Cookish: What's for dinner?

Spinach and mushroom quiche

1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and liquid squeezed out

1/2 pkg (4 oz) mushrooms, chopped

2 cloves garlic

oil

salt

pepper

5 eggs

1 cup milk (I used 1/3 heavy cream and 2/3 skim milk, because I needed to use up the heavy cream, but use what you have)

1/2 cup-1 cup mozzarella cheese (or shredded cheese of your choice)

parmesean cheese, for sprinkling on top

1 pie crust.

You'll need these

And this.

Blind bake your pie crust at 375 for about 20 minutes.

This picture should be rotated the other way. It is a pie crust filled with pie weights for blind baking. (I use dried black beans as pie weights--just don't try to cook them after!)

While this is baking, saute the mushrooms and garlic, adding the defrosted spinach when the mushrooms are nearly done. Season with salt and pepper.

Saute it up!

Mix up 5 eggs and milk.

Can't make quiche without breaking eggs.

Add cheese to egg and milk mixture.

Remove crust from oven. Add mushrooms and spinach.

Pour eggs on top. Sprinkle with parm.

Turn oven down to 350 and return quiche to oven.

Bake about 30 minutes or until center is set; Eat up!

Cookish: What's for lunch?

How do you feel about eggs?

I love eggs. I didn't always, but now I do. They are so cheap, easy to cook, and versatile--what's not to love? Oh, and they're delicious. And good for you. Eat some eggs.

I always have eggs on hand, so when I am at a loss for lunch, I make egg salad. Simple. Tasty. Maybe not the healthiest lunch, but at least you're getting some protein. Pack some fruit, too--you'll be fine.

Do you know how to boil an egg? You've got to master that to make egg salad. Here's what you do:
Take as many eggs as you want to boil. Even if you're only making egg salad for yourself, you want at least two. Put in a pot that will just accommodate as many eggs as you have to boil in one layer. The smaller the better, so they don't have to bump around too much. Cover the eggs with cold water. Put the eggs on the stove and cover. Turn to high. When the pot comes to a boil, turn off the burner, and leave the eggs, covered, for 10 minutes. When the time is up, pour off the hot water and run cold water over the eggs until they cool. This will make them easier to peel. Bam! You've got boiled eggs, with no gray-green ring.

Now that you've got boiled eggs, it's time to make egg salad. You need:
Boiled eggs
mayonnaise
mustard (sometimes I use Dijon, sometimes I use Creole, sometimes I use Durkee's)
garlic powder
pepper

I use an egg slicer when I'm making egg salad--slice one way, then the other. You can also chop by hand. All the other ingredients are to taste. You want to make sure you add enough mayo to completely moisten the eggs and get a nice consistency. How to serve? I like to eat it just with crackers (Triscuits), but it's also mighty tasty on a sandwich of toasted whole wheat bread, with some lettuce.

Cookish: What's for dinner?

Chilaquiles are delicious, cheap, and easy. What more do you want? Note: I do not claim that these are in any way authentic. But, they are yummy.

Ingredients:

veg oil

1/4-1/3 onion

2 cloves garlic

1 can crushed tomatoes

1-2 chipoltle peppers

Oregano

1 bay leaf

salt

tortilla chips

eggs

cheese

sour cream

Chop the onion finely. Saute in oil til translucent. Use your microplane to grate the garlic. (You do have a microplane, right? Get one, you'll love it.) Add the tomatoes. Chop up the chipoltle and add to your tomatoes. Add a sprinkle of oregano, a bay leaf, and some salt. Don't add too much salt; you'll be adding the tortilla chips to this, which are pretty salty. Let simmer for a bit, then taste. Up the seasoning as needed.

Fry or scramble an egg or eggs, depending upon how many you are feeding. I recommend a fried egg, sunny-side up, if you like eggs that way. The runny yolk will mix with the sauce--delicious. Scrambled eggs are good, too.

Add several handfuls of chips to sauce, crushing slightly as you add them. Let the chips soak up the sauce and soften a bit, but don't let them disintegrate completely. Spoon up some chips & sauce into a bowl.

Serve with egg on top & cheese. Sour cream optional. Yum!

I'm really sorry I don't have a finishing shot on this one, because it looked delicious. But, again, my camera battery failed me.

Cookish: Simple Supper

Ready for a simply declicious supper? You need lettuce, roasted potatoes, and eggs. Ready?



1. Roast some potatoes.

Ingredients
New Potatoes
Olive oil
Onion
Garlic or garlic powder/granulated garlic (because I was somehow without fresh garlic in the house--a true sin)
parsley
oregano
salt
pepper


Preheat oven to 425. Quarter your new potatoes and finely chop some onions. Toss in a bowl with olive oil, oregano, parsley, granulated garlic, salt and pepper. Be generous with the salt--potatoes need salt. Put on a rimmed cookie sheet or baking pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes.


2. Soft boil an egg or eggs (depending upon how many you're serving. One egg per person.)


Bring water to a boil. Add the egg and simmer for about 4 minutes for a runny yolk. You want a runny yolk--trust me. Put eggs under cool running water and then peel egg(s). Here's a hint: use old eggs. Not rotten, people! Just older. It means there's more space between the egg and the shell, which means they are easier to peel.


Soft-boiled eggs are not the easiest thing to peel, so I offer an alternative to soft-boiled egg: a poached egg. Just as good. Just remember the runny yolk. Trust me on this.


3. Make a salad. Toss some simple greens (I use just green-leaf lettuce, but romaine or bibb lettuce would be good too) with some white wine vinegar, a little olive oil, and some salt. Keep it simple.


Put it all together now:


Salad in a bowl. A few roasty-toasty potatoes on top. Egg on top of that. Break egg with fork and yolk spills out....mix it all around. Yum.


I apologize for the lack of pictures. My camera battery has betrayed me. I hope to have the situation remedied soon.

Cookish: What's for dinner?

Tasty Broccoli Quiche

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 onion, minced (you can use more if you like)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 cups chopped fresh broccoli
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (or your choice)
4 eggs, well beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Parmesean cheese



If you buy pie dough not already in the pan, place it in a pie plate and crimp the edges.Aww, it's pretty. Preheat your oven to 350. Chop up your onions, garlic, and broccoli. Saute in the butter til tender. Meanwhile, mix up the eggs, milk, salt, black pepper, and melted butter.Add the sauteed veggies to the pie crust and sprinkle the cheddar on top.
Pour on the egg mixture and sprinkle some parmesean on top, just for good measure. Place in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the center is set and the top is golden and delicious.


Eat it up. Yum!