Blogger's Block

Lately I am feeling uninspired in the kitchen, which explains the lack of posts around here. I'm not sure what is really missing, but I just can't seem to think of really great ideas. My cooking is feeling a bit stagnant. Josh has no complaints, just something I'm feeling. Tonight I baked some trout in lemon juice, fresh black pepper, and lemon pepper seasonings, with some brown rice. And to be truthful I popped a frozen bag of veggies in the microwave for steaming. Everything tasted great, but not a lot to make a post out of. I do have some ideas for my next batch of brownies, so that's a bit promising. I think part of it is I don't feel like I've got any great summer recipes. I've got the warm winter food pretty much covered- a good arsenal of soups, stews, and casseroles that we really enjoy. But I guess I wasn't really into the cooking thing last summer, so I feel pretty lacking in that department. So, what makes a good spring/summer recipe? For some reason all that really comes to mind is strawberry shortcake. And while I do love me some strawberry shortcake, I just can't allow us to eat that for every meal, ha. I have some ideas for our outing to Concert In The Garden this weekend, but then again we might not be going if the weather outlook stays as it is. I'm beginning to think that our town has somehow been transplanted in Seattle- rain, rain, rain. Although I guess it mostly just rains in the Northwest. We've had the lovely rumble of thunder and lightening on an almost weekly basis. Maybe the rain is affecting my cooking mood? Hmmm....I just don't know.

Blogger Interview

Peabody was recently interviewed on her blog, and offered the opportunity to be questioned to her readers. I figured what the heck! So, here are my replies to her interview queries:

1. How long have you had your food blog?
I originally started my blog in September of '06, but in retrospect, starting a project right before my wedding wasn't a brilliant plan. I never did anything with it, other than setting it up, until January. So, it's about 8 months old, but didn't really exist until the past 5 months or so.

2. What is your most favorite post on your food blog?
I guess my favorite post is probably my Taste of Yellow entry. It gave me a chance to talk about my grandmother, who I miss a lot, experiment with a new recipe, I got some lovely comments, and I think the pictures are probably the best I've taken of my cooking exploits. Also, that cake was yummy!

3. Who is the biggest influence in your life? In your cooking life?
I've had a lot of big influences in my life overall, but at this point in my life I would say it's my husband. He's my best friend and I love him to pieces. Every night when I go to sleep and every morning when I wake up I am so, so glad that I married him. Neither of us may be perfect, but we're perfect for each other. In my cooking life, he has also been a big influence. His request to start eating healthier is what got me started really cooking in the first place. But the biggest influence in my cooking life is definitely Martha Stewart. Honestly, at least 90% of the recipes I make have come from Martha. I bought my first issue of Living magazine when I was 16, and I still have it to this day. And now Everyday Food is my favorite resource for recipes and ideas.

4. What cooking trend do you hate right now? What cooking trend do you love right now?
Hmm, I don't know if I'm really in touch with what the cooking trends are. Perhaps pomegranate? That's not just a trend in food and drink, but it's popping up in soaps and lotions too. I guess it boggles the mind that a fruit is suddenly trendy and needs to be a part of my body in every way possible. I do however like that the trends seem to be with fruits- Meyer lemons, key limes, blood oranges, pomegranates, etc.

5. What would your last meal consist of?
Really the meal would just have to have bacon, ranch dressing/dip, and chocolate involved. Not all together though. Probably a BLT, stacked incredibly high with perfect bacon- crispy, not chewy. Ruffles with ranch dip, a big salad with plenty of croutons, and then some type of chocolate dessert- nothing too sweet though. And beer, I love beer. Obviously I'm not a foodie, just an eatie.


Do you want to be interviewed? Here are the directions:
1. Leave a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. Beware, I may ask personal questions! Please make sure I have your email address.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

What a week

Seriously, this week was created by Hades or something. I have cooked a bit, I just haven't had time to post. And I need Josh to show me again how to hook the camera stuff up to my laptop. I just wanted to say that I've got some stuff coming up, and sorry it's been awhile since I posted. The Sugar High Friday Roundup is up over at Seven Spoons. Big thanks and compliments to Tara for a wonderful event!

