I've been MIA for awhile. With sickness circling through our house (several times each person), trip to Vegas and Thanksgiving, there hasn't been much cooking going on (unless Kraft Mac & Cheese counts). So, it's back to the grind and I made a new dish tonight. One that I think will become a staple in our house. And the best part about this dish, is you can add all different types of fillings!! It's perfect!
I found a crustless spinach quiche recipe from Cooks.com, but I modified it... I added 2 more eggs. It called for 3 eggs and that just didn't seem like enough eggs for a quiche. So I made it with 5 eggs.
Here's the recipe:
Ingredients
5 eggs, beaten
1 cup flour
1 cup and 2 tbsp milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 box frozen spinach, thawed
8 oz Cheddar cheese, shredded
8 oz Pepperjack cheese, shredded
Parmesan cheese, shredded (optional)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine eggs and milk in a large mixing bowl. Add flour, baking powder and salt (I used garlic salt instead of regular salt) gradually to egg and milk mixture. Add cheese and thawed spinach (make sure to squeeze out the excess water from the spinach with your hands); mix well.
3. Pour into a well greased 13x9 pan (I used nonstick cooking spray to grease my pan). Sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese. Bake 30-35 minutes.
4. Cool for a half hour, cut into squares.
Side Notes:
1. Recipe called for 16 oz shredded Cheddar cheese. I used half Pepperjack and half Cheddar. I loved the taste the Pepperjack brought to the dish.
2. Instead of baking in a 13x9 baking dish, you can also cook in two round pie dishes.
3. This dish is perfect for breakfast, brunch or dinner!
Give it a try! Hope you enjoy it!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Potato Casserole
I'm jumping around with my postings, but I decided to post my potato casserole that has become a popular favorite amongst my friends. I made this potato dish for my women's group yesterday and all the women raved about it. It's perfect as a breakfast or dinner dish. You can serve it with eggs, ham, chicken, beef... anything really. This is my aunt's recipe (one of my FAVORITE dishes growing up), but I've modified it a bit.
Here's the recipe:
Ingredients
1 bag frozen shredded hash browns, thawed
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
8 oz light sour cream
4-8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 small can diced green chiles
Splash of milk (about 1 tbsp)
Generous shake of Ground Cumin (probably about 2 tsp)
Generous shake of Garlic Salt (probably about 1-2 tsp)
2 cups crushed corn flakes
2 tbsp butter, melted
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Mix all ingredients, except corn flakes and butter, in a large mixing bowl. Transfer to baking dish and press down so potato mixture is even.
3. Top with crushed corn flakes (make sure mixture is completely topped). Pour melted butter over corn flakes, starting with the edges first, then drizzling in the center.
4. Bake, uncovered, about 40 minutes, or until bubbly. Let rest 5-10 minutes before serving.
Side Notes:
1. I suggested 4 - 8 oz of sharp cheddar cheese, because it depends on how cheesy you like your dishes. I like to use a little more cheese, but sometimes if I'm low on cheese, I just use what I have. The dish tastes great either way. Try using jack cheese, pepperjack cheese, or colby cheese. All taste great with this dish.
2. You can use Healthy Request cream of mushroom soup to make this dish healthier.
3. If you don't have corn flakes, you can substitute bread crumbs. Top with melted butter.
4. You could add meat (such as ham, sausage, chicken) to this dish to make it a complete meal.
5. My aunt always made this as a breakfast side, it went great with her homemade quiche!
I hope this side dish quickly becomes a favorite in your house, as it is in ours!
Here's the recipe:
Ingredients
1 bag frozen shredded hash browns, thawed
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
8 oz light sour cream
4-8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 small can diced green chiles
Splash of milk (about 1 tbsp)
Generous shake of Ground Cumin (probably about 2 tsp)
Generous shake of Garlic Salt (probably about 1-2 tsp)
2 cups crushed corn flakes
2 tbsp butter, melted
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Mix all ingredients, except corn flakes and butter, in a large mixing bowl. Transfer to baking dish and press down so potato mixture is even.
3. Top with crushed corn flakes (make sure mixture is completely topped). Pour melted butter over corn flakes, starting with the edges first, then drizzling in the center.
