Brushetta with Goat Cheese, Roasted Tomato and Basil

On Christmas Eve every year we have an appetizer feast. My intention was to take pictures of everything made this year and post it with recipes. Fail. I did take pictures of one of the sides though:

INGREDIENTS

1 large red pepper
4 oz goat cheese, room temperature
country bread, sliced and toasted
16 basil leaves

.... so.... the title of the recipe pretty much spells it out....

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375. Put cut pepper in dish and char until skin is blackened. Remove from oven, cover in tinfoil and allow to steam 10 minutes. Peel skin and cut into slices.

Spread goat cheese on toasts. Place one pepper strip on each toast. Top with a basil leaf.

VERDICT

So simple even a caveman can do it. Unfortunately, not the most popular dish on Christmas Eve because there were much tastier things on the table. If I find them, I'll come back and edit this post to add them. Or, at the rate I'm going... I'll post them in time for next Christmas.

Slow Cooker Lasagna

I honestly didn't give this recipe much hope. Once I bought the Swiss Chard (what the heck IS this stuff?) and saw that there weren't a whole lot of spices, I pretty much wrote this recipe off as average.

Then I came home and smelled the delicious pasta that had been cooking for several hours.

And THEN we ate it. How good was it? Scroll down to the Verdict.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes, drained
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh oregano, chopped
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 16 ounces fresh ricotta
• 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 12 ounces dry lasagna noodles
• 1 bunch Swiss chard, tough stems removed and torn into large pieces
• 12 ounces mozzarella, grated

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

In another medium bowl, combine the ricotta, parsley, Parmesan, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Spoon 1/3 cup of the tomato mixture into the bowl of a slow cooker. Top with a single layer of noodles, breaking them to fit as necessary. Add half the Swiss chard. Dollop with a third of the ricotta mixture and a third of the remaining tomato mixture. Sprinkle with a third of the mozzarella. Add another layer of noodles and repeat with the other ingredients.

Finish with a layer of noodles and the remaining ricotta mixture, tomato mixture, and mozzarella. Set the slow cooker to low and cook, covered, until the noodles are tender, 2 to 3 hours.

VERDICT

Oh... wow. This was REALLY good. It was so good that my non-pasta loving husband called it my "best recipe EVER."

Swiss Chard? I don't know how else it's usually prepared, but it was good in this dish. Similar to spinach? Whatever it was, it didn't taste like a green leafy vegetable that's healthy for you.