Broccoli Cheddar Quiche

My friend, Patti, and I got together for our monthly catching-up-with-each-other-time today. We shared this Broccoli Cheddar Quiche and some wonderful late-harvest peaches from her yard, while we enjoyed our visit together.

This quiche is mild in flavor and works well for brunch or dinner, and it is very kid-friendly. Our little granddaughter thoroughly enjoyed it when I made it a few years ago for brunch on Thanksgiving weekend. Blessings...

Recipe:

Pastry for a 10-inch one-crust pie
1/2 lb. bacon, crisply fried and crumbled
1 cup grated medium cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
1 cup diced fresh broccoli
1/3 cup minced onion
1-2 tsps. butter
4 eggs
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup half-and-half
1 few grinds white pepper
1/2 tsp. nutmeg


1. Line 10-inch pie plate or 10-inch quiche dish with pastry. Make high fluted edge and set aside.
2. In small frying pan over low heat, melt butter. Add onion and fry until golden in color, remove pan from heat.
3. Heat oven to 425 degrees.
4. Carefully spread cooked onion in pie plate.
5. Sprinkle bacon, cheese and broccoli pieces over onion.
6. Whisk together last 5 ingredients in a medium-sized bowl until well combined. Carefully pour cream mixture into pie plate.
7. Bake 15 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 300 degrees; cover quiche with foil to prevent over-browning and bake another 30 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Remove quiche from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

Yield: 6 to 8 main dish servings

Breakfast Casserole

While we were visiting with our son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren on our vacation our daughter-in-law served this breakfast casserole one morning. It is one of those wonderful recipes that is put together the evening before, refrigerated overnight, and baked the next morning. I love this one because it has lots of cheese, bacon and sausage in it making it a very filling and satisfying start to a busy day, which all of our days were. I have never made this recipe but I have eaten it twice, and I can attest to how good it is! Blessings...

Recipe:

10 slices white bread (trimmed)
1 lb. Jimmy Dean Hot Sausage, fried and crumbled (see note)
1/2 lb. bacon, fried and crumbled
1/2 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
6 eggs, beaten to blend
3 cups milk
1/2 tsp. salt

1. Layer in 9 x 13-inch pan bread, sausage, bacon, and cheese.
2. Mix eggs, milk, and salt; pour over casserole.
3. Cover and let stand in the refrigerator overnight.
4. Remove cover and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 to 60 minutes or until set.
5. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Yield: 12 servings
Note: the hot sausage is needed for flavor and does not add undue spiciness. It is wonderful!

Guacamole Tossed Salad

This recipe is yummy, or as I wrote in the Taste of Home Cookbook that it comes from, "Excellent". It is very similar to the Avocado and Tomato Salad posted on 8/9/2012 except that this recipe incorporates lettuce making it a more standard kind of dinner side. It is very Mexican in flavor, just as the title suggests. I didn't have any red onion so I substituted green onion, which tasted great. The salad is served alongside Chicken Quesadillas which I'll post next week. Blessings...

Recipe:

2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 small red onion, sliced and separated into rings or finely chopped
6 bacon strips, fried crisp and crumbled
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tbsps. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. hot pepper sauce
2 large ripe avocados, peeled and cubed
4 cups torn salad greens

1. In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, onion and bacon.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce. Pour over tomato mixture; toss gently. Add avocados.
3. Place the greens in a large salad bowl; add the avocado mixture and toss to coat.
Serve immediately

Yield: 4 - 6 servings

Ham 'n' Cheese Pie

Do you remember the days of the "impossible pie" recipes on the back of the Bisquick boxes? Goodness, these go back a long way! Well, I found this recipe in a Taste of Home cookbook and decided to give it a try since I hadn't made an "impossible pie" in years. The combination of cheeses, ham and bacon are traditional in quiche and taste great for brunch, lunch or dinner. In the "impossible pie" recipes there are no crusts. The custard is formed by the combination of Bisquick, eggs and milk. So easy, and very tasty! I was curious to go to the Bisquick website to see if there were any of these kinds of recipes posted and there are. If you might be interested in checking out the site it is http://www.bisquick.com Blessings...