I have barely given next week's menu any thought and I HAVE to go grocery shopping tonight. I think I'm gonna have to do some really easy recipes next week, especially after slacking some this week. But before I get to making grocery lists, I've got to finish my cleaning list. Well, the kitchen portion at least. So, I'm gonna have me a cup of coffee, piece of toast, and get stuck in.

Blue Monday

Tonight's dinner didn't happen. You can read why at On This Harvest Moon.

Sugar High Friday #31- Neutral Territory

This month's theme for Sugar High Friday, an event created by Jennifer at Domestic Goddess, is very clever in my opinion. Tara at Seven Spoons is hosting this round with the theme of Neutral Territory, meaning sweet things in the brilliant or soft shades of white. My favorite cookie just happens to be the creamiest shade of ivory. Now, I can't claim to have created these cookies. I discovered them on baking sheet, now Baking Bites, right before this past Thanksgiving. I baked up a batch to take to our family dinner and they were a huge hit. In fact, the cookies were gone before we even had Thanksgiving dinner! I made a double batch for Christmas, and the kids were over the moon for them. If they asked for a cookie, despite the wide variety available, they meant my cookies. So I just can't be more grateful to Nicole for putting that recipe up. These cookies are easy and quick to pop out of the kitchen, making them even more appealing. Not to mention that the possibility for variations are endless, as many flavors of cheesecake exist, you can create it's cookie counterpart. But, as many different additions I've thought of, I've never gotten around to messing with them. This cookie is perfect just the way it is, in my opinion.

Cheesecake Cookies
Recipe from Baking Bites
1/2 cup of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softenend
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup all purpose flour

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, beat together softened cream cheese and butter. Gradually beat in sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and salt.
• In a small bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder, and mixing by hand or at low speed, add to cream cheese mixture.
• Drop by rounded tablespoon full onto prepared baking sheet.
• Bake for 12-14 minutes until the bottom edge just barely turns brown.

My notes: The recipe doesn't really specify salted or unsalted. I use salted because I like that bit of saltiness against the sweet of the sugar and cream cheese, despite the 1/4 teaspoon salt you also add. And I use neufchatel cheese, which has 1/3 less fat than regular cream cheese. Personally, my oven's temperature means I take the cookies out after about 10 minutes. I use two baking sheets, so that I can set one on the rack to cool, while the other one is in the oven. These cookies are very soft, so allowing them to cool on the cookie sheet before transferring to the wire rack let's them set up a bit.

Bolognese beating

I know I still need to post about Tuesday night's dinner, but last night was so rough I gotta vent about it now. In fact, this week has been rather rough in total. I went grocery shopping Monday night after work. I needed some ground pork for Wednesday's dinner, but there was none to be found. And then when I got home I realized I also forgot the zucchini I needed for Tuesday's meal. So, Tuesday after work I went to a different grocery store for the zucchini and pork. There I was informed by the very young man behind the meat counter that they had just a day or two prior marked the ground pork down because it was about to go bad. It sold out, so I was just a day or two late. Sounds to me like I was right on time. Anyway, last night I made the third trip to a store in search of ground pork. I got it, but for a quite unreasonable almost $6 for barely over a pound. But I was making one of Josh's favorite meals, the one thing he requested when I inquired during my menu planning last week. So, I got it and hurried home, later than usual because of the grocery trip. And then I needed to start on the 5 loads of laundry that didn't get done over the weekend. When I got to the fridge to start gathering ingredients I discovered my ground beef was only partially thawed. Awesome. So, I Googled fast and safe thawing methods. I am typically very paranoid about thawing meats- fridge only for me. Ended up immersing it in a bowl of cold water for 30 minutes and it worked. At least I got a valuable tip out of this whole thing. So, between prepping ingredients, starting the sauce, and running to the laundry room to move loads from washer to dryer, and start washers again, the sauce wasn't ready for it's hour long simmer till 8:12. Yeah. And then it goes 15 minutes after that. Josh and I actually ate dinner together. That almost never happens Tuesday through Thursday. I didn't even finish eating till after 10. I still had laundry to get out of the dryer, too. Oh gosh, it was a long night.

Okay, vent over, on to the recipe. Like I mentioned, Spaghetti Bolognese is one of Josh's most favorite meals. When I attempt to press him to say which his favorite is he says he likes everything I make. But this is the one he mentions the most to other people when talking about my cooking, the one he requests the most, and the one he seems most happy to gobble up. I have mentioned this sauce before, because you use the leftovers to create Bolognese Pie, which I think Josh likes even more than the spaghetti version. As long as this sauce is involved he seems to be a happy camper. It is an Everyday Food recipe, as are most things I make if you haven't caught on to that by now, ha. Oh, and the pic is from the Martha Stewart website. We got new laptops and I haven't installed the camera's software on mine yet. And to be honest I have no idea how, so I've got to get Josh to do it. Not that my pics are that great anyway, so I'm not really depriving you of anything spectacular.

Spaghetti with Bolognese Sauce
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4- plus 4 cups for Bolognese Pie
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped (3 cups)
3 carrots, finely chopped (1 cup)
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1/4 cup tomato paste
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup dry white wine
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes in puree
1 cup milk
12 ounces spaghetti
Finely grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

• Make sauce: In a Dutch oven (or 5-quart saucepan), heat oil over high heat. Add onions, carrots, and garlic; cook, stirring, until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add beef and pork; cook, breaking up meat with a spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste; cook 1 minute. Season generously with salt and pepper.
• Add wine and tomatoes. Bring sauce to a simmer; cook, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 1 hour. Add milk; simmer until completely absorbed, about 15 minutes more. Season again with salt and pepper.
• When sauce is almost done, cook pasta in a pot of boiling salted water until al dente, according to package instructions; drain. Toss pasta with half the meat sauce; save 4 cups for Bolognese Pie. Serve sprinkled with cheese.

My notes: Sometimes I use Parmesan, sometimes I don't. My husband puts Parmesan on any pasta dish, so there is plenty on his. Since there's just the two of us I typically freeze 4 cups of the sauce to make the Bolognese Pie at a later date, and then freeze any sauce leftover after that separately, for an additional quick meal with spaghetti. The Bolognese Pie serves 4, so with this one pot of sauce we get anywhere from 8-10 meals, depending on how much sauce we each use on our spaghetti.

And don't forget to come visit me at my new blog On This Harvest Moon!

A Taste of Yellow- LiveStrong Day Roundup

Today is LiveStrong Day and to celebrate Barbara at Winos and Foodies has posted the Taste of Yellow Roundup. I think we can safely say that this event was a success, with there being 144 entries. I'm glad that I was able to participate, especially in the memory of my grandmother. So go by and see all the wonderful entries, and read some inspiring stories, including Barbara's.

Blogs

I've been thinking about how to approach this post for a while now, but I hadn't really come up with any thoughts. Lindsey had asked me to write about how I find all the great food blogs I read. I wish I had some cool skill to brag about, but the real key is boredom. I think the first food blog I was probably aware of was Culinary Concoctions by Peabody. I found her through a cooking message board on The Nest. I checked out some of the links in her sidebar to other food blogs, but didn't really commit any to memory. The second blog I remember reading is Everybody Likes Sandwiches. And I read through the blogs in her link list. And after checking out some of those blogs, I checked out the blogs they were linking. And then it becomes like that old television commercial- they linked two blogs, and they link two blogs, and so on, and so on. I didn't become a compulsive reader of all of the blogs I was exposed to, but there were some that I did keep going back to to read. And eventually I had a good sized list of pages I was checking habitually. They had that certain something(s) that kept me interested, returning to see what was new in their kitchen.

