27

Dec

Elegant Quiche Cups

It was a calm, peaceful Christmas day at our house. Weird, right? Since I work at a church, this is one of the busiest times of year. Honestly, I didn’t realize how tired I’d be by the time December 25th rolled around. (Can you relate?? Hee) I needed the calm. And, while I absolutely loved just hanging out with Matt & Sam the dog all day in the stillness, I think I just want this kind of Christmas once in our lives. 🙂  So, along with our nontraditional Christmas came a nontraditional Christmas dinner…sort of.

Quiche can be dated back to the 1300s, a German-influenced French pastry, and the French word “quiche” comes from the German “kuchen,” meaning cake. Something like that. What I’m trying to say is this is old and traditional and seemed like the perfect Christmas dish in keeping it simple and beautiful. (Simple is a challenge for me! Having 8.9 side dishes is my minimum for a merry day.)

So this quiche is 1)gluten free and 2)gluten filled. It’s great for a dinner for a crowd when you aren’t sure how many are coming. And these cups reheat really well! How? Keep reading…….

Elegant Quiche Cups
When you need an elegant, easy, semi-quick dinner, go to a quiche cup. You can modify the ingredients based on what you have in the fridge, and you can customize each cup for picky particular eaters that you are cooking for. The crust is separate from the quiche, so a soggy, reheated crust is a thing of the past! Plus, with an option of gluten-free or gluten-filled, it’s a dish for all! Fill with the same amount of veggies as this recipe if you don’t want a super egg-y quiche, or add more eggs and less veggies for those who adore the incredible edible egg.

Makes 6 BIG quiche cups (using a 6-cup LARGE muffin pan, or makes 9 standard-size muffin cups)

Quiche Cups:
8 large eggs
2 TB flour (use brown rice or other gluten-free flour to keep it GF)
1 TB olive oil
1/3 chopped green bell pepper
1/3 cup chopped yellow onion (about 1/2 of a small onion)
1 zucchini, sliced into thin rounds
3 garlic cloves, chopped
4 cups fresh spinach
5 slices cooked turkey bacon (or bacon of your choice), chopped
1/2 cup of chopped mushrooms
Seasonings: garlic powder, seasoning salt, 21 Seasonings Salute (Trader Joe’s), lemon juice, Chipotle Tabasco –Season with any or all of these, to taste!
 

Snowflake Crust:
1 1/3 all purpose flour (alter with gluten free flours according to flour packaging)
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2-3 tablespoons cold water

Fresh spinach makes ALL the difference in this dish.

Step One: In a large saute pan, saute olive oil, bell pepper, onion and zucchini for 2 minutes. Next, add garlic, spinach, and 2 TB water and let cook until spinach is slightly wilted. (Spinach will cook more in the oven.) Ste pan aside to cool a bit.

 

Snowflakes in dough form

Step Two: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Now let’s make the crust: In a food processor (or with a hand mixer in a bowl), beat the butter, flour, salt and sugar on medium-high. Add the water a bit at a time, until the consistency of the dough is crumbly and the butter is dispersed throughout. Roll the dough out onto a FLOURED surface and, using a large snowflace cookie cutter, cut out 6 snowflakes. You can use any large festive cookie cutter (mine is about 5 inches in diameter). Warning: this is a lazy woman’s pate brisee recipe, so it will not be the smoothest pie dough you’ve ever worked with! Set your snowflakes on a cookie sheet and set aside.

Cups about to go in the oven!

Step Three: Let’s assemble our quiche. In a large bowl, add the 8 cracked eggs and whisk. Add the flour and whisk a little more. Fold in the sauteed spinach/veggies mixture, turkey bacon and spices and stir. Spray the muffin pan with nonstick spray, and spoon out the egg mixture. (I used a 1/3 cup measuring cup to evenly distribute the egg mixture.) To make it pretty, sprinkle with chopped chives and top with mushrooms before putting in the oven.

Step Four: Put the muffin pan AND the snowflakes into the oven (muffin pan on the bottom rack, the snowflakes on the top rack), baking for 30 minutes. Remove both pans from the oven. Check on the snowflakes after those 30 minutes and, if they’re lightly brown and a bit crisp, remove from the oven to cool. Otherwise, bake for a few more minutes. For the quiche cups, top with cheese and bake for 10 more minutes. The cups should be solid and the cheese melted.

Cheese-less
Cheesy

Step Five: Carefully remove the quiche cups from the pan using 2 teaspoons (my secret for removing most muffins/cupcakes from pans). Using the spoon-side down, circle around the cup to loosen the quiche. Then, life with the 2 spoons on opposite sides. Top with a golden snowflake and serve with a salad or fruit on the side! Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

There you have it–healthy, elegant, simple. Enjoy.

