A Crustless Quiche

Yesterday was World Egg Day or something like that.  I didn't know that until after I had planned to make a quiche for dinner.  That timing worked out quite well, I think.  But, what worked out even better was this recipe I found for a crustless quiche.

I love quiche, and I know I will never be able to make a quiche as good as the French will.  I'll just have to go there to enjoy the flaky, buttery crust and perfectly golden brown top that we all know has about a million calories.

But, this quiche I made last night was delicious, and I know it didn't have the million and a half calories that a piece of quiche on the Champs Elysees would have.  For being a "healthier" quiche, it was a complete winner.

It had the usual suspects of eggs and milk, but it also had Greek yogurt in it.  For the filling I chose to use turkey breakfast sausage, sauteed mushrooms, and Monterrey jack cheese.  So, so good!

Here's the recipe, which I made a slight adjustment from the original here.

Crustless Quiche
serves 6

8 oz. cooked turkey sausage
1 lbs. mushrooms, sliced
1 shallot
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 eggs
1 cup 1% milk
3/4 cup fat-free, plain Greek yogurt
1 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese, divided (about 3.5 oz.)
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the mushrooms and shallot in the olive oil.  Next, add the cooked turkey sausage, mushrooms, and shallot to a greased pie plate.  Be sure to drain off the liquid from the mushrooms, otherwise you will have too much moisture.  Then, sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly over the sausage and veggies, reserving some cheese to sprinkle on top of the eggs.  Next, add the eggs, milk, and Greek yogurt, as well as the salt and pepper, to you mixer and blend with the whisk attachment.  Once the egg mixture is well combined, pour into the pie dish over the meat, veggies, and cheese.  Add the remaining cheese on top of the eggs.  Place is an 350 degree oven and bake for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown on top.  Let the quiche rest about 10 minutes before serving.

PS  For the weight watchers folks out there, each slice is 7 points+.

Strawberry Pancakes

I recently went on a trip and had some delicious strawberry pancakes.  I love pancakes.  But, this took it to a whole new level!

Better yet, they were healthy.  They were so yummy, I had to come home and figure out how to make them.  I looked up a few recipes and made a few modifications.  So, here's what I did.

Strawberry Pancakes

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon Splenda
1 large egg
1 1/4 cup milk (I used skim)
1 medium banana, mashed
1 cup strawberries, sliced
1 tablespoon canola oil

Additional sliced strawberries for garnishing

Mash the banana until it is liquefied.  Next, mix in all the wet ingredients.  Once the wet ingredients are well combined, add the dry ingredients.  Finally, add the sliced strawberries.  Cook the pancakes on a griddle or a skillet over medium heat.

This will make 8 - 10 very thick and fluffy pancakes.

I love thick pancakes.  Do you?  Or are you on the other side of the fence and like thin ones?  If you are, I'll work on converting you to the good side.

Blueberry Muffins

Well, hello.  I've been around around the world and back again.  I'll have to tell you all about it.  But, for now I will tell you what I made one of the first nights home.  You know me and baking.

It's time for picking blueberries and blackberries.  Fresh fruit is the essence of summer to me.  I've been counting down the days until I can go pick more berries and pick some fresh peaches.  But, until I get to go and do that, I figured it was time to use of the last of the frozen berries from last year.

I just love blueberry muffins.  They are delicious warm from the oven with some butter on top.

Blueberries, too, I'm sure you know, is one of the best foods out there.  I picked these last year and froze them in the proportion needed for this recipe.  They are perfect for putting in this super simple muffin recipe.

I usually just add them to the recipe while they are frozen.  But, be sure to give them a good rinse to make sure there are no little critters or leaves in your muffins.  I prefer to get my protein from eggs and the like. :)

If you like batter, this is a good one to eat (in small quantities)!  So delicious with the butter, sugar and vanilla.  I keep coming back to these three things...

My mom would always make these muffins and keep the batter in the fridge for a few days and bake fresh muffins in the morning.  It'll keep for five days or so.  Just think, a whole week of fresh muffins!

Ok, but really, I don't need a whole dozen muffins.  I could eat them all, but I figured we would all be better off if I enjoyed one or two and took the rest to the office-- served up with style on a good old fashioned paper plate!

 

Now, go make these muffins, and come back to enjoy stories from Europe.

Blueberry Muffins

From: Ms. Colleen

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

2 cups flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Beat butter, eggs, salt and sugar in a large mixing.  Sift flour with baking powder and add it alternating with the milk.  Next, add the vanilla.  Finally, fold in the blueberries.

Line a muffin tin with muffin cups.  Full each cup 3/4 of the way full.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  This recipe makes about a bakers dozen.

Enjoy!

Cheddar Broccoli Quiche

It's time that I paid attention to this seemingly neglected blog.  I've been out and about enjoying weekends away with family and friends.  This past weekend, we were celebrating my younger sister's collage graduation.

Well, this sister didn't graduate college.  But, when you're the baby of the family, your older siblings like to dress you up.  She gets lots of attention, and I think she enjoys it.  She's got a great sense of humor that we aren't sure where it came from.  Please note her facial expression in this photo.

This is her "face" that she will make on demand.

Well, here's who actually wore the graduation robe.

This weekend I made cheddar broccoli quiche.  I'm prepping myself for my next adventure.  My sister and I are taking a trip across the pond.  And two weeks from tomorrow, we'll be in Paris.  So, I'm getting my French cooking on in celebration of the upcoming trip.

 

I made this without a crust in order to save a few calories.

I used steamed broccoli, sauteed onions and cheddar cheese for the solid ingredients.  I buttered my pie plate since I wasn't going to use a pie crust.

Next, I layered the solid ingredients in the pie plate staring with the broccoli and ending with the cheese.

Then, I mixed my eggs with milk and sour cream in my mixer to make sure it was very well combined seasoning it with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and some dry mustard.  I can't boast in my whisk using skills.  I always make a mess by sloshing it outside the bowl!  When the egg mixture was all mixed together, I poured it over the solid ingredients.  I finished it off with bit more salt and pepper on the top and a light layer of Parmesan cheese.

It baked the quiche at 375 degrees for 35 minutes, and it was perfect.  A knife should come out clean near the edge when it's done.  The center may not look completely done, but it will continue to cook as you let it set.  Let it set for about 15-20 minutes before serving.  Yum!

I think you could easily add bacon, sausage or ham to this recipe and it would be delicious!  Here's the recipe.

Cheddar Broccoli Quiche

1 cup steamed broccoli
1 cup sauteed onions
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
4 eggs
1 cup skim milk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
a few dashes of cayenne pepper, if desired
a few dashes of dry mustard, if desired.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Butter a 9-inch pie plate.  Place the veggies in the pie plate and top with the cheddar cheese and about half of the Parmesan cheese.  Next, mix the eggs, milk, sour cream and seasonings until well combined.  Pour the egg  mixture over the cheese and veggies.  Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese on the top and add any more seasonings, if desired.  Bake for 35 minutes (you may need to adjust depending on your oven).  A knife will come out clean a inch or so from the edge when it is done.  Let it set for 15-20 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!