What's a casserole party?
Here's one:
Vegetable Casserole
INGREDIENTS:
* 8 large eggplants
* 8 large potatoes
* 8 green bell peppers
* 8 large onions
* 8 summer squash
* 6 tomatoes
* 1 pound fresh green beans
* 1 pound whole fresh mushrooms
* 2 bulbs garlic, cloves separated and peeled
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill weed
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
* 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
* 3/4 cup olive oil
* salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS:
1. Prepare the eggplant before assembling ingredients, by cutting them into 2 inch chunks and putting them into an extra large bowl with salted water to cover. This will draw out the bitterness from the eggplant. Let this sit for about 3 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
3. Cut the potatoes, green bell peppers, onion, squash and tomatoes into 2-inch chunks. Cut the green beans and mushrooms in half and peel the garlic cloves.
4. Drain and rinse the eggplant, then combine it with all the other chopped vegetables, the dill, oregano and basil and place all into a 3x13x18 inch roasting pan. Pour the tomato sauce and olive oil over all.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 2 1/2 hours, adding a little water about halfway through cooking time to keep moist.
A casserole party is something that I was invited to for a friend of mine who was pregnant with her second son (hence the lack of need for blue baby booties). What she needed was some help with food for the rest of the family after baby #2 made his welcomed appearance. So we had an easy casserole shower. We brought casseroles and easy meals that could be frozen and heated in an oven for her to help with dinner when sleep deprivation kicked in. :) She loved it! I thought I would pass on the good cheer to the soon to be new FR Mom via casseroles. :)