Real Moms Make Quiche

Don't know if you've seen that list that supposed 'real moms' do, but one of them was that they don't make Quiche. PFFFT!

Quiche is a good meal to use leftover veggies, cheeses and meats (faux of course)! And it's pretty easy to make:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. You will also need a 9" refrigerated pie crust, or you can make your favorite recipe. If you have a frozen pie crust, make sure to take it out and leave it at room temperature for about 15 minutes.



Next, in a small bowl, mix together:

2 cups chopped baby spinach, packed
1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss Cheese (I used a combo of goat cheese, mozzarella, and cheddar)
1 pound bacon (I used a handful of soy Bacon Bits)




Next, in your food processor or blender, combine:

6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Then place the contents of the spinach bowl into the piecrust. Then pour the egg mixture on top. Bake 35-45 minutes until the egg mixture is set. Cut into 8 wedges.


And the final product:



REVIEW: 3 thumbs up. My youngest has suddenly decided she hates all things with eggs.

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Muffin Mania

Remember when I would take a million step by step pics of the whole recipe process? We loved that, right? Well guess what! I have like 8 pics to add for this entry. Huzzah!

Okay, tonight we had double muffin breakfast dinner and ain't nothing better.
Our first recipe comes from the super awesome site Cooking With My Kid.  We tweaked the style a bit and Teagan says they need a cuter name than Egg & Cheese toast cups... So I give you Super Flower Toast Cups!

Ingredients:
6 slices wheat bread
6 slices bacon (we didn't use)
4 eggs + 1 tablespoon milk, lightly beaten together
1/4 cup shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese
butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Use a rolling pin to flatten bread. (We removed the crusts, you don’t have to.) Butter one side of the bread and then place buttered side down into a muffin cup. You’ll need to overlap the bread a bit to fit it all the way into the cup. Press against the sides to form a hole in the center. Repeat this for all 6 slices of bread and then lightly spray the insides with olive oil cooking spray.   Cook bacon on a paper towel in the microwave for 2 or 3 minutes. The bacon will not be crispy – it will just be par-cooked.  Place one par-cooked bacon slice in each bread cup and then pour some egg into each cup dividing evenly among all bread cups. Sprinkle the tops with cheese and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until set. Use a butter knife to loosen bread cups. Serve warm.

Our second muffin is a Pineapple Upside-Down Muffin

INGREDIENTS
TOPPING
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts, or pecans (optional)
1 10-ounce can pineapple slices

MUFFINS
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons pineapple juice, or orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, (not drained)
1 cup grated carrot, (1 large)
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup raisins, preferably baking raisins (see Ingredient note)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.
To prepare topping: Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar into each muffin cup. Sprinkle nuts, if using, over the sugar. Stack pineapple slices and cut into 6 wedges. Place 2 wedges in each muffin cup.
To prepare muffins: Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.
Whisk eggs and brown sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. Whisk in oil, juice and vanilla. Stir in crushed pineapple. Make a well in the dry ingredients; add the wet ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Stir in carrot, oats, raisins and nuts, if using. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups (they'll be quite full).
Bake the muffins until the tops are golden brown and firm to the touch, 15 to 25 minutes. Immediately loosen edges and turn muffins out onto a baking sheet. Restore any stray pineapple pieces and nuts. Let cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve upside-down, either warm or at room temperature.

TIPS & NOTES
Ingredient Note: Baking raisins, moister than regular ones, ensure a better texture. To substitute regular raisins, plump them first: soak in boiling water for 10 minutes; drain well.

I added wheat germ and ground flax and they were good but drier than I prefer so next time I will add a bit of applesauce.

~Venus

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New Year, New Recipes

Welcome to 2011! One of my personal goals this year is to get back to cooking more real foods and not as many "oh crap, we are so busy but I have to feed them something" meals. I also want to add more vegan meals to our rotation.  This first recipe is NOT vegan though but it was very yummy. This is from the current Jan/Feb issue of Vegetarian Times. I will post it as written and of course tell you my changes.

Goat Cheese-Asparagus Crustless Quiche


1 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch lengths. Tips reserved for garnish (optional)
1 tsp olive oil
2 large shallots
2 cloves garlic, peeled
5 ozs fresh goat cheese
2 large eggs
5 large egg whites

1. Coat 4 ramekins or a 9 inch square baking pan with cooking spray. Toss asparagus in oil in bowl, season with salt/pepper if desired. Place ramekins in oven, preheat to 425.

2. Meanwhile, place shallots and garlic in food proc., process until finely minced. Add goat cheese, proc until creamy; then add eggs and egg whites, puree until smooth. Salt/pepper if desired.

3. Pour egg mixture over asparagus in ramekins once oven is preheated, stirring to evenly distribute vegetables. Bake 15 minutes or until the tops are light brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean.



Ok I subbed broccoli for asparagus and green onions for shallots. I used a 8x11 pan because it's what I had, didn't preheat the pan and the cooking time was more like 25min for me and the tops never really browned up. But it was really really good, even my son liked it and he's not a super huge fan of broccoli. I did steam the broc for just a bit because I wanted to make sure it wouldn't be crunchy.

~Venus

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More breakfast yum

Well I've already talked to you about boosting waffles and pancakes so now it's time to veggie up your eggs.


Veggie Frittatas are very easy and customized for your favorites.


Basically saute any veggies you like then pour your scrambled eggs on top, cook until mostly set and then finish off under the broiler until cooked. Sprinkle cheese on top (if you want) and cover for just a few minutes.



the white chunks in mine are actually little bits of brie left over from broc cheese soup.


  All Done





I made cinnamon raisin oatmeal to fill up the bottomless teen pit and served with fruit. My daughter cannot get enough of these adorable Clementines.


~Venus

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