Does anyone remember the Impossible Bisquick Pies from the 80's?
I think they're called Impossible Pies because they're Impossibly Easy.
That they are.
Easy.
Remember that bag of sliced zucchini I was going to give away when I made
Zucchini Okazu?
The zucchini was still in the refrigerator, despite my best attempts to give them away.
When we got back from our camping trip and looked for something fast and easy to make, this casserole was the choice.
I had put 10 cups of sliced zucchini in a zippered plastic bag and squeezed as much air out of the bag as possible before sealing it.
That seems to work for me to keep vegetables--especially lettuce--fresh for a longer time.
It worked really well for the sliced zucchini.
My mother used Bisquick, so I keep some on-hand.
I don't use it too often, so I keep mine in a zippered plastic bag in the freezer.
I have this really old recipe in a binder and use it as a guideline just to make the 'crust'.
The egg, milk and Bisquick mixture makes the casserole's crust.
Ingredients:
10 cups sliced zucchini
1 sweet onion, chopped
4 cups sliced mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups grated
pepper jack cheese
For the crust:
1 1/2 cups milk
3 eggs
3/4 to 1 cup Bisquick
Start by mincing the garlic and chopping the onions.
Get them going in a skillet with about a tablespoon or so of olive oil.
Don't you just love the smell of garlic, onions and olive oil?
I do.
Then slice the mushrooms.
Put them in the skillet with the garlic and onions.
Then add the sliced zucchini.
Season with salt, pepper and a few chili flakes.
If you have meat eaters, you can brown a half-pound of ground meat, today I'm using ground turkey.
I ran outside and picked a couple of sprigs of rosemary and a small handful of thyme.
Pick off the leaves--if the stem is not woody, you can finely chop the stem, otherwise just zip the leaves off--and give them a rough chop.
Add the herbs to the zucchini mixture and turn off heat when the zucchini are just wilted.
Grate the cheese.
You can use any kind of cheese you like or have on hand.
Spray the casserole dish(es) with cooking spray or rub the edges with butter.
I'm making two, one meatless.
If you only have one vegetarian in your family, you might be able to use one big casserole dish and make a third of the casserole meatless, since you layer the ingredients in this dish.
Just a thought.
Put the zucchini mixture on the bottom, then put the cheese on top, 1 cup per casserole.
Add the Bisquick, milk and eggs to the blender.
I added a 1/4 cup Bisquick because I had liquid left from the zucchini mixture and didn't want to dump it, so I put it in the blender vessel.
Improvise.
Blend the mixture until it's all combined well.
Pour half of the Bisquick mixture over each casserole.
It should cover the veggies.
Then put them into a 400 degree F oven for 35 to 40 minutes.
Does anyone notice anything?
I forgot to add the ground meat!!!
Not to worry.
If that happens to you, simply take the casserole out of the oven and add the ground meat on top.
You don't even have to stir it, just sort of push it down under the Bisquick mixture a bit and pop it back in the oven.
When it's golden brown on top, it's done!
You can jiggle the dish a little to be sure it's set.
The great thing about these Impossible Pies, is that you can pretty much invent a new one every time you make it.
Spinach, bacon, swiss cheese and mushrooms is good.
So is taco meat, tomatoes, onions and cheddar cheese.
A bag of frozen vegetables and left over shredded chicken works too.
Serve it with a nice green salad.
Yum!
Itadakimasu!
***
Here are some more photos from our weekend trip to Big Sur.
I just got a very nice thank you note from her in the mail for taking her with us to Big Sur.
She's very thoughtful.
She and Karen call themselves "custers".
Cousins that are like sisters.
You might think Gary is doing the crane move from Karate Kid.
He and Mitchell are hooking the trailer up to go home.
Thanks again, Mitchell and Karen!
We had a great time!
Beeto kept score of how many games each person won.
We played Wits and Wagers, multi-player solitare, daihimin (that's a Japanese card game that my sister-in-law from Japan taught us--like Big 2), and other games.
She also keeps a cookie count.
Who eats the most cookies?
Beeto's taking Spanish in school.
We talked all about Gorda Springs and what it means.
She said, Chubby Lady Springs.
Fat Lady wouldn't be nice.
And Beeto's nice.
She was excited to stop and see the sea lions near San Simeon.
They made loud noises.
Dixie was scared!
Mostly they basked in the sun.
A few wiggled in from the ocean.
Beeto loved it!
She got particularly excited to see this brown little guy.
She said it looked EXACTLY like her dog Wammer!
EXACTLY!
We stopped in Moro Bay.
And these two talked about how scary it would be to climb these stacks all the way to the top.
Someday, Beeto's going to grow up and might not think it's so much fun to go with us on vacation, especially without her cousins.
Maybe.
But maybe not.
Until then, we are so thankful and happy she chooses to come with us.
Beeto, it wouldn't be nearly as much fun without you!
***
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