Savory Leek and Ham Quiche

Quiche is really easy to make but it takes almost an hour to cook.  Luckily it's one of those recipes that you can freeze and reheat later in the week.  Don't stay away from this recipe because of the leeks.  It's not a common ingredient but they add a nice mild onion flavor to dishes.  Plus I'll show you how to clean them properly so you don't end up with a sandy dinner!

This recipe came from the Kraft Foods website.  I didn't use the brand specific ingredients but you certainly can if you prefer.

Ingredients

•  1 Tbsp oil
• 3/4lbs leeks (about 3 medium), halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
• 1/2 cup chopped smoked ham
• 1 ready-to-use refrigerated pie crust
• 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups half & half
  

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add leeks; cook and stir 8 to 10 min. or until tender. Stir in ham. Remove from heat; set aside. 

 

Prepare pie crust as directed on package for unfilled 1-crust pie using 9-inch pie plate. Sprinkle half of the cheese evenly onto bottom of crust. Top with leek mixture and remaining cheese. Beat eggs and half-and-half with wire whisk until well blended; pour over ingredients in crust. 

  Bake 35 to 40 min. or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 10 min. before serving.

How to Prepare Leeks

 Leeks are a member of the onion family but are much milder in flavor than regular onions.  In cooking, you want to use the white and light green part of the leek.  The roots and dark green leaves are discarded.

Cut off the top and bottom of the leek.  Then cut the leek half lengthwise.  You can see the dirt and sand trapped in between the layers.

Cut the leeks in the half moon shapes and soak in a bowl of cold water for 5-10 minutes.  Make sure to break the layers apart and swish them around.  Scoop the leeks off the top of the water and you'll see all of the sand and dirt left at the bottom.

Recipe is from www.kraftrecipes.com 

Happy Cooking!

Jenny

Personal Pan Pizza

I was asked to come up with some "man meals" that require minimal ingredients and effort.  Pizza is (almsot) as easy to make as it is to order.  Personal pan pizzas are great when you can't agree on toppings.  I like a little bit of sauce and lots of veggies and the hubby likes the exact opposite.

 Ingredients

• Pre-made refrigerated pizza dough (pre-cooked pizza crusts will work)
• Marinara sauce
• Shredded Mozzarella cheese
• Any toppings that you like on your pizza - we used mini pepperoni, green bell pepper, red onion, and crushed pineapple

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Split the dough into the number of pizzas you want to make.  Spray your pan with cooking pan and stretch your dough to fit the pan or the size pizza that you want.  I like to use round cake pans so that it makes a deep dish pizza.  You can roll it out on a cookie sheet if you prefer.

 

 Spread sauce on the dough and top with cheese and the toppings that you like.  Bake at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the crust and cheese start to brown.

 

Happy Cooking!

Jenny

Week of September 4, 2012

This week's menu is mostly easy comfort food.  When I'm looking for quick meals I like to use the the Kraft Foods Recipe website for inspiration.

Tuesday:  Personal Pan Pizza

Wednesday:  Savory Leek and Ham Quiche  (my version)

Thursday:  Easy Eggplant Parmesan  (my version)
Friday:  Orange-Ginger Beef Stir Fry

Grocery List

Produce

• Red onion
• Sweet bell pepper
• Leeks
• Eggplant

Meats/Seafood

• Pepperoni
• Deli ham
• Beef flank steak

 Dairy/Refrigerated

• Shredded Mozzarella cheese
• Refrigerated pizza dough or pre-made pizza crust
• Refrigerated pie crust
• Shredded Swiss cheese
• Eggs
• Half & half
• Fresh Take Rosemary & Roasted Garlic Recipe Cheese Breadcrumb Mix

 Miscellaneous

• Marinara sauce
•  Spaghetti noodles
• Cornstarch
• Orange marmalade
• Ground ginger
• Sliced water chestnuts
• Soy sauce
• Brown rice
• Frozen broccoli florets

What's on the menu at your house this week?

Happy Cooking!

Jenny

Ugly Omelets

If you are looking for a quick and healthy dinner then this is your kind of recipe!  I don't know about you but I love having breakfast for dinner.  I came up with the term Ugly Omelets after I failed to make a traditional omelet look pretty.  It's much easier just to combine all of the ingredients in one pan.  It tastes the same as a regular omelet.  It's just a pretty omelet's ugly cousin!

 Ingredients

•  2 eggs per person
• Green bell pepper
• Red onion
• Mushrooms
• Deli ham
• Butter 

Preparation

Chop up the veggies and ham into small pieces.  Scramble the eggs and season with salt and pepper.

  Heat a skillet over medium heat and melt about 1/2 tbsp of butter.  Saute the veggies and ham until the peppers and onions are soft.  Pour the scrambled eggs over top off the veggies.  Stir until the eggs are fully cooked.

 I warned you - it's ugly (but delicious)!

