what do you want to eat?

easy quiche

In the middle of winter is probably not the time to be posting about quiche.  But a friend of mine of Facebook had a friend ask her about quiche, and I remembered I'd taken photos of the last quiche I made back in September specifically for this blog (phew, that was quite a sentence).   I didn't get around to blogging about it.  So, now that I've remembered, I will tell you all about it. 

This particular recipe comes from an old cookbook of mine entitled "The Starving Students Cookbook" (I should note the version I have was published way back in 1994 and was given to me by my friend Lisa in 1995...if you are reading this...Thanks Lisa!).  The quiche recipe is the only recipe I still use regularly from this cookbook, mainly because its very versatile and as I said in the title of this post, easy.  

This cookbook has seen a lot of use over the years.

The original recipe is entitled "Quiche in a Blender".  I've kicked it up a few notches over the many years I've made it, and use whatever veggies I have on hand.  And I add bacon, cause bacon kicks everything up a few notches.

Here's the basic recipe straight from the book (which will be followed by my altered recipe):

Quiche in a Blender
from The Starving Students Cookbook 

1 cup milk
1/2 cup Packaged Pancake Mix (e.g., Bisquick)
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
3/4 cup grated jack, white, chedder or swiss cheese
1/2 cup frozen cut-up broccoli

Preheat oven to 350º

STEP 1:  Combine all ingredients, except broccoli, in blender container.  Blend on low speed 1 minute.

STEP 2: Thaw broccoli in cold water, drain and pat dry with paper towel.

STEP 3: Spread a bit of butter around inside the pie pan.  Lan broccoli in bottom of pie pan. Pour blender mixture over broccoli (being careful not to spill over the sides). Bake in 350º oven 40 minutes or till quiche is puffy and golden and doesn't jiggle when you move it.

footnote: You might want to try this with spinach for a terrific spinach quiche. 

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My version follows the above directions down to the "frozen broccoli".  I add a lot more stuff to my quiches than just broccoli (although, I'm sure just broccoli would be fine as well).  So, here's what I did last time I made this recipe.

Quiche in a Blender, Jen's Version

1 cup milk
1/2 cup Package Pancake Mix 
OR  1/2 cup whole wheat flour
      3/4 tsp baking powder
      1/4 tsp salt
      1/2 T shortening
2 eggs
2 Tablepoons real butter
3/4 cup of grated cheese (your choice) + extra for the top of the quiche 
Fresh herbs, finely chopped
2-3 slices of bacon, cut into smaller pieces (lardons)
Your choice of vegetables

And now, here's how I put it together.  You can either go ahead and blend the milk, flour, bp, salt, shortening, eggs, butter and grated cheese before sautéing or if you like to multitask like me, do it while you are sautéing your veggies.  

Start by sautéing the bacon until crispy.

Remove the bacon from the skillet and add in your roughly chopped vegetables.  This time around, I used kohlrabi and peter pan squash from my garden.  Season with salt and pepper.

Once your veggies are in and starting to cook a bit, then add in your chopped herbs.  I used chives, rosemary, basil, and a mystery herb from my garden.

Sprinkle on the herbs and keep tossing everything around.

Til it look something like this and you get some nice browned bits on your veggies.

Remove the veggies and add in some chopped greens.  I used swiss chard.  Kale or collards or spinach would be lovely as well.  Saute your greens until softened.

Butter the pie pan.  Here is another way I differ.  I like to layer my quiche.  So, put about 1/3 of the bacon, veggies and greens in the pan.  Pour about 1/3 of the blended mixture on top.  Then repeat until everything is used up.  Try to end with a layer of the blended mixture.

Then, sprinkle on some more cheese for the topping.  I usually add a bit of parmesan on top too.

Bake at 350º for about 40 minutes or until it looks like this.  

