Easy Quiche

This was a great quiche we made for a quick dinner, the best thing is that they are easy to make and can have endless combinations. Enjoy!

1 frozen pie crust thawed

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups dairy (most recipes use heavy cream or half and half but I used 1% milk and it was great)

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated

2 cups or so of fillings (for the one in the picture we used a large sauteed onion, Swiss cheese, and American Cheese)

salt and pepper to taste (and a spur of the moment decision to add in some garlic powder)

In a mixing bowl beat eggs, parm cheese, and milk together, add in salt, pepper, and any other seasonings. Lay out the pie crust in the dish, place any fillings in the crust. I usually put meat at the bottom (if we use any), then vegis, then diced up cheese. Pour the egg and milk mixture over the fillings and bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Keep an eye towards the end of the time because you don't want the top to burn, but you want it to be cooked all the way through (test by inserting a fork and see if it comes out clean). Now some people put the cheese on top of the quiche and then bake it but I find that then sometimes the cheese burns before the egg is cooked through. Check out my golden crust... :)

Yummy Quiche Fillings

Meats- ham, bacon, steak-ums, sausage, tuna, ground beef

Vegis (I usually cook them a little first)- onions, peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, mushrooms, asparagus, spinach, zucchini, cauliflower,

Cheese- basically any... Swiss, American, cheddar, jack, Parmesan, goat, Gouda, cream cheese, Munster

Seasonings- salt, pepper, garlic powder, dill, thyme, basil, parsley, cumin, nutmeg, hot sauce, mustard, salsa,

Some people also add in home fries or breakfast potatoes!

Experiment with what you have on hand and post if you come up with anything good!

Irish Potatoes- a St. Patty's Day treat :)

MMM mmm good. Here's the recipe:


- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 4 oz. regular cream cheese (not lowfat or whipped)
- 7 oz. shredded coconut/coconut flakes
- 1 lb. powdered sugar, plus extra for coating hands
- 2 tbsp. ground cinnamon (I used a little bit more)

Preparation:
With mixer, cream together cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl. Mix in sugar and vanilla, being careful to add sugar slowly to avoid creating a large sugar cloud. Stir in coconut flakes. Put cinnamon into small bowl.

Coat dry hands with a little powdered sugar and using your hands take small pieces of mixture (about 2 teaspoons apiece) and form into potato shape. Drop potatoes into cinnamon and roll to coat. Place on baking sheet. When all the potatoes have been formed and dipped in cinnamon, refrigerate for several hours until firm.

These were so creamy and yummy. As you roll and coat these with cinnamon, you'll notice they get a little too creamy and tough to work with. When this happens, put the mixture in the refrigerator for a few minutes, then try again. You'll want to keep the potatoes at room temp or cooler once they're made so they don't get too sticky, but this was a great recipe.

Source: http://entertaining.about.com/od/stpatricksday/r/irishpotatcandy.htm

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

I failed on this one, as I found the recipe online, made it about a month ago, and didn't post it right away. Tonight, I went to find the recipe online again and couldn't find it...I do remember that we used about a pound of chicken, shredded/cut into smaller pieces. We also used chicken broth, water, noodles (we actually found chicken pot pie square noodles), veggies (potatoes, peas, green beans and carrots), and a little salt. It turned out yummy- a little more noodle-y than soupy, but still good :) Yum Yum

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos

Adapted from Clean Food by Terry Walters, this recipe was a very welcome and colorful winter dish during what can sometimes feel like a very earth-toned food season. I was shocked at how quick and easy assembly was. Walters provides a recipe for cashew cheese as a vegan topper (below), but I used about a half cup of a cheddar Colby mix.

