I made a big batch of Gazpacho to take to a family gathering.  I thought it would be a nice refreshing change and it was.  However, even after our party I had a good amount left, along with my favorite fine diced confetti colored veggies.  This is how the Gazpacho Grain Bowl with Confetti Veggies was born.

I prepared a batch of Quinoa combined with wild rice, split peas, orzo and couscous.  Seasoned it with salt, pepper and cumin.  Delicious.  This became the base for our bowl, although today for lunch I added a layer of fresh baby spinach as well.

One of my favorite ways to serve Gazpacho is with fine diced multi-colored raw veggies sprinkled on top.  Choose any of your favorites like tomato, zucchini, yellow squash, cucumber, jalapeno, red onion…  And personally, nice fresh gazpacho loves a squeeze of lemon juice.  I added about a half cup of the above to our grain bowl, finished with a generous drizzle of Gazpacho.  Here’s our go-to Gazpacho recipe.

Gazpacho Grain Bowl {with Confetti Veggies} is so delicious & healthy, bursting with fresh from the garden flavor.  This will definitely become a new Healthy Choices favorite as we head into summer.

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Gazpacho Grain Bowl {with Confetti Veggies}

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 2 cups Gazpacho see recipe link in post
• 1 cup quinoa or favorite grain blend
• 2 cups finely diced veggies like zucchini tomato, summer squash, radish, cucumber, bell peppers, jalapeno.
• 4 lemon wedges
• 1 tsp. cumin
• salt & pepper to taste
• fresh baby spinach optional

Instructions

• Prepare gazpacho according to recipe in post. Chill.
• Prepare quinoa or grains, according to package instructions. Season with cumin, salt & pepper. Can chill or serve warm.
• Per bowl, spoon a 1/2 cup of cooked grains in bowl. Add fresh baby spinach (optional), 1/2 cup of gazpacho and 1/2 cup diced confetti veggies.

Notes

WW Pts+ = 5 points

The post Gazpacho Grain Bowl {with Confetti Veggies} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

From the moment I first took a bite of this fabulous dish I knew.  Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole and I were going to be life long friends.  It’s the perfect combination of creamy, nutty, healthy goodness combined with the comfort that comes from a warm bowl of homemade chicken soup. 

Wild rice is fabulous on it’s own as a side dish.  It’s naturally low in fat, high in fiber, and a good source of protein.  It takes a little longer to cook than standard long grain rice, so when making this casserole you may want to make the rice the day before to cut down on the overall cooking time.  Same goes for the chicken, this is the perfect dish to come the day after you roast a whole chicken.

Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole is a hearty dish.  Over the years I’ve replaced some of the higher fat and sodium laden ingredients to come up with a full flavor, yet lighter ‘fresh’ version of this beautiful dish.  Serve with a side salad for a wonderful family meal.  The casserole can be made a day ahead and then baked before serving.

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Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole

Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole is the perfect combination of creamy, nutty, healthy goodness combined with the comfort that comes from a warm bowl of homemade chicken soup.

Cook Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 2 Tbl. olive oil
• 1 onion diced
• 3 carrots diced
• 2 stalks celery diced
• 16 oz. sliced mushrooms
• 1 Tbl. fresh thyme minced
• Salt and pepper
• 4 Tbl. flour
• 1 can fat free evaporated milk
• 2 wedges Laughing Cow Light Garlic & Herb
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese grated
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked wild rice
• 3 cups fat free chicken broth
• 3 cups cooked chicken cubed
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
• 2 Tbl. fresh parsley chopped
• cooking spray

Instructions

• Prepare wild rice according to package instructions, using chicken broth instead of water.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 3-quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
• Meanwhile, add olive oil to a Dutch oven, sauté onion, carrots, and celery for 5-7 minutes until just tender. Then add the mushrooms, fresh thyme, salt, and pepper and cook 2-3 minutes. Dust vegetables with flour, cook for 1-2 minutes, then gradually add in evaporated milk, stirring constantly. Bring mixture to a boil; then reduce heat to low. Add in Laughing Cow wedges and parmesan cheese, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, stir in cooked wild rice, cubed chicken, and frozen peas. Adjust seasoning to taste. Pour into prepared casserole dish.
• In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs and chopped parsley. Sprinkle over top of casserole. Spray lightly with cooking spray. Bake for 25-30 minutes until topping is lightly browned and mixture is bubbly. Allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.

