Onion Tomato Pie - Week 37 Bonus

Simple garden ingredients make a great side pie!

Layers of vegetables, creamy mayo dressing with Parmesan cheese in a pie shell make this a fresh side pie.  

Onions typically find their way into many recipes, but this pie features it as its main ingredient. Onions have some significant health benefits, such as lowering blood pressure with its extra fiber and also  protection against cancer because of it phytochemicals elements. It doesn't like we can get enough vegetables in our diet, so this can be a nice addition to your meal to provide an extra vegetable.





Ingredients:

1 Pie crust, bottom only
3 large tomatoes, thinly sliced & drained
1 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 cup chopped fresh basil
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
3 oz. Shaved Parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:
Sprinkle tomatoes with salt, and let drain. (Salting helps the tomatoes to “sweat” out some water.)

Prebake pie crust for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Mix shredded cheese, mayonnaise, and salt & pepper. -Stir until combined.

Layer the bottom of the pie crust with onion slices, reserving a handful for the top of pie.

Sprinkle half the basil on top of onions.

Layer the tomatoes on top.

Sprinkle the other half of basil on top of tomatoes.

Add the handful of onions on top.

Spread the cheese-mayo mix over the top.

Top it with the shaved Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees.

Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

What ways do you introduce vegetables to your menu to keep things fresh and healthy?

Italian Spaghetti Squash Pie - Week 36 Bonus

Creative crusts can stretch the definition of pie.

Many have enjoyed  the tastiness of spaghetti pie. If you haven't tried it yet, here's a great basic recipe to try. This substitutes a vegetable for the pasta making it a great healthy dish to feed the family. It also utilizes fresh tomatoes to make it a late summer favorite to use some of you garden fresh tomatoes. You can substitute canned tomatoes or even a favorite pasta sauce if you prefer.

Spaghetti squash is also known as the vegetable spaghetti. You could substitute for pasta in many dishes. It take a little bit of prep to get it ready, but it is easy to do and adds variety to your menu.

This particular recipe actually uses half a squash and serves 6 (small servings), so if you like leftovers you should double up and fix both halves at the same time.

Ingredients:

1/2 medium uncooked spaghetti squash

1⁄2 pound pork sausage

1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic minced
5 tomatoes, peeled & diced (or 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes)
1 t. Italian seasoning (to taste)

12 oz. cottage cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 egg

1/2 cup shredded cheese, your choice

Directions:
Halve squash lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Place squash, cut side down and bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees in a large baking dish.

Meanwhile brown sausage and drain. Add onion & garlic and saute until onion is tender. Stir in tomatoes and Italian seasoning. Season to taste and simmer for 10 minutes.

In a separate bowl, mix cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, and egg together.

Remove squash from oven, and with a fork remove the squash in strands. Press any extra liquid from squash.

Arrange squash strands in a greased 9” pie plate. Spread cottage cheese mixture over squash. Pour tomato sausage sauce over cottage cheese mixture, and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing into 6 slices.

What other ways would you like to serve spaghetti squash for your family?

Tomato Zucchini Pie - Week 32 Bonus

Take advantage of your garden fresh tomatoes and zucchini and make a pie for dinner that your family will enjoy.

I didn't have another zucchini pie scheduled, but my mom gave me this recipe. She said it turned out good and it was easy to make; so I decided I would make it and include it in my blog. 

My mom has spent most of her life as a homemaker and she is a really good cook. She taught me well by showing me how to make the most of your garden ingredients by trying new things to keep the menu versatile.  Also, she never was one to use processed foods; so when I began to cook on my own; I always had a little bit of guilt when I used one of those shortcut foods.  And now, we are starting to learn more about all those additives, so I realize that I need to take her advice.

Here is her recipe, I know you will enjoy it as much as we did!

Ingredients (Spaghetti Crust):

1 pkg (7 oz) spaghetti, cooked & drained

2 T. butter or margarine, melted

½ c. grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg, beaten

Ingredients (Filling):

1 lb. Sweet Italian sausage

1 garlic clove, minced

1 zucchini, peeled and chopped

½ chopped onions

½ c. chopped fresh mushroom

1 t. Italian seasoning

salt & pepper

5 medium fresh tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 t. parsley flakes1 c. shredded cheese

Directions (crust):

Add butter, Parmesan cheese and egg to cooked spaghetti. Place in a 10” greased pie plate.

Directions (Filling):

Remove sausage from casings (if needed), and crumble into a large skillet. Add the garlic, zucchini, onions, and mushrooms. Cook until sausage is no longer pink. Add tomatoes, Italian seasoning, parsley, salt, and pepper. Mix well, and simmer for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.

Place filling on top of crust. Sprinkle cheese over top of filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. 

I served this pie with a fresh garden salad and the S'mores Pie. 

What would you serve with this pie to make it a meal?