Crustless Spinach Quiche

A dear friend of mine has recently been diagnosed with a gluten-intolerance and it made me think about how lucky I am not to have any food allergies.  So many people have to worry about whether or not they can eat something or if it will make them sick.  Hopefully this recipe will be one that will fit with some dietary restrictions.  My husband has a minor case of lactose intolerance but the biggest effect it has on me is that we use Lactose free milk in the house, and I really don’t taste a difference.  For Megan, I decided to write a crustless quiche recipe, to eliminate the gluten. 

This is a really a BYO recipe.  I made this one with spinach and a mix of three cheeses, but you could really replace any green, cheese or even add/change it to protein.  (If you wanted your fill of gluten and wanted a crust, just roll out a store bought crust and place it on the bottom before adding the filling.)

The other week I made this same recipe with bacon and arugula and it was fabulous. The only addition was I cooked the bacon and then crumbled it up.  I actually made it the night before and then just placed it in the oven for about 10 minutes before breakfast with a friend. When doing a mix of greens and protein, I just do a less greens than listed here.  In this quiche the spinach is the star, so there happens to be a lot of it, you could always reduce the amount if you like.  This is also one of my go-to’s for a brunch or if I have assorted leftovers that I’m not sure what to do with, throw them all in a quiche. 

• A tbsp. or so of olive oil

• One small-medium onion or half a large onion chopped

• Black Pepper

• 1 bunch of spinach or bag of spinach (or alternatively a box of frozen spinach completely thawed and all the liquid wrung out)

• 1 clove of garlic chopped finely (or if you’re fancy use a garlic press)

• ¼ c of Pecorino Romano cheese grated

• ¼ c of shredded Swiss cheese

•  ½ c of shredded cheddar cheese

• 6 eggs

• ¼ c of milk (I use 1% Lactiad Milk, but whatever you keep in the house is fine!)

1.  Preheat the oven to 350°F

2.  Warm up the olive oil in a skillet set on medium-high heat.  Add the onions and cook until translucent.  Add a few cracks of pepper if desired.

3.  Add the spinach, I don’t de-stem the spinach but you can if you like.  (If you’re using swiss chard or another tough stem green then definitely de-stem).  I tend to either rip the leaves in half or use them whole.  Depends on the size of the leaf I guess.   Cook until wilted, about 3-4 minutes or so.  You may need to add more olive oil as you wilt the spinach.  Use your discretion.

4.  Add the garlic and cook until golden brown, only a minute or so.  Be careful because garlic burns very easily and it becomes bitter when burnt.

5. Let cool slightly and transfer to the bottom of a pie plate.  Try to just get the spinach and onions and not any of the liquid. 

6.  Meanwhile, in fairly large mixing bowl beat the eggs and milk until foamy.  Add a tsp or so of pepper and mix in.  (I am purposely avoiding adding salt because the cheese is very salty so we don’t need any more)

7. Top the spinach mixture with the cheeses, stir gently.  Then carefully add the frothy egg mixture.  

(I place my pie plate on a cookie sheet so that its easier to get in and out of the oven and if it spills it does on the cookie sheet instead of the inside of my oven!)

8. Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes.  The edges should be a lovely golden brown.  

The difference the right tool makes - Spring Confetti Cupcakes

I’ve always thought that my cake and cupcake decorating skills were subpar.  I’d have great flavors, great textures and then you’d look at it and be like – well at least it tastes great.  Or worse: the thought that appearances are deceiving and that it tastes much better than it looks. 

I’ve tried pastry bags with tips, icing guns, and no matter what I do I’d always end up with more icing on the plate, on the counters or on me rather than on the cupcakes.

But, as most people know, I’m stubborn.  And I’m going to keep trying at it! 

 

So I researched.  I looked in my cook books, I looked at Pinterest, I looked at blogs.  And then I found it!  Someone explaining how those darn pastry bags work and how to get that bakery style swirl.  (I was starting to think you only learned it in pastry school!)

What I found out is that all along I’ve been using the wrong size tip?!? No wonder it looked terrible and would take f-o-r-e-v-e-r.

So thanks to Sara and her blog Our Best Bites I was finally able to achieve some decent looking cupcakes! 

 

I bought the Ateco set that Sara recommended and tried out her directions this weekend.

 

 

The three big things that I learned were:

• The consistency of the icing is critical
• Be sure to pack the icing into the pastry bag so there are no air bubbles.
• Icing tip size matters – use a large or a jumbo size tip

 

I call these cupcakes spring funfetti cupcakes with very vanilla frosting and they are so easy!

 

99% of the time I make my cupcakes from cake mix, but the trick is to always make homemade frosting. You can doctor cake mix to be as good as homemade and you don’t have to worry about the leavening and whether it will rise or not because all of that is premeasured for you!

• One box of white cake mix (whatever is on sale!)
• Eggs (according to the directions)
• Melted butter (same quantity as the box says for oil)
• 1-2 tsp of vanilla
• Spring sprinkles 

Preheat to the oven to the temperature on the cake mix and line a cupcake tin with liners.  