Qualities I look for in blogs I read:

• Pictures- I am a visual learner, so pictures are a big thing for me. Unless I feel really familiar with the style of a recipe, I need pictures to know that this is something that looks appetizing. And I also like to know what the final outcome is supposed to look like. Most of the time I probably won't make a recipe if there is no picture. This is also why I almost always put pictures up, despite the fact that my food photography skills are severly lacking and I only have a little Kodak Easyshare camera.
• Frequent updating- This again relates to the boredom. I love doing anything but working while at work, so my long blog lists keep me entertained early in the morning, when I'm the only one here. Also during lunch while eating at my desk. And basically any other time of day, ha. Not all of the blogs I read update as frequently as I wish, but that's their prerogative as a blogger. I can just be happy to have something fresh to read when they do. And, obviously I don't always blog enough to live up to my high standards, so I can't cast any stones, ha.
  
• Recipes- Duh. Granted, I've actually only made a few recipes that I've gotten from other blogs, but even if I don't make the recipes I read, they inspire me to try different things. And I can often times pick up tips from their notes on recipes and how the cooking process went.

One of the other keys to finding new blogs for me are blog events. Blog events are a lot of fun to participate in, it gives people the opportunity to be exposed to your blog, and you to all their's. I also find a lot of interesting blogs through blog events, whether I participate or not. A great place to hear about current events to participate in is Is My Blog Burning?".

So, that's my key to finding food blogs I like- a whole lotta boredom, ha. There are so many fabulous blogs out there that I enjoy stopping by, I just don't have them all listed in my sidebar. Because I would probably need a whole other blog for that list.

On This Harvest Moon....

Is the title of my new blog, which has it's first post up now. So, if your interested, check it out by clicking on the loverly little button to the right. Thanks!

Howdy Blog Party #22!

So, it's been a while since I participated in Blog Party, but not because I haven't wanted to. Time alas was not on my side, but this time around I was bound and determined to take part. I mean how could I not when the the theme is Wild Wild West? I do, after all, live in Fort Worth, Texas- Where The West Begins. So, thinking about what I consider to be "western" food, I came up with Cornbread Cups filled with Homemade Chili. For a complimentary beverage I went with a cold bottle of Shiner Bock- a favorite of many of the cowboys I know. Being brewed in Texas gives it a big flavor!

Homemade Chili
Recipe by me
1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded & ribbed, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
pinch red pepper flakes
pinch ground cinnamon
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz. can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
6 oz. beer

• In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, jalapeno, and garlic; season with salt and pepper and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.
• Stir in tomato paste and seasonings. Once blended add ground beef and stir, breaking up with spoon, until no longer pink.
• Add tomatoes with juice, beans, and beer. Bring to a boil and reduce to a rapid simmer. Cook for over medium-low to medium heat until beans are tender and chili has thickened. Taste your chili during this time, and add any additional seasoning you'd like.

My notes: I added more chili powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, and ground pepper. For the cornbread, I have done homemade before, but nothing ever beats Jiffy boxed mix for me. So, that's what I used. Use a serrated knife to slice off the top of the muffins, then run your knife along the inside, bout 1/8" from the edge, all the way around and remove the inside. Fill the muffin cups and top with your favorite chili add-ons. I used shredded cheese and cilantro leaves. Jalapeno slices and a dollop of sour cream would also be delicious and festive.

News and Note to Self

When making a recipe that's on the back of a box of rice, make sure there is actually enough rice in said box to make the dish. And so went sweet & sour chicken Tuesday night. It was still good, just had to let it sit for longer than normal so the sub-par amounts of rice could do some extra absorbing.

And the news? I'm starting up a second blog. I found myself wanting to share more of my general life on here, but I didn't really want to take the focus away from food. So, hopefully in the next few days I will have that all put together. I already made a banner for it last night, thanks to the instructions I found on Design Mom.

Gratin and bare it....

So, wouldn't you know that not taking a pic would finally bite me in the tush. I was planning on posting this earlier today, but the recipe wasn't up on Martha's site, so I couldn't relay it to you while at work. And since there's no recipe, there's also no picture. And since I didn't take one, you'll just have to take my word that it is a colorful dish. Monday night's dinner was a Zucchini and Yellow Squash Gratin, which we had with a nice salad and a little bit of leftover pork. This was a good dish, and a fairly quick and easy recipe, also. I think this recipe would be great for a spring or summer get-together too- easy to make, creamy, and rich without being heavy. And did I mention it's colorful. The beautiful green and yellow discs create a very pretty base for the cream, Parmesan, and panko.

