Mushroom, Gruyère, and Spinach Quiche

I made this quiche one night and then had the leftovers for breakfast the next day!  Even the leftovers tasted great - heated in a 375 degree oven for about 15 min!

Source: Cooking Light April 2014

Ingredients:
1 pie crust (I used a packaged one to save time)
3 center-cut bacon slices
1/3 cup chopped shallots
1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
2 cups packed baby spinach
1 cup 1% low-fat milk
1/3 cup half-and-half
3 large eggs
1 large egg white
2 ounces cave-aged Gruyère cheese, grated

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Bake the crust (with pie weights on top of foil) at 425° for 12 minutes or until edges are golden. Remove weights and foil; bake an additional 2 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 350°.
4. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings; crumble. Return pan to medium-high heat. Add shallots to drippings in pan; sauté 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and thyme; cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in spinach; cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts. Remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes. Drain any excess liquid.
5. Place milk, half-and-half, eggs, egg white, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a blender; process until smooth.
6. Arrange half of cheese over bottom of crust; top with spinach mixture and remaining half of cheese. Carefully pour milk mixture over cheese. Sprinkle with bacon. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until filling is set. Let stand 10 minutes.

Gnocchi and Squash

I just love homemade gnocchi!  Add some zucchini, cheese and fresh basil and it makes a great dinner!

Source: Real Simple August 2013

Ingredients

• 1 pound gnocchi, fresh or frozen  (I used some that I had pre-made and froze) - Here is the recipe I use Homemade Gnocchi Recipe
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 yellow squash (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 4 ounces Feta, crumbled (about 1 cup)
• 1/3 cup torn fresh basil leaves

Directions

1. Cook the gnocchi according to the package directions; drain and return it to the pot.  Note:  If you have made some and frozen them, just cook in boiling water until thye rise to the top of the water in the pot.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the squash, garlic, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until crisp-tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
3. Add the squash to the gnocchi and toss to combine. Serve sprinkled with the Feta and basil. Season with pepper.

Pasta with Bacon and Leeks

Food Network magazine this month featured Bacon.  This recipe was on their front cover and was easy and delicious!  The magazine is being treated like a work of art in my house and the guys are pouring over each page of bacon goodness :)  Enjoy!

Source: Food Network

Ingredients:

• Kosher salt
• 12 ounces mezzi rigatoni (or other short pasta)
• 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 bunch leeks (white and light green parts only), halved lengthwise, thinly sliced and rinsed well
• Freshly ground pepper
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for topping

Instructions:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as the label directs. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water; drain the pasta.
2. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels; pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the drippings from the skillet.
3. Add the leeks to the drippings in the skillet. Season with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the heavy cream and cook until it begins to thicken, about 2 minutes.
4. Add the pasta to the skillet along with the parmesan, half of the bacon and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; toss to coat, adding enough of the reserved pasta cooking water to loosen. To serve, top with the remaining bacon, and more parmesan.

BBQ pork stuffed sweet potato

This recipe is super easy - only 3 ingredients and it cooks in the crock pot while you are at work.  What could be easier than that.... Delicious!

Source: Adapted from The Novice Chef Blog

Ingredients:
2 lb pork loin
1 jar Sweet Baby Ray's Original BBQ Sauce
4 large sweet potatoes

Instructions:
Put the pork loin and the BBQ sauce in the crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours.

While pork is cooking, bake your sweet potatoes:
Preheat oven to 400°. Scrub potatoes under water and wrap in foil. Bake in oven for about 1 hour.  Remove pork from crock pot and shred the meat.

When ready to serve, cut a a slit in the sweet potato, lengthwise. Grab the potato from both ends and press together to open the sweet potato up. Fill each sweet potato with a generous helping of pulled pork and top with an extra drizzle of BBQ Sauce. Serve immediately!

Red Velvet Cookies & Ice Cream Sandwiches

My co-worker LOVES red velvet, so I decided to make some red velvet cookies for her birthday.  After I made the cookies I decided they would make perfect ice cream sandwiches too.  I used cookies and cream ice cream and they were delicious!  I think these would be perfect for Valentines day, or just a normal weekday!

Source: Duncan Hines
Ingredients:

1 box Duncan Hines Red Velvet cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
Powdered sugar (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine one (1) box of Duncan Hines Red Velvet cake mix, two (2) eggs and one-third (1/3) cup vegetable oil using a hand blender or wire whisk.
3. Form teaspoon size balls and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet or baking pan about one inch (1") apart. Slightly pat down the top of each ball.
4. Cook for 8-10 minutes (the top of the cookie will crack).
5. While hot, lightly sprinkle the top of the cookie with powdered sugar (optional). 

Here is the ice cream sandwich version:

Mostaccioli Salad

I made this for a wrestling team family cookout recently and I was so excited when one of the mom's asked for the recipe!  This is an old family recipe and I have an original with my mom's handwriting on my grandma's stationary.  I treasure those recipes!  This recipe is easy and I served it chilled.  The ingredients lend itself perfectly to sit out at a picnic.  This can also be made with penne or other pasta.  A random fact....mostaccioli means "little mustache" in Italian.  I thought that was fun!  Enjoy! 

Source: My Mom/Grandma

Ingredients & Instructions:

16 oz mostaccioli cooked al dente

1 cucumber

1 green bell pepper

1 sweet onion

(thinly slice cucumber, pepper and onion - I used a food processor)

Next combine the following for the dressing:

1 1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup white vinegar

1 cup water

1 tsp. salt

1 Tablespoon Parsley flakes

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1 Tablespoon prepared mustard

(I put them in a Tupperware and shake, until combined)

Then toss all ingredients together and enjoy. 

Sausage Egg Casserole

My brother specifically requested I post this recipe - so here you go Ryan...



This is the perfect breakfast casserole for overnight company and my family enjoyed this when we were staying in the mountains for some R&R over Thanksgiving.



Ingredients:
6 eggs
2 cups milk
2 slices of bread (torn into small pieces)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 pound sausage
1 cup grated cheddar



Instructions:
1. Brown sausage and drain
2. Mix eggs, milk, salt and mustard
3. Add bread, cheese and sausage
4. Pour into greased glass 9x13 and refrigerate overnight
5. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes