Cheezy Vegetable Bake

I was in the mood to clean out more space in my cupboards and come up with something hearty, warm, comforting, and easy.  And that makes planned leftovers.  The recipe is a success on all fronts.  Most of all, on the taste front.  It was cheezy perfection.

Cheezy Vegetable Bake (Vegan and GF as long as the canned soup you use is)
2 Potatoes, Diced (dice them small so they cook properly.  Or, mix and match rice, quinoa, lentils, bulger, barley, etc rather than using all potatoes )
1/2 c Carrots, Diced
1/2 c Broccoli/Cauliflower Mixture (or any other veggies you want to use up; zucchini, Brussels sprouts, turnips, parsnips, squash.  Throw it in)
1 Can Soup (any vegetable soup, Cream of Mushroom, noodle soup, whatever you have)
1/2 c Water
1 Tbsp Mrs. Dash Seasoning Blend (or your favorite.  Maybe 21 Salute Seasoning)
1/3 c Nutritional Yeast (Nooch), Sprinkled (this will not make or break the recipe if you don’t have it, but then use other cheese/cheeze)

Optional: Drizzle the whole thing with 2 Tbsp EVOO before baking
Optional: Add in 1 can of beans of your choice (I didn’t add beans because the soup I used had some beans in it and Scott doesn’t love beans)

Directions
Layer everything into a foil-lined or sprayed 9×13 pan in the order listed.  i.e. lay in the potatoes, then carrots, other veggies, pour over the soup and water, add the seasonings.

Bake at 400F for approximately 50-60 minutes, or until browned. 
Optional but recommended thus Cheezy Bake: After about 35-40 minutes, add 1/4 to 1 c shredded or diced cheese/cheeze (depending on your love for cheeze) to the top and continue to bake for another 15-20 minutes or until brown.

Pictures of the Process

 

 

 

 

 

And if you want to purchase nooch at about half-off WF’s prices, use iHerb.com and Use code AVE630 at checkout to save $5 and get free shipping.

 

 

 

 

Put it in the over and Bake…

While the dish is baking, slice a little Cheeze to put over the top

After baking at 400F for 40 Minutes before I added the cheeze…

Cheeze Added…

…and Baked for another 15 minutes (55 Minutes total at 400F)

 

 

 

 

It took less than 10 minutes to chop and dice and season everything and the result was a success!

Cheezy, full of veggies, full of flavor, no added sodium (other than what was in the can of soup), cost pennies to make, and I already had everything in my cupboard.  And used up some random odds and ends in the process. And just under an hour to bake.  Perfect.

This was such a hit with the family!

Scott’s plate.  And he doesn’t even like beans, broccoli, or cauli.  Are you sure about that, Scott?  He said in this recipe, he loved them!  I’ll take it.

Skylar begging for pictures to be over and food to be ready

 

 

The Best Part(s)?

Easy Clean-Up!  No dishes!  I used 1 pan that didn’t even need to be washed!  Thanks foil.

No, the best part was that it make lots of leftovers.  Cook once, eat twice.  Or thrice.

 
No, the best part is serving healthy foods to your family that are not complicated.  Seeing Skylar really love eating veggies makes me happy.  A side bonus is that it happens to be vegan and GF.

 

 

 

Thanks for chiming in on my previous post about your New Years Intentions, Goals, and Resolutions and for filling me in on how you’re doing with those if you set any.  And it sounds like keeping yourself accountable in the process.  Which is all that matters anyway.

Dessert: Special K Bars
Some of these bars I made the other day!  They make me very happy.

 

 

Questions
1. Do you have any favorite “bakes” or casseroles?  
I grew up in MN where casseroles and Church Bingo were a way of life.  The food was many times inherently vegan.  Rice or noodles, beans, some veggies, seasonings, bake it.

Or just a little animal protein was used.  That was the definition of a casserole where I grew up.  To stretch the dollar and feed a lot of people on good food that was hearty but used inexpensive ingredients.

2. Do you like one-pot meals?
I don’t know anyone who would say, no I actually enjoy making 17 sauces and dirtying every pot and pan in my kitchen and first sauteeing something than adding that to other things, then making a sauce, then adding that to the main thing, baking it, all the while the dishes are piling up.  The steps are piling up.

And remember technical details and how my eyes glaze over?  Same with recipes.  I get anxiety when I go to blogs where there are recipes with too many steps.  And dishes. 

I have so much respect for those types of cooks, but I am not one of them.  I have a FT Job, FT Family, FT Blogger = No time for complicated meals!  Or too many dishes!

I also have a post on One-Pot Meal Ideas 

3. Best Thing you’ve Done or Ate so Far this Weekend?
I enjoyed my Cheezy Veggie Bake, a long power walk with my family, and the glorious 75F sunny weather!