Have you ever eaten Swiss chard?

Yes, folks, that is the topic tonight...Swiss chard!  Have you ever eaten it?  Have you ever grown it?  Here's what it looks like:

Well, my dad has it growing in his garden, and he shared some with us.  This, of course, was after he had fixed it for dinner while we were visiting, and I had raved about how good it was.  And it really was!  The trick is my dad's secret ingredient....MAPLE SYRUP.  That's right, maple syrup!  Just add in a wee bit and you are good to go.  The chard ends up tasting delicious, with just a hint of sweetness.  Oh, and throw in some red onion while you cook it, too.  Yum!  And look at how colorful it is!

Here's the somewhat unofficial recipe, because truly, you can make it anyway you like!  However, this is what I recommend:
1 T. olive oil
1/2 of a red onion, sliced 
a big bunch of Swiss chard ('cause once they cook down, you're not left with much!)
1 T. maple syrup (or less...or more)
salt to taste


Saute red onion in the olive oil.  While the red onion cooks, chop up the chard.  Be sure to wash it first! Add the chard to the pan and continue to cook over medium heat until desired level of doneness.  Add maple syrup and stir to combine.  Add salt to taste.  Serve warm.

Some of you may like your greens cooked to death, but I like them a little more firm as opposed to squishy.  So, I would say the total cooking time was no more than 15 minutes.  It was so good, my 7 year old son even ate a whole serving!  So, try it....and I hope you like it as much as I do!




Until next time,
Muncho Mom

Lazy Sunday Afternoons

Oh how I love a good, lazy Sunday afternoon!  An added bonus yesterday was a youth fundraising lunch after church.  Yippee!  That meant I could actually come home from church and relax instead of hastily putting lunch together while my starving children whine that they are so hungry they could eat a horse.  News flash: I could too!  At least they get a snack in Sunday School...while us grown-ups do not.   Woe is me!


Anyways, that afternoon the kids were watching TV, so I thought it was the perfect time for reading the Sunday paper and doing some meal planning (after perusing the grocery store ads, of course).  My children had other plans.  Just as I sat down, Grace asked for an apple to eat.  An apple?!?  This, from my child who hardly ever eats apples?  Thomas, on the other hand, usually eats one a day (he gets that from me).  Anyways, I get up to fix her an apple (she requested "no peeling please" and I happily oblige).  No sooner have I sat back down then Thomas says, "Can I have an apple too?"  Didn't I know this was coming?  Up I go, once again, except this time it is easier because Thomas eats the peeling, so all I do is slice the apple and sit back down once more.  Five minutes later, Grace says, "Can I please have another apple?"  I look at her bowl and indeed, it is empty!  Off I go to the kitchen, returning with more apple.  Back to the newspaper and the task at hand.  Several more minutes pass and I once again hear the request, "Can I have some more apple please?"  Yes, in the time span of 30 minutes, my 2 children have eaten a total of 4 apples!  Grace ate 3 of them all by her tiny self!  This is quite amusing to me.  And, after 30 minutes, it is also time to turn off the TV and go outside.  And my meal planning?  Incomplete.


I dislike going into a new week with no meals planned, either on paper or at least in my head.  It makes me feel discombobulated for some reason.  So, I sit here now trying to find some new ideas for meals this week.  My kids have their favorites, but sometimes I just get in a rut.  If you have any kid-friendly meals to recommend, please send some recipes my way!!!


As for tonight, I had some homemade calzones in the freezer, so I've pulled those out to thaw and have for dinner.  In addition, I am going to try a new soup.  It's called Tuscan Chickpea Soup and it is from Cooking Light.  I love that magazine!  I also love chickpeas, so I hope it is good.


Tuscan Chickpea Soup
2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 cups finely chopped onion
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 (15 1/2-ounce) cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 to 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 6 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the water and the next 5 ingredients (water through tomatoes), and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.
• Place 2 cups soup in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Pour the pureed soup into a bowl. Repeat procedure with 2 cups soup. Return all pureed soup to pan. Stir in the vinegar, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Spoon 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 6 bowls; sprinkle each serving with 1 tablespoon cheese.