You can create any mixture of meat and vegetables that you like.  This meal is a great way to use up leftover produce in the fridge.  The combinations are endless!

Happy Cooking!

Jenny

Week of August 26, 2012

This week I went through my Rachael Ray cookbooks for some new combinations.  During the summer I tend to do a lot of grilling and I find that towards the end of the summer I'm ready to cook inside again.  The directions for Rachael Ray recipes are really easy to follow and most of them come together really quickly.

Sunday:  Chicken Marvalasala and Pappardelle with Rosemary Gravy

Monday:  Sliced Grilled Portobello Mushroom Sorta-Caesar Salad

Tuesday:  Grilled steak with salad

Wednesday:  Ugly omelets

Thursday:  Baked Sole and Roasted Asparagus with Sesame

I made the Chicken Marvalasala and Pappardelle with Rosemary Gravy tonight and it turned out great!  I used bow-tie noodles instead of the pappardelle because I had some on hand.  I almost didn't make the rosemary gravy but I'm glad I did!  It was a great addition to the Chicken Marsala.

Grocery List

Produce

• Garlic
• Portobello mushroom caps
• Shiitakes (I used button mushrooms)
  
• Rosemary
• Mixed lettuce
• Lemons
• 3 hearts romaine
• Fresh ginger (I buy the ground ginger in the jar rather than a piece of whole ginger)
• Scallions
• Asparagus
• Red onion
• Sweet bell pepper

Meats/Seafood

• 4 large, thin pieces boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets
  
• 4 Sole fillets (I'm going to use tilapia because I have some in the freezer)
• Steak (any cuts will do but I prefer boneless rib-eye)
• Deli ham

 Dairy/Refrigerated

• Butter
• Grated Parmigiano or Romano
• Eggs

 Miscellaneous

• Pappardelle pasta (I used bow-tie noodles)
  
• Tomato paste (try to find the tomato paste in the tube so you can keep the leftovers in the fridge)
• Chicken stock
• Worcestershire sauce
• Capers (I skipped these because I'm not a huge fan of capers)
  
• Marsala wine
• Grill seasoning
  
• 2 crusty semolina rolls or 1/2 small loaf semolina bread (or croutons)
  
• Dijon mustard
• Hot sauce
• Anchovy paste (I skipped this also)
  
• White or brown rice
• Tamari (or soy sauce)
• Toasted sesame oil
• Sesame seeds

What's on the menu at your house this week?

Happy Cooking!

Jenny

Sausage, Peppers and Onions Stoup

I know August isn't the best time for soup but the hubby requested it this week so soup we had.  I made Rachael Ray's Sausage, Peppers and Onions Stoup.  Rachael Ray recipes are great because they come together really quickly and always taste delicious!  I opted to use spicy sausage this time and a mixture of sweet bell and banana peppers.  Every time I've made this recipe I think I've used a different type of pepper or sausage but it always comes out great!

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds hot or sweet bulk Italian sausage (I used links and removed the casing - slices of sausage would work as well)
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3 to 4 cubanelle peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
• 2 medium-large onions, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 (15-ounce) cans or 1 (28-ounce) can crushed or diced fire roasted tomatoes
• 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley leaves
• 1/2 cup basil leaves, torn
• 1 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano

 

 

Preparation

Heat extra-virgin olive oil in deep skillet, add sausage and brown a few minutes then add garlic, peppers, onions and cook until soft, 6 to 7 minutes more.

  Deglaze pan with a little vinegar, stir in stock and tomatoes and reduce heat to simmer, cook 5 minutes more then stir in parsley and basil and serve with cheese on top.

 Recipe courtesy of www.foodnetwork.com

Happy Cooking!

Jenny

Sausage, Sweet Potato & Apple Casserole

Sausage, sweet potatoes and apples.  It sounds like a crazy combination but this recipe was a favorite in our household growing up.  It's perfect mix of sweet, salty and a little spicy.  I'm not sure where my mother found the original recipe, but here is the version that she taught me.  Normally I would use canned sweet potatoes but this week I had a few butternut squash from my garden that were ripe so I used them instead.  It didn't taste too far off but I will say that I prefer this recipe with sweet potatoes instead. 

Ingredients

• 1lb sage flavored pork sausage
• 2-4 apples (any variety will work)
• 1 large can of sweet potatoes or yams (I used 2 small butternut squash)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon

Preparation

Brown and crumble the sausage and drain the fat off.  Cut the sweet potatoes into bit sized pieces.  Peel and cut the apples into bite sized pieces.  Combine all of the ingredients in a 13x9 baking dish.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.  You want the apples and sweet potatoes to be soft.  

Because I used fresh squash it took closer to an hour before the squash was soft.  You can use fresh sweet potatoes but the canned ones reduce the cooking time.  This is the type of casserole that only gets better the next day.  I love eating the leftovers for breakfast but it's great for any meal!

Happy Cooking!

Jenny