Your kitchen willl totally reek of veggies after this.

I've posted a version of Divan before, but I wanted to change it up and get some extra veggies in here. Because the adults in this house like some greens. The child? Um, no. So rather than try and trick him into eating something he'll probably refuse to taste anyway, I just made this for us. The last time I made Divan, I used a mixed veggie mix from Trader Joe's rather than straight broccoli and it was pretty awesome. This time, the steam in the bag fresh Brussel Sprouts were on sale, so I went that route. Next time I may try something else...everything I've tried so far tends to work. (But when does veggies and cheese NOT work? I mean, really.) Speaking of, I added more cheese than I normally do, but with all the extra veggies, I went with it. A good call, I think. Chicken Brussels Divan About 16 oz. chicken breast About 16oz halved Brussel sprouts, steamed One small head broccoli, cut in small pieces and steamed 1 can condensed cream of broccoli soup (Campbell's is best)* About 1/4 1% cup milk 1 cup finely shredded cheddar jack cheese 1/4 cup breadcrumbs Curry powder Salt & Pepper *Cream of Chicken or Cream of Mushroom work well, too. Regular or low-sodium. Season the chicken well with salt, pepper, and curry powder. Cook at 375 about 25 minutes. Let cool slightly and cut into bite sized pieces. Mix chicken pieces with brussels, broccoli, soup and milk. Season with a pinch each of S&P. Spread into baking dish, sprinkle evenly with cheese and then breadcrumbs. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes until cheese is melted and everything is bubbly.

It should not be this hard.

I have a handful of foods that I just can't master handle even begin to not utterly fuck up. And they're basic, too. Bacon, for example. Either completely burned or completely uncooked. I can't flip fried eggs to save my life. (Actually, breakfast foods in general tend to get the best of me).

Lasagna is another. It should be simple—sauce, pasta, filling, cheese, sauce, repeat, repeat, repeat. But for whatever reason, I can't deal with it. It's either too wet and falls apart, or I don't put enough sauce and it's dry and blech. I just...I can't do it, I don't know.

Anyway, that was just a tangent. What I intended to start with was that my little food processor has had quite the workout today.

I'm making all of E's food, so I figured I'd try and get a head start on the next week...so with the help of the processor and some new ice cube trays, I'm now stocked up on peas, carrots, green beans, and sweet potatoes. (We're also very slowly moving through banana and avocado. Peas we love, sweet potatoes we love. Feet kicking, baby-bird mouth wide open, spoon grabbing L-O-V-E...avocado, on the other hand, gets a clamped lip. Will. Not. Eat. Cracks me up.)

But I also came across a recipe on Pinterest for a Veggie Pesto Lasagna that looked delish, so the first step was making some pesto. A little birdie (the internet) told me that the best pesto is a bit coarser than the store bought mush you generally find (and I usually make), but instead of chopping by hand (please), I just added a bit lot less olive oil and pulsed a bunch of times until it was nice and coarse.

Pesto
It's not real scientific here:
A handful of pinenuts
A whole bunch of basil (maybe 2 cups? more?)
4 cloves of garlic, roughly sliced
About 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Sea Salt (a good pinch)
Olive oil (2 tbsp or so)

Combine all in food processor. Use accordingly.

Accordingly, in this case, is about 1/3 of a cup, so I have a ton left. I'll figure something out. But holy hell, my lasagna finally turned out. Even though I had to use cottage cheese instead of ricotta (don't ask why I was doing my cheese shopping at Target)...it totally worked.

Veggie Pesto Lasagna
12 no-cook lasagna noodles
1 jar marinara (I used a tomato basil)
2 cups cottage cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pesto
Thyme (about a tsp)
Oregano (about a tsp)
Sea salt
Fresh mozzarella, torn into small pieces
Olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup shredded zucchini
Chili flakes to taste (I used a 1/2 tsp or so)

1 package baby spinach

Preheat oven to 375.

Saute garlic, onion and zucchini until soft. Add chili flakes, and gradually add spinach until wilted. Remove from heat.

In large bowl, combine cottage (or ricotta) with the parmesan, pesto, thyme, oregano, and salt.

Coat baking dish (I used a 9x13) lightly with cooking spray. Pour enough sauce to very thinly cover the bottom (1/2 cup or so). Arrange 4 noodles to cover (break off the corners if you need them to fit better). Spread half of the cheese mixture across the noodles (make sure and cover them all to make sure they cook well), then half the spinach mixture across the cheese. Arrange half of the mozzarella across. Top with 4 more noodles, and pour half of the remaining sauce. Repeat with remaining cheese, spinach, and mozzarella. Top with remaining 4 noodles and the rest of the sauce.

Bake for about 40 minutes, covered lightly with foil.

6-10 servings, depending on how you cut it.

That's it, no more turkey.

Literally, every piece of tupperware we own is currently in our fridge, and somehow there's still nothing I want to eat. Probably because I need green things at this point, not meat. Or pie. Seriously, I sauteed up brussel sprouts and baby tomatoes and called that dinner last night. (Actually, it was delicious. A little light butter with microwave steamed brussels, halved cherry tomatoes, then topped with a bit of parm, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), salt and pepper. 10 minutes total.)

With two turkeys, two racks of ribs and 10 people, I'm actually surprised we didn't have more meat left over. I'm totally sick of turkey at this point, but I feel bad just trashing it, so I'm trying my best to use it up. But I'm also trying not to cook too much, seeing that my fridge is FULL and cooking is starting to make me tired...I'm apparently a bit of a frenetic cook—I work fast and multi-task, and I just don't have the energy I had 28 weeks ago.

Speaking of 28 weeks, I finally feel like I look pregnant. Or else I just ate way too much pie this weekend. (Shaking fist at my mother for bringing—and leaving—a ginormous, delicious Costco apple pie.) Which makes me scared to see how enormous I am by the time Christmas rolls around. If I don't post any photos, it's because my face has caught up with my ass and I'm refusing to have it documented. Just a heads up.

Anyway, we had some broccoli in the fridge, so I decided to do something easy with it. It's similar to chicken divan, but easier, quicker, and heavier on the broc. Not much prepping here, and even though it looks and seems a little down-homey and rich (just enough to spread out Thanksgiving a little more?) it's really not. I based it off a vegetarian Cooking Light recipe, but got rid of the mayo and threw in some turkey for some extra protein. And because it has to be used somehow.

Broccoli Casserole
12 oz bag of steam-able broccoli (or 3/4 lb loose broccoli florets)
1 cup 1% milk
1 tbsp flour
good pinch each salt and pepper
1/3 cup sharp cheddar
2 tbsp reduced fat cream cheese
2 shallots, chopped
1 can sliced water chestnuts
about a cup shredded cooked turkey or chicken
bread crumbs

Cook broccoli. In saute pan, combine milk, flour, salt and pepper, and whisk over medium heat until thickened. Add cheese and cream cheese, whisking til smooth. Stir in shallot.

In medium casserole dish, layer broccoli, shredded turkey, and water chestnuts. Pour cheese sauce evenly across the top. Sprinkle top evenly with breadcrumbs. Cook at 400 for 20 minutes.

Roughly 850 calories total. (213 for 1/4 casserole)