Caramelized Onion Gruyere Quiche

Ingredients

1 refrigerated pie dough

1/2 cup caramelized onions - I make these in bulk and freeze them.  I use this recipe (click here)

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

3 large eggs

Pinch nutmeg

6 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated

Steps:
1. Prebake the crust - preheat oven to 350 and roll your crust into a 9 inch pie pan.  Bake for 10 min using parchment paper topped with pie weights.  Then remove the parchment paper and pie weights and poke the bottom of the pie with a fork and bake for another 10 min until golden.

2.  After the crust cools slightly line the bottom with 1/2 of the grated cheese, then layer in the caramelized onions and top with the remaining 1/2 of the grated cheese.

3. Whisk together milk, cream, eggs and nutmeg.  Then pour over the cheese and bake for 35-40 min at 350.  Cool for approx. 10 min before serving.

Here is a link to the original recipe - click here

Homemade Cheese Fries

Something about football and fries just goes together.  I saw the picture of this recipe and it made my mouth water and knew I had to try it!  Here is a link to the original recipe - click here

I cut the recipe roughly in 1/3 and it still made a 9x13 pan of fries (not layered).  Here is my version:

Fries:

2 Potatoes

2 T. Olive oil

salt & pepper

Cut potatoes into wedges and toss with olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake on a foil lined pan for 40 min. at 400 - or until cooked through

 

Ranch sauce:

1/4 cup sour cream

1/8 cup ranch dressing

2 T milk

Put most of this sauce on the bottom of a 9x13.  Layer the potatoes on top and drizzle with remaining ranch sauce

 

Toppings:

1/3 cup cheddar cheese

1 slice of mozzarella chopped into shredded size pieces

2 T real bacon bits

1 green onion chopped

 

Broil until the cheese is melted.  These remind me of the Aussie Cheese Fries at Outback Steakhouse.  So Good!

 

 

 

Shiitake and Gruyere Toast

Total comfort food! 

Ingredients:

Shiitake mushrooms

Butter

Thyme

Bread

Olive Oil

Gruyere (grated)

Clean and remove the stems from shiitake mushrooms.  Slice the mushrooms and saute with butter and fresh thyme.  Next, on a baking sheet brush olive oil on the sliced bread and put under the broiler until just golden.  Top with the sauteed mushrooms and fresh grated gruyere and back under the broiler til the cheese is melted.  Enjoy! 

Spinach and Onion Pizza

This recipe is from the September Cooking Light magazine and was part of a budget meal plan to feed a family of 4 for 5 meals and with only $50.  This is one of the 5 meals. Click here for the recipe.  One edit to the original recipe that I would recommend - cut the crushed red pepper in 1/2 (You can always add red pepper flakes to the top of your slice if you like extra kick).  I also used onions that I had already caramelized so I skipped that part of the recipe. 

While I was doing the dishes from my pizza dinner, I was surprised and a bit scared to find this guy so close to my kitchen window!  I should let you know that I live in the suburbs...I usually see squirrels and rabbits - not a deer right outside of my window!

Salsa Pinwheels

This recipe is from one of the blogs that I stalk - mix and match mama (click here).  I brought these delicious little bites to a work potluck and one guy admitted that he had popped 5 of them and yes, he would like to take some home too. 

Here is the recipe:

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup sour cream

1/2 package of dry Fiesta-Style Ranch Dressing Mix (not spicy) (found on salad dressing aisle)  I couldn't find this at my local grocery store, but my local Walmart carried it.  See the picture at the bottom of this post - this mix makes the recipe!

1 cup of salsa or taco sauce (the less chunky the better)

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

10 jumbo/burrito size flour tortillas

 

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream, seasoning, salsa and cheddar.  Spread mixture across your tortillas. Roll each tortilla up bottom to top, re-spreading mixture as needed as you roll.

 

Place rolled tortillas in the fridge for 30 minutes. Then slice tortillas into 3/4 inch slices and serve.

 

Here is a picture of the Fiesta-Style Ranch Dressing Mix

 

Pink Lemonade & Nutella Bundt Cakes

 

 

I attended a very special baby shower today for my friend Nicole.  I am sharing my cake recipes with the wonderful women I met today and my regular blog readers!

 

First is the pink lemonade bundt cake - great pink color to celebrate Nicole's soon to arrive baby girl!