Grace is our soup-eater.  Thomas, not so much.  Thus, the calzones.  I hope he is happy. J

Until next time,

Muncho Mom

Leftovers for Dinner Tonight!

Sadly, I did not make it on here yesterday...once the kiddos were in bed, I had a massive sinus headache, so I went to bed too!  Sorry, folks.  The ragweed is just killin' me.


I did do some baking yesterday - homemade pizza!  YUM.  I absolutely love this pizza crust recipe by Lucinda Scala Quinn:


INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/3 cup water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 package yeast
• 3 cups flour plus 1 tablespoon
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil plus more for coating

Directions

1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, place water, sugar, and yeast, letting dissolve 3-4 minutes.
2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, and salt.
3. Slowly add the flour mixture to the water/yeast mixture in thirds. Before the last addition, add 1/4 cup olive oil.
4. Sprinkle one tablespoon of flour on a countertop and knead bread until smoother. Transfer the dough to a bowl coated with olive oil. Turn dough to coat in oil. Cover and let rise overnight in the refrigerator.

It is so easy to put together the night before.  I have had perfect results every time.  I usually do personal size pizzas for the kids (they love to help!) and a big pizza for me and the hubby to share.  I forgot to take a picture of what I made last night (oops!) so here's a veggie pizza I made a while back.  

Anyways, you must try it!  If you use a baking stone, be sure to heat it in the oven for several minutes so it is nice and warm when you put the dough on it....otherwise it takes forever for the dough to get done in the oven.  Yep, learned that one the hard way!


I have been cleaning house all day, so as for tonight...it's gonna be leftovers!  Whew, I'm kind of glad for that because my cooking brain is feeling a little fried.  


Happy Fall, Y'all!
Muncho Mom

Baked Ziti Madness

Today I made baked ziti.  Nothing too exciting about that, really.  Except for the fact that I only had 2 pots to wash afterwards!  I made it for a covered dish supper tonight.  Because of that, I figured I should probably make a big ol' pan of it.  Well, it was big indeed.  If no one comes to this dinner, I am going to have 2 tons of baked ziti in my fridge!


Which leads me to a question:  Do you have a favorite dish to take to potluck dinners?  If so, what is it?  Is there a story behind it?  I do have a story behind the baked ziti, and it was nearly 10 years ago when my husband was in seminary.  We were living in Atlanta, before we had children (I can barely remember what that was like!).  Anyways, my husband's cousin lives in a suburb north of Atlanta, and she had invited us over to have dinner with her family.  She and her husband had a newborn son at that time - and I think he spent the whole time sleeping in one of those battery-operated baby swings.  She made it for us and it was delicious!  Needless to say, everytime I think of ziti, I use her recipe.  It's super easy and yummy too!

Here's the recipe:

8 oz. ziti, uncooked

3/4 lb ground beef or sausage

28 oz. spaghetti sauce

15 oz. ricotta cheese

2 c. shredded mozzarella, divided

1 tsp. dried basil leaves

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Grated parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook pasta and drain.  Meanwhile, brown meat and drain.  Stir in sauce and simmer for 10 minutes.  In small bowl, stir together ricotta cheese, 1 cup mozzarella, and seasonings; set aside.  Toss hot pasta with meat sauce.  Spoon half of pasta mixture in 9x13 baking dish; spread cheese mixture on top, then layer with remaining pasta.  Sprinkle remaining mozzarella and parmesan on top.  Cover loosely with foil.  Bake 25 minutes; then 5 more minutes uncovered or until hot and bubbly.

The best thing about this recipe is it's totally foolproof!  You can use a different kind of pasta (I used penne because that's what I had on hand), more sauce, less cheese, whatever you want...and it's still good!  A perfect dinner for this fall day!

Now, on to the exciting part....lemon drop cookies!  I made these yesterday and they are delish!!!  They are so easy to make.  If you are a lemon lover, you will definitely love these!

Here's the recipe:

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1430790

Well, that's about all for today.  I hope to return with more news tomorrow.  

Until then, happy munching!

Muncho Mom