Mexican Quiche

I love this dish. Very cheesy texture and good flavor. We eat it for breakfast or dinner.

1 cube butter

10 eggs

½ c. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 8 oz. can chopped Ortega chilies

1 pt. cottage cheese

1 lb. Jack cheese, grated (or use the Mexican blend)

½ tsp. salt

Melt butter in 9 X 13 pan to be used in baking quiche. Beat eggs, add flour, baking powder and salt. Blend, then add melted butter, chilies and cheese. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes; reduce to 350° and bake 40 minutes. Cut in squares. Serve hot or cold with salsa on side and chopped cilantro (optional).

Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are really good, especially for how easy they are. These are really soft and cakey. I think they taste better after they've had time to cool rather than hot out of the oven.

1 30 oz can pumpkin
2 spice cake mixes
1 12 oz bag chocolate chips

Mix together gently until combined. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

When this batch makes 48 cookies, each cookie is 1 WW point.

Easy Milkshakes

Lately we've been blending up ice cream and milk in the blender to make milkshakes. The chocolate ice cream milkshakes tasted more like Frosty's, but our favorite are the Oreo milkshakes that we make with cookies and cream ice cream. The consistency is better.

ice cream flavor of your choice
milk - amount depends on how much ice cream and the consistency you want.

Directions are simple: Blend.

Homemade Egg McMuffins and Biscuit Sandwiches

Another good breakfast recipe from Laura at Real Mom Kitchen. We've made something similar to these ourselves before, but the thing that really made these great were the precooked frozen sausage patties. We ate them fresh, but Laura freezes hers for a quick breakfast in the morning. Check out her site for the instructions to freeze and reheat them.

The first time I made them with English muffins and they were a hit. The next time I made them, my English muffins were gone, so I used Grands Biscuits I had left over from dinner the night before. They were both really good, but the biscuit sandwiches were even better, 0f course. It's the same thing but with butter and more calories, right?

My husband deemed these better than McDonald's. I found the sausage patties precooked in the frozen section at the grocery store, then warmed them up in the microwave assembling the sandwich. I think it was the sausage patties that made these especially good.

English muffin, toasted (or Grands biscuit)
1 egg per sandwich, scrambled according to your taste
1 slice American cheese
1 sausage patty, precooked

Scramble eggs (1 per sandwich). I scrambled mine like I always do with a little bit of water, salt, and cheese. Split and toast muffins (for the biscuits, I just cut them in half). Assemble sandwich with eggs, sausage, and cheese. If you like, you can warm in the microwave for 30 seconds to melt the cheese before serving.

Deluxe French Toast

I tried this recipe thanks to Laura over at Real Mom Kitchen. She got it from Cooking Light (and it is technically called Pain Perdu). I love my plain old French toast that I make for my family and cook up on the griddle, but I thought this was fun for when you want to make something special.

The only drawback is it took too long to cook enough to feed my family hot out of the pan (3 pieces every 7 minutes).

That said though, my family raved about this meal. It was rich and buttery and tasted like restaurant French toast. If I were to make it again, I think I'd get two pans going with melted butter or try it on the griddle so I could cook more pieces at a time. Also, when I made this, I made a double batch, but I had to triple the amount of the egg and milk mixture to have enough liquid to coat and saturate the bread. I also made it without the orange rind, purely by accident, and served it with syrup because I was in a hurry and didn't have my strawberries ready to go.

3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon grated whole nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
8 (1-ounce) slices diagonally cut day-old French bread (about 1 inch thick)

2 cups sliced strawberries
2 teaspoons grated orange rind
4 teaspoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1. Combine milk, 1 tablespoon sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, salt, and eggs in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Place bread slices in a 13 x 9–inch baking dish; pour egg mixture over bread; turn to coat. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until egg is absorbed.

2. Combine strawberries, remaining 1 tablespoon sugar, and rind in a small bowl. Let stand 20 minutes.

3. Melt 2 teaspoons butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 4 bread slices to pan; cook 3 1/2 minutes on each side or until golden. Repeat procedure with remaining butter and bread.

4. Place 2 bread slices on each of 4 plates. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons powdered sugar; top each with 1/2 cup strawberry mixture.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 349
Fat: 10.2g (sat 4.5g,mono 3.4g,poly 1.1g)
Protein: 11.7g
Carbohydrate: 52g
Fiber: 3.4g
Cholesterol: 172mg
Iron: 2.8mg
Sodium: 540mg
Calcium: 136mg

Orange Jello Salad

Why do I love this jello salad so much? I guess because I just tracked down the recipe, so I've never had it very much. I know it's an old standby. I would never think to mix these ingredients together, but it's just so good.

