Hash Brown Quiche with Bacon

A creative way to enjoy eggs, hash browns and bacon…and cheese. There has to be some cheese. 

Ingredients

3 Cups shredded hash browns, thawed and drained

3 Tablespoons butter, melted

3 Large eggs, beaten

1/2 Cup half and half

1/2 Cup milk (I used whole milk)

1/2 Cup of bacon, cooked and crumbled (I used about 4 big strips and fried them extra crispy)

1/4 to 1/2 Cup diced green onion

1 Cup cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Gently press the drained hash browns between paper towels to dry them as best as possible. In a bowl, mix together the hash browns and melted butter. Put mixture into a 9-inch pie pan and press it into the bottom and up the sides of the pan to form an even crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and the edges are starting to get crispy.

While the crust is baking, combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. When the hash brown crust is finished, pour the egg mixture over it and return to the oven.

Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for about 30 minutes until the Quiche is light golden brown on top and puffed.

From: Life Tastes Like Food 

 

Radish Pesto

Radishes, turnips and parsnips are veggies I’ve gazed at on the grocery shelves since I was a kid. However, I never really made an effort to eat them, even though I read a lot about how good they are for me. Perhaps this will be my first foray into radish-land.

Makes 2.5 cups

INGREDIENTS

2 small bunches radishes, greens attached (about 20 to 25 radishes)

½ bunch fresh basil leaves (about 1½ cups)

⅓ cup macadamia nuts, toasted

1 small shallot, coarsely chopped

1 small garlic clove, coarsely chopped

½ cup grated Piave cheese (substitute Parmagiano-Reggiano if Piave isn’t available)

1 lemon, juiced and zested

¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Separate the radishes from the greens; clean each radish thoroughly and set aside. In a food processor or blender, combine the radish leaves, basil, macadamia nuts, shallot, garlic, cheese, lemon juice and zest and oil and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Serve the pesto alongside cleaned, whole radishes. To store, place in an airtight container and cover with a thin layer of olive oil.

From: Tasting Table 

BLT Pasta Salad

I consider the BLT the Groundhog of Summer. The earlier this sandwich comes out and fails to see its shadow the faster summer can begin.  Now the Food Network has come up with a pasta salad version. Sheer genius! Serves 4.

Ingredients

12 ounces corkscrew-shaped pasta

1/2 cup milk

12 ounces lean bacon

3 medium ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1 clove garlic, minced

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream

4 tablespoons chopped chives or scallion greens

5 heads Bibb lettuce, quartered, or 5 cups chopped romaine hearts

 

Directions

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water as the label directs. Drain and toss with the milk in a large bowl; set aside.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Discard all but 3 tablespoons drippings from the pan. Add the tomatoes, thyme and garlic to the pan and toss until warmed through; season with salt and pepper. Crumble the bacon into bite-size pieces; set aside 1/4 cup for garnish. Toss the remaining bacon and the tomato mixture with the pasta.

Mix the mayonnaise, sour cream and 3 tablespoons chives with the pasta until evenly combined. Season with salt and pepper. Add the lettuce; toss again to coat. Garnish with the reserved bacon and the remaining 1 tablespoon chives. Serve at room temperature.

From: Food Network 

Pear Bruschetta with Goat Cheese, Honey and Almonds

This open-faced sandwich of sorts reminded me of an earlier trip down this lane where my wife and I chowed down on open-faced Brie, apple and arugula sandwiches. Recipe is here.  Similar concept with this offering, but with different ingredients. I bet you could also make this on the grill during the summer if you don’t want to heat the house up. Just make sure you’ve cleaned the grates thoroughly.

It is also a recipe that really stretches a few ingredients. It isn’t like you need to buy a pile of pears or cheese to make this one come to life. Any ideas on different cheeses to use with this one?

INGREDIENTS

8 slices crusty bread of your choice, toasted lightly

2 ounces Goat Cheese

1 Pear or Apple, sliced

1-2 tablespoons Honey

2 tablespoons sliced Almonds, toasted

DIRECTIONS

Lightly toast slices of bread in 350 degree oven for 5-6 minutes.

