Roasted Winter Vegetables

Ingredients:

• 1 medium butternut squash
• 1 medium turnip
• 1 medium parsnip
• 2 leeks
• 1/2 lb. Brussels sprouts
• 1 head garlic
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• sea salt
• black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Prepare turnips and parsnips by peeling and cutting into 1 inch squares, cut squash into 1 inch squares,
3. Cut off dark green and base of leeks and toss out, cut rest into 1/2 inch slices
4. Peel outer leaves of Brussels sprouts, cut each in half
5. Peel and dice garlic
6. Add all ingredients in a large bowl and toss to coat everything with olive oil, salt and pepper
7. Place veggies on rimmed baking dish in a single layer
8. Roast for 30 minutes, flipping veggies over after 15 minutes

I had to keep quiet about the ingredients before serving or Nita wouldn't have wanted to taste it. She loved it and has raved about it to many people. Her volunteers at work said it smelled wonderful, but she didn't let them taste it :)

Creamy Chicken, Spinach and Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 can (10 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup brown or long grain rice
• 1 package baby spinach, wilted and dried
• 4 skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. cook rice according to instructions, but only 1/2 the time indicated
2. preheat oven to 350 degrees
3. spray 7 x 11 glass baking dish with non-stick spray
4. combine the soup, water and mayonnaise and mix well
5. sprinkle rice over the bottom of the baking dish
6. layer the spinach over the rice evenly
7. cover the spinach with half of the soup mix
8. cover the soup mix with the chicken breasts
9. cover the chicken with the rest of the soup mix
10. sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top
11. bake, uncovered for an hour - cheese should be golden brown and bubbly

The came out much better than expected. Nita and I each had 2 meals from it. I think tuna could also be used in place of the chicken, but I haven't tried that yet.

Roasted Cauliflower w/cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into medium florets
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• sea salt
• black pepper
• 1 cup shredded cheese - cheddar, mixed Italian or your choice

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees
2. Toss cauliflower with olive oil to coat well
3. Place cauliflower in single layer on cooking sheet
4. Add salt and pepper to taste
5. Cook about 20 minutes, tossing halfway through
6. Push all cauliflower into the center of the cooking sheet and top with cheese
7. Cook about 2 minutes to melt the cheese

4 Servings

Easy Breakfast Strata

Ingredients:

• 2 flour tortillas
• 4 oz. Ro*tel or Hatch diced tomatoes and chilies
• 3 slabs beef bacon, cut into bite-size pieces (other types of bacon can be used but we like the beef best)
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• sea salt
• black pepper
• 2 cups grated cheese of your choice - I used mixed Italian once and Cheddar once

Directions:

1. lightly butter or otherwise coat an 8 x 8 baking dish
2. arrange 1 tortilla in the pan
3. top tortilla with 2 oz. chilies
4. top chilies with 1/2 the bacon
5. top bacon with 1/2 the cheese
6. repeat the layers
7. beat the eggs with milk, salt and pepper
8. pour eggs over the layers

(steps 1-8 can be done the night before and placed in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours)

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. bake for 50-60 minutes until puffed and golden brown

Top with salsa or your choice of other toppings

serves 2 - if appetites are small, you may have leftovers

Cabbage Soup

Ingredients:

• 1/2 head cabbage, cored, slice and roughly chopped
• 1 can white beans, drained
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves
• 3 cups beef broth
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced thick
• 4 spears celery, diced thick
• sea salt
• black pepper

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in large stove top cooking pan
2. Simmer an hour

Easy and plentiful. Can freeze leftover soup. Great on a cold day. I have seen a lot of variations, adding other vegetables like green beans

Mashed Potato Pancakes

Having mashed potatoes left over is normal, but they never reheat the same. So, I have begun making them into potato pancakes and they are very good.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups mashed potatoes
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
• sea salt
• black pepper
• 1 tsp. canola oil

Directions:

1. heat the oil in a non-stick skillet on medium-high
2. mix all ingredients well
3. drop spoonfuls of mixture into the skillet and flatten each with a spatula
4. cook until golden brown - about 3 minutes on each side

makes 6 pancakes

Cauliflower/Leek Gratin

Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower, cored and cut into florets
• 2 leeks, end and dark green removed, cut into 1/2 inch circles then halved
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan
• sea salt
• black pepper
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 tbsp. butter, cut into 1/4 inch squares

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. In a large bowl, combine cauliflower, leeks, cream, 3/4 cup Parmesan and mix well
3. Add salt and pepper to taste
4. Transfer mixture to a 2 qt. baking dish, cover tightly with foil
5. Bake 30 minutes
6. In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs with 1/4 cup Parmesan
7. When baking has completed, spread the breadcrumb mixture evenly over the cauliflower and leeks
8. Dot with the butter
9. Return to oven and back another 10-15 minutes until topping is golden brown

Serves 6