1 container Cool Whip, 8 oz. (I used Cool Whip Light)
1 container small curd cottage cheese, 16 oz.
1 small box orange jello (I used sugar free)
1 large can crushed pineapple, (20 oz.) well drained
1-2 can mandarin oranges, well drained (to taste)

Gently combine cool whip, cottage cheese, drained pineapple, and dry jello powder in a large bowl. Gently stir in mandarin oranges, reserving some for garnishing if desired.

Garnish with mandarin oranges. Chill well before serving.

Broccoli Bow Tie Pasta Salad

I love this summery salad. The lemon and salt and pepper flavor with the broccoli is delicious. It's light and filling, and the pine nuts and parmesan cheese are the perfect finishing touches. This recipe comes from the Food Network--Paula Deen's show I think--but it's not posted on their website anymore.

Salt
8 cups broccoli florets (4 heads)
1/2 pound farfalle (bow tie) pasta
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 lemon, zested
1/2 teaspoon freshy ground black pepper
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (1/2 lemon)
1/4 cup toated pignoli (pine) nuts
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

I buy the big bag of fresh broccoli florets from Costco, then chop them up into bite sized pieces. Cook the broccoli for 3 minutes in a large pot of boiling salted water. Remove the broccoli from the water with a slotted spoon or sieve. Place in a large bowl and set aside.

In the same water, cook the bow-tie pasta according to the package directions, about 12 minutes. Drain well and add to the broccoli.

To toast pignolis, place them in a dry saute pan over medium-low heat and cook, tossing often, for about 5 minutes, until light brown. I like to do this first, then use the same pan for the butter and oil.

Heat the butter and oil and cook the garlic and lemon zest over medium-low heat for 1 minute. Off the heat, add 2 teaspoons salt, the pepper, and lemon juice and pour this over the broccoli and pasta. Toss well. Sprinkle on Parmesan cheese, toss once more, and serve.

No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Sometimes you just need some cookies without all of the mess and cleanup. Voilà!

1 cube butter
½ c. milk
2 c. sugar
2 Tbl. cocoa
½ tsp. salt

Cook together in pot and bring to a boil. Then add 1 tsp. vanilla and 3 c. oatmeal. Spoon onto wax paper or foil with a spoon and let cool.


Originally posted 2/21/07 without picture

Zucchini Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting

I dreamed about these the other night. I guess that's what pregnancy does to you (that, and essentially shut down your recipe blog for extended periods of time). My aunt made these for a party last week and they were heavenly.

3 eggs
1 1/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. orange juice
1 tsp. almond extract
2 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 1/2 c. shredded zucchini

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Makes exactly 2 dozen cupcakes. You can substitute apple sauce for the oil.

Caramel Frosting:
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. powdered sugar

Combine brown sugar, butter, and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Cool to lukewarm. Gradually beat in powdered sugar.

Chicken Bacon Sandwiches

I'm always on the lookout for a new, good sandwich during the summer months. I found this one over at Pioneer Woman and it was a hit with both the kids and the husband, and also my lovely sister with refined taste. Pioneer Woman has about a million pictures to hold your hand every step of the way through this recipe, so if you are making it for the first time, that is the place to go.

boneless, skinless chicken breasts
lemon pepper
peppered bacon
cheese (I used cheddar)
sandwich buns

Cut the peppered bacon in half and cook until crispy. Drain on paper towels. Pound chicken breasts until they are are an even thickness, just for uniform cooking.

Pour off the bacon grease, reserving about a tablespoon for cooking the chicken. Sprinkle each side of the chicken breast generously with lemon pepper, and cook the first side for 4 minutes in about a tablespoon of bacon grease. Flip over, and immediately cover each chicken breast with slices of bacon and a slice of cheese. Cover with a lid. Chicken should be done when cheese is melted to perfection. Serve on sandwich buns.

I loved the hint of tanginess from the lemon pepper, and really, how can you go wrong with cheese and bacon? Pioneer Woman says you can put a squirt of Grey Poupon on the roll if you like. My sister thought it looked like it would be too dry, so she put mayo on hers. I was surprised at how moist the sandwich was without anything on it. I didn't think it needed anything extra.

It was much easier to eat after it was cut in half. :) We'll be making these again soon. This recipe was a keeper in my book.

Mint Brownies

From the kitchen of Aunt Kaye: Yes, you read right. There are 5 1/2 sticks of butter in this pan of brownies. And yes, this recipe makes a ton, but the amount of butter alone should tell you how good these are. I think we figured out one time that one brownie contains about half of your calories for the day, so if you are going to splurge, this is the way to do it.

Brownies:
3 c. flour
3/8 c. powdered milk
3 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
3/4 c. cocoa
1 rounded tsp. baking powder

Add :
2 1/2 cubes melted butter
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. water

Bake in jelly roll pan at 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Cool before frosting.

Mint Frosting:
3 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 c. soft butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cap peppermint extract
red food coloring (make the frosting pink)
little milk

Mix well and frost brownies evenly. Put in fridge till firm.