Ingredients:
3 sweet potatoes or yams
3 tablespoons lime juice
1.5 cups black beans (I used 1 15 oz can of great northern beans, since it was all I had on hand)
1/2 red onion diced (I used a whole red onion)
1 large tomato diced (I used a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes since they're not currently in season)
8-10 soft corn tortillas (I used whole grain flour tortillas)
1.5 cups prepared salsa
1/2 cup corn (I switched the corn/salsa ratio and used a 15 oz can of corn and a half cup of salsa)
1/4 cup chopped scallions (I didn't have this, but that was probably for the best with all the red onion I used)

Directions:
1. Bake sweet potatoes for 45 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit while you prep your ingredients. Remove and cool enough to peel.
2. Mash peeled sweet potatoes with lime juice.
3. Fold in black beans, onion and tomato.
4. Spoon filling into the center of each tortilla, roll and place, seam side down, in a shallow baking dish.
5. Spoon salsa over top and place under the broiler (mine was at 500 degrees Fahrenheit) for 3 minutes.
6. Remove from broiler, top with corn and cheese and broil for 2 more minutes (I did 4 since I had extra corn).
7. Remove from broiler again and top with chopped scallions.

YUM.

I will make sure I have black beans on hand when I try this again. I just didn't think ahead to soak and cook dried beans. The great northern beans weren't bad, but they weren't quite right. Also, I think a half cup of red onion, or using a small onion is good enough. I'm a huge fan of raw red onions, but a whole medium onion definitely lingered as an aftertaste. I think I will stick with the salsa/corn switch next time I make this, but I can't wait until it's summer and I have some fresh tomato to use in the sweet potato mash. If you use frozen or fresh corn, Walters recommends you blanch it before using.

Cashew cheese:
(which I intend to try next time, since it seems like it will only add to the awesome nutritional content that this dish has to offer)

1/2 cup cashew pieces
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon canola oil

Grind cashews to a fine meal in a food processor. Add nutritional yeast and process briefly to combine. Add oil and process until you have a moist meal (do not over process or meal will become dough-like). Set aside to use as topping during step 6 above.

Creamy Italian Chicken

I got this recipe from Shayna who got it from someone she babysits for (Mary) who said it was one of their favorite crock pot recipes. Had to try it out and was not disappointed!

2 large chicken breasts (thats what we had in the freezer, the recipe called for 4 chicken breasts so use that if you can)
1 envelope Italian Salad Dressing mix
¼ cup water
8oz cream cheese softened
1 can condensed chicken soup (don't add the water)
2 cups mushrooms sliced thin

Put the chicken, water, and Italian seasonings into the crock pot and let it cook for 3-4 hours on low. Top with the sliced mushrooms and then place the cream cheese/soup mixture on top of the mushrooms and chicken (this looked gross... but don't worry!) Let it cook for another hour and then mix everything around. If you're hungry serve now or keep it on low till you're ready. Serve over rice or noodles (we used elbow macaroni). This meal was amazing! So many flavors, the chicken was super moist and could be cut with a fork, yumm yumm yumm! Thank you Shayna and Mary!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Two Ways

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole (the way I have always made it)- This recipe is super easy and great for warm ups all week. Got me through many weeks in college/student teaching :)

6-8 Chicken Breasts, cooked and cut into bite sized pieces
2 cans cream of chicken soup (mix it with the required water)
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
2 cups sliced ham (you can use less if you like less ham)
2 cups of bread crumbs
1 stick of butter

In a 9x13 inch pan spread out the chicken, top with the soup, then top with ham and the cheese. Melt the butter and mix with the breadcrumbs, put this mixture on top of the cheese layer. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees uncovered.

You can eat this as is or serve it on top of rice or pasta.

Chicken Cordon Bleu (a more grown up way)- Just tried this recipe this week and it was great and not as hard as I would have thought.

4 Chicken breasts “butterflied” (cut horizontally but not all the way through to make a bigger thinner piece of chicken)-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqjfQP3Mp2k if you're confused
6 slices of swiss cheese
4 slices of ham
1 egg scrambled with a fork
1 ½ cup seasoned breadcrumbs

Start with the butterflied chicken, place it in between two pieces of wax paper and use a heavy bottomed frying pan to pound it so the chicken pieces are pretty thin and even. Top each piece of chicken with 1 and a half slices of swiss cheese and a piece of ham. Tightly roll up the chicken and dip it in the egg and then roll it in the breadcrumbs. Place it seam side in a lightly greased baking ban and cook at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until chicken is cooked.