THE Quiche

This recipe really should be called "Pepper Cheese Quiche" because it has delicious roasted red bell peppers and tons and tons of cheese, but calling it "THE Quiche" is also fitting since it is the ONLY quiche I will be making from now on.  My family proclaimed it the best quiche they've ever had, and they've had a lot of quiche!

THE Quiche

by Erin Taylor
                                                                                                                               Oven 375 deg.

6 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 1/2 C. whole cream (no milk for this baby!)
1 C. grated Mozzerella Cheese
1/2 C. grated Cheddar/ Jack cheese
1/2 C. Pepper Jack cheese, grated
*1/4 C. roasted Red Bell Peppers, chopped (in the jar, usually in the pickle section, or Italian section)
**1/4 C.  Jalapeno Artichoke Dip (I buy it from Costco)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pre-made pie shell, baked about 10 minutes at 350 deg. (store bought works great!)


Beat the eggs and egg yolk until frothy. Stir in the rest of the ingredients.  Pour into baked pie shell and bake at 35 deg. for about 50  minutes, or until the center puffs up slightly and no longer "jiggles".  Let cool slightly before serving.

* You may choose to swap out red peppers for chopped spinach or even green onions. Keep it simple, though. This quiche is best with light ingredients
** If you don't have this dip, use 3 Tbsp. Cream Cheese, softened, 2 Tbsp Fresh Parmesan Cheese, grated, and 1 small can of green chilis for a decent substitute.

Too hot for cooking Greek Tortellini Salad

Yesterday I was just hot! Too hot to cook(and no wonder when it is 111 degrees outside). So based on random inspirations from around the web, I came up with this salad and it was amazing!

1 head of romaine/red/green lettuce chopped
1 cup chopped tomatoes
4 hard boiled eggs, sliced
1 can olives, drained
2 cucumbers, chopped
1/4 cup of feta
1 bag cheese tortellini, cooked according to directions on pkg.

Add all ingredients in a bowl and toss together. Top with your favorite Greek dressing.

My favorite is from Our Best Bites.

Voila! Dinner! My family loved it!

Homemade noodles for chicken noodle soup

In the bowl of your mixer combine:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

In another bowl, whisk together:
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/3 cup water

Add liquid to dry mixture and mix until well combined. Knead for 3 minutes or so. Divide dough in half and roll out thin (1/8ish inch thick) on a floured surface. (I cheat and do this with my kitchenaid pasta roller attachment.)

Let the flattened dough sit for 20ish minutes. Cut into noodles with a pizza cutter. Add individually to your soup about 10 minutes before serving.  

Italian Veggie Chicken Casserole

I found this recipe on pinterest and made it with some modifications for dinner tonight. It got great reviews from my family and it is easy peasy and perfect for taking meals in to friends (is it just me or are you always on the hunt for those kind of recipes too? Please share your favorites if you have them.)

I served this over bowtie pasta (but you could use any kind of pasta or even spaghetti squash or julienned zucchini or really even serve it alone) and paired it with my favorite Easy French Bread and a simple salad.

Combine the following ingredients in a bowl and stir together:

    4-5 tomatoes, chopped

    2 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly or minced  

    Jar of artichoke hearts in water, drained and copped

    2-3 zucchinis, chopped

    2 Tbsp. EVOO

    1 tsp. sugar

    1 Tbsp. flour

    A little bit of Salt and Pepper

Spread the tomato/veggie mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 pyrex dish and top with 1-1.5 lbs. of chicken breasts or tenders. Salt and Pepper the chicken.

Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes (or longer if your chicken breasts are larger) until the chicken is almost done (still a hint of pink when you cut into the chicken). Remove from the oven, uncover and top with shredded cheese (I like monterey jack, but you could definitely use mozzarella). Broil the dish uncovered for 3-5 minutes until the cheese is golden brown and the veggies peeking through are caramelized.

Top with chopped fresh basil. 

Cooking notes: 

1.  Romas are ideal, but I used a combination of romas, de-seeded slicing tomatoes, and even a handful of cherry tomatoes

2.  You could definitely change this recipe up to give it variety/use up what you have on hand. Some things you could use instead of or in addition to the artichoke hearts and zucchini: asparagus, bell peppers, summer squash, mushrooms, spinach, cannelini beans

3. I always butterfly my chicken breast halves before freezing them, so they are more streamlined for storing/stacking in my freezer and more importantly because they defrost and cook faster. For this recipe I actually cut the chicken into smaller pieces to make it easier to serve later.

4. I plan to make this dish and freeze it...I would leave off the cheese and basil and add those after cooking. I will update with details when I try it.

Honey Dijon chicken

Tried this new chicken marinade today and it got voted into the regular rotation by my family, kids included. It is super simple, but has a great flavor. We served it with corn and tomato salad and baked sweet potatoes. 

1/3 c. Dijon mustard

1/4 c. Honey

2 Tbsp. Mayonnaise

1 tsp. steak sauce

 

Combine all ingredients in a ziploc bag and add chicken breasts or tenders. Marinate for at least 30 minutes. Cook on the grill. Enjoy!

One Pan Tomato Basil Chicken

I came across this recipe on pinterest and despite my lack of fresh garden grown tomatoes, fell in LOVE with it when I made it last night for dinner. As an added bonus, it is a one pan meal and cooks up super quickly.

2 chicken breasts (I sliced mine horizontally so they were thinner to get more even cooking)
salt and pepper to taste
italian seasoning to taste
2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
2 tsp. minced fresh garlic
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
4 Tbsp. cold butter

freshly grated parmesan cheese (totally forgot to add this, but was delicious without it)
pasta

Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and italian seasoning. Heat oil in a pan. Add chicken when oil is hot. Cook for 4-5 minutes on each side. Add chopped tomatoes. Add fresh basil. Add cold butter. Add minced garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with grated parmesan cheese and serve over pasta.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Citrus season is fast approaching in the AZ and our neighbors have a lemon tree that hangs over the fence near our pool. The lemons are still green, but they have given us free reign to pick any lemons on our side, so in honor of that, I wanted to share our favorite way ever to use lemons. My kids request these cookies on a regular basis, and it is rare that they last longer than a few hours around this place! Since you roll them in powdered sugar the kids love to help too, which is really fun. I found this recipe on pinterest and you can check it out at the original source with gorgeous photos to boot.

Makes 2-3 dozen small cookies

½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking powder
⅛ tsp. baking soda
1-½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Add salt, baking powder, baking soda and flour and mix until just combined. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.