It's my little friend Quiche

 While make quiche all I could think about was the B52s and the song Quiche Lorraine hence the title of today's blog. If you have been following my blogs you can probably guess that baking is where my strength lies. I have been noticing a pattern of meals that are baked not cooked. So here is another one to add to the pile.

Quiche is full of protein and vitamins and warms my soul. By definition it is a savory pie like dish. Usually consisting of the basic egg and cheese combo. There are many variation of this dish and it is completely customizable to your own tastes. I made two different quiches, one using spinach the other broccoli. My family knows how I feel about broccoli and spinach, they are my favorite vegetables! From a young age I loved spinach and broccoli. My mom loves to tell me stories on how I would ask for it and she would even put the spinach water from her cooking it into a bottle and I would guzzle it down. But enough about my love for dark leafy greens.



Spinach Quiche



Quiche
1  9" Pie crust  ( See my blog 'Gimme Beef....and Beer' for the recipe)
4 Eggs
1 1/2 C Milk
2 T Butter
2 C Spinach / Broccoli ( Chop into small bite size pieces)
2 C Cheese
3 Cloves of garlic (opt.)
1/2 C Mince onion (opt.)
Salt and pepper to taste

Broccoli Quiche

Whisk together eggs, milk, butter and seasonings. Fold in cheese, vegetables and any other filling you like. Scoop into pie shell then pour the liquid over the top. This helps disperse the contents evenly. You can top with cheese or some cooked bacon.

Bake at 325 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

I have found that if you cook your pie shell first it will ensure that it gets done all the way. Also be sure  not to overfill your pie dish, it will take a very longtime for the quiche to get done in the middle. You are better off dividing it into two.

As with any my dishes I encourage you to try it for yourself and make changes to your liking!

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Dutch Babies

Dutch babies, puff pancakes, or just plain delicious. Breakfast food is a favorite in our house and this is a regular guest.

Dutch Baby

   2     Eggs
1/2 C Milk
1/2 C Flour
1 Pinch salt
1 Pinch ground nutmeg (opt.)
 
2 T Butter

2 T Powder Sugar / Lemon / Syrup

Mix eggs, milk , flour, salt and nutmeg. Set aside. Place pie dish in oven while it is preheating. Take out and add butter, swirl around until dish is coated. Pour batter into dish then bake.

475 degrees Fahrenheit for about 5-10 minutes.

Top with lemon and powder sugar, syrup or whatever sounds good to you!

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Metal and beads

Recently I just had four friend's birthday's in the last couple months. For each of them I wanted to make something fun and was from the heart.

I had not made anything with beads recently and I could make each one unique.
Thus the necklace and earrings combo. I was only able to take pictures of these two sets before I gave them away.

What I learned...don't under estimate the pain wire can inflict.

 I did love doing this project though.When you do something with people you care about in mind it can make the difference between wanting to do it and having to. 

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Breakfast in minutes

Mmm! I just made the best breakfast burrito. Two eggs, spinach and cheese with hot sauce in a whole wheat tortilla then grilled. Sooo good. That just made my morning! Sorry no picture, it did not last long enough to get one.

*** I make this all the time, I later blogged this recipe Breakfast Tacos***

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Mmm pie

This is the second installment of my holiday food blogs: Pie


I love making pie, it is one of my favorite things to bake. During Thanksgiving I made three different pies. All of these recipes were new to me but now I know what to do next time. My mom recently TOLD me I was making the pie for Christmas. I guess I take that as a compliment? So I thought if they were good enough to be demanded they be made then I guess it is good enough to share.


Sweet Potato - This was inspired by Paula Deen, I figure if anyone knows good sweet potato pie it should be her.

3 Large Yams (not really sweet potatoes)
1/2 C Soften Butter
1 T Vanilla
2 1/2 C Sugar
1/2 t Nutmeg
4 Eggs Beaten
3/4 C Evaporated Milk
2 - 9" pie shells (See my blog for "Gimme beef....and beer" for my recipe)




Peel and cut potatoes then boil until tender but not mushy. Puree all ingredients until smooth. Pour into pie shells then bake at 350 degrees for about 60 minutes or until done in middle.

*Hint...NEVER use canned yams/sweet potatoes, they just do not taste right*

Apple Tart  -

 I got this idea from Martha Stewart...or one of her minions, not really sure who coined the original recipe. This is an open faced dish, not so much a pie, but you could do the same thing but put into a pie dish if you are a traditionalist.

1 Sheet of Puff Pastry

2-3 Peeled and sliced apples (tart are best)

1/3 C Granulated sugar

2 T Cinnamon

1 Egg yolk mixed with 1 T water for wash on crust.

For glaze warm 2 T butter and 2 T jelly (apricot or apple is best)

Pastry will come frozen (unless you make your own of course) let sit at room temperature until pliable but not too soft. Leave folded in thirds  or you can cut and stack then roll out. If it is not perfect don't worry because you can trim then edges to be even. Score your pastry all the way around about a 1/2 inch in from the edge. On the outside half inch brush with the egg wash.

In bowl toss apples with cinnamon and sugar. Once all slices are coated evenly lay out onto inner rectangle. Sprinkle any remaining cinnamon and sugar over apples. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes. you will want your pastry to be golden and the apples to be tender. Drizzle or brush the jelly and butter over your tart. You can serve hot or cold, it taste grate either way.

Pumpkin Cream Pie - I thought this would be a good option instead of plain pumpkin pie. It is more the consistency of a cheese cake.

1 12oz can of pumpkin                    1/2 t Vanilla

2 Eggs                                              1/2 t Salt

3/4 C Packed light Brown sugar      1 C Heavy cream

1 t Cinnamon

1 t Pumpkin Pie spice                      1- 9" pie shell

Blend all ingredients together then pour into pie shell and bake for about an hour at 350 degrees.

Once done let cool completely in refrigerator. While it is cooling you can prepare the topping.

Dissolve 1 t gelatin in a sauce pan with 3 T water. In a bowl whip 1/4 C granulated sugar and 1 1/2 C heavy cream and add gelatin mixture. You will want it to be thick and be able to make stiff peaks.

Spread on top of cooled pie then dust with pumpkin pie spice. You may want to chill again to let completely set up. It works well to make a day ahead.

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Quilling and Juicing

I am always trying to learn new techniques when it comes to crafting and what not. I have been interested in quilling but have never actually sat down to try it. The concept is simple, coil a thin strip of paper then squeeze into a shape that makes up a bigger picture. Here was my first attempt.

 For the flower I used 7 strips of teal paper cut
1/8" X 9"


For each petal coil paper then pinch at one end. used glue to hold tail of paper. I then glued each one to the one next to it with them meeting at the narrow point in the middle.


For the stem I used 1 1/2 strips of dark green paper.


After it was coiled I loosened the coil and stretched on end out then pinched in an oval like shape then glued the tail down. I then coiled the 1/2 piece a loosened it then glues the straight tail down to the first piece.


Once finished I glued the entire thing to a card front then added the center gem. Next time I will try something more complex. Stay tuned!

While I was busy making this card my husband and I juiced some fruit and veggies, but as with many of my projects I got carried away and left my juice sitting for too long. So it separated into this festive layered cocktail.


This one was made with kale, apples, spinach and beets. Tasted good and pretty too!

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Christmas Cookies

Christmas is one of my favorite times of year, not really weather wise because we get more rain than snow, but because of the lights and decorations, time spent with family and friends, and most importantly a time for remembrance. With each holiday get together the one thing that is consistent no matter where you are is food.
This is the first of two holiday food blogs : Cookies

I have a couple recipes that I make year after year. One of them only make once a year much to my husband's disappointment. Don't get me wrong, I love it but it just has so much butter in it I have a hard time justifying it more than once a year. But never the less this is one recipe I plan to make every year as long as I can. It is tradition and a recipe I want to pass onto my kids.

Shortbread - Courtesy of my Grandmother
2 C Butter soften ( Yes one pound!)
1 C Powder Sugar
1/2 C Corn Starch
3 C Flour
1 t Vanilla



Mix all ingredients together on a low speed or by hand then roll into balls about the size of a golf ball, you can also you a mini scoop if you have one. The dough will be pretty smooth and soft. If it is hard to work with just pop it into the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. You can also make it the day before and just refrigerate until you are ready to use.
I like to press down with a fork so they cook more evenly. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 325 degrees. The color will not change much when baking so check around the edges for a little darkening. The bottoms will be a nice light golden color. You can also place candied cherries in the middle before baking for some color.

Oatmeal Raisin -
I did not have a recipe for this so I just found one in my handy everything cookbook.

Sugar Cookies - After years of trial and error I think I figured out the perfect combo of cookie and frosting for best taste.

3/4 C Sugar
10 T Softened Butter
1 t Baking Powder
1/2 t Salt
2 T Milk
2 t Vanilla Extract
1 Egg
2 C Flour

Beat sugar, butter, baking powder and salt on high till creamy. Add milk, egg & vanilla on low until well blended. Stir in flour by hand. Divided dough in 2 halves then refrigerate for one hour.
Roll out on floured surface about 1/4-1/2 inch thick then cut out with desired cookie cutters. Place on greased cookie sheet or baking mat. Bake for 6-8 minutes at 350 degrees. These cookies will also be pretty light colored when done.

Frosting -
2 C Powdered Sugar
1 T Soften Butter
1/2 t Vanilla
2-4 t Milk

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Mix together until smooth (add in milk a teaspoon at a time). You can then separate into small bowls and add food coloring of choice.

So those are a couple of my go to cookies for the holidays. As always please let me know if you have any questions or comments. If you try them out let me know how you liked them.