Chagall's mom

Oat, Mushroom, and Swiss Chard Kugel
(Try it, you'll like it!)

Preparation Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling the pan
3 shallots, peeled and coarsely chopped
5 Swiss chard leaves (red or rainbow work well)
8 ounces cremini (baby bella) mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 1/2 cups rolled oats (old fashioned)
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, or more to taste, separated
5 large eggs, slightly beaten
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Oil an 8-inch square baking pan. Set aside.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large sauté pan. Add in chopped shallots and cook for about 5 minutes, until soft, but not brown. In the meanwhile, stem Swiss chard, chop stems coarsely and add them to the pan with the shallots. Season with salt and pepper. Add in mushrooms and cook for 5 more minutes. Chop Swiss chard leaves coarsely and add them into the pan. Season again. Cook just until the greens wilt and remove from heat.

3. Place boiling water in a small sauce pan. Add in oats and a pinch of salt. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

4. Add rosemary to vegetable mixture and pour in cooked oatmeal as well. Mix gently with a spatula.

5. Add eggs and 2 tablespoons cheese into the vegetable-oat mixture and mix until evenly distributed. Pour into prepared baking pan and sprinkle top with remaining cheese.

6. Bake for about 15 minutes, until set. Serve warm.

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Roasted Garlic and Potato Soup

Cooking Time: approx 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 6 to 8

Ingredients
4 heads garlic
2 lb Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 shallots, finely chopped
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. Trim ends off garlic head. Place each on piece of aluminum foil large enough to fully enclose head of garlic. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the oil over garlic. Enclose each head with foil. Place on one side of aluminum foil lined baking sheet.

3. In large bowl, combine potatoes, 2 tablespoons of oil, thyme, salt and pepper. Transfer to baking sheet. Bake in center of preheated oven for about 45 minutes or until potatoes and garlic are tender.

4. Heat remaining tablespoon of oil in saucepan set over medium heat. Add shallots; cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add potatoes to saucepan. Squeeze softened garlic heads out of skins into pot, mashing into potatoes. Pour in stock. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

5. In batches, puree soup in food processor or blender. (Soup can be covered well and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Thin with ½ cup more stock if necessary).

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Sweet Squash Muffins

Cooking Time: 65 minutes
Servings: 12

Ingredients
2 sweet potato squash or 1 acorn squash (Your choice!)

Muffin Batter
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 generous cup of cooked

Topping
1 Tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped pecans


Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Slice squash in half lengthwise and place, cut side down, on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven. Scrape out seeds and discard. Scrape out flesh and place into a bowl. Set aside to cool.

Combine all batter ingredients in a large bowl in the order they appear. Mix well to combine.

In a separate bowl, combine topping ingredients.

Line a muffin tin with paper cups and fill. Sprinkle topping on top.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.
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ENJOY!!

ArreauStandardPoodle

Pronto Salad: A family favourite

I head lettuce- washed and broken into bite sized pieces
1 sweet onion- diced
2 tomatoes- diced
Small block old cheddar shredded
large bag cheesy tostitos crushed
1 pound lean ground beef browned
1 can kidney beans
1 bottle 1000 islands salad dressing

After browning beef drain and pat to remove grease. Return to pan and add kidney beans and heat again. Add hot beef and beans to other ingredients. Serve pronto, as the warm mixture wilts the lettuce. Good with crusty bread or rolls.

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MaryLynn

Wow! I am so thrilled.

Debbie those look amazing, I can't wait to make the oatmeal chard.

Pronto salad looks like it would be a favourite of the DH too. I should make that next Saturday for him and his friends for their game night.

sarahmurphy

I had hand surgery, and a friend brought over cranberry chicken for my family.

chicken pieces with bones
a bottle of french dressing
a package of lipton onion soup mix
a can of whole berry cranberry sauce

bake for an hour at 350 f.

This seriously tastes like a big fat time-wasting kind of meal, and I saved the rest of the sauce in the freezer, have thrown it in the crock pot today with some chicken breasts from the freezer, blueberry syrup, a bit of ikea lingonberry, some curry powder, and a couple of small orange things that were beyond just peeling and eating. Planning to serve this fruity curried chicken over basmati rice with some broccoli...

We are generally the 'cook it from scratch' people, so it's pretty astounding for me to find anything that starts with "a bottle of, or a can of" and have my family be willing to eat it!, but we do have a couple of those - chicken breast smothered with a can of cream of something soup and 1/2 can of milk, then covered with a package of dry stuffing mix and baked, and meat (whatever flat meat) spread with mayo and Parmesan cheese, coated with breadcrumbs and baked. served with salad or frozen veg, dinner can be on the table in about an hour, even if the meat is frozen and has to be thawed in the microwave.... or you have to leave in the middle of dinner prep...

sarah