Melt the butter, Mix cake mix, eggs, butter and vanilla in the mixer and beat for 2 minutes.   Add the sprinkles and mix to combine. I didn’t measure the sprinkles, I just added enough to make the batter speckled and colorful.

 

The trick is to always make homemade buttercream.  I used Food Network’s Quick Vanilla Buttercream Frosting, but increased it to 2 tsp of vanilla. 

 

And voilà! Beautiful bakery quality icing job finished with a little bit of sanding sugar!

 

 

Great-Aunt Mary’s Irish Soda Bread

Great-Aunt Mary’s Irish Soda Bread

Most of the family recipes that I have are from my Mom’s side of the family, but this one is from my Dad’s side and it’s a true classic “Clyne” recipe.  For those who don’t know my Dad is 100% Irish, which basically translates to will eat potatoes in any form and a requirement to make and eat Irish Soda Bread around St. Patrick’s Day.  This recipe comes from his Aunt Mary and probably dates back even further. 

Ingredients:

·         3 ½ cups flour

·         4 ½ tsp baking powder

·         1 tsp salt

·         ½ c sugar

·         1 c raisins

·         1 tbs caraway seeds (OPTIONAL**)

·         1 tbs shortening

·         1 egg beaten

·         1 ½ c buttermilk

I know lots of Irish Soda Bread Recipes have baking soda, (well duh you might think) but this one does not have any.  It does have a lot of baking powder that will take care of the rising.  Just trust me on it! I should probably call it Irish Baking Powder Bread, but it doesn’t have the same ring to it…

**Growing up in my house there was a large divide over whether caraway seeds should be in the Irish Soda Bread.  My Dad and I like it with them, while Mom and my brother liked it without. It was so bad that Dad had to make two every year, one with and one without.  The recipe works great either way; it simply depends on your preference.  I made them two this year, one with and one without.  The pictures below are for without.

1) Preheat the oven to 350°.  Prep a pie plate, I just use some plain cooking spray, but you could grease it with butter.  Alternatively you could use a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper depending on what you had.

2)  Mix the dry team: flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, raisins, caraway seeds (if using)

3)  Add the shortening to dry mixture and break it up with your hands. 

4)  Add the beaten egg to the mixture. 

5)  Gradually add buttermilk. It may be tough to mix, but get those hands in there and you can do it!   

Be sure to not overwork the dough, unlike yeast breads you do not need to knead it.

6)  Cut a cross on the top of the dough.  It gives the bread room to rise and is traditionally done to represent warding off the devil and protecting the household.

7)  Bake for 50 – 60 minutes.  Check to make sure a tooth pick comes out clean. 

8)  Let cool on a wire rack.  Enjoy warm or completed cooled with butter!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!! 

Souper-Bowl Sunday - Chicken Orzo Soup

Chicken Orzo Soup

1 package of split chicken breast (2.5 – 3lbs)

6 cups of chicken stock (I like Kitchen Basics,  this is about a box and a half)

1 onion (diced)

2 dried bay leaves

1 clove of garlic

3-4 stalks of celery (diced)

3-4 carrots cut into rounds

1/3 cup of dried orzo (or any other type of pasta, tortellini works great too!)

¼ grated Pecorino Romano cheese

2-3 tbsp of chopped flat leaf parsley

Salt and Pepper to taste

When I make soup it is for one of two reasons, one: My husband is sick and he is requesting “magic soup” or two: I have leftover pieces that I’m not sure what to do with so let’s throw it all into a soup (definitely a trick that I learned from my mother).

First thing to notice about this recipe is all the measurements are approximations.  I apologize to those who really like precise measurements, but this is not one of those meals.  And to quote my grandmother “Cooking is an art, but baking is a science.”  Baking is a science because you need certain reactions to occur in order, for example, the cake to rise.   

(Poor parsley got left out of the picture)

1) In a large stock pot (I used a 6 quart one) place the chicken breast, diced onion, bay leaves, chopped garlic clove (or use a garlic press) and chicken stock, and some black pepper.

2) Add some water if needed to get about 3/4 filled. 

3) Turn the heat to medium high to bring to a boil.  Once boiling reduce the heat to medium low to simmer.  Allow soup to simmer for 1½ hours. 

4)  I use this time to prep some other pieces.  Such as dicing the celery and cut the carrots.  I like to cut carrots on about a 45° angle to maximize the surface area.  Only a math teacher would think like that!   Then throw some tv, I hear there might have been a game today….

5) After the chicken has cooked, remove it from the pot and let it cool in a separate bowl. Remove the bay leaves as well. Depending on how fatty the chicken breast was you may want to skim some of the fat off of the top of the soup. 

6)  Place the pot back on the stove and turn the temp to medium.  Toss in the carrots and celery and cook for 30 minutes.   (Again back to the tv)

 

7) Next add the dried pasta and cook depending on the package.  If you want you can use fresh pasta, it will just be faster.

8) Now the chicken has cooled off, remove it from the bones, toss the skin and cut and/or shred the chicken.

9) Check the done-ness of the pasta.  Once it’s completely cooked add the chicken back in, Pecorino Romano cheese and parsley.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  I don’t use much salt, because the cheese is very salty. 

