I love quiche. It is a great way to use up leftovers, sneak in some vegetables, have a meat free meal, have pie, get creative with your cooking. DH loves quiche. DD, DS and BG loooove quiche. It can be time consuming or a quickly whipped up meal. Really, how can you go wrong?
I tend to make several at a time, because I am lazy and prefer to buy my pastry instead of make it myself, and the pie shells come in either a smallish size or in a box of two. I buy the ones made with veg shortening instead of lard. I know, I know, higher in bad fats, blah blah blah but I frequently make them for vegetarians, so I like to make sure they'll eat them when all is said and done.
3 pie shells
10 large eggs
1 c milk
1 1/2 c older cheese (cheddar, swiss, whatever you have that will melt) diced
1 T butter. mmmm butter
1 head of kale cleaned, or frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained (lots easier, more bland)
1 onion med fine chopped
1/2 c mushrooms prepared the way you like them
1/3 c cooked ham(per quiche for omnivores)
salt and pepper to taste
I'm a weirdo and I dice my cheese for quiche. I find the flavour and appearance of the quiche when cut are enhanced by something bigger than a grate and smaller than cubed. I don't get a cheese layer in the quiche-I get this beautiful look of orange and yellow marbling.
I preheat the oven to 375, prick my thawed pie shells all over and put them in the oven for about ten minutes-when they look about half done. They aren't pasty looking anymore and you can start to see the bubbles of flakiness. I avoid the worry of a mushy crust this way, and the quiche filling is more likely not to leak into my crust. blech.
I grab my nice big cast iron pan, turn on the stove to medium or so,throw in the pat of butter and let that melt. I toss in the onions for about two minutes, just until soft and hot, add in the kale(if I'm using it). I stir it some, put the lid on and let it cook while my crust is browning. If I'm doing the spinach,I let the onions brown a bit more before adding the spinach. The quiche cooks much faster if the veggies are hot as it goes into the oven.
I crack the eggs into a medium bowl and add the milk, salt and pepper. I whisk it all together and put it to the side. I check all of my hot spots to make sure nothing is burning.
I pull out the precooked pie shells and put them into a shallow, lined cookie pan. I have had a few overflow issues, so using a tray like this keeps the mess from burning to my oven. Lining the tray means I don't have to try and scrape off the nasty burnt egg stuff. In general, I can fit two shells to a cookie tray.
First in are the vegetables-onion, greens and chopped mushrooms. then the ham and cheese. Depending on who is at dinner will determine how many quiche get ham. Usually at least one for my omnivores. Then doing my absolute best at being careful and fair, I pour the egg mixture into the filled shells. I give the filled quiche a gentle shake to make sure the egg mixture goes all the way to the bottom. If I have leftover filling, I make an omelet. If I see I need more filling, I mix an egg and a T of milk to top up the less full one.
Carefully, so as not to spill the quiche, I put them in the oven. I use the middle racks, and do two up, one down. I close the oven and set the timer for thirty minutes. When my timer dings, I check for doneness with a knife. The cheese may melt to it, but it shouldn't be goopy and jiggly. Think of a nice soft omelet; like that, fluffy not tough; moist not dry. Take it out and let it finish setting.
The beauty of quiche is all the different temperatures it can be served at, making it perfect for dinner, lunch, breakfast and brunch, or for those days when getting the kids to the table takes forever.
Fillings I have used instead of kale:
leftover roasted vegetables
broccoli
cauliflower
asparagus
odds of frozen vegetable medley bags
corn
bell peppers
leftover sweet potato and parsnips
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
bd's favourite potatoes
Every week, we get a delivery from Bryson's Organic Farm in Shawville. We've signed up for a two person basket, even though there are five of us, because we like to ease the children into new things. According to research I've read, it can take up to 20 tastes of a food before a child will tolerate the flavour of a new food on a regular basis. Kale took us a year and a bit. We are still working on cooked zuccini.
Anyway, we only get a two person portion of potatoes every week, so I save up the potatoes and we try to have this every two weeks or so...
8 medium potatoes, coarse chopped
2 largish onions, quartered
1 T safflower oil
1 T olive oil
5 grinds of the salt mill (1/2 t?)
2 grinds of the pepper mill (1/8 t?)
1/2 t dried basil leaves
I don't usually peel my potatoes, just cut out the yucky bits and green spots. It is an advantage to organic produce.