4. Bake, uncovered, about 40 minutes, or until bubbly. Let rest 5-10 minutes before serving.
Side Notes:
1. I suggested 4 - 8 oz of sharp cheddar cheese, because it depends on how cheesy you like your dishes. I like to use a little more cheese, but sometimes if I'm low on cheese, I just use what I have. The dish tastes great either way. Try using jack cheese, pepperjack cheese, or colby cheese. All taste great with this dish.
2. You can use Healthy Request cream of mushroom soup to make this dish healthier.
3. If you don't have corn flakes, you can substitute bread crumbs. Top with melted butter.
4. You could add meat (such as ham, sausage, chicken) to this dish to make it a complete meal.
5. My aunt always made this as a breakfast side, it went great with her homemade quiche!
I hope this side dish quickly becomes a favorite in your house, as it is in ours!
Monday, November 1, 2010
Texas-Style Chili
Last Wednesday I made Texas-Style Chili. This one is probably not for kids (I say this because my children who eat just about anything couldn't eat this). It's got some heat. So, if you are a lover of spicy foods, this is a good recipe to try. Denis absolutely loved this chili. I will for sure make it again! I would advise to make this on a weekend when you've got some time on your hands. I made this on a Wednesday and it took just way to long. We didn't eat until 7:30pm (and started at 4pm). This recipe came from the Food Network Kitchens cookbook. I actually checked this cookbook out from the library... did you know you could check cookbooks out from the library?!?! I didn't... I'm extremely excited about this!!!!! :-D
This chili was good, but if you've got a sensitive tongue, make sure you've got a gallon of milk handy!!
Here's the recipe:
Ingredients
7 ripe medium tomatoes (about 4 lbs)
2 medium onions, quartered through the root end
2 poblano chiles
2 jalapenos
8 cloves garlic
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, chopped
1 tbsp dried oregano (preferably Mexican oregano)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (preferably Mexican cinnamon)
1/4 tsp ground cloves
4 lbs beef chuck, cut into 1/2 cubs
1 1/2 tbsp kosher salt, plus additional for seasoning
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 chili powder, plus 2 tsp
1/4 cup ground cumin, plus 2 tsp
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 12 oz bottles Mexican lager-style beer
2 cups water
Garnishments - sour cream, shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, chopped scallions, and/or salsa
Directions
1. Position a rack about 6 inches from the broiler and preheat to high. Line a broiler pan with foil. Spread the tomatoes, onions, poblanos, jalapenos and garlic on the pan and broil, turning until charred on all sides. Cool slightly. Stem the roasted chiles, catching the juices and seeds that run onto the pan, and put them in a food processor with the tomatoes, onions, garlic and chipotles. Pulse until coarsely textured; add the oregano, cinnamon and cloves and pulse briefly.
2. Spread the meat out on a sheet of aluminum foil, pat dry, and season generously with salt. Heat some of the oil in a Dutch oven or other heavy bottom pot over high heat and brown some of the meat well on all sides, taking care not to crowd the pot. Transfer the cooked meat to a plate and repeat until all of the meat is cooked.
3. Whisk the 1/3 cup chili powder, 1/4 cup cumin and the flour into the meat drippings to make a paste. Whisk in the beer. Return the meat to the pot along with the collected juices, the tomato mixture, the water and the 1 1/2 tbsp salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Uncover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender and the sauce is thick, about 1 hour.
4. Just before serving, stir in the remaining 2 tsp each of chili powder and cumin.
Side Notes:
1. I bought a big beef chuck roast and cut it myself into 1/2-inch cubes. This saved A LOT of money. It's time consuming, but worth the money. Plus - you can shave off a lot of the fat that way.
2. Ground cloves are VERY expensive. A small container ON SALE was $10.00. I would suggest buying the ground cloves in a bulk section. I know Sprouts and Winco carries spices in their bulk sections. Any store that has a bulk section, probably has ground cloves. I got 1 oz of ground cloves for $.71 as opposed to paying $10 for 2 oz.
3. The recipe says to save the seeds... I knew this dish was going to be spicy enough, so I discarded the seeds. That's where a lot of the heat is in chiles. If you like spicy, keep the seeds.
4. I used regular oregano and cinnamon. Couldn't find Mexican spices in the regular grocery store. If you have a Mexican market near you (there are several in LaHabra for those of you in North OC) they will have the Mexican oregano and cinnamon.
5. I served with homemade cornbread. Cornbread is the obvious side dish to chili and it helped cut some of the heat too.
If you like heat, I hope you give this chili a try. It really was tasty! And if you've got a cold, it'll clear you sinus' too! LOL
This chili was good, but if you've got a sensitive tongue, make sure you've got a gallon of milk handy!!
Here's the recipe:
Ingredients
7 ripe medium tomatoes (about 4 lbs)
2 medium onions, quartered through the root end
2 poblano chiles
2 jalapenos
8 cloves garlic
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, chopped
1 tbsp dried oregano (preferably Mexican oregano)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (preferably Mexican cinnamon)
1/4 tsp ground cloves
4 lbs beef chuck, cut into 1/2 cubs
1 1/2 tbsp kosher salt, plus additional for seasoning
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 chili powder, plus 2 tsp
1/4 cup ground cumin, plus 2 tsp
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 12 oz bottles Mexican lager-style beer
2 cups water
Garnishments - sour cream, shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, chopped scallions, and/or salsa
Directions
1. Position a rack about 6 inches from the broiler and preheat to high. Line a broiler pan with foil. Spread the tomatoes, onions, poblanos, jalapenos and garlic on the pan and broil, turning until charred on all sides. Cool slightly. Stem the roasted chiles, catching the juices and seeds that run onto the pan, and put them in a food processor with the tomatoes, onions, garlic and chipotles. Pulse until coarsely textured; add the oregano, cinnamon and cloves and pulse briefly.
2. Spread the meat out on a sheet of aluminum foil, pat dry, and season generously with salt. Heat some of the oil in a Dutch oven or other heavy bottom pot over high heat and brown some of the meat well on all sides, taking care not to crowd the pot. Transfer the cooked meat to a plate and repeat until all of the meat is cooked.
3. Whisk the 1/3 cup chili powder, 1/4 cup cumin and the flour into the meat drippings to make a paste. Whisk in the beer. Return the meat to the pot along with the collected juices, the tomato mixture, the water and the 1 1/2 tbsp salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Uncover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender and the sauce is thick, about 1 hour.
4. Just before serving, stir in the remaining 2 tsp each of chili powder and cumin.
Side Notes:
1. I bought a big beef chuck roast and cut it myself into 1/2-inch cubes. This saved A LOT of money. It's time consuming, but worth the money. Plus - you can shave off a lot of the fat that way.
2. Ground cloves are VERY expensive. A small container ON SALE was $10.00. I would suggest buying the ground cloves in a bulk section. I know Sprouts and Winco carries spices in their bulk sections. Any store that has a bulk section, probably has ground cloves. I got 1 oz of ground cloves for $.71 as opposed to paying $10 for 2 oz.
3. The recipe says to save the seeds... I knew this dish was going to be spicy enough, so I discarded the seeds. That's where a lot of the heat is in chiles. If you like spicy, keep the seeds.
4. I used regular oregano and cinnamon. Couldn't find Mexican spices in the regular grocery store. If you have a Mexican market near you (there are several in LaHabra for those of you in North OC) they will have the Mexican oregano and cinnamon.
5. I served with homemade cornbread. Cornbread is the obvious side dish to chili and it helped cut some of the heat too.
If you like heat, I hope you give this chili a try. It really was tasty! And if you've got a cold, it'll clear you sinus' too! LOL
Chicken Pot Pie Bubble Bake
Well, once again I'm behind again in my blogging... sorry! I was going to catch up this weekend, but Dayne and I had a rough weekend. We were both really sick! Thankfully Denis took great care of us!! He even cooked both days and made homemade candy apples (delicious). I'll blog his candy apple recipe too (it's Alton Brown's recipe), but first I've got to get caught up with my recipes.
Last Monday I made Chicken Pot Pie Bubble Bake. This recipe came from my Pillsbury Pot Pies & Casseroles magazine (can you tell I'm making my way through this magazine???). It turned out really delicious. It's definitely a do-again!
Here's the recipe:
Ingredients
1 can (10 3/4oz) condensed cream of chicken soup
1 1/3 cups milk
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 cups refrigerated cooked potato wedges (this can be found in the produce section near the bags of shredded carrots and butternut squash)
3 cups cubed deli rotisserie chicken (without skin)
1 bag (1lb) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 can (12oz) Pillsbury Grands! Jr. Golden Layers biscuits
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2oz)
Directions
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 13x9 glass baking dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix soup, milk and Italian seasoning. Stir in potatoes, chicken and vegetables.
2. Separate dough into 10 biscuits, cut each biscuit into quarters; add to potato mixture. Stir gently to mix well; spoon into baking dish.