Zucchini and Yellow Squash Gratin
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4

2 tablespoons butter
2 medium zucchini (appx. 7 oz. ea.), sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
2 medium yellow squash (appx. 7 oz. ea.), sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup panko
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat; add zucchini, yellow squash, shallots, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until zucchini and squash are crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes.
• Add cream, and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat; stir in 1/2 cup panko and 1/4 cup Parmesan.
• Spoon mixture into a shallow 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining panko and Parmesan; season with salt and pepper. Bake until top is golden, 8 to 10 minutes.

My notes: Things got a little sticky once I added the panko and Parmesan. This is the first time I've cooked with panko, a Japanese breadcrumb made by cooking leavened bread dough electromagnetically. I guess it's the leavened aspect that made it smell yeasty, almost like beer to me. It supposed to be lighter than regular breadcrumbs, and this dish wasn't heavy at all to me, despite the heavy cream. I guess it worked. Also, I'm going to try and remember to post the nutritional info for recipes if I have it, as I've noticed that they don't list it anymore on the MS website. Luckily they still have an index in the back of the Everyday Food issues. If they do away with that, I'd have to give Martha a piece of my mind!

Per serving: 328 calories; 20.3 grams fat; 12.3 grams sat. fat; 10.5 grams protein; 27.7 grams carbohydrates; 3.1 grams fiber

Seven Random Things About Me

Okay, I think that Lindsey tagged me for this meme. Well, even if I wasn't the specific Jessica, she tagged everyone who hadn't been tagged yet, so I guess that would be me anyway. So, here are seven random things about me:

-I am an expert at movie connections. Ever heard of 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon? Yeah, it's like that, but you don't even use Kevin Bacon. My most impressive connection? Cameron Diaz and Charlie Chaplin, I think.

-I love TV theme songs. I have two and a half hours worth on my computer. A few of my faves- WKRP In Cincinatti (which Stephanie can attest to), Welcome Back Kotter, and The Rockford Files.

-It is darn near impossible for me to pass up ranch dressing or dip. I love it with Ruffles, crudites, french fries, fried pickles, chicken tenders, etc. Part of it is the comfort aspect- we had it at almost every family gathering when I was growing up. And the other part of it is it's just soooo good!

-I have seen every Woody Allen movie to date. I own three of his books, and three more books about him. I own his stand-up CD. I would give my left hand to see him with his jazz band at The Carlyle.

-Speaking of my left hand, typing is about the most useful thing it can do. I am the complete opposite of ambidextrous, which complicates things as minute as drying my hair, and often complicates cooking.

-My right shoulder is lower than my left, due to repeated injury as a kid. I've broken my arm, dislocated my shoulder, and broken my collar bone. The collar bone thing also resulted in a big lump when the bone healed overlapping. You would imagine that I had a bit more dexterity in my left hand, considering I spent a good chunk of time with my right arm in a sling, but not the case.

-I have a very morbid interest in criminals and serial killers. It no longer exists, but I used to spend a good chunk of time wandering a website that listed the last meal requests for Texas Death Row inmates. I was reminded of this by Lindsey's #7. Requests ranged from giant T-bone steaks and baked potatoes to a bag of Jelly Belly jelly beans. My last meal would most definitely involve something ranch.

Umm, I don't think I know enough bloggers to tag anyone that hasn't been tagged yet, except for maybe Steph. So, Steph you should do this, and anyone else who wanders this way should give it a shot too.

The rest of the week

I don't have any big plans for this weekend, as far as baking or cooking go that is. I'm most likely going to Mayfest with Stephanie and her family, and another friend & family. And I think we're hoping to party Cinco De Mayo style afterward. Did somebody say margaritas? Have no fears, I will still do a write-up on my Saturday morning shows though.