It's really yummy and  you don't miss the pie crust at all.  Enjoy!!

roast chicken and vegetable pizza

Yet again I am without a picture.  I meant to take a photo today, but Denny and I ate the leftovers before I remembered.  lol!  Oh well, next time.  I did manage to get a photo of the double roast chicken that I made again this weekend.  Man is it good.  This time I added some vegetables around the chicken about 30 minutes before it was done cooking and also added a tray of veggies on a lower rack.  For the veggies, I melted 1 tablespoon of butter in 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil.  I tossed in chopped rosemary and chopped garlic and let it simmer and flavor the oil.  Then, I poured the mixture on my veggies and tossed to coat.  I sprinkled on some salt and put them in to roast with the chickens.

Now, onto the featured recipe.  I used my leftover veggies and some of my leftover chicken to make pizza last night. 

Roasted Chicken and Vegetable Pizza

pizza dough (or premade crust)

1-2 tablespoons pesto (homemade or store bought)

1/2 cup of ricotta cheese (I didn't measure, so this is a generous guesstimate)

freshly grated parmesan cheese

leftover roast chicken (or rotisserie or whatever leftovers you have), chopped or shredded

leftover roasted veggies, chopped as small as you like

a couple of handfuls of mozzerella cheese

1/2-1 tsp. of chopped fresh rosemary

 I rolled out my own pizza dough (from my treasured Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book) and topped it with homemade pesto (I typically use one ice cube sized cube of pesto and add a little olive oil to thin it out).  Spread the pesto around almost to the edges.  Then, smooth over some ricotta cheese.  It will mix with the pesto a little bit and make a nice base for your pizza.  Grate some parmesan cheese on top of the pesto/ricotta mixture.  Then, top with the roasted vegetables and the roasted chicken.  I don't have quantities here, just use as much as you like.  Toss a couple of handfuls of mozzerella cheese on top (again, as much or as little as you like) and then sprinkle on the chopped rosemary.  Bake according to your pizza crust instructions and enjoy!

sausage zucchini boats

Another recipe from my mom's recipe box.  This is one I remember from my childhood...it's so nice to taste those flavors from your past.  I added a couple of things to the recipe (of course), and they were quite yummy.  They also freeze nicely.  I haven't reheated any yet, but I think a quick zip in the microwave should do the trick.

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Sausage Zucchini Boats

4 medium zucchini

1/4 lb. bulk pork sausage

handful of shredded carrots - i thought the recipe could use a little more color and veg

1 clove of garlic

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup fine cracker crumbs (I used bread crumbs)

1 slightly beaten egg

1/2 cup parmesean cheese

1/2 tsp. monosodium glutenate (I did not use this..and it was fine without)

1/4 tsp. salt

dash of pepper

1/4 tsp. thyme

Cook whole zucchini in boiling salted water until barely tender (7-10 minutes).  Meanwhile, cook sausage, carrot, onion, and garlic in a pan over medium heat.  Drain excess fat.

Cut zucchini in half lengthwise.  Scoop out the middles and mash.  Stir mashed zucchini with sausage mixture and remaining ingredients (reserving 2 tablespoons of parmesan for the top).  Mix well and spoon into the zucchini shells.  

Sprinkle with remaining parmesean.

Bake in a 350º oven for 25-30 minutes.  Makes 4 servings (2 boats per person).

sweet potato latkes

While Denny was away last weekend, I tried to come up with something fun and easy that Dylan maybe would eat.  One of my recent cookbook purchases is Cat Cora's Cooking from the Hip.  That's where I found the recipe for this easy Sweet Potato and Scallion Latkes.  They were really yummy, but Dylan was not interested in even trying them.  Even though he loves sweet potatoes.  Oh well.

Toddler note:  I served these with steamed broccoli and pan fryed chicken (simply cooked with salt and pepper with olive oil in the pan).  Dylan ate a few pieces of proccoli and some of the chicken.  I reheated the left over sweet potato fries from a couple of nights before and he scarfed those down.

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Sweet Potato and Scallion Latkes
by Cat Cora

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled
2 large eggs beaten
1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 scallions, finely chopped
about 1/2 cup of vegetable oil for frying
3 tablespoons choped fresh chives or scallions for garnish, or 1/2 cup creme fraiche and 1/3 pound smoked trout (I didn't garnish or make a sauce....not just fo rme and Dylan)

Grate the sweet potatoes. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, flour, salt and pepper.  Add the sweet potatoes and the scallions and mix until the potaotes are well coated.

