Quiche

When I lived in France, I was a missionary.  This means that I had no money, or very little.  We ate quiche a lot.  It was cheap and filling and good.  I have put many things in quiche - from hot dogs to fish.  Most of them were pretty good.  Except the fish quiche.  Seriously, don't do the fish.

This one is my favorite.

 I still can't make a decent pie crust, though.  I use Pillsbury refrigerated crust "scrolls". Not as good as my sister's, but good enough.

You can substitute the bacon for anything except fish.  Crab is good.  So is ham or chicken.  I add a little thyme with chicken.  Sometimes I add a little spinach to the quiche.  It's all good.

Quiche

pastry for 1 9-inch one-crust pie

12 slices of bacon, crispy fried and diced

1 cup Swiss cheese, shredded (about 4 ounces)

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

4 eggs

1 1/2 cup half and half

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Put the pastry in a 9 inch pie pan.  (If you only have an 8 inch pan, reduce the amount of cream by 1/4 cup.)

Sprinkle the bacon, onion and cheese in the crust.

One or our chickens gives us double yolked eggs, the overachiever.  I am not sure of how to count it, so I count it as 1 egg.

Beat eggs slightly. Beat in the remaining ingredients.

Pour egg mixture into the pie plate.

Put the quiche on a foil-lined baking sheet (trust me, it overflows frequently) and place in the preheated oven.

Cook, uncovered, in 425 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.  Cook, uncovered, until a knife inserted halfway between the center and the edge comes out clean, about 30 minutes longer.  Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Vegetable Soup

I just got back from spending time with my sibs.  We don't see each other often enough since we live on each coast and one in the middle/west.  It was great!  It's amazing that any of us have kiddos old enough to get married, but that was the reason for the gathering.  Wonderful!

This soup really has no exact measurements or ingredients.  Yep, it's one of those.  Somehow, it always tastes great.  It is my kid sister's favorite soup.  I don't know if she ever made it, because she always lived close to Mom, but Mom is not there anymore.  She can do it.  So can you.  Don't worry about measurements or ingredients.  The only ones that are mandatory in our family are the tomatoes, cabbage and beef bouillon - but you could use vegetable broth if you want to go totally vegetarian.  Mom sometimes put a can of V-8 in it, too.

Here you go.  Just wing it.  It will be fine.

The cast.

Mom's Vegetable Soup

Beef soup bone

3-4 Tablespoons Better that bouillon beef flavor

water

1 onion, diced

4 carrots, diced

4 stalks celery, diced

4 cups fresh tomatoes, diced OR 1 quart canned diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup corn (I use frozen)

1 cup peas

1 cup green beans

1/3 head of cabbage, sliced and diced

1 cup diced potatoes, I use red potatoes because they don't turn mushy

salt and pepper to taste

1/3 - 1/2 pound spaghetti, broken into 2-3 inch pieces

Put the soup bone in the pot.  Cover with water to the amount of soup you are aiming for.  It will boil down, but you are going to add enough stuff to bring it back up to the amount you want.

Boil the soup bone for about 20 minutes.  It is going to foam and look icky.  Don't worry.  Skim off the foam.  Add the bouillon.  Start with the lesser amount.  You can always add more later.

Add the onions, carrots, celery and tomatoes.  Simmer for about 1/2 hour. 

Remove the soup bone.

 Taste it and add the salt and pepper and extra bouillon.

Add the rest of the veggies and the pasta.

Cook until the pasta and potatoes are done.

Check it again for the salt and pepper.

Enjoy the scent wafting from your kitchen and know that your family will be getting a healthy meal.

Macaroni and Blue Cheese

I know, I know.  I already have a post about mac and cheese.  It's good.  It's cheesy.  You should make it. http://ahawker.blogspot.com/2012/08/macaroni-and-cheese.html

But...this is mac and cheese with blue cheese!  That ingredient alone makes it - I don't know - fancy, elegant, refined.

This journey into the before uncharted territory (for me anyhow) of messing with perfectly good mac and cheese started very innocently.  I purchased a hunk of blue cheese from Costco. I only needed about 2 Tablespoons to make the baked pears (http://ahawker.blogspot.com/2012/11/roasted-pear-salad.html), so I didn't need this big hunk o' cheese, but it was such a good price and surely the kiddos would eat the rest.

