Cheesy Bell Pepper & Herb Quiche

We had out of town guests come in late last night, so before they arrived I made a quiche to reheat in the morning for breakfast. Perfect. I can't believe I've never made a quiche before. Ridiculously easy and this one tastes amazing! It is certainly a great base and you can change up the vegetables however you like!

Cheesy Bell Pepper & Herb Quiche
original recipe from Woman's Day

• 1 refrigerated rolled pie crust or your own 9 inch crust
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• 1 bell pepper, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream, reduced fat
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Fit the pie crust into and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate; fold the edge of dough underneath itself to create a thicker 1/2-inch border that rests on the lip of the plate and crimp as desired. Using a fork, prick the bottom of the crust. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until lightly golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove, let cool slightly and reduce oven heat to 375 degrees F.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes more. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute; remove from heat.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, sour cream, nutmeg, and salt and pepper. Stir in the parsley and Cheddar.
4. Scatter the onion–bell pepper mixture over the bottom of the crust. Pour the egg mixture on top and bake until set and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes. Serve with a salad, if desired. 

This could also easily be frozen and saved for another day!  

Simple Apple Pancakes

This is another one of those "hardly a recipe" type deals. I've made apple pancakes before, but not quite like this. This one just seems genius. I spotted it on...wait for it...Pinterest. The Holy Grail. Anyway, it's simple.

1. Peel, core and slice an apple. I use an apple corer peeler slicer :)
2. Mix up your favorite pancake batter and heat up your griddle.
3. Dip the individual apple slices right into the batter and place them on the hot griddle.
4. Cook as you would a pancake.
5. Enjoy.

Dried Cherry Buttermilk Scones

I was looking for ways to use up some buttermilk and came across this recipe for dried cherry buttermilk scones. I love scones. I had dried cherries. Easy decision.





Need:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup (1/2 stick, or 4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled

2/3 cup dried cherries, chopped

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk



For the (optional) topping:

2 tablespoons milk or buttermilk

1/4 cup turbinado or demerara sugar





Do:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.



In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, salt and sugar. Cut in the cold butter using a pastry cutter, a fork, or your fingers until you can see small pea-sized chunks of butter. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla and buttermilk, then pour into the dry ingredients. Stir with a fork until almost completely mixed, then add in the dried cherries and mix until the dough just starts to come together. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and pat it into a circle, then cut 8-12 wedges, placing them on the baking sheet.



Brush the scones with milk, then sprinkle heavily with the turbinado or demerera sugar and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes. They should be golden brown on top and feel light inside, or a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean. Let cool slightly, then enjoy!



Notes: These are a bit drier than the blueberry scones I make, but still delicious. I froze mine and it took about 20 minutes in the oven from frozen.



*For freezing the scones- flash freeze them (put the scones on a parchment/wax paper lined baking sheet and stick in the freezer) for 20 minutes. Remove, wrap individually with aluminum foil, place in a freezer safe bag and store until ready to bake!

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

I love lemon poppyseed muffins. I have since I was little. Not really sure why I've never made them in the past. Thanks to the lovely Annie, I finally did it. I found these to be just a touch salty, so I might do a scant 1/2 tsp next time. I doubled the batch and actually got 24 nice sized muffins plus 24 mini muffins. So I'm thinking I also could have gotten 24 big muffins. They were a hit, and will definitely be on my list for any brunch or afternoon gathering. Nice and light with a lot of flavor!

For the muffins:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. poppy seeds
1¼ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup yogurt (plain or vanilla)

For the glaze (optional):
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
1-2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Combine the flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Stir briefly to combine. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Mix in the lemon zest and the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients in two additions alternating with the yogurt, beating each addition just until incorporated.

Divide the batter between the prepared liners, filling each about two-thirds full. Bake 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the muffins are still warm, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl to make the glaze. Drizzle a small amount of the glaze over each muffin. Let the glaze set before serving.

Lemony Blueberry Scones

I've made a few things lately, but I either forget to take a picture or don't have time. However, the things I made were good, so they'll get made again and I'll take the photo and blog it then. Promise. These, however, were a priority for me to blog. I think because I knew they would be good. I love scones. They are the perfect, not too sweet, sweet breakfast item. Annie, at Annie's Eats, has been tempting me with these as a featured recipe, and I caved. If you are a scone fan, you should definitely make these. And even if you don't like blueberries, just use this basic recipe and process. Delicious!

