What in the world is this? - lamb's quarters

I got black dirt this year sourced "Organically" from a local guy scraping soil off an old farm supposedly. We'll it's loaded with clay and now I have this weed I've never had on our property before this year. I mean it is everywhere now. Any ideas on what is invading my garden?

lamb’s quarter/fat hen. Chenopodium album. my absolute favorite weed and my favorite wild green.

I've been ripping it out constantly. What is it good for?

According to Google,
Lamb's quarter benefits
The leaves of C. album contain various nutrients such as protein, fat, fiber, minerals and vitamins. Moreover, it is also a good source of iron and calcium. Chenopodium album has many medicinal properties such as antimicrobial, antihelmintic, antioxidant, antidiarrheal, and hepato-protective.

Lots more info out there.

Use the leaves in any recipe that calls for spinach.

Wow, I guess I've been ripping out something useful

the name ‘fat hen’ refers to how good a chicken forage/feed it is, too, because of the nutritional profile.

Well, Josh, it seems like your local guy has given you an excellent gift!! Welcome to permies, where we reveal the gifts of nature!! LOL!

I agree with Carla, a gift.  Try eating it and report back ...

That's my favourite weed, er, free crop!

I positively encourage it to fill up empty space in my veggie garden.

Here's a couple of photos I took last month - it's just starting to get past its best at this time of year where I live...



I always leave enough to seed and it's vigourous enough to grow up through the mulch. I let it form a nice filler between my 'real' veggie plants but have to remove some around the smaller ones before it swamps them.



I pluck the leaves off and put them in a bowl with some boiling water, which is enough cooking in my opinion. Then they get stirred into cooked rice for a quick salad at this time of year, when it's getting too hot to want to cook every day.

I think I'm about 70 miles SE of you and it's ubiquitous here -- so even if it's new to your property, it's normal in the 'northland'. It's also one of the quelites encouraged by Mexican campesenos growing in milpa. I cut the tips off and saute them with garlic and olive oil or fold them into scrambled eggs or just add them to salad. They do get a sort of dusty texture that takes getting used to.

Yup...still a good time to be picking and eating this in N. Minnesota.  A favorite use this time of year is to mix it with swiss chard, a bit of pigweed greens, fresh picked oregano, and garlic (greens or bulbs)....sautee in olive oil and add tomato sauce (frozen from last year).  That sauce is a base for spaghetti/lasagna, pizza, and egg frittatas.  My wife will eat uncooked, mixed with salad greens, purslane from the garden, and in sandwiches.   Not necessarily based on research, but I like to eat a few leaves with every pass through the garden to additionally dose my gut flora with local garden bacteria. Photo below is a variant that I introduced into the garden some years back and it is doing well with self-seeding.  (Chenopodium amaranticolor.  Photo source: https://www.maltawildplants.com/AMAR/Chenopodium_album_subsp_amaranticolor.php )

They do get a sort of dusty texture that takes getting used to.

I don't taste the 'dusty' in cooked dishes. If eating it in a salad, it's not noticeable if you use less than 1/4 of it mixed with other greens. You don't need to drown it in dressing either.