Carrot & Rice Casserole

Usually when my CSA goodies arrive, I am excited about a seasonal gem, like tomatillos or lately all the great yogurt. But if I am honest, sometimes, just sometimes, I look in the fridge and sigh, "Holy cow! How the heck can I use up all these freaking <insert abundant vegetable>?"

In this case, it was the carrots. Multiple ... bowls .... full ... of both the bright, almost poppy-colored variety, and a plethora of the tamer yellow version.  I'd roasted, chopped and pureed as many as I could for baby food, dropped others in salads, soups and stir fry and still, the damn carrot supply held on.  

Determined to try something new, I found this carrot & rice casserole. Had I planned better, it might have made a nice Thanksgiving side for some of you. I'll tweet that next year. Whether you are long on carrots like me, simply looking for a hearty side dish, or cooking on a Sunday and hoping for a recipe that will sprout leftovers, this dish could be just the trick.

The whole family devoured, baby included. 

Carrot & Rice Casserole
Base recipe here.  
Ingredients

• 3 cups grated carrots
• 3 cups cooked brown rice
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano or parsley 
• 2 cloves of garlic finely minced
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 -1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

 Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350
• Combine the carrots, rice, garlic, onion, herbs and salt in a bowl and mix well.
• Add the yogurt and beaten eggs and stir to mix
• Coat a 2 qt casserole dish with oil or cooking spray, and spread the carrot mix out evenly.  Top with cheese
• Cook for 45 mins - 1 hour until a knife comes out cleanly. Let rest 5 minutes before serving. 

Kid-Friendly Meatballs

My son is two and with that comes an increased interest (demand?) in the food he eats.  I appreciate his determination and have to agree that pasta at every meal doesn't sound that terrible.  But the truth is, I am not always in the mood to discuss dinner and that is how these little gems were born.  

Meat has always been one of his favorite foods, he's been known to ask (demand) for it post nap over milk.  Shape that protein into tiny-people finger food, and he's in heaven.  In this case, I jam packed them with vegetables (kale, carrots, mushrooms and onions) for a complete meal in one dish, and both mummy and Hudson are happy.
 
Turkey or Chicken Meatballs

Ingredients

• 1 lb of ground turkey or chicken
• 3 tablespoons finely diced carrots
• 3 tablespoons finely diced mushroom
• 2 tablespoons finely diced red or white onion
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons grated parmesean
• 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup steamed, finely shredded and diced kale 
• 2 - 4 tablespoons bread crumbs
• Salt & Pepper
• 1/4 cup of vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Directions  

• Saute your mushrooms, carrots and onions in olive oil over medium heat until soft, about 4 minutes.  With my son, the smaller the dice on the vegetables the better
• Meanwhile, steam and finely chop your kale
• In a large mixing bowl combine the ground meat with the remaining ingrediants aside from the vegetable oil and bread crumbs
• Once combined, add two tablespoons of breadcrumbs.  You want the meat still moist but not soggy or drenched.  Add more breadcrumbs if neccesary
• Heat the vegetable oil in the same saute pan over medium - low heat
• Add spoon size balls to the pan, frying 4 - 5 minutes per side, being careful not to burn. Flip, and set on a paper towel to drain
• We serve them plain or with a sauce, which can include, greek yogurt, tomato sauce or Tzatziki