Chocolate Topping:
1 1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips (12 oz.)
1 stick butter

Melt together. When shiny, spread over top of mint frosting in a very thin layer. Cool.

Cut off the edges before serving.

These need to be kept in the fridge until just before serving.

Cheese on Bagels

Just a simple breakfast idea to mix things up. You can't go wrong with this - I guarantee everybody will love it.

Cut your bagels in half and place a slice of cheddar cheese on top of each bagels half. Toast under the broiler until the cheese starts to bubble. Then you have two options: go ahead and eat it like it is, or sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. I know some people who stand firmly in the no salt and pepper camp, and others who won't eat it without. Which do you prefer?

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've been on the lookout for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. When the activity day girls brought these by my house, I was pretty sure I had found it. This is Leslie's recipe, but I don't think she even knows I tracked it down. Thanks, Leslie! Now I just have to get mine to look as pretty as hers did. She claims the secret is to undercook them - and the pudding.

I also have another chocolate chip cookie recipe to post, so watch for that to come in the next few days.

Have a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe? I'd love you to email me or post it in the comments.

1 1/2 c. butter or margarine softened

1 c. firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 c. granulated sugar
3 eggs

1 pkg. (6 serving size) Jello Brand Vanilla instant pudding mix

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 1/2 c. flour

3/4 pkg. Guitard milk chocolate chips

1 1/2 c. chopped nuts optional

Mix flour with baking soda. Combine butter, sugars, pudding mix, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl; beat until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add flour mix then stir in chips. Batter should be stiff, if not you may want to add a bit more flour. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen.

Key Lime Pie

Aka, my new addiction.

I've posted this before, but I've figured out a few tips to make it better (*at the bottom), so I thought I'd share.

1 reduced fat graham cracker crust
1 small package lime jello (sugar free)
24 oz. key lime pie yogurt (depending on the size of the containers, 3-8 oz. or 4-6 oz.)
1 1/2 c. fat free cool chip (half a container)
1 envelope Knox gelatin
1/2 c. cold water
1/2 c. boiling water

Sprinkle 1 envelope Knox gelatin over 1/2 c. cold water and let sit for 1 minute. Add lime jello to 1/2 c. boiling water and stir until dissolved. Add the gelatin mixture to the boiling water and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved. Chill for 10 minutes to cool. (so it doesn't curdle the yogurt)

When jello mixture is cooled, fold in key lime yogurt. Chill again, about 10 minutes.

Add cool whip. Pour mixture into graham cracker crust and chill.




Just before serving, top each slice with a dollop of cool whip and a slice of lime.

They also make key lime yogurt in a thick and creamy variety. I think this works best.


And THEN I discovered these cute little babies:


They're mini crusts. Tart size. And they are cute.

When we made a couple of these pies at my mom's house, we always had a little bit of filling left over that wouldn't fit into the pie crust. These would be perfect for that leftover filling. For some reason, when I made it at my house, it fit into the crust perfectly. So of course I had to scoop a little off the top to try out one of the cute little mini crusts.


*I have figured out a few tricks after making this a few times. I use the thick and creamy yogurt. It helps it set up the thickest. I whip the yogurt together before adding the jello, they add the jello only a few teaspoons at a time and stir it until it is a uniform consistency before adding more jello. This way I don't get chunks of jello like this:


You can tell even from the pictures that the texture is a lot smoother this way. Don't chill the yogurt and jello mixture too long in the fridge before adding the cool whip, or it sets up to much and the consistency will be more lumpy than smooth.

Last time I had to take it to a party, so I cut it into pieces and topped each piece right in the pie plate (top picture).

Lemon Water

This is so good. I love this drink. People think it is plain water with lemon in it because it is clear and looks like water, but it tastes just like lemonade.

1 gallon cold water
2 Tbl. citric acid powder
2 Tbl. lemon extract
1 1/2 - 2 c. sugar

Serve in a punch bowl with lemon slices floating on top and Sonic Drive-in crushed ice. I've also served it at dinner in clear pitchers with a couple of lemon slices in the pitcher. I didn't have the ice so I just made sure it was chilled before I put it in the pitchers.

Thanks to Kaye for the party at her house where I snagged this picture.

Originally posted 5/9/06 without picture

Shepherd's Pie

1 pound ground turkey or beef
1 can green beans
2-3 cans tomato soup
2+ cups mashed potatoes

Brown meat, breaking into bite size pieces while cooking. Stir in green beans, and tomato soup until desired consistency. Pour into 8x8 baking dish, top with mashed potatoes to make a crust. Sprinkle grated cheese on top, if desired.

Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, until heated through.

Hawaiian Chicken

This is delicious! I love how easy it is. 3 ingredients? I can handle that. Thanks, Ashley!

