Sweet Potato and Gruyere turnovers

This recipe is for 4 meals. Divide accordingly for one meal.

3 large onions
3 pounds sweet potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
4 bunches Swiss chard, stems discarded and leaves cut into 1/2-in strips (about 24 cups)
1 pound Gruyere, grated (4 cups)
2 tablespons fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt and black pepper
8 refrigerated rolled piecrust, each cut in half (to form 16 half-circles)
1 large egg, beaten

In a food processor fitted with the large grating disk, grate the onions; transfer to a bowl. Grate the sweet potatoes and transfer to a second bowl.

Divide the oil between 2 large pots and heat over medium-high heat. Divide the onions bbetween the pots and cook, stirring often, until beginning to soften, 8 to 10 minutes. Divide the chard between the pots and cook, stirring, until wilted, 5 to 7 minutes.

Divide the vegetable mixture between 2 bowl. Dividing evenly between the bowls, fold in the sweet potatoes, Gruyere, and tyme; season each with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Spread the sweet potato mixture from both bowls onto a rimmed baking sheet and let cool for 10 minutes.

dividing evenly, spoon the mixture onto one ide of each half-circle of piecrust (about 1/2 cup per piecrust), leaving a 1/2-inch border. Dot the borders with water, fold the dough over to form a quarter-circle, and press firmly to seal; crimp, if desired. Cut 3 slits in each turnover and brush with the egg.


TO EAT TONIGHT
Bake the turnovers on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 400F until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

TO FREEZE AND COOK LATER
Freeze the uncooked turnovers on a parchment-lined baking sheet just until firm, 15-20 minutes. Transfer to freezer-safe resealable bags and freeze for up to 3 months. To cook, bake the turnovers from frozen on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 400F until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.


Serve with...a green salad.

*This recipe is from Real Simple magazine. realsimple.com/dinnerswap

Southwestern Chicken Wraps

Another great recipe from Jennifer!
* 3/4 cup sour cream
* 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped green chiles
* 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
* Coarse salt and ground pepper
* Chili Powder
* 4 sandwich wraps, (10 inches each)
* baby spinach
* shredded cooked chicken
* black beans, drained and rinsed
* tomato, thinly sliced
* red onion, thinly sliced
* avocado, thinly sliced

1. In a bowl, whisk together sour cream, green chiles, and lime juice; season with salt and pepper and chili powder.(Or you can mix some salsa verde in with the sour cream)
2. Spread sandwich wraps with sour-cream sauce, leaving a 2-inch border. In center of wraps, layer equal amounts of baby spinach, shredded chicken, black beans, tomato, onion, and avocado. For each wrap, fold two sides of wrap over filling, then roll tightly, ending seam side down.

Ginger Cookies

3/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
4 Tbsp. molasses
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg
2 cups flour
3 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add molasses, salt, and egg, blend
well. Sift dry ingredients and blend into creamed mixture. Shape into
small balls and roll in granulated sugar. Place on cookie sheet and
bake 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Jennifer's Sandwich

This is directly pasted from the email with the recipe that Jennifer sent me. I love this recipe for a picnic lunch!!!
____________________________________________
It is based off of a Julia Child's recipe, but I think the method
could be adapted to making any kind of large sandwiches to cut and
serve a big group of people.

For the vinaigrette:
1 shallot, minced
1 anchovy fillet, minced
1 Tbs red wine vinegar
3 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 round of Focaccia* or other round loaf
Extra-virgin olive oil
About 6 leaves red-leaf lettuce, washed and dried
8 oz fresh mozzarella, in 1/4" thick flat slices
3/4 c black olives, chopped
sliced turkey, salami or other deli meat

Equipment
plastic wrap
2 cookie sheets
Heavy pan or other weighty items for pressing the sandwich

To make the vinaigrette, mix the shallot, anchovy and vinegar in a
small bowl, and gradually whisk in the oil with a fork. Season with
salt and pepper to taste.

Cut the bread horizontally into even top and bottom layers. Turn the
top over, then drizzle olive oil all over the cut sides of both
layers, using 2 or 3 Tbs of oil on each.

Make layers of all the filling ingredients. First, completely cover
the sandwich bottom with 5 or 6 lettuce leaves, then arrange the
slices of mozzarella on top. Scatter the chopped olives and cover with
the tomato slices in a single layer.

Spoon about half the vinaigrette over the tomatoes, then distribute
deli meat evenly. Drizzle the remaining vinaigrette all over the
filling. Finally, replace the top layer of the bread to close the
sandwich.

Wrap the sandwich well with several layers of plastic wrap and place
on a cookie sheet or pizza pan or tray. Lay another tray on top of the
sandwich and center some heavy items to press and flatten the loaf (a
heavy pan and a 5-lb bag of sugar, for example).

Place the weighted sandwich in the refrigerator for at least a couple
of hours or overnight. Before serving, remove the weight, unwrap the
compressed sandwich, and let it come to room temperature. Cut into
serving-size wedges or, as an hors d'oeuvre cut in thin parallel
slices, and again into short, bite-size lengths. 1 large sandwich
makes 8 large wedges or 24-hors-d'oeuvre-size pieces.

Notes:
*You don't want there to be too much bread, so a high round loaf is
not ideal, the flat of focaccia works best

The original recipe is from Julia Child's show Julia and Jacques:
Cooking at Home on PBS Create. The recipe called for using Brie
instead of mozzarella and distributing anchovy fillets over the
sandwich instead of deli meat, I've also heard of making the sandwich
with tuna.

Corn, Avocado, and Tomato Salsa / Salad

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 5 ears)
(We sautéed frozen corn in a skillet with some olive oil.)
1 1/2 cups diced avocado (1/2-inch pieces)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup finely diced red onion

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, cilantro, salt, and pepper.

2. Add the corn, avocado, tomatoes, and onion and toss to mix. Serve at room temperature. Serves 4 to 6.

I served with quesadillas like a chunky salsa but it can be served as a salad as well.

Play Dough

1 cup flour
2 T cream of tartar
½ cup salt
1 to 2 T cooking oil
1 cup water
food coloring

Mix flour, cream of tartar, and salt in a pan. Mix desired coloring with water, add with oil to dry mixture. Cook over medium heat until thick.

Rainbow in a Bag

Mix 1 c cornstarch, 1/3 c sugar and 4 c water in a saucepan. Boil stirring constantly-looks like Vaseline. Cool. Fill 1/3 of bag with the mixture. Add food coloring. Zip and squish.