 

Cake recipe:

1 box of white cake mix

2 small boxes of instant lemon pudding

1/2 cup of veggie oil

1 1/4 cups thawed pink lemonade concentrate (from the freezer section!)

4 eggs

Mix and bake for 45-50 minutes at 350 (until your cake tester comes out clean).

 

Icing recipe:

1 cup unsalted butter - softened to room temperature

4 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup pink lemonade

3-5 drops red food coloring

Mix all the above.

 

Next is the Nutella Bundt Cake

Cake recipe:

1 box of chocolate cake mix

2 small boxes of instant chocolate pudding

1/2 cup of veggie oil

1 1/4 cups water

4 eggs

3/4 cup Nutella

Mix all of the ingredients together (except Nutella) with an electric mixer.  Then add the Nutella and mix until blended.  Bake for 45-50 min at 350. 

 

Icing recipe:

1 cup unsalted butter - room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

2/3 cup Nutella

Mix the first two ingredients on low until blended then add Nutella and beat on medium for 2 min. 

Then add -

1 teas vanilla

pinch of Kosher salt

2 T. heavy whipping cream

Mix for 1 more minute.

 

One more hint - I have found that coconut oil works fabulously to have a bundt cake slide right out of the pan!  I rub a teaspoon or two of coconut oil all over the inside of the bundt pan making sure to get into all the groves. 

 

These bundt cake recipes were originally from Mix and Match Mama blog - to see her blog click here.  Please note that I changed the icing recipes based on some trial and error, so they were different from the originals.

 

What a fun day and I can't wait for Nicole's baby to arrive next month! 

Goat Cheese Ravioli

I picked up these ravioli at a local farmers market - Pappardelle pasta - retailer website.  I just sauteed some little tomatoes with herbs and olive oil while the ravioli cooked in boiling water.  Then topped the finished dish with some shredded parmesan.  This could also be made with cheese ravioli's from the freezer section at the grocery store.  Super easy and quick dinner.

Garlic-Onion Tortilla Stack

I made a huge batch of caramelized onions - so I googled recipes with caramelized onions and found this "Garlic-Onion Tortilla Stack".  I watched the video from Guy Fieri and decided to give it a try. WOW - these are good.  The combination of roasted garlic, caramelized onions and cilantro on a tortilla was an amazing combination.  I made a half batch of the mix and then spread the mix on 6 tortillas and cut in half and stacked the halves on top of each other for a total of 12 layers. 

For the recipe click here

To watch the Guy Fieri video click here

Zucchini and Caramelized Onion Quiche

Heads up on this quiche - one of the ingredients is caramelized onions.  In order to make those see this recipe first - click here.  I must not cut my onions thin enough because it always takes me twice as long as the recipe says to get the nice golden brown caramelized onions.  However, I made a big batch - the full 12 cups of onions, so I will be using them in future cooking adventures.

This quiche has a full four cups of zucchini - so it has protein and veggies - all around great breakfast food.  For the full recipe click here

Grilled Chicken Florentine Pasta

This picture really does not do this recipe justice, but I was too hungry to spend lots of time getting a great picture.  The pasta was still steaming as I quickly snapped the picture.  For a link to the recipe (and a much better picture) click here

I made this with whole wheat pasta and I must say that it fits the bill for a chicken fettucini craving without all the calories!  This has 332 calories per serving and truly tastes great!

Chicken with Honey-Beer Sauce

I am thoroughly enjoying my September 2012 Cooking Light magazine - for the recipe click here

I am not a fan of yellow mustard, but I really like the flavor of whole-grain mustard used in this recipe.  A great way to spice up chicken with beer, honey, mustard and shallots! 

Roasted Chickpeas

There is just something about salty crunchy foods - yum.  This was my first time cooking chickpeas and I was pleasantly surprised.  I'm packing these for an afternoon snack at work this week.

For the recipe - click here

Chicken, Potato and Leek Pie

 

It has been so hot this summer that I turned up my AC, burned my pumpkin scented candle and cooked true fall comfort food today! 

 

This recipe is from the August 2012 Cooking Light magazine - for the full recipe click here

 

I made individual size potpies versus the one large one pictured in the magazine.  My plan is to freeze a few of these for a quick and easy dinner...when it actually feels like fall.