Spread each piece of bread with a thin layer of goat cheese. Fan 4-5 slices of pear over the goat cheese and drizzle with honey. Sprinkle the top of each with the sliced almonds.

From: The Fifth Tine 

Portobello Burgers with Mozzarella and Basil

These came highly recommended by one of my co-workers named Erin. I quickly made them for dinner tonight and we dove in. They are really tasty and the basil mayo adds a nice touch. Only now do I realize that I forgot the cheese. They still tasted pretty good.

The recipe seems to have left out a step. Before you marinade the mushrooms gently pop out the stems and then turn the caps upside down. Take a large spoon and gently scrap out the gills. You don’t have to remove all of them from every crack and crevice of the mushroom. Just remove the bulk of them and then give the cap a light rinse to remove any loose pieces. The gills won’t hurt you. They just taste funny.

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 large portobello mushroom caps

3/4 cup light balsamic vinaigrette

1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise

2 tbsp chopped fresh basil

4 slices mozzarella cheese

4 Hy-Vee bakery onion hamburger buns, halved, toasted

Directions:

Place mushrooms in shallow dish, gill-side-up. Pour vinaigrette over mushrooms. Let marinate at room temperature 10 minutes; remove mushrooms from marinade. Discard marinade.

In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise and basil; cover and refrigerate.

Preheat grill for medium heat; brush grill grate with oil.

Grill mushrooms, turning occasionally, until tender and grill marked, about 10 minutes.

Top each mushroom with a slice of mozzarella cheese during last 2 minutes of grilling.

Spread half of each toasted bun with 1 tablespoon mayonnaise mixture. Top with grilled portobello mushroom and remaining half of bun.

From: Hy-Vee 

Grilled Watermelon

I wandered by the break room and the chef from the Food Network was pulling these watermelon slices out of a grill pan. It got my attention because I typically think of watermelon as cold and sweet. 

Ingredients

/2 (5-pound) seedless watermelon

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt (specialty salt is great here, if on hand)

2 cups fresh baby arugula, washed and dried

1 cup goat cheese, crumbled, preferably a French Chevre

Fresh finely cracked black pepper

Directions:

Stand the watermelon half-cut side down on a cutting board and slice away the rind, leaving a solid block of melon. Turn the block on its side and cut it into 8 squares, roughly 3 by 3 inches and 1-inch thick.

Pour the vinegar into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook until reduced to a thick syrup consistency. Set aside.

Heat a non-stick grill pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle just enough olive oil over watermelon slices to thinly coat and place on hot grill pan. Grill each side about 2 minutes until grill marks appear; transfer to a plate and season with salt.

To assemble the salads, put about 1/4 cup of baby arugula on a serving plate, followed by a grilled slice of watermelon in the center, and top with a tablespoon of crumbled cheese and another 1/4 cup arugula. Add another watermelon slice and another tablespoon of cheese. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Finish each salad with a very light drizzle of olive oil and balsamic syrup. Dust with black pepper and serve immediately.

From: Food Network 

Fresh Strawberry Granita

I’ve been hitting the Iowa City Farmer’s Markets on the weekends. Half of my money goes to food to cook later while the other half goes to food I eat on the spot. Thankfully this recipe requires a little time. But once the berries hit the market this moves to the top of my list. 

Makes about 6 cups

Ingredients:

1 cup hot water

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3 cups sliced hulled strawberries (1 pound whole berries) plus additional berries for garnish

Directions:

Stir first 3 ingredients in small bowl until sugar dissolves. Blend 3 cups strawberries in processor until smooth. Add sugar syrup and blend until combined.

Pour mixture into 13x9x2-inch nonstick metal baking pan. Freeze until icy around edges, about 25 minutes. Using fork, stir icy portions into middle of pan. Freeze until mixture is frozen, stirring edges into center every 20 to 30 minutes, about 1 1/2 hours. Using fork, scrape granita into flaky crystals. Cover tightly and freeze. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep frozen.) Scrape granita into bowls. Garnish with berries and serve.