Anyway, I decided to just do a bit of a round up post of what else has been going on in my kitchen this week. Now, I know I mentioned that I served the Zucchini Lasagna with a salad, but what I neglected to tell you was that the carrot I used in it came from my father-in-laws garden. Isn't it perty? We've also made a salad with their romaine, and enjoyed many other fruits, er vegetables, of their labor. Hopefully I can get by and take a picture of the garden to share it all with you. They have the biggest rosemary bush! And I also hope to reap the rewards of their hard work more in the future!




Wednesday night dinner was delayed considerably due to inclement weather. There's nothing like a flash flood, to welcome you home, I've always said. Wait, no I haven't ever said that. But living in Texas, sometimes it happens. I guess plenty of places get flash floods, but with the tornado sirens going off once a week for the past month or so it's getting a bit old. The loverly view to the left is the view I was treated to while peering out my front window. Through luck, our apartment is placed just so, as to avoid getting flooded. When I did finally get around to making dinner, I made Kelly's Honey Mustard Chicken along with vegetable brown rice and red grapes. I had to seed the grapes, which was more of a hassle than a difficulty, but I thought it would compliment the chicken nicely, and I was quite right. At least I think I was, ha. Next time I use this marinade I think I'm going to do chicken cutlets, and make yummy sandwiches




And last but not least, Thursday's dinner, Roasted Pork with Black-Eyed Pea Salad. This is a recipe that I'd been meaning to try for quite sometime. But, I'm taking the easy way out on this one. I highly recommend that you click on that lovely little link and get this recipe for yourself. It was really delicious, and really easy. I've made the salad several times before, but this was the first time I'd done the pork tenderloin too. I had some difficulty getting it up to the right temperature, but I think the problem might lie in my thermometer actually. I'm also cheating and using Martha's pic, cause I just couldn't cut my pork that neatly. But really, don't take my not typing up the whole recipe a sign that it isn't delicious. Just take it as a sign that I'm excited because it's Chipotle Friday and the hubster just got home. I gotta get me some chips & guacamole, so I'll check you chicas later. Adios!

Zucchini Lasagna

Monday night I made a Zucchini Lasagna from one of my issues of Everyday Food. I served it with a salad, which I topped with the vinaigrette from this weekend's episode of Real Simple. The vinaigrette was pretty good, although I will probably use less olive oil next time I make it. Was the lasagna good? Yes. Photogenic? Absolutely not. The pic below is from the Martha Stewart website.

Zucchini Lasagna
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4
Olive oil for baking dish
8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, room temperature
1 15 ounce container part-skim ricotta cheese
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 medium zucchini (8 ounces each), halved lengthwise then sliced thinly crosswise
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
6 no-boil lasagna noodles
2 ounces (1/2 cup) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil 8-inch square baking dish; set aside.
• In a medium bowl, stir together cream cheese and ricotta; season with salt and pepper. In another medium bowl, combine zucchini, garlic, and oregano; season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine.
• Spread 1/3 zucchini mixture in prepared baking dish; top with two lasagna noodles, then 1/3 ricotta mixture. Repeat twice with remaining zucchini mixture, noodles, and ricotta mixture, finishing with the ricotta mixture. Sprinkle with mozzarella.
• Cover baking dish with aluminum foil; bake until bubbly and noodles are tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove foil; bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes more. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

My notes: This recipe was pretty good and very easy. Josh gladly ate seconds, and I happily ate leftovers for lunch yesterday. If you were serving this with more than just a salad you could easily feed more than the 4 it claims to serve. I split it into 6 well-portioned servings and with my large salad didn't feel like I'd been short-changed in the dinner department. All the zucchinis at the store were very small, so I went by weight instead of quantity, gathering 4 zucchinis that totaled 16 ounces. It seemed like maybe I was still a bit skimpy on zucchini, but I definitely could have cut my slices thinner, which probably would have helped. Anyway, assembly of this dish is pretty quick, and baking time isn't too bad either. We both felt like perhaps it was missing something. I could have used more salt & pepper in seasoning the cheese mixture, and I think it could have used more garlic. Josh felt that the Parmesan cheese he added helped, so I might add all of these things next time I make it. You could also add a tomato sauce for a change-up that would be delicious.