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Show Winter Vegetables Good for Main Meal Winter vegetables are hearty, quite unlike the fragile garden produce of spring and summer. That's why they can combine with a small amount of other ingredients and still supply satisfying main dishes. Go ahead with money-saving measures such as stuffing cabbage leaves or head with cheesy rice mixtures, green peppers with leftovers or hollowed-out onions with baked beans topped with cheese. Add some new ideas to your menus, too: acorn squash filled with creamy chopped apples mixed with leftover ham or a Zippy Moussaka made savory with pork sausage, tomatoes and seasoning. Two acorn squash halved and make four servings in an attractive presentation. They offer a good way to use the last shreads of ham from the holidays since the recipe calls for only a cup and a half. The ham goes into a well seasoned cream sauce with seasonal chopped apples adding an interesting variation. After assembling these vegetables cups, which can be done in advance, they'll warm in only 10 minutes. There's savory goodness in the meaty eggplant dish, hearty with its two sauces and two cheeses, Cheddar and Parmesan. Cover the first layer of sauteed eggplant slices with meat sauce and some cheese, then the second layer with cream sauce, cheese and bread crumbs. Let set for 10 minutes, after baking so you can serve in squares. HAM N' APPLES IN SQUASH 4 servings 2 medium-sized acorn squash 14 cup (Vi stick) butter IV2 cups diced cooked ham 13 cup chopped celery V cup chopped green pepper 3 tablespoons flour V2 teaspoon salt Vi teaspoon nutmeg Dash pepper IV2 cups milk 1 cup chopped unpeeled cooking apples 1 tablespoon butter Vb cup seasoned dry bread d crumbs Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Cut squash in half; remove seeds. Bake, cut side down, in a shallow pan 35 to 45 minutes, or until squash can easily be pierced with a fork. Meanwhile, melt Va cup butter in a 2-quart saucepan. Saute ham, celery and green pepper until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour and seasonings until smooth. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in apples. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a small skillet; stir in bread crumbs. Remove squash from oven. Spoon creamed mixture into cavities of squash. Sprinkle bread crumb mixture over top. Return to oven for about 10 minutes, or until filling is hot and bubbly. Serve immediately- ZIPPY MOUSSAKA 6 to 8 servings MEAT SAUCE: (Yield: ap-prox. 2Vz cup) 2 tablespoons butter 1 pound seasoned pork sausage 1 cup chopped onion, 1 teaspoon basil Vis teaspoon salt V2 teaspoon oregano 18 teaspoon pepper 18 teaspoon garlic powder 1 can (16 oz.) tomatoes, chopped and undrained 1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce CREAM SAUCE: (Yield: ap-prox. 2V2 cups) 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons flour V2 teaspoon onion salt 2 cups milk 2 eggs MOUSSAKA: 2 eggplants (about 1-pound each) .13 cup butter xk cup seasoned dry bread crumbs 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese Va cup grated Parmesan cheese nonunued on Page 8) Winter Vegetables Good for Main Meal (Continued from Page 1) For meat sauce, melt butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan. Cook meat and onion until brown and crumbly; drain off all drippings. Stir in seasonings, tomatoes in liquid, and tomato sauce. Simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, for cream sauce, melt butter in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Stir in flour and onion salt until smooth. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Beat eggs in a small bowl; stir in a small amount, of hot mixture. Return all to saucepan; mix well. Set aside. For moussaka, wash eggplant; slice into 1-inch thick slices. Saute in butter until lightly browned but not mushy. Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons bread crumbs on bottom of a 2-quart rectangular baking dish. Add a layer of eggplant slices. Pour on meat sauce. Sprinkle with lk cup cheese. Sprinkle on remaining bread crumbs; add second layer of eggplant slices. Pour cream sauce over all. Sprinkle remaining Cheddar and all of Parmesan cheese on top. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. |