Garden Vegetable Pie
Gardening runs in my family. My mom has a beautiful vegetable and herb garden with little signs that say things like “Rosemary,” “Basil,” “Thyme,” and “Oregano.” My dad, who named his garden “Shangri-La” likes to grow tomatoes and different kinds of flowers. And my husband works in our yard almost every day. As for me, I love to LOOK at the gardens, and I love to EAT the vegetables, and I love to COOK with the herbs, but that’s about it. The gardening bug just never bit me.
Speaking of gardens, my dad recently started photographing the flowers in his yard with a macro lens he bought for his camera. Then one day he went to a local nursery and asked them if he could photograph their flowers. He’s not a professional photographer, but the photos came out looking so beautiful that I told him they were good enough to be in a high-class gardening magazine. But then I thought. . . Hey, forget the magazine, they’re good enough to be on my cooking blog! So here are a couple of his photos. Aren’t they gorgeous!
If you want to see more, you can check out this page I created: Dad’s Flower Photos. And while I’m talking about my dad, I would just like to say:
Happy Father’s Day, Dad! I love you!
If you happen to have a vegetable garden, you’ll really appreciate this recipe as it uses several vegetables that you may be growing yourself. Start off by peeling, chopping, and boiling the potatoes.
Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables as directed.
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet and add the zucchini, yellow squash, red bell pepper, and green onions. Cook for 3 minutes.
Then add the mushrooms and tomatoes.
Cook until the mushrooms have been cooked down. Transfer the vegetables to a colander and drain the liquid. Return the vegetables to the skillet and add the basil, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir well. Place the vegetables in a 10-inch pie plate. Preheat the oven to 350.
When the potatoes are tender, mash them with the butter, sour cream, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Spread the mashed potatoes over the vegetables in the pie plate.
Grate the cheddar cheese. . .
. . . and sprinkle all over the mashed potatoes. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
Recipe By: Origin Unknown/Heavily Adapted by Winner Dinners
Serves 6-8
2-1/2 pounds white potatoes
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
FILLING:
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 medium yellow squash, sliced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup green onions, diced
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, halved
1 cup chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Peel, chop and boil the potatoes. Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables as directed. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet and add the zucchini, yellow squash, red bell pepper, and green onions. Cook for 3 minutes and then add the mushrooms and tomatoes and cook until the mushrooms have been cooked down. Transfer the vegetables to a colander and drain the liquid. Return the vegetables to the skillet and add the basil, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir well. Place the vegetables in a 10-inch pie plate. Preheat the oven to 350.
When the potatoes are tender, mash them with the 2 tablespoons butter, sour cream, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Spread the mashed potatoes over the vegetables in the pie plate. Grate the cheddar cheese and sprinkle all over the mashed potatoes. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
We always had a big garden when I was growing up, but I sure didn’t like being made to work in it. Looking back, it really wasn’t that bad, and I wish I had paid more attention when mom cooked and canned. Both my folks are gone, and I miss them each and every day.
I love taking photos, too. Flowers are one of my favorite subjects to photograph. I really like taking photos of animals, but they don’t stand still like plants.
I loved your story and flower pictures. They go well with your Garden Vegetable Pie recipe, but most of all I liked your Father’s Day message.
I love you too……
Dad
PS: I just might give that recipe a try. It sure looks yummy and not too complicated.
Awesome blog to read. I enjoyed reading. Keep posting.