Homemade Chicken Broth

The post Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

A pattypan squash is the perfect delivery vehicle for one of my favorite food groups, Stuffing.  We will stuff these beauties with wild rice, fresh veggies, sage, and sausage.  Baked Pattypan Squash with Wild Rice, Sage Brown Butter & Sausage Stuffing.  So while this post started out to be much more about my love of stuffing than my new found fascination with pattypan squash, I think it’s interesting to share a bit of history on the White Scallop Summer Squash aka Pattypan.

It seems this squash variety has been a favorite of Native Americans for hundreds of years and has remained relatively unchanged.  By definition that makes this an “heirloom” squash (meaning they have been around a long, long time and are open-pollinated, not mass produced).  They are part of our edible heritage.  Squash was one of their three main crops, corn and beans being the others.  This trio, referred to as the Three Sisters, was planted together in single mounds.  Corn was used as a ladder to support climbing beans, and the squash grew on the ground between its vertical siblings to provide shade for the mound, keeping the ground moist.

There are wonderful Indian legends written about the Three Sisters, who were all different in their size and appearance.  The youngest, who could only crawl, was dressed in green.  The middle sister had a way of running off when the sun was shining in her face.  And the oldest sister, with her golden hair, stood straight and tall watching over her younger siblings.

My daily drive takes me by several farms with wonderful gardens.  I’ve watched them grow and flourish for months now.  As the corn season wraps up and only the brown stalks remain, the gardens look quite different.  And while I will sadly miss the oldest sister, if I look closely I can often catch a glimpse of her younger siblings dancing in the sun.  This makes me smile.

Remove tops from pattypan squash and scoop out seeds and some flesh making a well for the stuffing, sprinkle insides with salt & pepper.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Bake empty squash loosely covered in baking dish for 20 minutes until their insides are tender when pierced with a fork.  Remove.

Stuffing Ingredients…Ground sausage browned, wild rice, celery, carrot, onion, mushrooms, and sage brown butter.

Sage brown butter: 3 Tbl. butter and 10 fresh sage leaves, sauté until butter is lightly browned, 4 – 5 minutes.  Side note:  sage brown butter has become an insanely sexy flavor for me.  It’s salty and nutty and the sage leaves become crispy.  I think I shall write a cookbook late at night with all sage brown butter recipes….

Combine cooked wild rice with browned sausage, sautéed vegetables, and sage browned butter (reserving 1 Tbl. for drizzle).  Season with sea salt and a generous amount of fresh cracked pepper.  Fill each squash with stuffing.  Grate Parmesan cheese on top of each squash and drizzle with a little more sage butter.  Add 1″ water to baking dish, loosely cover with foil and bake another 30 minutes.  We finished under the broiler to show the stuffing some extra love.

Recipe note:  next time I am going to try pre-boiling the squash instead of baking them.  They never got quite done enough for our liking.  And I think we’ll double the stuffing recipe and nestle it down around the squash when baking instead of the water.  It was the star.

The sage brown butter made the rice go wild and the sausage roar with flavor.  This recipe will find its way into another dish very soon. 

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Baked Pattypan Squash with Wild Rice, Sage Brown Butter & Sausage Stuffing

Course Entree

Servings 2

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 3 medium patty pan squash
• 1/2 lb. ground sausage browned
• 1 cup cooked wild rice prepared according to package directions.
• 1 celery rib diced
• 1 medium carrot diced
• 1 small onion diced
• 4 button mushrooms diced

Sage brown butter

• 3 Tbl. butter
• 10 fresh sage leaves

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Remove tops from 3 medium pattypan squash and scoop out seeds and some flesh making a well for the stuffing.
• Sprinkle insides with salt & pepper.
• Bake empty squash loosely covered in baking dish for 20 minutes until their insides are tender when pierced with a fork.
• Remove.

Sage brown butter

• Melt butter over medium heat, then add 10 fresh sage leaves.
• Sauté until butter is lightly browned, 4 – 5 minutes.

Stuffing

• Sauté vegetables.
• Brown sausage.
• Combine cooked wild rice, browned sausage, vegetables, and sage browned butter (reserving 1 Tbl. for drizzle).
• Season with sea salt and a generous amount of fresh cracked pepper.
• Fill each squash with stuffing.
• Grate Parmesan cheese on top of each squash and drizzle with a little more sage butter.
• Add 1″ water to baking dish, loosely cover with foil.
• Bake an additional 30 minutes.
• Finish under broiler to lightly brown stuffng.

Notes

Patty Pan Squash can also be boiled vs. baked prior to stuffing.

The post Baked Pattypan Squash {with Wild Rice, Sage Brown Butter & Sausage Stuffing} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.