The foodie mom, deconstructed!: Pepperoni casserole, deconstructed!

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Pepperoni casserole, deconstructed!

When J.J. started working after school, it became necessary to quickly create dishes that he could eat early, before heading out the door. But I wasn’t ready to eat that early, so the dish had to be just as good when I reheated it later.

I created this casserole for that purpose. It contains most of the ingredients J.J likes, as well as a few healthy vegetables I enjoy. He focuses on the pepperoni, ignoring all the healthy ingredients I added. (Sometimes, he removes every single piece of pepperoni.) This casserole is simple and easy to make. Feel free to play with the vegetables, including those you prefer or eliminating those you do not!

Pepperoni casserole

2 c. dry pasta

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 c. tomato sauce

½ c. white wine

1 c. chopped, fresh spinach

1 c. chopped artichokes

1 medium sweet onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

¼ c. roasted green peppers, chopped

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 tsp. red pepper chili flakes

7-8 oz. package pepperoni

8 oz. package shredded mozzarella cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Remove half of the pepperoni from the package and set the package aside. Divide the pepperoni you removed in half. In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients except for the cheese and 1/2 of the pepperoni. Pour into a large baking dish, making sure the pasta is buried in the liquid. Line the top of the mixture with the remaining pepperoni, and sprinkle liberally with the mozzarella cheese. If desired, top with a light sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for approximately 45 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown. Remove from the oven and cover. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Pepperoni casserole, deconstructed

2 c. dry pasta

>Health alert: Pasta can be very high in carbohydrates, salt, and sugar. Some of the product labeling is extremely deceptive! Check the ingredients carefully when selecting any type of pasta. (Just because pasta is labeled “whole wheat “or “vegetable” does not mean it is a healthier alternative!)

>Health alert: Pasta is made from wheat flour. If this is a dietary concern, try a gluten-free pasta, such as Ancient Grains, or spaghetti squash, zucchini ribbons, quinoa, whole grain pasta, or black bean pasta.

1 can diced tomatoes

>Health alert: Canned diced tomatoes can be high in salt and sugar. It may be substituted with 2 cups of home-roasted, diced tomatoes, or a commercial low-sodium or low-sugar variety of diced tomatoes. Always check the labels carefully.

½ c. tomato sauce

>Health alert: Commercial tomato sauces can contain all sorts of bad ingredients: fat, sugar, salt, MSG. Check the labels carefully. In the alternative, make your own.

1/4 c. white wine

>Health alert: Some wines contain a lot of sugar. If this is a problem, substitute the wine with a low-sugar variety, vodka, or chicken broth.. The wine may also be replaced with 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar.

>Ingredient alert: In this recipe, the wine serves as a flavor enhancer. Substitution or elimination may change the flavor, possibly requiring an adjustment in spices. The best substitute? Balsamic vinegar or chicken stock.

1 c. chopped, fresh spinach

1 c. chopped artichokes

1 medium sweet onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

¼ c. roasted green peppers, chopped

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 tsp. red pepper chili flakes

1 package pepperoni

>Fat alert: Pepperoni is high in fat. If this is a dietary concern, the amount used may be reduced, or it may be replaced with a leaner meat, such as ground chicken or turkey, or spicy turkey or chicken sausage.

>Ingredient alert: Pepperoni adds a lot of spice to this casserole. If replaced, adjustments may be required in seasoning. Try increasing the amount of crushed red chili pepper or ground black pepper, or adding a chopped hot pepper to the mixture.

>Health alert: Pepperoni is a meat. If this is a dietary concern, try a spicy vegan sausage or spicy vegetable patty.

8 oz. package shredded mozzarella cheese

>Fat alert: Cheese is high in fat, but reduced-fat varieties are available. In the alternative, the amount used may be reduced or eliminated.

>Health alert: Cheese is high in salt. Low-sodium varieties are available. In the alternative, the amount used may be reduced or eliminated.

>Health alert: Cheese is a dairy product. If this is a concern, vegan substitutes are available. However, check the product labels carefully. Many vegan varieties are high in fat.

Salt and pepper to taste

(Follow the instructions above.)

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My mission...

It's official! Home-cooked meals can extend your life up to 20 years. The trick, however, is to cook foods that are good for you!

In the past year, I have been on a mission to lower the fat and sugar in my family’s meals. My experimentation with substitute ingredients has not always been successful, and sometimes, the results have been downright awful! Throughout it all, I have learned a valuable lesson: Sometimes, there just is no substitute for the real thing!

During the Cold War and the implementation of the space program, many foods and ingredients were reduced to powder. (Remember Tang?) Add water, shake, and you have a form of sustenance. And while those products may have indeed allowed us to survive while hunkered down in a fall-out shelter during a nuclear attack, or during a trip into space, many clearly could not be used during normal times as substitute ingredients. They just tasted incredibly bad, and pretty much ruined the recipes I tried to incorporate them into!

Of course, at the core of my research were sugar substitutes. I quickly learned that sugar provides a unique and satisfying texture to many baked goods. Some of the sugar substitutes simply did not. Quite a few baked desserts wound up in the trash can! But when used in other ways, for example, in soups or sauces, sugar substitutes offered more positive results.

While I played in my kitchen laboratory, that old mantra, “It’s about portion size, stupid!” kept playing in my head! It was dismissed when I realized that sometimes, I simply want to indulge! I cannot, and will not, deny my love for French Silk pie, Pain au chocolat, and other luscious desserts and pastries!, Do I have the willpower to limit portion size? Sure. But when I indulge in my gastronomic pleasures, I don’t want to think about portion size, calories, or fat or sugar content. I just want to enjoy.

I am convinced I can sacrifice fat or sugar in other dishes to make up for the damage inflicted by my ultimate pleasures. So I began to deconstruct my recipes: Identifying ingredients that may be of concern, and finding acceptable alternatives. While this is not a new approach, it ties into my belief that good cooks experiment! Ultimately, however, it is up to you to determine what tastes good, and what flavors and ingredients are unnecessary. No two palates are the same. When deconstructing recipes, I followed three basic tenets: Food must taste good. Food must look good. And food must never have the texture of dog food!

The best approach to following my recipes? Begin by trying the original. That will allow you to clearly evaluate the impact of suggested substitutions. I welcome your reactions and suggestions when trying substitutions I have suggested. My only request is that you actually try the alternative, and report the results, good or bad!

Who is the Foodie Mom?

Jane Kaiser has been cooking for her family since she was 10, when she was shipped off to a cooking class after she politely declined her mother's offer of charm school. She refined those skills while cooking and entertaining for her family, and worshiping at the altar of the Food Network.

In another life, Jane was an attorney and journalist. She has provided writing services to a wide range of organizations, including law firms, accounting firms, healthcare and insurance organizations, Fortune 500 corporations, and civic/trade organizations.

She is the author of a book on public relations and marketing, and has also written for such publications as the Minneapolis Star, the Kenosha News, Twin Cities Magazine, Virginia Lawyers Weekly,Illinois Legal Times, Wisconsin Opinions and the Wisconsin Law Journal.

Jane holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in journalism and education from the University of Minnesota, and a law degree from St. Louis University.