Summer Squash, Chicken and Rice Casserole

I know, it's another zucchini recipe when the prime zucchini time has probably passed for most people.  They might be hanging out at many local farmer's markets though, so I wanted to get this up for those end of the season stragglers.  It calls for one yellow summer squash and one zucchini, but you could use two of either one, depending on your local supply.  This recipe makes a great side dish, or can be a main dish with a nice side salad.  It's a quick and easy way (even quicker if you use a to use up a decent amount of squash at once, and would make a great potluck dish or something to take to a sick/recovering friend or family member.  It's cheesy and creamy and comforting.  Yum.

Summer Squash, Chicken and Rice Casserole

adapted from Cooking Light, August 2010

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 8 ounces)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup chicken broth (about 1 can)

1 tablespoon butter

1 medium zucchini (about 8 ounces), halved lengthwise then thinly sliced

1 medium yellow summer squash (about 8 ounces), halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced

2 cups cooked long-grain rice (I used brown)

1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

1 1/2 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 cups low-fat milk

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Kosher salt and black pepper

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the oil to the pan, swirling to coat.  
• Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides.  Place chicken in the pan.  Cook, turning once, about 6 minutes per side.  Remove chicken from pan and let rest for 10 minutes.
• Add chopped onion to skillet, using a touch more oil if necessary and reducing the heat to medium.  Cook until softened and turning golden, 5-7 minutes. 
• Add broth to pan and increase heat to medium-heat, bringing broth to a simmer.  Simmer until reduced by half.  
• While the broth is simmering, shred the chicken and place in a large bowl.  When the broth is reduced add the broth and onions to the bowl with the chicken. 
• Return pan to heat and melt butter.  Add zucchini and yellow squash to pan, sauteing until softened and just starting to brown, about 4 minutes.  Add squash to bowl with chicken.  Also add rice and rosemary to the bowl.  Stir to combine.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat stir flour.  As you stir the flour, slowly pour in milk, making sure to stir or whisk until smooth.  Bring to a boil.  Cook one minute, until thickened.  
• Remove from heat and add in 1/4 cup of the cheese.  Stir until smooth and add in 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper.  Add milk mixture to the large bowl of the chicken mixture.  
• Transfer chicken mixture to the prepared 8x8 baking dish.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and place in the oven.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  
• Remove from oven and turn on broiler.  Broil casserole until golden, about 5 minutes. 

Zuchinni Parmesan Loaf

I know this recipe might be a bit late for prime zucchini season, but I'm hoping people will give it a try with the end of the season zucchinis rolling in.  I had saved this recipe from a magazine years ago.  I remembered it while trying to think of something different to do with our growing pile of green squashes.  I opted for this since it is a savory bread and not the usual cinnamon spiced zucchini bread -- not that I dislike those breads, cinnamon is one of my favorite flavors, but week after week of typical zucchini bread can wear on even the biggest cinnamon lover.  It has the nutty, salty parmesan flavor and would be a great side to many dinner dishes and even a savory breakfast addition, say, toasted and slathered with butter along side scrambled eggs with cheese.

Zucchini Parmesan Loaf

from Everyday Food, September 2005

Serves 8

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup milk

2 eggs

1/2 pound (about 1 medium) zucchini, coarsely grated

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 and spray a loaf pan (9x5) with non-stick spray.
• In a large bowl combine flour, cheese, baking powder, salt and pepper.  Stir to combine.  
• In a medium bowl combine olive oil, milk and eggs.  Beat with a whisk.  
• Add grated zucchini to flour mixture, stir to combine.  Then add liquid ingredients to the flour/zucchini mixture.  Stir until just moistened.
• Pour batter into the loaf pan and bake 60-70 minutes.  It's ready when a toothpick comes out clean.  
• Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

Zucchini Pistou

I saw this recipe during my first reading of July's Cooking Light.  My first reading of a food magazine is usually the day it arrives, flipping through during dinner that night, or as we are watching tv.  Which is then soon followed by my second reading of the same magazine of the previous month -- which involves tearing out pages and cutting out recipes.  I like to keep the latest month's magazines on our coffee table, so as soon as a new one arrives, the old one gets cut up for recipes to file away.   Sometimes a recipe looks so good that it will jump to the 'must be made' pile even while it's still in the magazine and not yet cut-out.  That happened with this recipe.  It looked delicious and we had an abundance of zucchini and basil from our CSA that week.  It was a great way to use up some zucchini and broke me free of my normal habit of sauteeing them in a bit of butter, garlic and oregano.  It definitely made it's way into the 'keeper' binder of recipes.  I did make a few changes.  I made the substitution I use in all pestos -- almonds instead of pine nuts.  I used a mix of zucchini and yellow summer squash.  And, I used fat free half and half instead of heavy cream since that is what we already had on hand. 

Zucchini Pistou

adapted from Cooking Light, July 2010

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups pasta and 1 tablespoon cheese)


Ingredients
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 1/2 cups (1/4-inch-thick) slices small zucchini (about 3/4 pound)
1 cup packed basil leaves
1/2 cup shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
2 tablespoons almonds
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion 

1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
8 ounces uncooked penne pasta
1/4 cup fat free half and half
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

• Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until tender and golden. Remove from pan; cool. 
• Place 1/4 cup cooked zucchini, basil, 1/4 cup cheese, almonds, and garlic in a food processor; process until finely chopped. (Keep mixture in processor.)
• Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; sauté 10 minutes or until golden. Return remaining cooked zucchini to pan. Remove from heat.
• Combine 6 quarts water and 1 teaspoon kosher salt in a large pot, and bring to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water according to package directions. Drain in a sieve over a bowl, reserving 1/3 cup cooking liquid. Add pasta to vegetables.
• With processor on, add reserved liquid to basil mixture; process until smooth. Add basil mixture to pasta. Add cream, remaining salt, and pepper; stir. Top with remaining cheese.