Food

I've been keeping up fairly well with new (and healthier) breakfasts around here. We still have bagels on occasion, but I've stopped buying frozen waffles and other assorted crap. And I've rediscovered my love for oatmeal made with milk. I had gotten in the bad habit of buying those instant oatmeal packets, when making real oatmeal really doesn't take much longer. I make it with milk instead of water and a touch of salt. The kids like it with some cinnamon and a dollop of honey, but I love it plain. Porter told me the first time that he wasn't going to eat it, and then he had three bowls. Then last night I adapted the apple cake recipe with healthier ingredients and less sugar to serve for breakfast this morning. I thought it was pretty good, but the kids didn't really eat it. So I'm still looking for some healthy, easy baked goods to make and freeze.

Last night for our vegetarian meal I made a mushroom, Swiss chard and Gouda tart along with a green salad. I honestly wasn't expecting a great reaction from the kids, but seriously, when I pulled the tart out of the oven Porter exclaimed "wow, that is the greatest dinner EVER!" I can't even explain it. They both ended up picking the mushrooms off, which I understand (I wouldn't eat mushrooms myself as a child), but they ate big pieces (chard included). Woo-hoo. It was tasty, and Bryce totally missed out as he had to work late, as usual.

Anyway, for the tart I started with this Martha Stewart recipe, but tweaked it a lot. I had a lot less mushrooms and more greens. I cooked the onions and mushrooms together and seasoned with salt and pepper. Then I cooked the chard (stems removed and chopped) in a little chicken stock by itself and squeezed out a lot of the moisture. I used about 2 cups of grated Gouda, 1.5 of which I put on the puff pastry first. Then topped with the chard and mushrooms. Then sprinkled the rest of the cheese over the top and finished baking. It was really easy, and could be changed around with all sorts of different vegetables and cheeses. Yum.