Recipe: Quiche

We really like quiche, it is an easy "go to" meal for me because I almost always have a few eggs sitting around and some cheese and can usually find a few more things to put in there. This is also a crust-ess quiche. As much as I love the crust, I figure I save a few calories by leaving the crust off. However, feel free to throw in a crust and bake it a little before you put the quiche in or just use one of thos frozen crusts.

I start out by taking 3-5 eggs, depending on your pie plate. For the one pictures below in the pink glass pie plate, I used 4 eggs. Take the 3 eggs and crack them in a bowl and add one slightly heaping teaspoon of mayonnaise...whisk them all together or use a fork and just beat the tar out of them until it is all well blended. Then add 1/4th to 1/2 cup of milk...or if you are feeling really rich, use cream or half and half...its so good! Anyway, the amount again depends on the size of your plate. Tonight I made 2 quiches and I thought the plates looked the same size, one was glass and one was metal and for the metal one I had to add another egg. Anyway, take the egg mixture and set aside.

Now, spray the pie plate with Pam or some other kind of non-stick spray. Then add your fixins. For this one pictures, I had some leftover ham that I slices up and I sauteed some onions and bell peppers. You really can add whatever you think would be good, I have had all sorts of quiches over the years and have loved almost all of them, even the ones I thought sounded totally bizarre. I put in the bottom of the pan probably about 1/2 cup of chopped up ham and probably 3-4 tablespoons of sauteed vegetables that I chopped up and spread throughout the plate. See below...



Then I added about 3 medium sized handfuls of cheese, in this case I used a Mexican blend but really you can use whatever floats your boat. Sprinkle the cheese over the ham and fixins.

Then take the egg mixture and pour it over the ham and onions and you are ready to bake.
Place the quiche in a 350 degree F oven and cook for about 35 minutes. Basically you want the eggs firm and the edges to be a little browned. If you use a faster melting cheese, the cheese may be brown as well.

Tonight I made 2 quiches and I will freeze one for later, they freeze really well. you can also cut them up into slices and freeze the slices individually and then grab them in the morning on your way to work and just pop them in the microwave for a minute. I actually made quite a bit of the onions and peppers and ham bits so I put the rest back in the saute pan and added some eggs and scrambled them. This mixture went inside some whole wheat tortillas with cheese sprinkled in them and then wrapped up for a breakfast burrito or taco. I have some in the fridge that we will eat for breakfast the next 2 days and then I froze the rest for a quick grab and go breakfast like the quiche slices. I just wrap the burritos up in saran wrap and make sure they are sealed well, then pop them in the freezer. I wrap them up individually so they are easy to grab and warm up.

Some other yummy quiche combinations...

Ham and cheese

Spinach and artichoke with Gruyere

Tomatoe basil

Mushroom and bacon

Sausage and mushroom

Spinach and cheese

I put cheese in all my quiches, so its a given for me.

For breakfast, this is great with some fruit and crusty bread. For lunch or dinner, I would serve it with some crusty bread and probably a soup. This is a great brunch item as well and it also works well for a bridal or baby shower. You can easily double or triple the recipe and make it in a casserole dish, in fact I have a recipe for a fabulous Egg Puff that is really excellent for showers, I will post that recipe later, or email me and I can send it to you. If you make up a 3 egg quiche and after you put it in you think you might need a little more egg (like I did tonight), then all you have to do is beat another egg and just pour it on top and make sure it evens out by moving it around a little with a fork.

If you want it more decadent, then I would use the half and half or cream and use a little more cheese or fancy cheese like Gruyere. Gruyere is a rich nutty Swiss cheese made in Gruyere, Switzerland that is really stinky but tastes so wonderfully delicious. I first had this cheese when my mom and sister brought some back from their trip to Europe and they toured the cheese place in Gruyere...it was so good. I occasionally splurge at the grocery store and get a small hunk (its expensive) and indulge in some fabulous recipes with my Gruyere. I have heard someone say that smelling a good cheese is like smelling the feet of angels...meaning its very smell but also heavenly.

Enjoy!

Fun for Kids: Polka Dot Pumpkin

Hello! Happy Hallow's Eve...or is that tomorrow night? hmmm? dunno...

Anyway...we had our ward craft day a few weeks ago and they provided a nursery for the kiddos. One of the activities was a polka dotted pumpkin....all you do is take a normal pumpkin from the grocery store and give the kids some golf tees and a play hammer! Then, they can proceed to hammer in the golf tees and make a polka dotted pumpkin. You can leave the tees in the pumpkin or take them out and reuse them to make another hole. This is low maintenance, you don't have to gut the pumpkin or anything...just let them at it.

