Butternut Squash and Creamed-Spinach Gratin

My brother made this as a vegetable side one year for Thanksgiving and it was a hit. I made it last week and then volunteered to make it for Thanksgiving this year:

3 pounds fresh spinach, stems discarded, or 3 (10-ounce) packages frozen leaf spinach, thawed
5 tablespoons unsalted butter plus additional for greasing pan
3/4 cup finely chopped onion (1 small)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup heavy cream
4 pounds butternut squash (2 large), peeled, quartered, and seeded

If using fresh spinach, bring 1 inch water to a boil in a 6- to 8-quart pot over high heat. Add spinach, a few handfuls at a time, and cook, turning with tongs, until wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water. Thoroughly squeeze cooked fresh or thawed frozen spinach in small handfuls to remove excess moisture, then coarsely chop and transfer to a bowl.

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in an 8-inch heavy skillet over moderately low heat, then cook onion and garlic, stirring, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add onion mixture to spinach along with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cream and stir to combine.

Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 400°F. Butter a 3-quart shallow baking dish (13 by 9 inches).

Cut squash to separate bulb section from solid neck section, then cut pieces lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices with slicer (I bought a $10 slicing mandolin from Target and it is worth every penny. I also have to wear plastic gloves while I handle the peeled butternut squash- otherwise it zaps all of the moisture from my hands. If you experience the same reaction, get gloves or use a little olive oil to return the moisture to your skin).

Layer squash and spinach mixture in baking dish, using about one fifth of squash and one fourth of spinach for each layer, beginning and ending with squash. Sprinkle top layer of squash evenly with cheese and dot with remaining 2 tablespoons butter, then cover directly with a sheet of parchment or wax paper. Bake until squash is tender and filling is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove paper and bake gratin until browned in spots, 10 to 15 minutes, or broil 3 inches from heat, 2 to 3 minutes.

Better than Starbucks Salted Hot Chocolate

It certainly doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out but I thought I'd share anyway...

Milk- cows, soy, almond, whatever you prefer
Hot Chocolate Mix- I make mine with cocoa, sugar and salt according to the cocoa box directions (eyeballing it of course- God forbid I should measure something)
Carmel Flavored Coffee Creamer- of course there's always alternatives, but I'll admit, I'm not stringent about coffee creamer
Kosher Salt- because that's what makes it salted.

Directions:

Heat milk, add hot chocolate mix, creamer and a dash of salt. Stir well, pour into mugs and enjoy!

Skinny Women Don't Eat Quiche

Or do they? 

Yes, yes they do.  Now, the new and improved pastry-less but tasty-ful quiche! (Don't be afraid of the non-traditional crust.  It isn't a pastry, but it is really nutty and yummy!)

Crust:
1.5-2 cups cooked brown rice
.5 cups of your favorite cheese, shredded (I used a mix of lite swiss, 2% cheddar, and parm)

Mix rice and cheese.  Press into quiche pan and up edges to form a crust.  Bake at 400 for 5 minutes.

Quiche:
3 eggs
2 egg whites
1 cup plain fat free yogurt (I used greek)
3/4 cup grated cheese (I used the same mix as above; use flavorful cheese like feta, pepper jack, swiss, parm, asiago, etc)
salt to taste
pepper to taste (I use white)
1 t paprika
1.2 t granulated garlic
pinch of fresh grated nutmeg
about 10oz steamed and squeezed dry spinach
chopped green onions

Mix all ingredients and pour into baked "crust".  Bake at 385 for about 25-30 minutes until set.  Top with diced tomatoes. 

You can change the quiche a lot by playing with the cheeses, spices, and vegetables.  Make it Mexican or Italian night if you don't want plain old quiche! 

Anything cooked with this is better:

Boulder Sausage Premium Italian Sausage Merlot Wine, Asiago Cheese & Sun Dried Tomatoes.

City Market/King Soopers used to stock it but it didn't sell fast enough. Lucky for me, I could often find it with a $1.00 sale sticker and I'd buy 'em up. Unfortunately, I haven't found it on the shelf for almost a year. I special ordered a case (6pkgs) from the meat manager and picked it up Wednesday. I'm not sure any of the packages will actually make it to the freezer.

I made a huge pot of Italian Sausage soup Wednesday night, spaghetti last night and will use it as pizza topping tonight.

Italian Sausage Soup as I make it:
-One box of Organic Chicken Broth
-One bag of Organic Carrots
-2 Organic Zucchini
-2 Organic Yellow Squash
-2 t. minced garlic
-2 cans Muir Italian roasted diced tomatoes (full can, not drained)
-Approx 2 T. Italian Herb Seasoning (I'm not good with measuring when it comes to herbs. I generally start shaking the jar until it *looks* right and then add a little more and then grab two or three other herbs for a few shakes).
-2 pkgs Boulder Italian Sausage Merlot Wine, Asiago Cheese, & Sun Dried Tomatoes
-Sometimes I add Spaghetti Squash or small pasta wheels.

I try to use Organic as much as possible. If you haven't made the switch because it's too expensive, it's probably because you're still buying too many processed foods at the grocery store. Take away all those $3-$4 processed items and you can definitely afford a few more cents for the organic.

I take the point of a sharp knife to slit the casing around the sausage and remove prior to sauteing the sausage in bite sized chunks. I also rinse the sausage after cooking so the extra grease doesn't go into the soup. Dump your sliced veggies, cans of tomatoes, garlic and herbs in a large pot with the chicken broth and let simmer until tender. Add the sausage at the end. I portion the soup into 6-8 tupperware containers and top with an Italian blend of cheese.

If serving immediately, you should probably have some sort of warm crusty Italian bread to go with it!