Once I've chopped the potatoes and onions, I put them in my round roasting pan with the lid. You know, the black enameled kind your grandmother probably used? That kind.
I rinse the veggies with cold water, in the pot, so there is a bit of water left on them, but they aren't sopping wet, then add everything else and stir it up.
I start up the BBQ and put it off heat. For those who don't know, that means I put it on the side that doesn't have the burners on, creating a bit of convection and reducing the chances that the bottom will burn before the potatoes are cooked.
The length of cooking time will vary, depending on the type and size of the potatoes, the ability of the Q you have and what else is on the grill. I generally leave it on for about an hour, shaking the pot and checking them every twenty minutes or so. They tend to caramelize nicely.
Anyway, we only get a two person portion of potatoes every week, so I save up the potatoes and we try to have this every two weeks or so...
8 medium potatoes, coarse chopped
2 largish onions, quartered
1 T safflower oil
1 T olive oil
5 grinds of the salt mill (1/2 t?)
2 grinds of the pepper mill (1/8 t?)
1/2 t dried basil leaves
I don't usually peel my potatoes, just cut out the yucky bits and green spots. It is an advantage to organic produce.
Once I've chopped the potatoes and onions, I put them in my round roasting pan with the lid. You know, the black enameled kind your grandmother probably used? That kind.
I rinse the veggies with cold water, in the pot, so there is a bit of water left on them, but they aren't sopping wet, then add everything else and stir it up.
I start up the BBQ and put it off heat. For those who don't know, that means I put it on the side that doesn't have the burners on, creating a bit of convection and reducing the chances that the bottom will burn before the potatoes are cooked.
The length of cooking time will vary, depending on the type and size of the potatoes, the ability of the Q you have and what else is on the grill. I generally leave it on for about an hour, shaking the pot and checking them every twenty minutes or so. They tend to caramelize nicely.
Monday, April 19, 2010
stuffed shells
On the weekend, I cooked to celebrate some family birthdays. My mother very kindly hosted, which made the seating thing much easier as there were 15 of us. The shorter children sat in the summer kitchen(sunny mud room)(5 kids there) at the bar and the rest of us sat in the dining nook at the large square table. There are two who don't eat meat, three who don't eat squash, four who don't eat greens, several who said they don't like tofu and one who would eat only meat if you let her.
We had a pork roast, a buttercup and butternut squash mash, a steamed kale, chard and broccoli medley, herbed french bread, a tossed salad and
Stuffed Shells
1 box large pasta shells
500ml tub of soft plain tofu
500ml tub feta, crumbled
package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, divided
250 ml jar of basil pesto
can of tomatoes
Boil noodles according to the directions on the box. I generally do set the timer for one minute less than the box says so that my noodles are firmer when I'm using them and don't go to mush when they are being baked. drain and rinse under cold water to stop them from cooking.
Combine tofu, feta, spinach and 1 cup mozzarella in a medium bowl.
Get out your favourite 2 quart casserole dish or baking pan.
Using a blender, combine tomatoes and pesto until smooth. pour a bit (1/3 of a cup or so)onto the bottom of your dish and spread it around so your shells won't stick when you start putting them in.
Using a tablespoon, scoop a generous amount of tofu feta spinach mix into each shell. Place them filling side up in your casserole dish.
When your shells are all full and arranged attractively, pour out some of the blended sauce ontop of the stuffed shells. You don't want your noodles swimming in sauce or they'll overcook and but you need to have them covered enough that the tips won't burn, so about half covered, making sure you pour it over the points of the shells, if that makes any sense. It is quite all right to have sauce left over. If you have to reheat for any reason, the extra sauce will come in handy, also useful if you are going to be freezing some stuffed shells for later. the sauce will help the reheating process.
Sprinkle remaining shredded mozzarella over prepared shells.
Cover with foil or lid. Bake at 350 for 1 hour, remove cover and bake ten more minutes to brown the cheese. Remove from oven and let rest for ten minutes or so. This step helps set the cheese and gives it time to maybe not burn the roof of your mouth when you serve it:)
It seemed to be greatly enjoyed and we had very, very few leftovers. A bit of squash and a few stems of greens and three slices of bread and some salad.
We had a pork roast, a buttercup and butternut squash mash, a steamed kale, chard and broccoli medley, herbed french bread, a tossed salad and
Stuffed Shells
1 box large pasta shells
500ml tub of soft plain tofu
500ml tub feta, crumbled
package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, divided
250 ml jar of basil pesto
can of tomatoes
Boil noodles according to the directions on the box. I generally do set the timer for one minute less than the box says so that my noodles are firmer when I'm using them and don't go to mush when they are being baked. drain and rinse under cold water to stop them from cooking.
