Goat Cheese Beet Bake

Is steamed broccoli and a baked potato next to some lifeless chicken bumming you out?

THIS WILL SAVE YOU.

Promise.

This is a great side dish.  It has veggies, starch, and CHEESE.

Do you need anything else in life, truly?

I think no.

The ingredients couldn't be more simple for this, and you don't need to measure anything - I promise!

The only ratio you'll need is 1 medium potato to 4 medium beets.  Everything else is as you prefer it!

Here's what you need:

• beets
• potatoes
• white wine
• heavy cream or half and half
• goat cheese
• salt and pepper

Ahhhh, it's so easy.

Now, you could use more potatoes compared to beets if you like.  I prefer this way, though because you get more of a beet taste AND the calories are fewer in the dish.

So, there.

In any event, preheat your oven to 400F and scrub the beets and potato - no need to peel anything!

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and boil the beets for 2 minutes - just to get them started.

Then, remove them from the water and let them cool.   When you can handle them, cut off the ends and slice the beets into thin slices - about 1/4 inch thick.

Don't be alarmed that your kitchen will look like a crime scene.  Just go with it.

You can slice the potato thinly at this point too - no need to pre-boil that.

Grab a baking dish and spray it with cooking spray, or rub it with butter or olive oil. Working all around the baking dish, make a layer of beets, overlapping as you go.

Nice.  The idea here is to use half the beets.  Then we'll use the potato, then the rest of the beets.

If you'd like to make 17 layers of beet/potato feel free - I simply never care enough about how things look to do that.  Sorry.

So, layer of beets. Then sprinkle on a bit of salt and pepper, and make a nice layer of potato.

See?  This is fun.  Salt the potato too!  Then, using a fork or your fingers, crumble some goat cheese on top of the potato.

Great!  Now layer the rest of the beets on top of the potato, and top THAT with more salt and goat cheese.

The key with the layering is to overlap everything and press it down so it bakes together like two campers trying to keep warm when they've been lost in the woods for 6 days.

Or, you know, food baking together.

Now, let's add some moisture!  Dump in some cream and wine - not too much, just about half an inch of each - no matter what size your baking dish is.  They'll evaporate and thicken as the dish cooks and you'll be very happy, I promise.

Fancy, huh?  I get that a lot.

Look how pretty and purple!

Now, bake this majesty for 45 minutes or so until the beets and potato are soft and the goat cheese on top is a bit browned.

Check the dish after 30 minutes with a fork:  if the beets aren't soft but the cheese is brown put some aluminum foil over the dish to keep baking it until it's cooked through.

And that's it!  You can use a knife to spread out the goat cheese, but I like the goopy look.

This isn't the sexiest dish to look at, but it is GOOD.  Trust me, you'll want to try this!

Let the whole dish sit for 5 minutes or so, then slice it into pieces like a pie.  If it holds together when you serve it praise Allah.  Otherwise, eat the goopy mess and praise someone anyway because it's GOOD - who cares what it looks like?

Enjoy!