Stuffed Celery

"Delicious" is not an adequate enough word for these delectable little snacks. I have made these at home just for a daytime treat and an accompaniment to dinner, and I've even whipped up a batch and taken them to work to give my happy hour customers.

I found the recipe for stuffed celery at AllRecipes. The main change I made was using feta-stuffed green olives instead of pimento-stuffed olives, which I have to recommend any readers do as well. It gives the stuffing a saltier, warmer taste that contrasts well against chilled, crisp, and fresh celery. For the garlic, I used a hearty amount (about two and a half tablespoons) of Spice World Minced Garlic. I increased the seasoning, using black pepper, basil, and parsley. The next time I make stuffed celery, I plan on adorning it with chives.

This is probably the best-tasting and most creative way to eat "boring" celery, so it's great to make for party guests, children, or people who are struggling to eat lighter, healthier meals but find regular salads undesirable. Because the recipe on AllRecipes is so barren, it leaves a great deal of room for you to experiment and adjust this to your taste. Just imagine how tasty it'd be with cilantro stirred into the stuffing.

Creamy Avocado Sandwich Spread

We vegans and vegetarians have to keep our eyes open wide; it's very rare that a fast food restaurant actually has decent meat-free offering. One blaring example is Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches. "America's Favorite Sandwich" shoppe offers a vegetarian sandwich and a gourmet veggie club. I was a huge fan of the club, which features your usual sandwich veggies smushed in between provolone cheese, alfafa sprouts (a nice touch), and a very yummy avocado spread.

Not to knock Jimmy John's--for I do appreciate a vegetarian-friendly restaurant--but I wanted to find out how to make the avocado spread at home; after all, lunchboxing a sandwich is a much cheaper option than purchasing one from a restaurant every day. I actually found a recipe for what is supposedly the exact avocado dip they use at Jimmy John's on a web forum, offered by a user who calls himself "Josh, Jimmy John's employee of the month." And as the Louisville Cardinals have just started their big game against the Kentucky Wildcats, I'm needing a good veggie club right now and am about to whip up a batter of this avocado spread!

I can't even count how many times I've made this spread, which my boyfriend sometimes uses as a chip dip. (Quite frankly, it's just too delicious on veggie sandwiches for me to waste as a dip!) For probably about a year now, there's usually a bowl of avocado spread waiting in my refrigerator. Why not? It's a very quick recipe, one that stores well, and one which has leftovers than can be savored day after day in various ways (on hors d'oeuvres, sandwiches, chips, veggies, etc.).

I've never used the chili pepper this recipe calls for, because I'd rather have a cool, refreshing sandwich than something that sets my mouth on fire. Instead, I just sprinkle some chili powder into the mix. I also often add in an extra avocado or two, along with some minced garlic. Sometimes it also helps to add in about a teaspoon of table mustard for flavor and texture. Be warned if you don't frequently cook with avocados: they are messy.

This is a very yummy and nutritious spread with many uses. People who need lunch on the go will certainly appreciate being able to prepare their own gourmet veggies clubs, as I have for so long. It's a scrumptious copycat recipe worth trying!

Squash & Carrot Casserole

So, am I in violation of any copyright laws if I tell you this dish is really, really, really fricking "mmmm mmmm good"?

Same old story: I had some produce--squash, in this case--that needed to be thrown into a pot and cooked; I did an Internet search and found a recipe that would suffice on About.com's "Southern Food" section. Suffice? Suffice? How about completely exceed my taste buds' expectations?

Seriously. The recipe I found was called "Summer Squash Casserole." If the title reminds you of my recent blogs' discussion of summer dishes versus winter dishes, keep in mind it's only called a "summer" casserole because the yellow squash it uses traditionally could not be stored until winter. In actuality, it's a very warm casserole that I think would best be served during a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

I only had two crookneck squash ready to cook, so I actually abridged all the ingredient amounts and made a "mini"-casserole, which I put in a 9" pie pan. I replaced the recipe's call for cream of chicken soup with a can of cream of celery soup, and added in 1/4 cup of sliced mushrooms. I actually upped the amount of butter and onion, and seasoned the filling with Italian seasoning, pepper, and a hint of garlic powder. The recipe also calls for just one half of a stuffing mix, but I used a whole box of Kraft's "Savory Herbs" Stovetop stuffing mix, and in my pie pan, it was a good amount. Also, I feel that any casserole is just naked without cheese, so I sprinkled sliced mozzarella on top of the last layer and then added grated Parmesan.

So after altering the recipe so drastically, did I regret it? Not at all. In fact, I can honestly say I wouldn't change a thing. I was curious as to what the uncooked stuffing mix would be like, and it was the perfect seasoned crust to a soft, gooey, warm casserole filling. I definitely almost ate half of this sweet dish in one sitting, after questioning if I'd even like it!

This is also, by the way, my favorite squash recipe to date. If I had to choose between this and the stuffed squash previously featured in this blog, I would hands-down choose squash and carrot casserole.

When making this, be generous with your seasoning, your grated carrots (seriously, they get muffled in the sauce), and add that cheese!! Mushrooms optional--I thought they tasted great, but, after looking on the Internet, I didn't find any other squash/carrot combo that featured mushrooms, so maybe those are just my own weird tastebuds...

Also, my apologies for how blurry the picture is. I took it on my phone, and didn't realize until after the casserole was 75% devoured that the camera hadn't been still enough to get a good shot! Guess it smelled too good for me to pause...