Combine tofu, feta, spinach and 1 cup mozzarella in a medium bowl.
Get out your favourite 2 quart casserole dish or baking pan.
Using a blender, combine tomatoes and pesto until smooth. pour a bit (1/3 of a cup or so)onto the bottom of your dish and spread it around so your shells won't stick when you start putting them in.
Using a tablespoon, scoop a generous amount of tofu feta spinach mix into each shell. Place them filling side up in your casserole dish.
When your shells are all full and arranged attractively, pour out some of the blended sauce ontop of the stuffed shells. You don't want your noodles swimming in sauce or they'll overcook and but you need to have them covered enough that the tips won't burn, so about half covered, making sure you pour it over the points of the shells, if that makes any sense. It is quite all right to have sauce left over. If you have to reheat for any reason, the extra sauce will come in handy, also useful if you are going to be freezing some stuffed shells for later. the sauce will help the reheating process.
Sprinkle remaining shredded mozzarella over prepared shells.
Cover with foil or lid. Bake at 350 for 1 hour, remove cover and bake ten more minutes to brown the cheese. Remove from oven and let rest for ten minutes or so. This step helps set the cheese and gives it time to maybe not burn the roof of your mouth when you serve it:)
It seemed to be greatly enjoyed and we had very, very few leftovers. A bit of squash and a few stems of greens and three slices of bread and some salad.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
meatball soup
Usually, when I think meatball soup, I think of Italian Wedding soup. I really don't like Italian Wedding soup, but my three children LOOOVE it. I can't stand the smell of it. It actually triggers a gag reflex. Not good.
This Friday, I invited a friend over and said I'd make lunch. Soup is fast and easy. I went to grab my go-to bag of frozen broccoli and cauliflower and well, there wasn't quite enough. So...
1 c froz broccoli/cauliflower
3 c froz mixed vegetables(peas, carrots, corn, lima beans and green beans)(the inexpensive ones)
2 onions chopped
2 c sodium reduced chicken broth
2 c leftover burrito stuffing
1 c salsa
1 1/2 c frozen mini meatballs
I brought the first 4 ingredients to a boil, simmered for I think about 8 minutes. Then, I used my friend the immersion blender to buzz through the soup. I pulsed the soup instead of fully blending it, as I wanted to see pieces of the vegetables I was eating. Also for the eye appeal-green veggies plus orange veggies blended make brown soup. Brown soup is not very appetizing(unless it is a french onion soup mmmmm).
I added the next three ingredients and heated thoroughly. The burrito mixture of beans meat and spices added some thickening to the soup, the salsa added a bit of spice and colour and the meatballs a bit more spice and eye interest.
We eat with our eyes, and this was interesting to look at. The different reds of tomato and kidney beans, carrot orange, the different greens in the peas, salsa peppers and green beans and the shape of the meatballs meant each mouthful was beautiful.
An awesome soup for warming up.
This Friday, I invited a friend over and said I'd make lunch. Soup is fast and easy. I went to grab my go-to bag of frozen broccoli and cauliflower and well, there wasn't quite enough. So...
1 c froz broccoli/cauliflower
3 c froz mixed vegetables(peas, carrots, corn, lima beans and green beans)(the inexpensive ones)
2 onions chopped
2 c sodium reduced chicken broth
2 c leftover burrito stuffing
1 c salsa
1 1/2 c frozen mini meatballs
I brought the first 4 ingredients to a boil, simmered for I think about 8 minutes. Then, I used my friend the immersion blender to buzz through the soup. I pulsed the soup instead of fully blending it, as I wanted to see pieces of the vegetables I was eating. Also for the eye appeal-green veggies plus orange veggies blended make brown soup. Brown soup is not very appetizing(unless it is a french onion soup mmmmm).
I added the next three ingredients and heated thoroughly. The burrito mixture of beans meat and spices added some thickening to the soup, the salsa added a bit of spice and colour and the meatballs a bit more spice and eye interest.
We eat with our eyes, and this was interesting to look at. The different reds of tomato and kidney beans, carrot orange, the different greens in the peas, salsa peppers and green beans and the shape of the meatballs meant each mouthful was beautiful.