Ingredients:
8 tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, frozen whole
1½ cups (7½ oz.) fresh blueberries
½ cup whole milk
½ cup sour cream
2 cups (10 oz.) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
½ cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Directions:
Adjust an oven rack to middle position and preheat to 425˚ F. Grate the frozen butter on the holes of a large box grater. (I like to use my food processor for this – fast and easy.) Place the blueberries in the freezer until needed.

Whisk together the milk and sour cream in a medium bowl; refrigerate until needed. Combine the flour, ½ cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the grated butter to the flour mixture and toss with fingers until thoroughly coated.

Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and fold with a spatula just until combined. Transfer the dough to a generously floured work surface. Dust the top of the dough with flour, and knead with well floured hands, 6-8 times, just until the dough holds together in a ragged ball. Add small amounts of flour as needed to prevent sticking.

Roll the dough into a 12-inch square. Fold the dough into thirds like a business letter (a dough scraper really helps with these steps). Fold the short ends of the dough into the center in thirds, to form an approximate 4-inch square. Transfer the dough to a plate lightly dusted with flour and chill in the freezer for 5 minutes.

Return the dough to the floured work surface and roll into an approximately 12-inch square again. Sprinkle the blueberries evenly over the surface of the dough, and gently press down so that they are slightly embedded in the dough surface. Using a dough scraper, roll the dough up to form a tight log. Lay the log seam side down and press the the log into a 12 by 4-inch rectangle. Using a sharp, floured knife, cut the rectangle crosswise into 4 equal rectangles. Cut each rectangle diagonally to form 2 triangles. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet.

Brush the tops of the scones with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with sugar. (If freezing ahead of time, flash freeze on the baking sheet for 20 minutes, then wrap individually and store in a freezer bag until needed.) Bake until the tops and bottoms are golden brown, 18-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Source: adapted from Entertaining from Cook’s Illustrated, Spring 2009

Banana Pecan Bread

I had some extra ripe bananas just begging to be made into something fantastic. Luckily, I didn't have any walnuts on hand, so it made me search for a new recipe that included pecans, something I did have. This recipe calls this Moist Banana Pecan Bread, and it is! I'm enjoying a warm piece out of the oven now...and you should too!

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 medium overripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar until creamed. Beat in eggs, mashed bananas, and vanilla until creamy.
3. In a seperate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Gradually add this dry mixture into creamed mixture and mix well. Batter will get thick.
4. Stir in chopped pecans.
5. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake at 325 for 70-80 minutes. (Mine took the full 80 minutes)
   
6. Makes 1 loaf.

Cranberry Orange Scones

I had some leftover cranberries from the Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake...well and some oranges. So when I saw this recipe on The Way the Cookie Crumbles, it was screaming my name. I really love to eat scones, so I thought I'd try my hand at making them. Yummy! This is the perfect sweet bread for breakfast. I'll totally make them again...I'll have to try some variation though!

Makes 8 scones

1½ tablespoons freshly grated orange zest
2½ cups (12 ounces) all-purpose flour
½ cup (3.5 ounces) sugar plus 3 tablespoons
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
1½ cups fresh cranberries, chopped coarse (I usually do this in the food processor)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup heavy cream

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2. In a small bowl, toss together fresh cranberries and 3 tablespoons sugar. In another small bowl, lightly beat the egg and yolk, then stir in cream.

3. In a food processor, pulse the flour, ½ cup sugar, baking powder, salt, and zest until combined. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to a large bowl. (You can also just smoosh the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingers instead of using a food processor.) Stir the cranberries into the flour mixture. Then gently fold the egg mixture into the flour until just combined.

4. On a well-floured surface with floured hands, pat the dough into a 1-inch-thick round (about 8 inches in diameter). With a 2-inch round cutter or the rim of a glass dipped in flour, cut out as many rounds as possible, rerolling the scraps as necessary. (Or cut the circle into wedges, which is my standard method.) Arrange the scones about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet and bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until pale golden. Cool about 10 minutes, then serve.

*I did however find the dough to be a bit moist, so I just added some flour as I went.

