Roasted Vegetable-Cheese Pie

I took off work sick today. I always feel guilty when I'm not at work so I actually went in for a few hours this morning to make sure no one needed me too badly. But honestly I felt terrible!! All day long I've been craving good rice. Plain, maybe with a bit of salt and pepper. My husband taught me about the BRAT diet during our second week of dating. My college roommate, Lisa, and I both came down with a stomach bug the week we moved out of our house. Not only was Thomas a total sweetheart and made sure we had all the BRAT essentials for when we were able to eat (Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast), but he also packed most of my things because I was so weak. No wonder I knew so quickly I'd found my match :).

Anyway, thinking about rice and knowing I have all these great veggies in my fridge from the local farmer's market, got me hungry for a recipe I found and cooked a few months ago. Although I'm not sure I could stand the fennel and cheese at the moment, it sure looks yummy!!
At least being sick gave me the opportunity to finish The OC Season 4 :).

Roasted Vegetable-Cheese Pie
I found this recipe on www.recipezaar.com, a fantastic online recipe site ( they let you make shopping lists for free!).
This is a pretty straight forward and easy recipe. When I made it, I used basmati rice.
The fennel bulbs taste a bit like licorice and if I make it again I made leave them out. If you make sure to buy high quality olives, I think they would add plenty of tart/sour taste without needing the fennel bulb.

2 cups cooked jasmine rice or cooked basmati rice or long-grain rice
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
cooking spray
1 1/2 cups sliced zucchini
1 1/2 cups sliced yellow squash
1 cup thinly sliced onions
1 cup thinly sliced fennel bulbs
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives
1 tomato, sliced
1/2 cup Fontina cheese, divided

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Combine first three ingredients. Press evenly into a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes.
3. Remove from oven. Increase oven temperature to 450°.
4. Combine zucchini and next 8 ingredients (zucchini through garlic) in a medium bowl; stir to coat. Place vegetable mixture on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake for 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
5. Remove vegetable mixture from oven. Add olives and tomato; toss gently.
6. Reduce oven temperature to 375°.
7. Sprinkle 1/4 cup fontina cheese over rice crust. Top with vegetable mixture. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup fontina cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.