Bacon Quiche

At our house, we sometimes enjoy breakfast for dinner. Pancakes, waffles, eggs, cereal ...we like it all.

Yup, you read right. Sometimes we eat cereal for dinner. And we like it.

But even when I do cook breakfast for dinner, I still like it to be a quick and easy meal. This bacon quiche fits the bill quite well. It's so yummy and hearty; served with a side of grits, it's a complete meal. I don't like Swiss cheese, but I love it in this. I also love that, besides the cheese, it's a recipe made with ingredients I typically always have in the pantry or fridge.

This quiche is also perfect for breakfast or brunch. It's not very healthy, but man, is it worth the calories!

Bacon Quiche
Recipe courtesy of Suzanne Akins
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
3 eggs
1/2 cup Bisquick
1 cup Swiss cheese, shredded
1/3 cup bacon, crumbled

Mix butter, milk, salt, pepper, and eggs. Beat well. Stir in Bisquick and pour into 9-inch cake or pie pan. Sprinkle bacon and cheese on top. (Do not mix.) Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.

Family Favorites - Pepper Steak

Tonight I made a meal that I've enjoyed for as long as I can remember. It's a family favorite, and a recipe passed down to me from my mom. When I was younger I wouldn't eat peppers (or tomatoes or onions), but thankfully my parents never catered to my taste buds; my brother and I had to eat whatever was cooked, whether we liked it or not. My mom and dad (who made our breakfast and lunch every day) refused to be short-order cooks. I am thankful that I wasn't allowed to be a picky child because now I'm not a picky adult. I enjoy eating different types of food and trying new things.

But don't be fooled; I totally picked all peppers, onions and tomato chunks out of my food.

I'm glad my taste buds have evolved, if not, I'd miss out on a lot of great flavors.

So I'm introducing you to one of our favorite family meals, and I'm going to try to make this a weekly feature. I've also got something new to debut this Wednesday, so stay tuned!


Pepper Steak
Recipe courtesy of Mom
1 large flank steak, cut into thin strips (it's easier to cut when partially frozen)
3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup cooking sherry
2 shakes of ginger
4 teaspoons sugar
8 teaspoons cornstarch
2 green bell peppers, cut into bite-size pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
Rice

Combine soy sauce, sherry, ginger, sugar and cornstarch in a large, shallow pan (I use a 9x13 dish). Marinate steak in this for at least one hour (I usually let it marinate 4-8 hours, in the fridge).

Start rice so it can be ready when your meal is done.

Put meat and marinade in a large skillet and brown the meat. Once the meat is browned, turn down the heat, cover and cook until almost done, 20-25 minutes, adding hot water as necessary to maintain the sauce. Add peppers and cook until crisp-done.

Serve over rice.

Turkey & Artichoke Stuffed Shells with Arrabbiata Sauce

A week or so ago I went in search of a recipe that uses turkey in a non-traditional turkey kind of way. I'm trying to use a different type of protein with each meal so that we aren't eating beef or chicken over and over and over again. So far I have two great turkey recipes in my repertoire (Greek turkey burgers and turkey lettuce wraps), and this adds a third. Don't let the long name and long recipe scare you away; this is actually a pretty easy recipe to make (but you will use quite a few pots and pans). It makes a ton - an entire box of jumbo pasta shells - so it's good for a large family or for a couple nights of leftovers.

Akins family - you'll be seeing this meal soon!

(I'll take a photo next time I make this.)

Turkey and Artichoke Stuffed Shells with Arrabbiata Sauce
Recipe from Giada De Laurentiis
1 (12-ounce) box jumbo pasta shells
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus 1/4 teaspoon
1 (8 to 10-ounce) package frozen artichokes, thawed and coarsely chopped
1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
5 cups Arrabbiata Sauce, recipe follows
1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella (about 5 ounces)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and partially cook until tender but still very firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain pasta.

Meanwhile, in a large heavy skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and the garlic and cook until the onions are soft and starting to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the ground turkey, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is slightly golden and cooked through. Add the artichoke hearts and stir to combine. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large bowl combine the cooled turkey mixture with the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs, basil, parsley, and the remaining salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

To stuff the shells, cover the bottom of a 9x13 by 2-inch baking dish with 1 cup of Arrabbiata sauce. Take a shell in the palm of your hand and stuff it with a large spoonful of turkey mixture, about 2 tablespoons. Place the stuffed shell in the baking dish. Continue filling the shells until the baking dish is full, about 24 shells. Drizzle the remaining Arrabbiata Sauce over the shells, top with the grated mozzarella. If freezing, cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 1 day and up to 1 month.

To bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake until the shells are warmed through and the cheese is beginning to brown, about 20 minutes (60 minutes if shells are frozen.)

Arrabbiata Sauce:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 ounces sliced pancetta, coarsely chopped (I used bacon instead)
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes (can be omitted for less heat)
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 cups jarred or fresh marinara sauce (about 2 jars)

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the pancetta and saute until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until tender, about 1 minute. Add the marinara sauce and red pepper flakes and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and let cool until ready to use. Yield: approximately 6 cups

Chinese Slaw

A few weeks ago I had the challenge of making a Chinese/Asian appetizer. I don't fry, and Whitney had already claimed the edamame, so I had to come up with something. I remembered a yummy side dish that my Aunt Susan made for a family get together, and thought it would be perfect. She graciously shared her recipe with me and now I'm sharing it with you. It make a lot, so it's perfect for a crowd. And it is great left over, too. Enjoy!

Chinese Slaw
Recipe from Aunt Susan
1 bag of slaw (regular or broccoli)
Noodles from 2 packages of beef Ramen noodles, crushed
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup shelled sunflower seeds
2/3 cup oil
1/3 cup vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
2 beef flavor packets from the Ramen noodles

Combine the first four ingredients in a large bowl and set aside. Combine the oil, vinegar, sugar and beef flavoring in a small bowl or saucepan. Heat for a couple of minutes in the microwave or on the stove, until sugar and beef flavoring is dissolved. Mix well. When the dressing has cooled, pour it over the slaw mixture and toss to combine.

Upcoming recipes:
Turkey and artichoke stuffed shells
Peach Cobbler
Tostada pizza

Sopapilla cheesecake pie

I have a sweet tooth. There's not a dessert I don't like (at least none I've found). So when given the opportunity to make something for a potluck, I tend to gravitate towards dessert. I have been known to make a dip or an appetizer from time to time, but nine times out of 10 I'll make a dessert.

A recent Mexican night get together with friends was no different.

While there are tons of great Mexican appetizer/dip recipes to choose from (mmm ... cheese), I didn't know of too many Mexican dessert recipes. Tres leches cake came to mind, but I knew it would be tougher to eat than the finger food we were supposed to bring. After scouring the Internet for a while I found a sopapilla cheesecake pie recipe. It looked tasty, had lots of good reviews, and seemed pretty easy.

Mexican/Spanish? Check.
Dessert? Check.
Easy to eat? Check.
One of my favorite desserts to make (cheesecake)? Check.

This was a hit. It was easy to make and delicious. It's not like a typical cheesecake, so I wouldn't recommend this if you're looking for the more traditional, bake-in-a-springform pan cheesecake. But the filling is a mixture of cream cheese and sugar, so there is definitely a cheesecake taste. It's rich and sweet and oh, so good.

Sopapilla cheesecake pie
From allrecipes.com
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 (8 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent rolls
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Beat the cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth.
Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape each piece into 9x13 inch rectangles. Press one piece into the bottom of your baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough. Stir together 3/4 cup of sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Dot the mixture over the top of the cheesecake.
Bake until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares.