Swiss Chard and Ricotta Cheese Quiche

My sister recently gave birth to her second little boy named Kai. He was three weeks early and 7lbs 1 oz. Because she was early she did not have all the time she thought she would to prepare some meals in advance. In addition she receives weekly delivery of fresh seasonal organic fruits and vegetables from a local farmers market. She had not had a chance to cancel the order and received two weeks worth of gorgeous vegetables. I was the lucky recipient of those veggies considering she had not time and considering the c-section the ability to cook.

I thought I would use some of her vegetables to make a few meals for the family. With the broccoli I made two large batches of soup. With the swiss chard, fresh parsley, onion and chives I made this delicious quiche. The family enjoys a lot of vegetarian meals so I thought this would make a perfect dinner one evening for them.

Swiss Chard & Ricotta Cheese Quiche

1 unbaked pie shell (9")

1 small onion, minced

1/8 tsp cracked black pepper

3/4 cup 1% milk

4 large eggs

20 oz of swiss chard chopped (or use spinach, kale)

1 tsp oil

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 lb ricotta cheese, light

less than 1/3 cup parmesan cheese (optional)

chopped up parsley and chives (optional because I had them)

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Microwave the swiss chard for about 3o seconds. Then chop it up into the size desired for the quiche.

Add oil to pan and sautee onion and chard with nutmeg, pepper. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl combine the cheeses. Add the cooled sauteed mixture. Add the milk and eggs. Mix well.

Pour into the pie pastry and place on a cookie sheet to catch any over spill. Bake for 15 min.

Then reduce the oven to 325F and bake for an additional 50 mins until it is set.

Grilled Roast Beef

It has been a great week long vacation. Thus far I have enjoyed drinks with friends on the patio, soaking in a hot tub with a group of girls gabbing away, many barbecues and working in my backyard/garden. Today I will be helping put flagstone down the side of the house to make a nice new path leading to the backyard. Last night after a full day of activities (golfing and tidious errands) I chilled out on the deck and grilled a 2lbs roast beef.

Grainy Mustard Marinade

2 T grainy mustard

1 T red wine vinegar

1 tsp dried or fresh thyme or rosemary

Pre-heat grill to medium high. With marinade on beef, sear each side of the beef on the grill for about 4-5 min per side. Then if using a 3 burner grill, turn the middle burner off and turn the 2 side burners to medium. Grill the beef with indirect heat for about 45-60min for a 2lb roast. Internal temp of 140-145F for medium to medium rare.

Thin Crust Pizza

An easy friday night dinner is homemade pizza. What makes it even easier is buying a pre-made crust. Although I love making my own whole wheat pizza dough, if you haven't made it in advance it is not something you can whip up considering it has to rise. I really like the whole wheat blue menu pizza crusts, as they are thin and light. I also love my homemade pesto on my pizzas along with the following ingredients.

thin crust pizza

tomato sauce

pesto

italian sausage (pre-cooked)

baby spinach

sliced mushrooms

tomatoes diced

goat cheese

Heat oven to 425F. Cook crust for 5min before adding sauce and toppings. Spread pesto on crust, followed by tomato sauce. Top with ingredients peperoni/italian sausage, tomatoes, mushrooms and spinach. Crumble cheese on top. Place in oven for about 10 min. Broil for 2 min until cheese is browned.

Half Marathon and Uberfit

I have not been blogging much about food as I have been consumed with so many other things. One such thing has been my training for the half marathon. I have started and will continue to blog about my training and running related topics including nutrition and training methods over at Uberfit.

Any runners or anyone considering a half marathon who are interested can head over to uberfit where I have posted my 16 Week Half Marathon Training Plan.

In addition I have posted my actual log book (Half Marathon Log 2010) of runs which is updated daily or weekly.