Well, here is an interesting fact.  Kiddos that like just about anything don't necessarily snack on blue cheese just for fun.  I know.  It came as a surprise to me, too. *sigh*

Anyhow, I had this hunk of blue cheese.  Then a friend sent me a copy of a recipe for Chocolate Bread Pudding from a magazine. (That will be coming later after I play with it a little.)  On the same page was a partial recipe for Blue Cheese Macaroni and Cheese.

Eureka!

Here's what I did.

Macaroni and Blue Cheese

1 pound elbow macaroni (or whatever you want to use)

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups half and half

1 cup milk

3 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups crumbled blue cheese

3-4 shakes of Tabasco (or your favorite pepper sauce)

1/2 cup fried onions (like French's), optional

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 13x9 baking dish with nonstick spray.

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Stir in milk and half and half.  Simmer until the milk thickens slightly, stirring frequently.

Add grated cheese and 1 cup of the blue cheese.  Stir until the cheese melts.  Add the Tabasco and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Combine the pasta and sauce.  Stir it up.

Put the mixture in the prepared baking dish.

Sprinkle with the remaining blue cheese and the fried onions.

Bake at 350 degrees until the sauce begins to bubble, about 30 minutes.

Jam Cake

About 22 years ago, I visited my Grandma.  Grandpa had already passed away and this was the first time I had visited "down home" on my own.  My grandma and grandpa raised 13 children on a farm in the Mormon Colonies in Mexico - Colonia Dublan, to be exact.  I never lived there, but grew up referring to the farm as "down home".  

She was a wonderful lady. A true matriarch.  She (and my mom - the oldest of the brood with 10 brothers and 2 sisters) would joke that, to the brothers, pie came in round pieces.  On that visit, I questioned her and listened to her stories  as I had never done before.

This visit was when she told me that her beloved Charlie's (Grandpa) favorite cake was jam cake, especially blackberry jam cake.  I always envisioned it as yellow cake with jam spread between the layers.  Then she made one.

My vision was wrong.

Hers was so right.  It was a dense, moist, spicy cake. She didn't frost it, just glazed it, and served it with whipped cream.  Yum.  I didn't get the recipe.  This is the closest I have come.  It's just as I remember it.  I didn't have blackberry jam - it's the end of February, we have already eaten the blackberry - so I used plum.  I think you could use whatever jam you want, just vary the glaze.  I made a lemon glaze with this cake, but a vanilla glaze would be great with strawberry.

Here you go.

I also didn't have any buttermilk and didn't want to go to the store.  It is really easy to make, though.  Just put 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup.  Fill the measure to 1 cup with milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes and use as buttermilk.  Easy.

Jam Cake

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cup jam (whatever kind you want)

3 eggs

3 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a bundt or tube pan.

Cream butter and sugar.

Add the eggs and jam and mix it up.

Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk to the jam combo.

Mix it up.

Spread into the prepared cake pan, it will be thick.

Bake at 350 for about 55 - 65 minutes.

Invert the cake onto a cake dish.  Let the cake cool slightly.  Poke it all over with a toothpick.  Pour the glaze slowly over the cake, letting it absorb into all the toothpick holes.

Serve with whipped cream if you want.

Lemon Glaze

juice of 1 lemon

1 cup powdered sugar

Combine the 2 ingredients.  Don't worry if it is lumpy.  Stir it up and let it sit.  Stir it again.  The lumps will go away.

Hungarian Goulash - slow cooker style

I remember the first snow of the season.  It was so pretty.  Everything was white and clean, fresh and exciting.  I loved it.  I am sure I will love it again next time winter is beginning.

I am over it for this year.

I want the snow to go away.

Now.

Over it.

That said, it is still very cold.  We are expecting even more snow this week.  It is still time for what I consider winter food.

This was something that my family really enjoyed.  It is really easy, as most slow cooker meals are.  Go ahead, try it.

Hungarian Goulash

3 pounds (use more if you want) beef, cut into chunks (I bought pre-cut stew meat at the grocery store)

1/4 cup flour (use cornstarch or rice flour if you are gluten-free)

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 Tablespoon salt

1 Tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 large onion, large dice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 15 ounce can tomato sauce

1 cup water (just fill the can 1/2 way)

3 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 cup sour cream (plus more for garnish if desired)

noodles, rice or mashed potatoes to serve with the goulash

Turn on your slow cooker to the high setting (you will turn it down later.)

In the slow cooker, combine the beef, flour, sugar, salt, paprika, dry mustard and cayenne. Stir it up.

To the beef mixture, add the onion, garlic, tomato sauce, water and Worcestershire sauce.  Stir it up.