3. Bake uncovered 35 to 40 minutes or until top is golden brown and biscuits are no longer doughy inside. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake 4 to 6 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.
Side Notes:
1. I didn't use the pre-cooked potatoes. It's much cheaper to buy a couple of red potatoes and cook them yourself in the microwave. This is what I did. I bought 3 medium sized red potatoes (it's about 2 cups), cut into small wedges. Placed cut potatoes into a microwave safe bowl, sprinkle with garlic salt. Add 1tsp of water and cover with a damp paper towel. Cook in microwave for 3 minutes. Check potatoes. Microwave another 2 minutes if they are not soft enough. Viola... you've got yourself cooked red potatoes!
2. To save more money, you could use left over chicken you might have from another dish, or cook your own chicken instead of buying a rotisserie chicken. Just depends on how much time you have. I used the rotisserie chicken because I had forgotten to thaw out my chicken.
3. I couldn't find the Jr. Grands (and I've never even heard of them). So I just used the Grands Layers (which is 8 biscuits) and cut those into 6th's (instead of quarters). I'm assuming it turned out the same.
4. If you don't have frozen mixed veggies... use whatever frozen veggies you have; green beans, broccoli, corn, carrots, cauliflower. Or try using fresh veggies, and saute them up just a bit to soften them. These recipes are so versatile... get creative and use what you like.
5. I didn't continue cooking the additional 4 to 6 minutes because my dish was already bubbling after 35 minutes (my oven is possessed and never bakes according to recipes). I just sprinkled the cheese on after I pulled it out, let it set 5 minutes. Cheese was melted and ready to serve.
6. This dish would be perfect for a holiday potluck. :-)
Hope you give it a try and enjoy it as much as we did!
Last Monday I made Chicken Pot Pie Bubble Bake. This recipe came from my Pillsbury Pot Pies & Casseroles magazine (can you tell I'm making my way through this magazine???). It turned out really delicious. It's definitely a do-again!
Here's the recipe:
Ingredients
1 can (10 3/4oz) condensed cream of chicken soup
1 1/3 cups milk
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 cups refrigerated cooked potato wedges (this can be found in the produce section near the bags of shredded carrots and butternut squash)
3 cups cubed deli rotisserie chicken (without skin)
1 bag (1lb) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 can (12oz) Pillsbury Grands! Jr. Golden Layers biscuits
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2oz)
Directions
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 13x9 glass baking dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix soup, milk and Italian seasoning. Stir in potatoes, chicken and vegetables.
2. Separate dough into 10 biscuits, cut each biscuit into quarters; add to potato mixture. Stir gently to mix well; spoon into baking dish.
3. Bake uncovered 35 to 40 minutes or until top is golden brown and biscuits are no longer doughy inside. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake 4 to 6 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.
Side Notes:
1. I didn't use the pre-cooked potatoes. It's much cheaper to buy a couple of red potatoes and cook them yourself in the microwave. This is what I did. I bought 3 medium sized red potatoes (it's about 2 cups), cut into small wedges. Placed cut potatoes into a microwave safe bowl, sprinkle with garlic salt. Add 1tsp of water and cover with a damp paper towel. Cook in microwave for 3 minutes. Check potatoes. Microwave another 2 minutes if they are not soft enough. Viola... you've got yourself cooked red potatoes!
2. To save more money, you could use left over chicken you might have from another dish, or cook your own chicken instead of buying a rotisserie chicken. Just depends on how much time you have. I used the rotisserie chicken because I had forgotten to thaw out my chicken.
3. I couldn't find the Jr. Grands (and I've never even heard of them). So I just used the Grands Layers (which is 8 biscuits) and cut those into 6th's (instead of quarters). I'm assuming it turned out the same.
4. If you don't have frozen mixed veggies... use whatever frozen veggies you have; green beans, broccoli, corn, carrots, cauliflower. Or try using fresh veggies, and saute them up just a bit to soften them. These recipes are so versatile... get creative and use what you like.
5. I didn't continue cooking the additional 4 to 6 minutes because my dish was already bubbling after 35 minutes (my oven is possessed and never bakes according to recipes). I just sprinkled the cheese on after I pulled it out, let it set 5 minutes. Cheese was melted and ready to serve.
6. This dish would be perfect for a holiday potluck. :-)
Hope you give it a try and enjoy it as much as we did!
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