do think that 2lbs might be a bit much but I may try it next time since spinach is such a great source of iron.

 Elijah was a great helper in the kitchen as always. :)  He loves being worn when I am moving around....not so much a fan when I am sitting still....like now....I am in front on the computer wearing him and he is not thrilled.

This was a great recipe and my in laws and neighbor came over for dinner the night I served this. Everyone enjoyed it and had seconds!

Mushroom, Broccoli, Noodle Casserole

Chip and I had planned to spend the day together before his trip to Michigan next week and last minute he got called into work. As a result, I got in a very long workout at the gym, cleaned the crap out of the kitchen and knocked out another of my Moosewood Cookbook recipes. Wow! This one turned out great. I did a few alternations from the original recipe. First of all, I used whole wheat noodles cause, well, I always use whole wheat when I can. The recipe is not very specific on amounts when it comes to broccoli so I think I used more than it suggests which is great, but then there is less sauce to cover it and the mushrooms and onions are my favorite and I used the correct amount of them so next time I will use a little less broccoli. Everything I used was low fat or non-fat and I opted out of adding the cheese. Cheese if wonderful, indulgent, amazing and delicious. Cheese is also the devil and I am doing my best to limit if not eliminate it from my life. I also think I might need to add more salt next time. I use sea salt, which isn't as salty. Aunt Shula, I think you would especially like this one. You are going to want to add more mushrooms and probably opt in the cheese. There is cottage cheese in the sauce mixture. Do not let this scare you away from this fabulous meal. When it is mixed with everything else, it creates a delicious, creamy goodness that is also full of protein, calcium and is low fat! Bon Appetit!