Macintosh Apple Cake

I had some apples that were quickly going downhill, so I wanted to use them up. Amy over here had an intriguing apple cake recipe. Intriguing because she said it was delicious but it looked ridiculously simple! Well, she wasn't lying. It is reeeeeeally good! I think we each had 2-3 pieces. It was hard to put it away. I'll definitely make it again.

1 1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

3 eggs beaten

3 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups apples, peeled sliced -I used Macintosh & an apple peeler corer- which is a huge lifesaver! Once it went through that, I did was cut them into 6 sections for approximately 1 inch pieces

1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 300.

Combine oil and sugar, blend in eggs. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add to oil and sugar mixture. Add vanilla extract, apples and walnuts. Place in greased 9x13 inch pan and bake for 1 hour, 20 minutes in a 300 degree oven.

Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake

We normally resort to the family recipe for a Cinnamon Sour Cream Cake when in need of a breakfast sweet, but I wanted to try something different for our upstate trip this past weekend. (Don't go on a search for the Cinnamon Sour Cream Cake recipe...I always forget to photograph it...I'll add it to my list of things to do!) I ran across this recipe, and it sounded like the perfect blend of tart and sweet for breakfast. It was a hit. It's definitely not super sweet, but we really liked the flavor.

Ingredients

• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups fresh cranberries, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. finely shredded orange peel

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan; set aside. In bowl stir together flour, oats, baking powder, soda, and salt.

2. In large mixing bowl beat butter with electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the 1 cup sugar; beat until well combined. Add eggs; beat until well combined. Alternately add flour mixture and milk, beating on low speed after each addition until combined.

3. Toss cranberries with 2 tablespoons sugar; fold into batter with orange peel. Spoon batter into prepared pan; spread evenly.

4. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool on rack. Prepare Orange Glaze; spoon over cooled cake. Let stand until glaze is set. Makes 12 servings.

Orange Glaze:In small bowl combine 1 cup powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel. Add 2 to 3 teaspoons orange juice to make drizzling consistency.

Raisin Challah French Toast

I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful coworker bring me some raisin challah bread. She is celebrating Rosh Hashanah and brought a few of us our own loaves! She highly recommended making french toast with it, so I didn't delay. We enjoyed it this morning!

Not much of a recipe here, but here's what I did:

1. Cut the challah in 1/2 inch slices- I did 4 slices
2. Mix two eggs, 1/4 c milk and 1 tsp of cinnamon in a shallow bowl
3. Heat a pan on med-high and spray a non-stick spray
4. Dip the bread in the egg mixture, flip and dip again
5. Cook the bread on each side for approximately 4 minutes- be sure to check it though of course!
6. Eat it! Mmmm! We sprinkled with powdered sugar, and of course used real maple syrup.

Awesome Banana Nut Bread Muffins

I have a love. A love of banana nut bread. And in a search to find that perfect recipe, I luckily...LUCKILY found this one at allrecipes.com. OMG. Just omg. If you like banana nut bread, you MUST try this. It is definitely a sweet version of the bread. Now, I've made this a few times, but this time, I decided to go the muffin route. Mostly because they are fast, but also because they are darn cute. And the single serving portions are just an added bonus.

I'll state my changes/information here to make it easier (easier on me that is...).
1. This recipe made 12 regular muffins and two batches of mini muffins- so that's 12 large and about 60 mini.
2. The mini muffins were done at 12 minutes at 350 degrees/The regular muffins took about 17 minutes at 350 degrees

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 cup butter or margarine
* 2 cups white sugar
* 2 cups mashed overripe bananas
* 4 eggs, beaten
* 1 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
2. Sift the flour, salt and baking soda into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the butter or margarine and sugar until smooth. Stir in the bananas, eggs, and walnuts until well blended. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture, and stir just until blended. Divide the batter evenly between the two loaf pans.
3. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted into the crown of the loaf comes out clean. Let the loaves cool in the pans for at least 5 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack, and cool completely. Wrap in aluminum foil to keep in the moisture. Ideally, refrigerate the loaves for 2 hours or more before serving.

Weekend Frittata

Saturday morning we wanted something decent for breakfast. We were working on the guest room, and Carl had to make a Home Depot run. So while he did that, I tackled the Internet to see what I could possibly make with the food I already had. I found this one at RecipeZaar rather quickly, and for the most part I had everything. Cheese? Good. Veggies? Good. Eggs? Good. Off I went.

