Spinach Quiche

Here's that quiche I teased you with on Friday. :) It takes about one good multitasking hour and a half if you get a premade pie crust.

Preheat: 450*, 325*
Category: Eggs

1 Deep pie crust
1/2 cups Onion, chopped & sautéed (1 med. onion)
6 slices Bacon, cooked
8 Eggs
1/2 cup Sour cream
1/2 cup Light cream
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/8 teaspoon Pepper
3 cups Spinach, lightly packed
2/3 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Swiss cheese, shredded

1. Prepare pie crust; poke holes all over and bake at 450* for 8 minutes. Cover baking crust with a double layer of foil. Bake crust an additional 4 minutes without foil.

2. Mix everything else together, in the above order.

3. Pour into cooled pastry shell.

4. Bake at 325* for 45 min. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. I experienced a longer bake time... Like 15 minutes extra Also, I like a lighter crust (my mom's pie crusts always turned black!), so I reuse that foil from step #1 to cover the edges. Then I covered the whole quiche when I realized I didn't want the top to brown any more and the insides to cook!

Rainbow Veggie Chili

We're nearing the end of the week, and thus nearing the best of the meatless recipes! I have NOT tried this recipe yet! It looked so good that I copied it down... And I have to say... I'd probably put meat in this anyway. :) TOMORROW'S recipe is a spinach quiche that I HAVE made, and it's amazing. Just a little something to look forward to.

Preheat: --
Group: Chilis & Soups

2 Tablespoons Oil
1 Zucchini, sliced
1 Yellow squash, sliced
1 Red bell pepper, diced
1 Green bell pepper, diced
1 Jalapeno, diced
4 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 Onion, chopped
1 can Crushed tomatoes, with liquid
1 6-ounce Tomato paste
1 15-ounce Black beans, drained
1 15-ounce Whole kernal corn, drained
1 15-ounce Chili beans in a spicy sauce
1 Tablespoon Chili powder
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
1/2 teaspoon Black pepper
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper

1. In oil, sauté the zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, jalapeno, garlic & onion.

2. Mix tomatoes with liquid, tomato paste, black beans, corn, chili beans into pot. Add seasonings.

3. Simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally.

The Perfect Potato

Sometimes I think we can overthink our dinners. I know I do! Our favorite recent dinner is to put out a bed of lettuce, top it with tuna salad, sprinkle a little mozzarella cheese on top. The kids devour the tuna salad, tuck in a few vegetables, and I sit back marveling that I don't serve that kind of dinner more often. With simplicity in mind! Today's recipe!

Preheat: 400*
Category: Potatoes

4 large baked potatoes, baked*
4 Tablespoons Butter
4 Tablespoons Sour cream
10 ounces Broccoli florets, frozen, coarsely chopped
1 cup Cheese, shredded

Optional:
1 cup Ham, chopped finely

* I like to microwave my potatoes--mmm. My microwave even has a setting for baking potatoes, so I wash 'em, poke 'em and press a few buttons.

1. Slit potatoes down the center, but not through to bottom.

2. With a fork, work in even portions of remaining ingredients.

3. Before serving, bake potatoes for 10 minutes at 400*.

Jana Glass' Marinara Sauce

I got this from my friend's blog--the marinara she made looked so fabulous, we all demanded the recipe!

2 Tablespoons Oil
3/4 Cup Onion, minced (1 med. onion)
1 Tablespoon Parsley
1 Large Clove Garlic, minced
4 Cups Tomato Purée, fresh
1-2 Tablespoons Basil
1 teaspoon Salt

1. Sauté onions until transluscent over medium heat.

2. Add parsley, garlic and cook about one minute.

3. Add tomatoes, basil and salt

4. Simmer until you have a sauce-like consistency. Stir occasionally so it doesn't stick.

Tips from Jana:

• 20 Roma tomatoes is about 8 Cups Tomato Purée
• Adding celery is good
• Experiment to your own taste with levels of onion, garlic & sugar
• Romas make for a good sauce because they're not as runny as other tomatoes.

Wonderful Fettucine Alfredo

This is sooooooo easy and good. Watch out for the calories though.....