Recipe:

1 cup diced fully cooked ham
3/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese
5 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 tbsp. chopped onion
3 tbsp. chopped green pepper
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup biscuit/baking mix such as Bisquick
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

1. In a greased 10-inch quiche dish or pie plate (see note), layer ham, Swiss cheese, bacon, cheddar cheese, onion and green pepper.
2. Place the remaining ingredients in a blender in the order given; blend for 30-40 seconds. Pour over meat and cheese; do not stir.
3. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

Yield: 6-8 servings
Note: I baked the pie in a 10-inch quiche dish and it was incredibly thin, as you can see in the picture. In the future I will use a 9-inch pie plate. Since the pie will be thicker it might need a few more minutes of baking time.

Overnight Tossed Green Salad

When I was a new bride of five months, my husband and I moved from our hometown to Santa Cruz, Ca. This move might as well have been to the moon for me. At that time, I did not make new friends easily at all and I never even considered that I would not live near my family. Little did I know that there would be a time when I would be leaving California, and even further from family and friends.

Early in our time in Santa Cruz, a wonderful and very kind woman befriended me at our new church. We became instant friends, as did our husbands. Thankfully, for me, she was a wonderfully gifted cook and she shared recipes for the dishes that my husband and I enjoyed in their home.

Years ago, overnight green salads were very popular. I had tried many and was not pleased with any of them, until Chris served this one for one of our dinners together. Preparing the salad for a large gathering the night before the meal takes some of the last minute stress out of the meal preparations as guests are arriving. It's so nice to have as much of the meal prepared in advance as possible in order to free up time to enjoy being with our friends and family. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 medium head iceberg lettuce (romaine can also be used)

1 10-oz. pkg. fresh spinach

1/2 cup sliced green onion

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1 10-oz. pkg. frozen petite peas, thawed

1 lb. pkg. bacon, diced, cooked and drained

Dressing:

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

2 tbsps. fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. basil

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

1. Tear lettuce and spinach into bite-sized pieces into a large salad bowl.

2. Layer onion, tomatoes, peas and bacon over greens.

3. Combine dressing ingredients. Spread over top like frosting, being sure to seal out air. Refrigerate overnight.

4. Toss and serve

Yield: 10 servings

Stuffed Baked Potatoes

Recently a friend came for a very short visit, a meal, and a nights rest before flying back to California and his job. It was wonderful to have some one-on-one time with him. I served one of my husband's favorite chicken dishes, "Baked Orange Chicken", which is posted on 3/31/2010, if you would like to check it out, along with a Caesar Salad, this recipe for Stuffed Baked Potatoes and a Blueberry Crisp. It's such a blessing to open our homes to others for a visit, a meal, or maybe even a nights stay as they are on their way to another destination. Being available isn't always easy, but it is sure worth the effort. Blessings...

Recipe: 

3 large baking potatoes
3 tbsps. butter
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/3 cup sour cream, or more to taste
1 1/2 tbsps. chopped chives
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
5 bacon slices, fried crisp and crumbled

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and scrub the potatoes and prick once with a knife. Bake until potatoes are tender, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
2. Let the potatoes cool a bit and then carefully cut them in half lengthwise and scoop the centers into a bowl.
3. Add the butter and mash until smooth. Fold in the cheese, sour cream, chives, and bacon. Taste, and add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Mound the mixture back into the potato shells and bake for another 15 minutes, or until they are heated through.

Serves: 6
Note: I don't spend the extra money for chives, but instead I finely chop the small green stems of green onions. I think it works just fine. I also used real bacon bits from a jar as a time saver. Do whatever works, the fellowship over the meal is the important thing.