Recipe of the Week: ZID

 There are some recipes that just make me think of my mom. This is one of them: Zesty Italian Crescent Casserole, although we've always called it ZID for "Zesty Italian Dish". In her later years, my mom became much more concerned with healthy cooking, reducing sodium and processed ingredients. But prior to that, she was all about recipes that tasted good, and this recipe came out of that time period. Probably not so good for you, but really yummy!

In those days, Mom worked at an insurance company with a bunch of ladies who were apparently very good cooks. They regularly shared their favorites via an exchange called "Recipe of the Week". Mom always tried them out on us, and many of them are favorites to this day.

ZID remains one of the best recipes from that era. I've found similar recipes on the internet but this one has a few differences that make it easy and very tasty. I use the reduced fat crescent rolls, sour cream, and cheese to make me feel less guilty in indulging in this somewhat decadent dish!

**********

Zesty Italian Crescent Casserole

1 lb ground beef

1/4 C chopped onion or 1T dry onion

1 envelope spaghetti sauce mix

1.5 C (6 oz) shredded Mozzarella cheese

8 oz tomato sauce

1/2 C sour cream

8 oz can crescent dinner rolls

1/3 C grated Parmesan cheese

2 T butter

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Brown hamburger and onion; drain.

Stir in tomato sauce and spaghetti sauce mix. Heat until bubbly.

Pour mixture into ungreased 12x8 or 9x13 baking dish.

Combine mozzarella cheese and sour cream. Pour (see picture below) over the meat mixture.

Separate rolls and place over the cheese mixture.

Melt the butter and stir in the Parmesan cheese.

Crumble the mixture over the top of the dough.

Bake at 375 for 18-25 minutes. Cut into squares. Serves 6.

To reheat: Cover with foil and heat at 375 for 12-15 minutes.

***********

 Here are some pictures of this easy recipe!

Step #1 - meat mixture in casserole:

 

Step #2 - blobs of sour cream and cheese mixture. The original recipe indicates to POUR this mixture but trust me, it does not pour.  Blobs are fine, as they melt and spread out.

 Step #3 - ZID with the top "lid" and cheese:

 

Just out of the oven! It looks like makes a lot, but it's not very thick! Believe me, one dish does not last long!

Ready to eat -- paired with broccoli to lessen the guilt!

Note: Once I made the mistake of putting the crescent rolls in the bottom of the dish. I realized my error when I came to the end of the recipe...typical for me! Luckily, I had a second can in the fridge so I just added a top "lid" to the ZID and it turned out great! It just needed a little extra baking time. Now I occasionally make it that way, as it adds a little more thickness. Plus, you can't go wrong with more crescent rolls!

Hope you give this one a try!

jp