An awesome soup for warming up.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
menu planning hiccup
So I had the week all planned out, then...BG got sick. The kind of sick where the thought of food is triggering gag reflexes. Also, the kind of sick where she spends most of her time in arms nursing, trying to replace lost fluids. Also found out that the vegetarian inlaws were coming over for dinner on Saturday, the day I had planned to have chicken and rice bake so...
amended menu plan
Tuesday, store bought rotisserie chicken with squash, broccoli and biscuits (veggies prepared at home)
Wednesday, chili (not the cabbage roll casserole)
Saturday, cabbage roll casserole, the veg'n kind with TVP, barley and lentils. It sounds odd but it is just as yummy as can be. First time I made it this way, DH didn't even realize there was no meat!
Oh, and to clear up... once the cards have been chosen for the week, I get to decide which meal gets eaten when, it's not a first card=Monday kind of thing. Gives me better control over when to shop and when to plan for leftovers.
OH yeah, there were actually 30 meal cards that we came up with. I may make up a few to cue me to go to a recipe book and get something new. I also included breakfast for dinner cards like pancakes and quiche, and things like sandwiches that can be part of a healthy diet.
amended menu plan
Tuesday, store bought rotisserie chicken with squash, broccoli and biscuits (veggies prepared at home)
Wednesday, chili (not the cabbage roll casserole)
Saturday, cabbage roll casserole, the veg'n kind with TVP, barley and lentils. It sounds odd but it is just as yummy as can be. First time I made it this way, DH didn't even realize there was no meat!
Oh, and to clear up... once the cards have been chosen for the week, I get to decide which meal gets eaten when, it's not a first card=Monday kind of thing. Gives me better control over when to shop and when to plan for leftovers.
OH yeah, there were actually 30 meal cards that we came up with. I may make up a few to cue me to go to a recipe book and get something new. I also included breakfast for dinner cards like pancakes and quiche, and things like sandwiches that can be part of a healthy diet.
Monday, March 22, 2010
menu planning
I sometimes have a hard time coming up with something yummy for dinner. I know menu planning can make it easier. I have read this many times, in many different places. I have come up with a plan. I'm not sure how well it is going to work, but I'm willing to try.
step 1) get out the blank recipe cards. I have many of them in many different colours because I am a pack rat.
step 2) write out the names of all mains on the top of the card, not bothering with ingredients. Include two "get out of the kitchen free" cards so dinner out is planned and I have something to look forward to. Maybe use different colour for things like main salads for summer months.
step 3) get DH to go through the cards to see if I've missed any favourites or if there are any doubles.
step 4) shuffle cards and put them away until Sunday when I turn the page in my calendar/planner book
step 5) randomly pull out 7 cards to write them into the book, organize them as they match up with planned events-quick meals on busy days, favourite meals on special days.
step 6) verify that I have the ingredients. These are my favourite, regular meals, so I usually have the things I need at hand. Put the ones I don't have on the grocery list. Move the meals that need something to later in the week so I will have a chance to get to the store.
We'll see how this works. Luckily, I have two other tools to fall back on. One is a calendar from http://nicelynourished.com/ and the other is a cook book with complete recipes for the evening meal (includes desserts!) by Penny E. Stone called 365 Quick, Easy & Inexpensive Dinner Menus.
This week's menu...
Monday Chicken Noodle casserole (lots of veggies hiding in there)
Tuesday Chili (still ruminating on its depth and tones-TexMex? Curried?) biscuits
Wednesday Cabbage Roll Casserole mmmm cabbage. with meat or without?
Thursday (DD's #4 Bday!!!) Chick Pea Curry. It's her birthday. She gets meat. and kale
Friday Burritos. This is a tradition in our house. crudites
Saturday Baked Chicken and Barley in mushroom soup. a lazy day kind of meal. corn? broccoli?
Sunday Lasagna. eggplant or noodles? cottage cheese or ricotta? meat or veg'?
Let me know if there is a recipe you would like and I'll make sure it gets on here.
step 1) get out the blank recipe cards. I have many of them in many different colours because I am a pack rat.
step 2) write out the names of all mains on the top of the card, not bothering with ingredients. Include two "get out of the kitchen free" cards so dinner out is planned and I have something to look forward to. Maybe use different colour for things like main salads for summer months.
step 3) get DH to go through the cards to see if I've missed any favourites or if there are any doubles.
step 4) shuffle cards and put them away until Sunday when I turn the page in my calendar/planner book
step 5) randomly pull out 7 cards to write them into the book, organize them as they match up with planned events-quick meals on busy days, favourite meals on special days.
step 6) verify that I have the ingredients. These are my favourite, regular meals, so I usually have the things I need at hand. Put the ones I don't have on the grocery list. Move the meals that need something to later in the week so I will have a chance to get to the store.