Heat 3 to 4 tablespoons of the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until the oil is hot but not smoking.  Spoon 1 tablespoon of the potato mixture into the oil and flatten with a spatula to about 3 inches in diameter. Repeat, adding 2 to 4 more latkes and more oil as needed.  Don't crowd the pan.  Reduce the heat to medium and cook until golden, about 2 minutes on each side.  With a spatula transfer the latkes to a plate covered with a paper towl to drain, then transfer to an oven rpoof platter and keep warm in a 300º oven.

Note:  I tried to half this recipe, but it seemed with my one sweet potato that I still needed more batter, so I added another egg and a bit more flour.  Mine don't look nearly as cakey as hers do in the cookbook.  But they were yummy.

jamaican jerk burgers and sweet potato fries

These are some darn good burgers...one of Denny's favorites.  The original recipe comes from Everyday with Rachel Ray magazine. I made a few modifications...I use ground turkey instead of ground pork...and I don't put as much bacon on each burger (although, I do LOVE bacon..just thought I'd cut down on the fat involved).  I also switched out the apples in the slaw topping for shredded carrots...they have a bit more crunch and less sogginess.  I also make my own jerk seasoning, because I couldn't find any at the grocery store the first time I made these. 

The sweet potato fries are sweet potatoes cut into strips, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted on a cookie sheet for about 15-20 minutes at 425º, tossing about halfway through (when the underside is browned a bit).   These are quite yummy, but a little on the limp side.  Next time I'm going to try putting them on a rack  so they aren't sitting in the oil and see if that helps crisp them up a bit.

Toddler Note:  Dylan loves the fries (it took a couple of different servings for him to try one).  He also likes the burger....but only if it's mama's burger he's eating off of.

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Jerk Pork Cheeseburgers with Green Apple Slaw
Jamie Miller
From Every Day with Rachael Ray
March 2008

SERVES 4
Prep Time: 35 min
Cook Time: 20 min

         2 granny smith apples, peeled, grated and patted dry [here's where I use a couple of handfuls of shredded carrots instead of apples]
          Grated peel of 1 lemon plus 1 1/2 tablespoons juice
          1/2 cup mayonnaise
          1/3 cup chopped chives
          3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
          2 tablespoons Jamaican jerk seasoning, such as McCormick [see recipe for Jerk Seasoning below]
          1 1/2 pounds ground pork [or ground turkey]
          8 slices applewood smoked bacon [I usually go with 4 slices]
          4 ounces smoked cheddar cheese, thinly sliced
          4 kaiser rolls, split and toasted

1. In a medium bowl, toss the apples with the lemon peel and juice. Add the mayonnaise, chives, 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup and 1/2 tablespoon jerk seasoning; stir to combine; refrigerate.

[I change the order when using carrots.  Whisk together the lemon juice, lemon zest, mayo, chives, 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup and 1/2 tablespoon jerk seasoning.  Then stir in carrots and refrigerate.]

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup and 1 1/2 tablespoons jerk seasoning. Add the ground pork and combine. Shape into four 1-inch-thick patties, pressing your thumb in the center of each to prevent it from bulging.

3. In a large nonstick skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain, reserving the skillet with the drippings [I typically drain out about half of the drippings and then use the rest]. Cover the bacon with foil to keep warm. Heat the bacon drippings over mediumhigh heat until sizzling. Add the pork patties and cook for 4 minutes; flip, lower the heat to medium and cook for 3 minutes more. Lower the heat to low and top each patty with a quarter of the cheese; cover the skillet and cook until the cheese is melted and the patties are cooked through, about 2 minutes more.

4. Place a pork patty on each toasted roll bottom; top with 2 bacon slices, a quarter of the apple slaw and a roll top.

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Jerk Seasoning
(adapted from allrecipes.com)

2 tablespoons dried minced onion
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon allspice
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon grill seasoning (McCormick brand) --this contains salt and pepper along with a little cayenne, if you like your seasoning spicier then add more cayenne
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

Mix together and store in an airtight container.  For more flavor, use whole seeds, toast and then grind.