From: Bon Appetit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maylasian Sweet Potato Doughnut

I guess if sweet potatoes are the main ingredient that makes these healthy doughnuts? Even if they are deep-fried?

Yield : 6 medium doughnuts

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of steamed, completely cooled and mashed sweet potatoes ( I used slightly more than 1 1/2)

About 3/4 cup of plain flour or less

1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Mix all above ingredients together. Press together until you get a soft but firm ball of dough. There is no need for any liquid. (I used the red/purple skinned Japanese sweet potato for this. It is less fibrous than the local yellow variety so you don’t need to press it through a sieve). You could add less flour if you prefer a less chewy doughnut. If the mixture is sticky flour your hands while shaping if you don’t want too chewy a doughnut.

Shape into rings or roll out on a board to about 1/2 inch thick and cut using a doughnut cutter. (This is what I did).

Heat a pan. Add about 1 inch of any vegetable oil and heat the oil till hot. Drop the doughnut dough rings in gently and fry until golden on one side. Turn over and fry till other side is golden as well. Lift out and drain on kitchen paper.

Sugar Scabs

You might want to halve this recipe.

1 cup sugar

2 T water

Pour one cup of sugar into a heavy based pan. Add the water. Heat over medium heat and stir until the sugar melts. Keep stirring until the sugar thickens, gets gloppy and shows signs of becoming crystallized. Drop in the doughnuts and mix into the thick sugar paste. Cook a little while more until the sugar crystallizes completely and solidifies and turns completely white. Lift off the doughnuts and knock off excess sugar scabs. Serve.

Note : If the sugar crystallizes before it adheres to the doughnuts simply add a few drops of water and stir again.

From: Cherry On A Cake 

Crab Cake BLTs

Crab cakes and salmon patties are some of my “go to” items when I’m cooking in a hurry. The BLT is also a “go to” summer sandwich. It has a meaty texture from the bacon and the light summer taste of fresh tomatoes and crunchy lettuce.  This recipe puts it all together. 

Ingredients

¼ c red bell pepper, finely diced

1 celery stalk, finely diced

2 sprigs fresh thyme, minced

2 tsp fresh parsley, minced

12 oz. lump crabmeat

¾ tsp fresh lemon zest

¼ tsp Old Bay seasoning

2 dashes Tabasco sauce

¼ c dry bread crumbs

Salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbs olive oil

4 hamburger rolls

Tomato slices

Lettuce leaves

8 slices cooked bacon

Old Bay mayo (recipe below)

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the red pepper, celery, thyme, parsley, crabmeat, lemon zest, Old Bay seasoning, and tabasco. Break up lumps of crabmeat as you stir. Add bread crumbs a little at a time, and stir to combine. You may not need entire amount. Divide mixture into quarters, and form into patties.

Heat olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Place crab cakes in the pan and browned, about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and let the crab cakes rest for 5 minutes. To assemble the sandwiches, layer lettuce, tomato, crab cake, and bacon on a bun. Cut bacon in half if necessary so it doesn’t hang too much over the edge of the sandwich. Top with Old Bay mayo.

Old Bay Mayo

Ingredients:

¼ c mayonnaise

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp Old Bay seasoning

2 dashes Worcestershire sauce

¼ tsp salt

Black pepper

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.

From: My Adventures in Food 

 

Chipolte’s Basmati Rice

I’m a fan of everything about Chipolte…except their tortillas. In my humble opinion they tear too easily and then it stops being a burrito and becomes a pile of rice and meat. When that happens this rice tends to save the day. 

Chipotle’s Basmati Rice Recipe

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon vegetable oil or butter

2 tsp. fresh cilantro

2/3 cup white basmati rice

1 cup water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Lime

Directions:

In a 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat oil or butter over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted. Add rice and lime juice, stir for 1 minute. Add water and salt, bring to a full rolling boil. At boiling, cover, turn down to simmer over low heat until rice is tender and the water is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork.

Basmati is a long-grained rice, with a fine texture. It can be found in Middle Eastern and India markets, as well as some supermarkets.

The source of this recipe is attributed to Chipolte’s Executive Chef (and CEO), Steve Ells.

From: Chipolte Fan