Happy holiday-ing!
Laurel

~Laurel~

12 years ago Short URL

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24

Apr

Tempeh Fried Rice

I’ve had this glorious pack of tempeh sitting in the fridge for a couple of weeks. It’s the 3-grain kind from Trader Joe’s, and I think I’ve finally found a good purpose for it…fried rice. [Note: Tempeh is a superfood of sorts, has 20 grams of protein per serving, and it takes on the flavor of whatever sauce you mix it with. Plus, it’s cheap–$1.99. Faboo!]

Chicken fried rice or anything fried rice is so tasty, and when you make it at home you can cut back on preservatives (the non-pronounceable) and fat/calories (the oily piles of the takeout version). You can also add any protein you like, so leftover chicken, pork, bacon, or shrimp are all good options. But equally as tasty are black beans, tofu, edamame, extra eggs, or tempeh. Mix and match. This is also a fun thing to make for a group or kids event, because you can set out the warm ingredients, along with a large bowl of rice, and they can top the rice with the ingredients they wish.

Example:

  • 1 large bowl of rice
  • 6 small bowls (scrambled eggs; cooked broccoli, cooked carrots, green peas, water chestnuts, sprouts, edamame, chopped bell pepper, onions, etc.)
  • Bottle of soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, or sweet & sour sauce at the end of the ‘buffet’

OKAY, getting back to fried rice…it doesn’t have to be oily and one shade of tan…it can be fun a colorful!

Fried Rice
6-8 servings

  • 4 cups cooked rice (use your favorite kind)
  • 1 TB olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1/2 small onion, chopped
  • 1 pound of your favorite protein (tempeh, chicken, shrimp, tofu, beef, pork, etc.)
  • 3 large eggs, whisked
  • 1 16-oz bag of stir fry veggies (or use fresh)
  • 1 fresh veggie (a zucchini, bell pepper, cucumber, broccoli, etc.)–>This is optional, but really adds color and freshness to the dish. 
  • 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
  • Dash of pepper
  • Dash of hot sauce (optional)
  • wok/large saute pan & a wooden spoon + a bowl and fork/whisk for the eggs
  • 1/2 cup toasted cashews (optional)

 

1: Heat the pan on medium-high heat. Add the oil, garlic and onion and let saute. Then, add the ‘protein’ to cook it through.

2: Add the eggs and let cook/scramble. Add the veggies, cover, and let cook for 7 or so minutes.

3: Add the cooked rice and heat, seasoning with soy sauce, black pepper, hot sauce and any other spice you like. Top with cashews or crunchy noodles for a little crunch.

Serve hot. Makes great leftovers.

Happy Woking!
Laurel

~Laurel~

13 years ago Short URL

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04

May

Veggie Omelette

Kale and carrots and zucchini, oh my!

I have a confession to make. Sometimes I get a little proud when I stand in the grocery line and notice that my row of food is much more colorful and less packaged than the person’s in front of or behind me. I don’t mean that in a judgmental sort of way, but I think about how much I’ve changed the way I eat. Granted, avoiding sugar as a major food group is always a challenge for me…but trying to cook what I eat and not rely on microwave boxes has been a really good step for me. Of course, sometimes we’re too busy to even think about what to eat (nonetheless prepare our meals ahead of time), so those boxed dinners come in handy. But, instead of that being the norm, I try to make it the exception to mealtime.

Yesterday, I felt a little pride. The 8-foot-tall beautiful couple in front of me in line at the grocery store unloaded only 10 or so items. They consisted of the wine, cheese bread and cake food groups. Obviously, this was not their meal planning for the week, but probably for a romantic and relaxed night at home. But I unloaded $13 of produce (which is a TON of produce), and it looked like a rainbow had thrown up on the conveyer belt. (Sorry for the image.) It was an assortment of fruits, veggies and grains with reds, greens, yellows, oranges, and purples. Beautiful! And I was so excited, I went home and made an omelette with some of these bargain findings.

Veggie Omelette
Serves 1, or 2 with toast & fruit


3 eggs (2 eggs + 1 egg white)
Salt + pepper
Garlic powder
3 TB kale, chopped
1/2 carrot, peeled
1/3 zucchini, peeled
1/4 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, swiss, mozzarella, etc. is great)
2 t. olive oil



step 1: Chop the kale and peel the carrot and zucchini. Pat the carrot and zucchini with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl until fluffy. Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder (a dash/pinch of each) and stir in to the eggs. Heat a large pan/wok on medium heat, drizzling olive oil.


step 2: When the oil is hot, pour in the eggs. Turn the pan slightly to coat the bottom with the egg mixture. Let sit for 2 minutes, or until it is slightly firming on the edges. Then add half of the veggies. Let cook for 2 minutes.



step 3: Sprinkle the cheese on top and add the remaining ingredients. Using a spatula, carefully flip half of the egg circle over to form an omelette shape. Press gently with spatula to ensure that the egg and cheese are serving as glue to the veggies. Let cook for 3 more minutes, or until omelett is firm and egg appears cooked on the outside. Flip and let cook 3 more minutes.


Serve hot with toast and fruit. 

Happy eating!
Laurel

~Laurel~

14 years ago Short URL

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