Creamy Swiss Chard

 
As I left my house this morning and drove past my neighbors it reminded me how thankful I am to have a house, food on the table, a car and a job!  A couple of weeks ago my neighbor had a fire.  I was in the kitchen (cooking of course) and all of a sudden I heard a car horn go off - not beep beep, but a constant beep.  I thought it was odd, but ignored it for a minute.  When it didn't stop I decided to investigate and started walking towards my front door.  This is when my husband burst through the door yelling "CALL 911" to which I replied "why??"  He didn't answer me...just turned and ran outside again in a panic.  I grabbed the phone and followed him....you can't exactly call 911 unless you know why!  Plus, he was in such a panic I was now scared something horrible was happening to our house or.......or something! 

As soon as I ran out the door I could see the flames at my neighbors.  From our viewpoint it looked like their house was on fire, with flames as high as the tops of the trees in his yard.  As I got closer I could see it was their van (which he uses for work - he has his own business installing wood floors) that was fully engulfed in flames.  It was just feet from their house, AND their propane tank!  There was a few minutes of panic for us because we couldn't get past the burning van to get to the house to see if they were inside, and we also didn't know if anyone was inside the burning van!  There were a few explosions as well, which was making us even more nervous.  The fire trucks came quickly and put out the fire, and saved the house (one corner got a little burned but just the siding).  Thankfully no one was home, however our neighbor was devastated at loosing not only his vehicle but all the tools and equipment inside that he needed for work.  As I drove by today and saw the burned trees it reminded me how much I have to be thankful for!

Anyway, since this is a food blog I will move on to this recipe for creamy swiss chard.  A few years ago I had dinner out and had ordered steak, which I almost never do.  They served it over top of some delicious creamy swiss chard and I was in love!  I never forgot how much I enjoyed it, so this week when I had an overabundance of swiss chard in my fridge I decided to try to replicate that dish.  I can only eat goat cheese right now, so feel free to substitute it with your favorite cheese - regular cheddar or Gruyere cheese would be great for this recipe.

Creamy Swiss Chard

1 tbsp Olive Oil
15 cups swiss chard, stalk removed & chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup goat cheddar
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp onion powder
dash garlic powder
Salt & Pepper

Heat a small saucepan on medium heat and add your cream.  Let it start to bowl then add both cheeses, the garlic powder, onion powder and a pinch of pepper.  Stir to combine once in a while as the cheese starts to melt and it becomes a sauce.  Reduce heat to low and keep it warm while you cook the swiss chard.

Heat the olive oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet.  When the oil is nice and hot add the swiss chard.  Toss frequently with tongs, being sure to coat it in the oil and stirring it so all of it begins to wilt.  This will cook down to what seems like almost nothing (like spinach)!  Remove from heat and add the cream mixture a little at a time while stirring to combine.  Add all of it, or as little as you want.  Season with salt & pepper to taste.