The Planet Zucchini

First of all, let me explain the title - anyone who has children knows that on Sesame Street whenever there is a skit about space, there is always a character from the planet Zucchini.  For whatever reason, (ok I'm a loser), I think this is hilarious.  Will actually thinks that Zucchini is a real planet, and I don't correct him!

This week is all about zucchini & squash. We also have to eat our CSA take: 4 heads of lettuce, one head of broccoli, 3 ears of sweet corn, 1 zucchini, 1 weird squash (that's the technical term) that Steve took without asking me - don't get me started, 2 quarts of string beans (I'll probably freeze them for winter) and one bunch basil.

Here's our meal plan for the week:
Tonight (Tuesday): Couscous Casserole - more about that later
Wednesday: Couscous Casserole Leftovers
Thursday: Burgers with Zucchini Patties and Sweet Corn
Friday: Chicken Fajitas
Saturday: My sister's Bachelorette Party!  Sayonara Zucchini!  Hell-o Continental Midtown!
Sunday: Grilled Pizzas with Peppers, Onions & Broccoli
Monday: More Leftovers :(

We are also having salad every night with dinner and later this week I'm going to make pesto with the basil.

As for tonight, I made a Couscous Casserole, a recipe my friend M gave me.  Seriously, it was SO good!  Steve had thirds, Will exclaimed "Mmmm!" when he tried it! Here's the recipe with my changes:

Couscous Casserole

Adapted from Parents Magazine

• 2 T. Olive Oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. garlic
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 large zucchini, cut into thin slices
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 4 cups pasta sauce
• 1/2 cup couscous - this is the one thing I totally changed from the recipe. I think this is far too little. I used one box of Near East Whole Wheat couscous. It was about 1 1/3 cups dried couscous.
• salt and pepper
• grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the zucchini and put it on a cookie sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt & pepper.  Bake for 8 minutes or so, then take them out & set aside. Set oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a skillet over medium-high heat, saute onions and garlic in 2 T. olive oil. After about five minutes, add the meat and stir; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until the meat is no longer pink, then set aside.

4. Heat the stock and the pasta sauce over medium heat. Bring to a gentle bubble, then add couscous. Stir well, cover, turn off heat; let sit 10 minutes.

5. Spoon a layer of couscous into bottom a 1.5-2 quart casserole dish. Top couscous with a layer of zucchini, then with a layer of meat. Repeat until you have used up all ingredients, ending with a top layer of couscous. Sprinkle with grated cheese.

6. Cook for 25 minutes or until heated through.

The best part of the recipe is that you can basically throw whatever vegetables you have in the house in it and it would taste great.  I think the one change that I might make would be to use Israeli couscous since it would add some more texture.  I served it with homemade focaccia (Pillsbury pizza crust brushed with olive oil and garlic, salt, pepper and italian seasoning then baked according to package directions) and of course, salad.

We all enjoyed and since Will has speech on Tuesdays, I am now on the hunt for casseroles that I can make ahead and Steve can throw in the oven.  This is going in the rotation- thanks M! So far, it has been a successful trip to the planet Zucchini!

Tomorrow since we aren't having a new recipe, I have LOTS of topics to blog about including (but not limited to): the lunatics on Extreme Couponers, The Bachelorette, and my borderline obsession with the last Harry Potter movie. See you then!