Vegetable Oven Pancake

I posted a recipe a while back for a Puffed Oven Pancake we really liked.  I served it with fried apples and thought of it as breakfast or dessert or 'breakfast for dinner'.  It never occurred to me to try vegetables or that it could be a main dish - until I saw this recipe, and then I just had to try it.  We had this for dinner one night last week.

Vegetable Oven Pancake

Ingredients:

• 2 T butter
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 2 cups fresh broccoli florets
• 1 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 cup chopped tomato
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Place butter in a 9-in. pie plate or cast iron skillet; heat in a 450° oven until melted. Carefully tilt pan to coat bottom and sides. In a large bowl, beat the flour, eggs, milk and 1/4 teaspoon salt until smooth. Pour into pie plate. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until puffed around the edges and golden brown.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the broccoli, green pepper, tomato and onion in water for 8-10 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain well. Add pepper and remaining salt.
3. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese over pancake; top with vegetables and remaining cheese. Bake 3-4 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Cut into four wedges; serve immediately. Yield: 4 servings.

recipe from Taste of Home

Of course, this is just the basic recipe.  The lady who submitted the recipe to Taste of Home said that they like to vary the vegetables depending on what's in season, so...

I used 1/2 a medium onion, 1 green pepper, 2 cups chopped zucchini, 2 handfuls chopped chard, and 3 Roma tomatoes - all things chopped, whether I said so or not.  Everything but the onion came straight out of my garden!  Instead of cooking the vegetables in water, I sauteed everything in a little olive oil starting with the onion and pepper, and then adding the zucchini and chard and finally the tomatoes when everything else was mostly cooked.

4 servings?  Really?  Jeffrey and I ate the whole thing ourselves.  We really liked it.  I thought maybe it had too much cheese, but Jeffrey thought it was just right.  Next time I want to add a touch more salt to the vegetables, and even though it says to cut into wedges and serve immediately, I think it needs to sit for a few minutes when you take it out of the oven, so the cheese can set up a bit.  Other than that - perfect!  I will definitely be making this again.
 

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• Puffed Oven Pancake (recipes.alwaysbcmom.com)
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Chocolate Fudge Sauce

Posted on facebook this morning, and I'm thinking I must try this.

Chocolate Fudge Sauce
Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook Revised and Updated, pg. 252

Makes 1½-2 cups sauce
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking Time: 1½ hours
Ideal slow-cooker size: 4- to 5-qt.

Ingredients:

• 5 squares unsweetened baking chocolate
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, cut in pieces
• 5.3-oz. can evaporated milk
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1½ tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on High 30 minutes. Stir.
3. Cover and cook up to another hour, or until chocolate and butter are melted and sauce is smooth.
4. Store in refrigerator.

Cover via Amazon
Serving suggestions: Serve over ice cream and cake! Or use it as a fondue for fruit!

Variation: Add ½ cup smooth or chunky peanut butter to Step 1.

Looks yummy, huh?
 

Lazy Day Pasta

The original recipe is called Lazy Day Mostaccioli, though I usually use penne - which is basically shaped the same.  You throw the pasta in without boiling it first and can prepare this early in the day or the night before - whenever you have time, and it's ready to bake at dinner time.

Here's how I made it yesterday:

Lazy Day Mostaccioli

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. ground beef
• 1/2 a medium onion, chopped
• 8 oz. chopped mushrooms
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 26 oz. can of spaghetti sauce
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 2 cups cottage cheese
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 egg
• 8 oz. mostaccioli noodles (or penne)
• 1 lb. mozzarella cheese, shredded
• Chopped chard, sauteed in olive oil
• Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Cook ground beef with onion until brown. Add chopped mushrooms and cook until beef is well browned and mushrooms are done; stir in Italian seasoning.  Add sauce and tomatoes and simmer 20 minutes.  
2. While this is simmering, saute chard in olive oil until it starts to wilt.  Add a bit of water, cover, and cook until done.
3. Mix together the cottage cheese, oregano, and egg; set aside.  
4. Grease 13"x9" pan.  Now start layering - about 1/3 of the meat sauce, 1/2 the noodles, 1/2 the cottage cheese mix, 1/2 the chard, and a light layer of cheese (about 1/3).  Repeat.  Then layer on the rest of the meat sauce and the rest of the cheese.  Sprinkle Parmesan over all.  Add 1/2 cup water over the top.  Let sit for at least 1 hour or overnight in the refrigerator.  

5. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until brown and bubbly.  Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

Follow the instructions the first time.  If too watery, decrease water to 1/4 cup, if too dry, add 3/4 cup water.

The original recipe called for 1/2 lb. hamburger and 1/2 lb. sausage, and a 10 oz. package of frozen spinach.  I used the mushrooms because I had some that needed used and the chard because I have plenty of it coming out of the garden, so I might as well use it.  It turned out so good!

I served it with zucchini (also from the garden and sauteed in olive oil) and fresh homemade sourdough bread.  Perfect!

Cranberry Daiquiri Slush

Ocean Spray linked to this recipe on facebook today, and it looked so good I just had to try it. In the freezer now. Hopefully they're as good as they sound.

Cranberry Daiquiri Slush

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Ocean Spray® Cranberry Juice Cocktail
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 1/2 cup sugar (or to taste)
• 1/3 cup rum

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in an 8-inch square non-metal pan; stir until sugar is dissolved. Cover and freeze 6 hours or overnight.
2. To serve, scrape a fork over the surface of the frozen mixture and spoon a heaping 1 cup into a 10 oz. glass. Add a little more cranberry cocktail and stir to form slush. Makes 6 servings.

Cranberry Daiquiri Slush on Ocean Spray

We had some of the new Cranberry Juice Cocktail with a Hint of Lime, so I used that.  I only had 1 lime, which gave me about 1/4 cup juice, so I made up the difference with lemon juice.

Related articles

• Strawberry Daiquiri (willowandbee.wordpress.com)
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and some more drink recipes to try:

• Frozen Strawberry Margarita
• Cosmopolitan
• Frozen Lime Daiquiri

Chard Mashed Potatoes

Image via WikipediaI was talking to a friend this past weekend, and she was looking for some new ways to use some of the chard from her garden.  I mentioned these mashed potatoes because this is one of my favorite chard recipes.

Chard Mashed Potatoes

• 2 1/2 to 3 lbs. russet potatoes, scrubbed
• 2 to 3 tsp. salt
• 1 large bunch Swiss chard
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup hot milk or half-and-half
• 2 to 3 Tbs. unsalted butter, room temperature
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish, optional

1. Peel potatoes, leaving some skin on each. Cut potatoes into large chunks, and place them in medium pot with enough cold water to cover. Add 2 tsp. salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat slightly and boil until potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, rinse chard well. Remove and discard stems and chop leaves coarsely. In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Stir in chard and garlic. Cover pan, and cook, until wilted and tender, stirring occasionally, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. When potatoes are done, drain and add milk and butter. Mash potatoes, leaving them slightly lumpy, adding salt and pepper to taste. Stir in chard and serve, garnished with Parmesan if desired.

So good!  Hopefully I'll have enough chard from my own garden to make this soon.  I cut a few small leaves yesterday, enough to make a really yummy pasta dish for lunch - chard sauteed in olive oil w/ sliced green onions and minced garlic, sea salt and fresh ground pepper, then tossed with pasta and topped with Parmesan. Yum!  But my chard is going to have to grow a bit before I have any more, and the bunnies are going to have to leave it alone!
 

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• Chard and Cheese Pasta Gratin (girlinterruptedeating.wordpress.com)
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