1/2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. honey or grape jelly (I know it sounds crazy, but try it with the jelly sometime, no one will know)
1 lb ish chicken

Stick everything in a small pot on the stove. Put the lid on and turn it on low. At some point snip the chicken into bite size hunks with scissors. Let it continue cooking until the meat is thoroughly. Serve over rice. If desired, serve with pineapple chunks on top.

I have to add just under 1/4 c. soy sauce to make mine taste like Ashley's. Different brand soy sauce? I'm not sure what's the difference. But otherwise it turned out salty and not like the original that was so good.

Pita Pizza

We went through a stage where we made these personal pan pita pizzas a lot. They are small enough that everyone can have their own and choose their own toppings.

Pitas
Your favorite pizza sauce (I like Hunt's spaghetti sauce - the flavor and the price is much cheaper than pizza sauce
mozzarella cheese
your choice of toppings

Bake them for 5-10 minutes at 350 (follow the directions on the pita bag) until cheese is melted and crust is crispy.

We make our own pizza dough sometimes too, but these are fun because they are so fast and the crust is crispier.

Onion Dip

1 block cream cheese
½ pkg. Lipton’s onion soup mix
milk

Soften cream cheese to room temperature. Add soup mix and enough milk to thin to right consistency. Eat with plain potato chips.

Spinach Dip

This dip is a recent discovery for me, and now something that I cannot live without. Enjoy.

16 oz sour cream
1 c. Mayonnaise - light or regular (not miracle whip)
1 pkg. Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix
1 can (8 oz) water chestnuts drained and chopped
3 green onions, chopped
1 box (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach (Run under hot water in strainer to defrost. Pat dry with paper towel and remove all water.)

Mix together. Refrigerate several hours before serving to blend flavors. Serve in large bread bowl with the center hollowed out surrounded by slices of a French baguette.

Southwestern Chicken Pizza

1 (10 oz.) Boboli thin cheese flavored pizza crust
Cooking spray
1 cup fat free spicy refried beans
1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles, drained
1 ½ cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1 c. shredded reduced fat Mexican cheese blend
2 chopped green onions (use some of the green)
1 Tbl chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oven to 475°. Place pizza crust on ungreased baking sheet. Lightly coat crust with cooking spray. Bake for 5 min.

Combine beans and chiles in bowl and heat for 1 ½ min in microwave. Spread over baked crust. Sprinkle with chicken and cheese.

Bake at 475° for 9 min. or until cheese melts. Spoon salsa onto pizza. Top with green onions and cilantro.

Cut into 8 slices.

(4 WW points per slice)

Strawberry Lemon Jello

I love this jello, it is the perfect blend of flavors and I love the pudding consistency. It's so easy. The hardest part is thinking ahead to let it set overnight before serving.
1 large box lemon pudding (the cook kind)
1 large box strawberry jello
whipped topping

Make Jello according to package directions (4 c. water total). Set aside.

Make pudding according to package directions. Pour jello into pudding slowly, mixing well to avoid lumps. Stir well with whisk until jello and pudding are uniform consistency.

Pour into 9 x 13 glass pan. Cool until set (I have to let mine set overnight).

Top with whipped topping.

The Best Sugar Cookies You Will Ever Eat

The best part about this recipe is you don't have to refrigerate the dough before you use it! So they are fast and easy, plus they have the added benefit of being the best tasting sugar cookies you will ever eat. They are soft and cakey with just a hint of nutmeg. I have had people who swear they don't like sugar cookies ask me for the recipe. I honestly can't decide if I like them better frosted, or just plain without the frosting.

1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. sour cream
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
3 1/4 c. flour (double batch = 6 c. flour)

Mix well. Roll out to about 1/4 in. thickness on a floured surface and cut shapes. Don't roll them out too thin. No crunchy sugar cookies allowed. You do not need to grease the cookie sheet.


Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes. You want them to be soft. Frost and top with sprinkles or other decorations if desired.

Here's a good frosting recipe.

Snow's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Our neighbors brought these cookies over to us, and they were soo good.

1 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. flour
2 1/2 - 3 c. oatmeal
6 oz. chocolate chips (half a bag)
1/4 bag Reeses peanut butter chips

Bake at 400 degrees for 8-9 minutes.

Originally posted 1/13/06 without pictures

Excuses, Excuses

I've been taking a lot of flack here for my lack of posts. "You haven't posted since December 12th!" I'm glad to know you miss me!

To be honest, I never planned to blog much during the holidays. The priority was to spend time and make memories with family. The unfortunate part is at the beginning of January my computer started to smell like fire and kicked the bucket. With all of my pictures on it.

Don't worry your pretty little head, now, I had the hard drive backed up. I just can't get to it. So I am waiting, patiently.

I think I'll have some new posts coming up within the week.