I would suggest adult supervision anytime a hammer is being used, even a toy one!

Have a great, happy, and safe Halloween! If you come to my house, there is a really good chance you will get fruit snacks and yogos instead of candy...I am trying to encourage healthier eating! ( I know, what a DRAG!)

Be beautiful! It becomes you
Heather

HFPE Idea- Saving pennies!

My sister's ward just had an HFPE that covered 2 topics: saving pennies and "your favorites". The first part they had someone offer suggestions on ways to save money and find freebies. Below are some of the suggestions (thanks to Lindsey, Tonya, and Cori!) I think you could also go further if you needed more classes or time to fill by adding a class on budget cooking ideas.

Ideas on saving big with just a little effort

• Go to freebie web-sites, Tonya suggested checking out the freebie groups on yahoo (Heart of Texas Free-cycle)
• MyPoints.com -If you know a member of My points, be sure to get a referal from them so they get extra points! But you can join either way. *Printable coupons*
• Craig’s List is a local classified adds, look for the “free section”
• Go to the specific web-sites of the companies who make your favorite product On-line surveys often reward you with free items or coupons
• Coke bottle caps can be redeemed to give you spending money at the Coke store
• Cash in your rebates (Office Max & Office Depot often have these available)
• Sign-up for Newsletters and Birthday Clubs (Sonic, Dairy Queen, Chuck E. Cheese) AFullCup.com is “a freebie Mecca”
• Target.com (look for Super Target.com at the bottom for coupons)
• Mr. Ink Jet is good for printer ink savings
• TotallyFreeStuff.com
• Wal-Mart free samples (go to WalMart.com main stores now offer free sampler)
• Hobby Lobby.com gives a weekly coupon & for Michael’s on-line as well
  

Thanks for these great tips!

Then they also had the sisters bring something or somethings that were their "favorite things", like show and tell. I think this was similar to Oprah's favorite things...except less screaming and not free stuff for all. This was a way for sisters to share things they love with other sisters and you learned something about the sister as well.

Here is a sample of some of the things that were shared by some sisters. (I think this is a really fun thing, I have to think about what I would have brought!)

People's "Favorite Things"
-Pampered Chef mini-whip, Johnson & Johnson’s Soothing Naturals Baby Wash/Lotion
-National Geographic Magazine, Tabernacle CD, “Love is Spoken Here”
-One sister loves information, so she shared some research on heart attacks and second degree smoke
-Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight book series
-SA8 Pre-wash for spots on laundry (only available on-line), Color care Shielding Shine Mist by Biolage, Zero Frizz for hair
-Sketcher shoes ordered from endless.com where you can ship it back for free if they don’t fit.
-Facing the Giant (movie), Harry Potter book series
-Stampin’ Up!’s table top cutter (ka-chunk), Special K’s Chocolaty Cereal, 101 Meals to Cook in a Slow cooker, amazon.com for books, & usps.com for mailing stuff from home
-Feminine Screwdriver with changeable head

I have to agree with many of these items listed...the Stampin Up Paper Cutter is also one of my favorites, I just found Special K Chocolaty Cereal and am such a fan....and the Feminine screwdriver is something I have and love. I have a matching tape measure to go with it. It is my personal "tool set" and I keep it where I can always find it....plus its way to girlie for my hubbie to want to use it! Here is a picture of mine...

This is the hammer with all the components inside.
And this is the hammer once you unscrew the handle and take out the 3 different screwdrivers with different heads and sizes. This was given to me by my boss for Christmas a few years ago and I LOVE IT! It is a great gift for the girl who has everything!

Let's see....my favorite "things" would be chocolate cake, Estee Lauder Foundation ( I have a really hard time finding foundation that matches my PALE skin color and Estee Lauder is the ONLY one that works for me...believe me, I have tried TONS of products because I was in search of a cheaper brand...but I give up and will only wear Estee from now on...its true to me so I will be true to it! It was a bummer one day when I realized my real skin color was "translucent!")

Another favorite, I love Stampin Up Products for Scrapbooking and Card Making because everything matches...the paper matches the ribbon color, matches the buttons, etc. I really hate it when I buy lovely ribbon and paper and the reds do not match so now I just buy SU products because I can trust them and the quality is superb. You can view their catalog online http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/stampwithlinz/ and Lindsey is a great demonstrator and I am not biased at all!

I also love whole wheat pastry flour. I have been trying to substitute whole wheat for white wheat in a lot of my recipes and I have found that the ww pastry flour makes a good substitute on many things!

So, post a comment on your favorite things! I would love to hear some!

Make every day beautiful!

Heather