Swiss Chard with Chickpeas

This is a recipe that is so much more than the sum of it's parts.  I don't know where the sweetness comes from, but it has just a hint of it.  Delicious and filling as a main dish for lunch.

Swiss Chard with Chickpeas
Gourmet Cookbook

2 small onions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced  I chopped mine
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 small tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 cup rinsed canned chick-peas I prefer this with a can of Great Northern beans instead of the chickpeas
1 pound Swiss chard, stems discarded and leaves coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Cook onion and garlic in oil in a large nonstick skillet over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened. Add tomato and chick-peas and cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Add Swiss chard and cook, covered, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Add lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

Easy Pot Roast

I've had this recipe for quite a while but could never find the ingredients (maybe they don't make cream of mushroom with roasted garlic anymore?).  I just used regular cream of mushroom soup, only had 1 packet of onion soup mix (couldn't find the beefy onion soup mix), and forgot to get parsnips and dill.  So, um, I guess this isn't really the original recipe at all.  Still, easy and quite tasty.

The Best Roast Ever
adapted from Pimp My Dinner

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 packet onion soup mix
1/3 c apple cider vinegar
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 lb beef chuck roast
2 handfuls of baby carrots
1 onion, quartered

Whisk soup, soup mix, vinegar, rosemary, and garlic in a large crock pot.  Add beef, turn to coat.  Add carrots and onion.  Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender.  Remove meat and slice.  Serve with vegetables and gravy.

Spinach Stuffed Shells

I've been looking for a good stuffed shell recipe for a while.  I adjusted this one from Real Mom Kitchen a bit so that the ingredients didn't require measuring, and I added a little salt.  I made this without the egg and it held up fine.  Better yet, I made the whole match in 2 9x9 baking dishes and froze one, which we ate a week later because we all loved it.

Spinach Stuffed Shells
adapted from Real Mom Kitchen

1 (12 oz) box of jumbo pasta shells there will be left over shells
1 (16 oz) package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 lb mozzarella, shredded the usual mozzarella ball you buy in the grocery store
1 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 lb ricotta cheese we used whole milk
1 egg optional
1/2 t salt
1/4 t freshly ground pepper
1 and 1/2 medium sized glass jars of Ragu spaghetti sauce

1. Place spinach in a clean dish towel and squeeze any excess liquid.
2. Cook shells according to package directions, drain, and cool shells for a few minutes.
3. In a large bowl, mix spinach, mozzarella, 1/2 cup Parmesan, ricotta and egg with salt and pepper.
4. Scoop approximately 1 1/2 T of cheese mixture into each shell.  I think I probably did more than this...all I know is I stuffed as much of that cheesy goodness into each shell as I could and still had a bit leftover.
5. In 2 9x9 baking dishes, spread a couple spoonfuls of spaghetti sauce into the bottom of each dish.
6. Place half of the shells in each of the baking dishes.  Pour half of the remaining sauce over one dish of shells and pour the rest over the other dish.  Sprinkle remaining Parmesan cheese.
7. Cover dishes with foil and bake one and freeze the other.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes until hot and bubbly.

To prepare the frozen dish, bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Lemongrass Soup

This recipe comes from my Aunt Katie, which means it's pretty much guaranteed to be awesome. Lately, I've been thinking about adding a can of coconut milk to it but I already know it's so good without the coconut milk. When I lived in Boston, I was determined to find a recipe to make that slightly sweet coconut lemongrass soup that one could get at pretty much any Thai food restruant. I tried 5 different recipes before giving up. This is a great substitute; it's spicy instead of sweet.

It's also delicious as a side dish with pad thai.

Lemongrass Soup

3-4 stalks of lemongrass
8 cups chicken broth
1 tomato, diced
1 can straw mushrooms
1 small can bamboo shoots (I added this)
1/2 pound shelled shrimp or tofu diced
2 T instant sour shrimp paste (Tom Yum)
1/2 lime
fish sauce Aunt Katie suggests a few shakes; I think I did about 1/2 t
green onions, sliced thinly
fresh cilantro
basil (I happened to have some Thai basil)

Trim ends of lemongrass, using meaty portion only. Pound lemongrass with mallet. Add lemongrass to chicken broth in sauce pan and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove lemongrass from broth using a strainer.

To broth, stir in shrimp and cook until pink (only takes a few minutes). Drain liquid from mushrooms and bamboo and add to broth and shrimp. In a serving bowl, combine Tom Yum paste, juice from 1/2 lime and a few shakes of fish sauce. Stir until blended. Stir hot broth into mixture.

Garnish with diced tomato, green onion, cilantro, and basil.
Serves 8

Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good

My only regret about this recipe is that I found it at the end of pumpkin season last year (courtesy of this awesome blog).

I can't wait to make it a few times this year. As a side note, I found it easier to serve and eat as a main course rather than an appetizer.

Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good from Epicurious

Massaged Kale and Craisin Salad with Feta Cheese

I'm always trying to get my family (and me) to eat kale. I love kale chips, but no one else does. I like them in a soup, but I don't have a recipe for a good soup that uses kale. So, I was excited to find this recipe. It's quick, it's easy, and my kids totally ate it.

Massaged Kale and Craisin Salad with Feta Cheese from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad

I've had this recipe in my pile of "to try" recipes since 2007 (August 29, 2007 to be exact). Every time I went to clean out my folder, I would almost throw this recipe away because well, it'd been so long and I still hadn't made it.

I think the problem is that it needs 10 minutes to 1 hour to marinate. I was worried that longer might make the cucumbers mushy, and well, my vegetable dish of a meal never requires marinating time, so I just couldn't wrap my mind around how to do that, which in retrospect makes me look pretty rigid in my dinner-making routine (totally true).

Anyway, I'm so glad I did get around to making this this summer. The sesame oil adds a nuttiness not usually found in a cucumber salad, and the cucumbers don't get mushy and are perfectly delightful for lunch the next day if they make it that long.

Spice Asian Cucumber Salad
Cooks Country

Serves 4
1/2 cup rice vinegar
2 T fresh lime juice
2 T minced fresh ginger
1 hot red child (minced 1 1/2 T) we left this out
1 T toasted sesame oil mine wasn't toasted
3 cucumbers, peeled seeded and cut crosswise into 1/4 inch slices I used an hothouse English cucumber to cut out those steps
4 scallions, white and light green parts, sliced thin
1/4 c packed fresh basil leaves, chopped

Bring vinegar and sugar to boil in saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until mixture reduces by half, 5-6 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl and cool to room temperature.

Whisk in lime juice, ginger, chile, and sesame oil. Toss in cucumbers, scallions, and basil; season with salt and pepper, and let sit for 10 minutes or up to 1 hour. Serve