I pretty much cut this in half, and it was plenty for us to have...and then there were still leftovers.

Ingredients

* 8 ounces bulk pork sausage (I just used 3 breakfast maple sausage patties)
* 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
* 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
* 4 ounces medium mushrooms, sliced (I only had canned)
* 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, if needed
* 6 large eggs
* 2 tablespoons water
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (No fresh basil here- I just used a 1/4 tsp of dried)
* 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
* fresh ground black pepper
* 3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
* basil leaves, for garnish (again...no fresh basil, so I skipped this. My presentation is lacking)

Directions

1.In a large ovenproof skillet over med-high heat, cook sausage and bell pepper, breaking up sausage with a spoon, for 3 minutes.
2.Add in onion and mushroom; cook until sausage is no longer pink and vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes; add oil, if needed.
3.Preheat broiler.
4.In a bowl, whisk the eggs, water, basil, salt, and pepper together; pour over sausage mixture in the skillet.
5.Decrease heat to med-low, cover and cook, 10-12 minutes, until eggs are set and top is almost dry. (*Mine took a little less since there was less egg to cook)
6.Sprinkle with cheese; broil until frittata is puffy and cheese melts, about 1 minute.
7.Let stand for 5 minutes; cut into wedges and serve; garnish with basil leaves.

PW's Cowboy Breakfast Sandwich

So...I haven't updated in forever. No, I have not given up on cooking, but we have been trying to keep our new Coney Island in business. Anyway, stop yelling at me or I'll never update again! Here we go.....

Ok, so I saw Pioneer Woman make this breakfast sandwich, and it looked so good that I stopped on my way home from work to get the ingredients. I couldn't stop thinking about it...and so rather than waiting until morning, I made it for dinner! Then when Carl got home at the end of the week, I made them again for breakfast. We both LOVED them!

4 slices of Texas Toast (I used English Muffins)
2 Eggs
2 slices of Kraft Cheese
2 Breakfast Sausage Patties
Jarred Jalapeños
Milk
Mayo (I used Miracle Whip)
A whole lot of butter...mmmm

1. Start to warm up your griddle- either on the oven, or like I use, my stand alone griddle. Fry the sausage patties in a fry pan on the stove, smooshing while you cook them so they flatten a bit. Then set them aside- I put them on a plate and in the microwave so they stay warm. While the sausage is cooking, whisk your eggs with some milk, salt and pepper and set aside.
2. Put some butter on the griddle and fry up the jalapeños, set aside. Coat your griddle with butter again and put your bread or muffins on the griddle. While those are grilling up, pour your egg mixture into the sausage pan...sans sausage of course by now and fold the eggs as they cook. The key is to NOT scramble them but rather create more of an omelet format so you can layer it on the sandwich and it won't fall apart on you.
3. Finally...its time to layer!!! Remove your bread product from the griddle, smear on your Miracle Whip...or if you insist, regular mayo. Then put the sausage patty, layer with egg, top with jalapeños and a slice of good ol Kraft cheese and of course finally another piece of bread. Tada! Delicious breakfast- or if you just can't wait that long, dinner!

ENJOY!

German Apple Pancake

I contemplated making a fancy breakfast on Saturday morning, but I realized we had too much to do, so Carl just made a donut run. Well this morning I woke up and found Carl looking at the cookbook with the "fancy breakfast" I was > < this close to making. I knew he was desperate for something more than cereal. So...

Apple Filling:
1 small Granny Smith apple
2 tsp butter or margarine
1/4 c packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Pancake
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 c milk
2 tsp butter or margarine (melted)

Powdered sugar or warm maple syrup (optional)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray small oval baker with nonstick cooking spray. For apple filling, peel, core and slice apple into thin quarters. Melt butter in small saute pan over medium heat. Add apple, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cook 20 minutes or until apple is very tender and most of the liquid has evaporated.

Meanwhile, for pancake, combine flour, sugar and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Then whisk together eggs, milk and melted butter in a small mixing bowl. Add egg mixture to flour mixture; whisk until dry ingredients are moistened. (Batter will still be slightly lumpy.) Pour batter into baker. Spoon apple mixture evenly over batter. Bake 20-23 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Remove from oven; sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired. Cut into wedges and serve with maple sypup, if desired.

Yield: 2 servings

Notes: I didn't change a thing, because baking is a science...and science kind of scares me.