Put the lid on the slow cooker and change the heat setting to low. Cook on low for 7 - 8 hours.

When the stew is cooked, remove the lid of your slow cooker and add the sour cream.

Serve over cooked noodles or rice or mashed potatoes or boiled potatoes.

Meyer Lemon Marmalade

 

I am on a marmalade canning kick.  It is really good and citrus is cheap this time of year.  It tastes good, too.  One of my kiddos has discovered Nutella and orange marmalade sandwich.  I know.

 

This recipe is for Meyer Lemons.  Don't substitute regular lemons - it won't work very well.  Meyer lemons are in a category all by themselves.  They are somewhere between a regular lemon and a mandarin orange, with floral undertones.

 

This marmalade is good on it's own, but try it with blueberry muffins or as a base for a berry tart.  Yum.

 

 

Meyer Lemon Marmalade

 

4 cups sugar

6-8 Meyer lemons (about 1 cup of chopped up fruit and juice)

2 1/2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon butter

1 package (3 Tablespoons) of low or no sugar needed powdered fruit pectin

 

Measure the sugar into a bowl.

 

Using a zester or a vegetable peeler, remove the zest from the lemons.  You don't want the pith (the white part), it makes it bitter. If you used a vegetable peeler, cut the strips into very thin slices.

 

Transfer the strips to a large pot and add the water and baking soda.

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the peels have softened, about 5 minutes.

 

While the zest is simmering, cut the remaining pith from the lemons, working over a bowl to catch the juice.

Slice and chop the fruit.  Try and get out all of the seeds.  If you miss some, just tell people that is how you know that it is real. 

You should have about 1 cup of fruit and juice.

 

Add the fruit and juice to the pot with the zest.  Add the butter.  Sprinkle the pectin over the mixture and bring it to a boil, stirring constantly.

 

Add the sugar all at once.  Return to a full boil, stirring constantly.  Boil hard for one minute.  Remove from the heat.  Ladle the marmalade into hot sterilized jars and process them in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Set the jars on a towel on your counter and wait for the "pings" that say that the jars have sealed.

 

Voila.



Orange Marmalade - easy

I went to the grocery store to get some orange marmalade to make orange glazed chicken.  I was shocked to see how much the good stuff cost!  A 12 oz. jar of a common (not the most expensive) brand was over $6!!

 

Seriously?!

 

I realize that I haven't shopped for jam or marmalade in a very long time, but...seriously!

 

Then I went to the produce section.  A 4 pound bag of oranges was only $1.50.  That's right, no more thinking of buying marmalade.

 

Homemade all the way.

 

This recipe made 7 half-pint jars.

 

It didn't cost $6 a jar, either.

 

 

Orange Marmalade

 

4 medium oranges, washed

2 medium lemons, washed

2 1/2 cups water

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1 box low-sugar fruit pectin

1/2 teaspoon butter

5 1/2 cups sugar

 

Bring a large pot of water (you know, your canning pot) to a simmer.  Prepare your jars.  Pour boiling water over lids and let them stand in the hot water until ready to use.

 

Zest (remove the colored part of the peel) from your oranges and lemons.  Use a vegetable peeler or a zester.

Mix the peels, water and baking soda in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Enjoy the wonderful aroma wafting through your home.

 

While the peel is simmering, cut the white part off of the lemons and oranges.  Slice the fruit and chop into small pieces, removing any seeds you might come across. 

 

After the peel has simmered 20 minutes, add the fruit and juice to the pot.  Cover and simmer and additional 10 minutes.  You should have about 4 cups of fruit and juice.  I didn't take it out to measure, but it looked about right.

 

(Turn up the heat of your big pot of water to start it boiling.)

 

Stir pectin into the fruit in the large pot.  Add butter to reduce foaming.  Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil (that is a boil that you can't stir down) on high heat, stirring constantly.

 

Add the sugar all at once. (I like to pre-measure it in a separate bowl.)

Return to a full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and skim off any foam with a metal spoon.

 

Ladle the hot marmalade immediately into the prepared jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of the top.

Wipe jar rims.

Cover with two-piece lids and screw the bands on.

 

Place the jars on an elevated rack in your canning pot with the boiling water.  The water needs to cover the jars by 1-2 inches.  Boil for 5 minutes. This is called processing.

Remove the jars and place upright on a towel to cool completely.

After the jars cool, check the lids by pressing the middle of the lid with your finger.  If the lid springs back, the lid did not seal and you need to put that jar in the refrigerator.  If they are sealed, keep them in your pantry.