 When I made it this weekend I ended up with 3 quarts, which all got donated to a fundraiser at church for a family in need.  The final soup is very thick, but you could easily make 4 quarts by adding more liquid, (a mix of chicken stock and water) but this is how my husband likes it.  

 I love this recipe because it is nice and easy and it one of the first recipes that I adapted to make my own.  Enjoy! 

 

Zucchini Bread with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Sorry about the delay between posts, I've been remodeling the kitchen and its been a process. 

Here's the next recipe -Zucchini Bread with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting.  This zucchini bread is so easy that you can actually make when your kitchen is torn apart and completely disorganized!  And I have the proof! 

This recipe is inspired from the Food Network Magazine mix and match bread recipe. 

Ingredients:
1 1/4 c of self rising flour  (Or regular flour, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp baking soda)
3/4 c of sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 stick of melted butter
2 large eggs
1 - 6oz container of plain greek yogurt (Vanilla works as well, just then omit vanilla extract)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c of shredded zucchini squeezed dry.

Topping: (optional)
3 oz of softened cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp powdered sugar
lemon zest (as much as you like, I did about 1 tsp)

 

 

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2) Prep the loaf pan with some nonstick cooking spray.

3)  Melt the butter in the microwave.  I like to microwave mine in a glass measuring cup because it will have the nice convient spout when we need to add it in later.  Less messy that way!  

 4) In a larger mixing bowl whisk together the dry team: flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon. 

(Here I used self rising flour which is a finer milled flour that already has the leavening agents in it.  This was easier with because it is one ingredient rather than 3, however if you don't have it at home, you can make the same bread with 1 1/4 c of all purpose flour, 1 tsp of baking powder and 1/2 baking soda.)

5) In another mixing bowl mix together the wet team, melted butter, eggs, yogurt and vanilla. 

6) Fold in the shredded zucchini into the wet team bowl.

7)  Add the wet team to the dry team.  My mixing bowls have spouts on the side of them making this much easier!  A great bridal shower gift!

  

8) Mix until just combined and pour into the loaf pan.

9) Bake for 55-60 minutes.  Check that it is completely done by inserting a knife and making sure it comes out clean.

10) Let it cool in the pan for about an hour, then turn out onto a cooling rack.


Once completely cooled, make the frosting....

11) In either the bowl of a kitchen aid mixer or with a hand mixer on medium combine cream cheese, vanilla and powdered sugar.  Add lemon zest and beat for a few minutes.

Make sure to taste the topping before adding it the bread.  If you like your frosting to be a little sweeter feel free to add some more powdered sugar!  It's always easier to add more sugar than to take it out! 

Grandma Virginia’s Cheesecake

This is one of my favorite recipes from when I was a kid.  My grandma would make this recipe, especially for my brother for his birthday.  She would make a huge deal about how she loved him so much that she was willing to bake it in July.  Later when I learned cook and bake I found it was actually the easiest recipe I’ve found for cheesecake.  I’ve adjusted it a little from here original, but the essence is still the same.  (For her original reduce the vanilla and double the topping amount)

Crust

1 ½ cup graham cracker crumbs

1 tbsp butter softened

1 tbsp sugar

Filling

3 – 8 oz packages of cream cheese softened

1 cup of sugar

5 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

Topping

1 pint sour cream (16 oz container)

½ cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla

Get all the ingredients together and start softening early in the day!

Step 1:  Preheat the oven to 325°F

Crust

Step 2: Combine graham crackers, sugar and butter in a mixing bowl.   Press into a spring form pan. 

Base 

Step 3: Mix the cream cheese with an electric mixer with the paddle attachement.  Scrape down the sides of the mixer.  (I used the paddle with the scrapper side)  Be sure to mix completely and eliminate all the lumps before the next step. 

Step 4: Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg.  (I like to add them with a pyrex measuring cup – it has the advantage of making sure not to get any shell in the batter and having a spout for easy pouring.)

Step 5: Add vanilla and beat for 5 minutes at medium speed. 

Action shot of the mixing! 

Step 6: Pour over the crumb crust.  Tap on the counter a few times to eliminate some bubbles.  The bubbles can cause cracks in the cheesecake.

Step 7: Bake for 50-60 minutes.  There will be a still wobbly spot in the center of the cheesecake, it should measure a 160°F on an instant read thermometer.   Remember that it will continue to cook after you remove it.  Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes.   

(Yes you can see where I tested it – but it won’t show after the topping is on it!)

Meanwhile…

Topping

Step 8: Combine sour cream sugar and vanilla with the wire attachment on the mixer.  (Hopefully you washed the bowl while the cheesecake was baking or if you’re lucky like me you have two!)

Step 9:  If you are concerned about the cheesecake cracking you can run a paring knife around edge of the pan. 

Step 10: After the cheesecake has cooled for the 15 minutes, pour the topping evenly over the cheesecake and return to the oven for 10 minutes. 

Step 11: Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack completely, then refrigerate at least 3 hours, but overnight is better!

The finished cheesecake!