Asparagus Quiche

Don't let the title fool you, there is a lot more than asparagus in this quiche but because I had quiche from the CSA, and eggs from the CSA as well,  I decided to do some Pinterest searching for quiche recipes.  Found this one and it was yummy so let's begin!

"Let's start at the very beginning!  A very good place to start!"

And so we begin with a pie crust ...

Sautee some mushrooms

Boils some asparagus

Mix eggs and heavy cream  (sorry for the blurry picture)

 

Add other goodies

To the eggs and heavy cream I have added green onions, a red pepper, cheese (the original recipe called for a white cheese like jack or meunster but I couldn't find it pre-shredded so I used colby-jack), asparagus, mushrooms and bacon (only 3 strips instead of 6 because as I explained in a previous post, I confused myself with all my similar recipes this weekend and ended up short some ingredients).  

I was under the impression from the original recipe that this would make one quiche but I ended up with enough for 2.  Maybe I should have bought deep dish crust ...

Anyway, here they are baking away with the original recipe and link below:

 

Ingredients

• 1 store bought prepared pie crust
• 8 ounce sliced mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1/2 pound asparagus cut into 2-inch pieces
• 6 large eggs
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 1 roasted red pepper, sliced
• 1 1/2 cup white cheese, shredded (jack and muenster)
• 6 strips of smoky bacon, cooked and cut into bite size pieces
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Spray a removable bottom tart pan with non stick cooking spray.
3. In a medium skillet saute mushrooms with oil until golden.
4. Set aside to cool.
5. Fill a medium saucepan with enough water to cover the asparagus.
6. Bring water to a boil; add asparagus and boil 1 minute.
7. Drain immediately and set aside to cool.
8. Roll out the prepared pie crust, press into the sides of the tart pan. 
9. In a large bowl lightly beat the eggs, add the cream and stir together.
10. Add the onions, red pepper, shredded cheese, cooled mushrooms, cooled asparagus and bacon.
11. Salt and pepper to taste.
12. Gently fold all ingredients together and pour into prepared tart pan. 
13. Set pan on a cookie sheet, bake 50 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
14. Cool in the pan 15 minutes before removing the tart pan sides.

http://www.ladybehindthecurtain.com/asparagus-bacon-quiche/


So here's the finished product:
I really liked it.  Hubby made it through almost 2 pieces by heavily covering it in ketchup.  DD picked out the asparagus/pepper/mushroom and ate eggs/cheese/bacon.  DS ate most of one whole piece before putting the rest on the floor and stomping on it.  So anyway, here's that promised pic:

 

 

Spinach Chips

This year, my family and I were gifted a half-share in a CSA.  For those not familiar with what a CSA is, it stands for Community Supported Agriculture.  You pay in for a full or half share and then whatever they harvest, is divided between those that have shares.  So far, we have received a lot of salad greens!!  I'm the only one that likes them so I've been eating lots of salads.  Last week we also received some spinach, which can obviously be added to salads but I wanted to try something different.  I searched on Pinterest for spinach and found this recipe for spinach chips.  I have heard of kale chips so I was intrigued to try these.

Start by covering a baking sheet in foil.

2 cups of spinach

Coated in oil and seasoned with Italian seasoning and salt

Baked at 325 for 8 mins.  Let set for 2 mins.

Official Opinion:  They were tasty.  Very flavorful.  Some of the spinach leaves I had were very large so I'm thinking they should have baked longer because they didn't get very crispy.  I ate almost the whole batch myself because no one else wanted them and that was almost too much.  There were a few left this morning  so I tried a couple and they still tasted very good but were not as crispy as last night.  I think this would be a good recipe to make a small batch for a snack in the evening but not to make large batches at a time.

Ingredients

	Spinach leaves	2 Cup (32 tbs) (big, healthy looking leaves)
	Extra virgin olive oil	1 Tablespoon (as reqired)
	Italian seasoning blend	To Taste
	Salt	To Taste

 

Directions

GETTING READY
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set aside.
MAKING
3. In a bowl, put the spinach leaves. Put olive oil and mix it well without breaking or tearing the leaves.
4. Sprinkle salt and Italian blend and mix well till all leaves are coated.
5. Take the foil lined baking sheet and arrange the leaves in a single layer without any overlaps.
6. Bake in the oven for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it sit on the baking sheet for another 2 minutes.
7. Using a spatula, transfer them into a bowl or plate.
SERVING
8. In a serving bowl or plate, serve the spinach chips with a nice dip and a refreshing beverage.

TIPS
Make them in batches. Do not overcrowd the baking sheet. Every leaf should be exposed to the heat.

Read more at http://ifood.tv/italian/467583-italian-herb-baked-spinach-chips-healthy-snack-idea#qLKqeic0zbAQfej2.99

 

 

Mississippi Mud Potatoes

What comes to mind when you hear 'Mississippi Mud?'  I'm guessing you're not thinking about grabbing a plate & fork and digging in.  You just might change your mind after this post.

The ingredients for this mud is as follows:
Potatoes
Cheese
Bacon
Onions

8-10 cups of diced potatoes
approx 16 oz of cheese (I used some cheddar and colby-jack)
3 strips of diced bacon
1/2 cup of little green onions (I used the onions and the tops)

The original recipe called for all cheddar cheese and a whole package of bacon but I had several recipes I'm doing this weekend that called for similar ingredients and I think I confused myself because I ended up short some of the ingredients.

The dressing for this casserole is really easy:

One cup of real mayo.  At our house, Miracle Whip is all there is.

Mix it all up and bake at 325 until the potatoes are tender, about 1 1/2 hrs.  The original recipe didn't say whether to cover or not so I didn't but I should have because after 1 1/2 hrs they were still a little crunchy so I covered them and ended up baking for another 25 mins.  They could have been more tender but we were all getting hungry so we called it good.

I never know if I should cover a dish or not if it doesn't say.  How do you know??

Anyway, it came out pretty good.  As to why it's called "Mississippi Mud" :   “They’re named for the famous river because they’re LONG on taste and MIGHTY good!”

Served with my mother-in-law's sloppy joes recipe (lb of hamburger, undrained can of chicken gumbo, 3 Tbsp of brown sugar and some ketchup), asparagus from the CSA grilled with garlic powder/salt/pepper and watermelon.

1. 8-10 Cups potatoes, diced finely
2. 16 ounces cheddar cheese, cubed or shredded
3. 1 Cup mayonnaise (real)
4. 1 package bacon, cooked and torn into large bits
5. 1/2 Cup green onions, chopped

Instructions

1. In a 9x13 pan or 3 quart casserole dish, mix potatoes, cheddar cheese, bacon, and green onions.
2. Stir in mayonnaise.
3. Bake at 325 for an hour and a half or until potatoes are tender. Top with additional cheese if desired.

 http://www.mamaplusone.com/mississippi-mud-potatoes/