We'll see how this works. Luckily, I have two other tools to fall back on. One is a calendar from http://nicelynourished.com/ and the other is a cook book with complete recipes for the evening meal (includes desserts!) by Penny E. Stone called 365 Quick, Easy & Inexpensive Dinner Menus.
This week's menu...
Monday Chicken Noodle casserole (lots of veggies hiding in there)
Tuesday Chili (still ruminating on its depth and tones-TexMex? Curried?) biscuits
Wednesday Cabbage Roll Casserole mmmm cabbage. with meat or without?
Thursday (DD's #4 Bday!!!) Chick Pea Curry. It's her birthday. She gets meat. and kale
Friday Burritos. This is a tradition in our house. crudites
Saturday Baked Chicken and Barley in mushroom soup. a lazy day kind of meal. corn? broccoli?
Sunday Lasagna. eggplant or noodles? cottage cheese or ricotta? meat or veg'?
Let me know if there is a recipe you would like and I'll make sure it gets on here.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
lasagna
We had friends over for dinner the other night. I thought I'd make pasta. I like pasta. Almost as much as I like cabbage, but I generally won't sunject friends to that! I had lots of time and it was a nice day, so got a bit creative...
1 eggplant, cubed
2 onions, sliced
6 small beets, diced
5 small carrots, chopped
2 T olive oil
350 g tub of quark
2 t pesto
1/2 c shredded marble cheese
1/4 c romano
2 eggs
tin of sauce (I was feeling lazy)
box of lasagna noodles
1/2 c grated cheese
I combined the first 5 ingredients in my big roasting pan, covered it and put it in the oven at 400*F for 50 minutes.
Boil the water for the pasta. I use the kind that needs to be boiled as I find the ready to use stuff gets pasty if the consistency of your sauce isn't perfect. I get annoyed when that happens. The boil yourself noodles are a lot more forgiving. slightly more work but worth it.
Combine the next group of ingredients. Usually I use cottage cheese, but I made the mistake of looking on the ingredients list and couldn't make myself buy it this time. The quark had ingredients I could pronounce and find in my kitchen.
In my beautiful 9x13 red ceramic casserole dish I layered
sauce
noodles
cheese mixture
noodles
vegetables
noodles
cheese mixture
noodles
sauce
noodles
vegetables
noodles
sauce
grated cheese
I put a few toothpicks through the centre line to hold up the tin foil, put tin foil on to cover it and put it in the oven for 1/5 hours at 350*F. Took the foil off for the last 10 minutes to brown the cheese.
If I make this again, I would probably mix the veg in the sauce and use more cheese as a binding agent.
It was delicious nonetheless!
1 eggplant, cubed
2 onions, sliced
6 small beets, diced
5 small carrots, chopped
2 T olive oil
350 g tub of quark
2 t pesto
1/2 c shredded marble cheese
1/4 c romano
2 eggs
tin of sauce (I was feeling lazy)
box of lasagna noodles
1/2 c grated cheese
I combined the first 5 ingredients in my big roasting pan, covered it and put it in the oven at 400*F for 50 minutes.
Boil the water for the pasta. I use the kind that needs to be boiled as I find the ready to use stuff gets pasty if the consistency of your sauce isn't perfect. I get annoyed when that happens. The boil yourself noodles are a lot more forgiving. slightly more work but worth it.
Combine the next group of ingredients. Usually I use cottage cheese, but I made the mistake of looking on the ingredients list and couldn't make myself buy it this time. The quark had ingredients I could pronounce and find in my kitchen.
In my beautiful 9x13 red ceramic casserole dish I layered
sauce
noodles
cheese mixture
noodles
vegetables
noodles
cheese mixture
noodles
sauce
noodles
vegetables
noodles
sauce
grated cheese
I put a few toothpicks through the centre line to hold up the tin foil, put tin foil on to cover it and put it in the oven for 1/5 hours at 350*F. Took the foil off for the last 10 minutes to brown the cheese.
If I make this again, I would probably mix the veg in the sauce and use more cheese as a binding agent.
It was delicious nonetheless!
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