Preheat: --
Group: Pasta

16 ounces Fettucine noodles
2 Tablespoons Butter
3/4 Cup Parmesan cheese, fresh
1/4 Cup Heavy cream

1. Cook fettucine noodles and set aside.

2. Combine butter, cheese and cream on a medium heat until thoroughly hot. I sometimes will do a variation of this based on what is in my pantry. Instead of heavy cream, I'll do milk and thicken it a little with flour... then I add the cheese and butter. It's not as good, but it's a decent substitute. OR, if you don't have fresh Parmesan, use the stuff you put on your spaghetti!

3. Toss noodles and sauce; serve hot.

Allie's Delicious Mac'n'Cheese

You need to start early--here's the breakdown of the time I spent on this dish!
* 20 multitasking minutes: Boiling water, macaroni noodles, greasing 8x13 pan, measuring & shredding cheeses and dicing ham.

* 2 minutes accepting a care package from my mom (from the post man!)

* about 5 minutes chasing my kids away from the cheese

* about 15 minutes thickening up the milk, flour and butter mixture

* about 5 minutes answering the phone.

So... the prep time is 35 uninterrupted minutes... :)  Don't forget to add in BAKE time, which is at least one hour (that should be plenty to get the mixture hot, bubbly and thickened) AND 20 minutes set time after baking.  That's a grand total of just shy of two hours.  The hour baking time is what I'm using to update this recipe, and it'll be used to get a salad ready, dishes washed and put away. ;)

Preheat: 350*
Group: Pasta

1 8-ounce package Macaroni noodles

5 Tablespoons Butter
5 Tablespoons Flour

1 Quart (4 Cups) Milk, warmed  (warming is important to keep your sauce from clumping!)
Salt & Pepper, to taste
1 Pinch Cayenne pepper

1/4 pound Ham, cooked & cubed
5 ounces Cheddar cheese, cubed
5 ounces Mozzarella, cubed
5 ounces Monterrey jack, cubed

Paprika, to taste, for garnish

1. Cook pasta to al dente and drain. It's important not to get it too cooked because it'll spend more yummy, sauce-absorbing time in the oven.


2. Melt butter and add flour. Whisk in the warm milk. Simmer until thick (5 minutes on low, gentle boil), then add salt, pepper and cayenne pepper seasonings.


3. Remove from heat and add the cheeses, ham.  If you want it meatless, leave out the ham.  I actually doubled the ham to a full half-pound.


4. Mix in the noodles


5. Pour into a greased baking dish, topping with paprika.


6. Bake at 350* for 45-60 minutes. I think I ended up leaving mine in for the full hour. But I got all of my dishes done, so what do you do. :)

7. Let dish rest for 20 minutes before serving.

Black Bean Soup

Thanks Susan for your contribution to meatless dishes week!

Preheat: --
Group: Soup

1 teaspoon Olive oil
1 pint Salsa
16 ounces Refried beans
15 ounces Black beans
14.5 ounces Chicken broth

Garnish:
Sour cream
Cheddar cheese, shredded
Cilantro

Serve with Tortilla chips

1. Heat oil over a medium heat.

2. Add salsa and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add refried beans, black beans and chicken broth; simmar until warmed (about 5 minutes).

4. Garnish and serve with tortilla chips.

Gramma Hargrove's Taco Dip (not to be confused with layered bean dip!)

It is so good. You have been warned. ;)

Layer #1 (spread):
2 Cans Refried Beans

Layer #2 (mix, spread):
3 Avocados, mashed
2 Tablespoons Lemon juice

Layer #3 (mix, spread):
1/2 Cup Sour cream
1/2 Cup Mayonaisse
1 Package Taco seasoning

Layer #4 (spread):
1 Pound Cheddar cheese, shredded

Layer #5 (spread):
3 Tomatoes, chopped

Layer #6 (spread):
1 Can (small) Olives, chopped

Layer #7 (spread):
3 Bunches Green onions, chopped

1. Spread each layer in order. I only use ONE bunch of green onions. My grandma really likes onions! ;)

2. Chill for at least an hour before serving.

3. Serve with tortilla chips. We always serve flour tortillas, and my mom would often serve this as a meal.