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.

The World's Best Scrambled Eggs

Okay, I fully realize that you're probably reading this and saying, "using a recipe for scrambled eggs is kinda lame. I mean, who doesn't know how to make scrambled eggs, anyway?"

Well, even though I knew how to make decent scrambled eggs back in the day, I wanted to see what the "experts," a.k.a. the folks from America's Test Kitchen, had to say about them. Plus, I'm a recipe nazi. What can I say?

These are, hands down, the best scrambled eggs I have ever made (or tasted, frankly). From this recipe, I learned that using milk (or half-and-half, as the recipe calls for) instead of water makes a big difference. And the way you fold the eggs while they're cooking makes a huge difference. HUGE.

We eat these eggs frequently (like, once a week), and even Patrick agrees that they are the bomb. And, of course, they're easy.

(Sorry I don't have a photo ... maybe one day I'll take one, but then my eggs would get cold. Hot eggs are so much better than lukewarm eggs. Plus, y'all all know what scrambled eggs look like.)

Scrambled Eggs
Recipe courtesy America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
8 large eggs
1/4 cup half-and-half*
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, salt, and pepper. Melt the butter in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, swirling to coat the pan. Add the eggs and cook while gently pushing, lifting, and folding them from one side of the pan to the other until they are nicely clumped, shiny, and wet, about 2 minutes. Remove the cooked eggs from the pan quickly.

We sometimes like to add shredded cheese to our eggs (while they're cooking) and then sprinkle some Tabasco sauce on them when they're on our plate. Yummy. They're also perfectly delicious a natural.

*Whole, lowfat or skim milk can be substituted for the half-and-half, but the eggs will not be as creamy. I usually use skim milk unless I happen to have half-and-half on hand, and they are still creamy. DO NOT USE WATER!!

The key to fluffy scrambled eggs:
Do not stir the eggs!! If you push the eggs with a spatula instead of stirring them, you will end up with large, airy, fluffy eggs. Gently push, lift and fold them from one side of the pan to the other, until large, airy curds have formed. This is critical, folks.

What to do with overripe bananas - Banana Muffins

I am finicky when it comes to bananas -- I will only eat them when they are greenish. If I see too much yellow, or even a hint of ripeness coming to them, I won't eat them straight out of the peel. For me, once a banana is ripe and yellow (which, to most normal humans, is perfection), they have to be baked for me to even consider consuming them.

Thus, many a "good" banana goes uneaten in our household.

I learned long ago that instead of wasting these sweet treats, freezing them was the solution, so that when I want to bake, they're ready to go (after, of course, a short defrost). The other day I had four frozen bananas, and an itch to bake. So I whipped up these little lovelies, and they are delectable with or without the frosting.

I love banana bread, but there's something about this recipe that takes them beyond your basic banana bread recipe, in my opinion. It haven't put my finger on it yet ... there's a depth in flavor to these that other recipes I've tried don't have. Maybe it's the extra vanilla? Whatever it is, we like them a lot; I think Patrick ate three or four straight out of the oven!

Banana Muffins with Mascarpone Cream Frosting
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis - Food Network
Muffins:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 ripe bananas, peeled and coarsely mashed

Frosting:
3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl to blend. Beat the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the banana. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Bake the muffins on the middle rack until the tops are golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out with no crumbs attached, about 25 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a rack and cool slightly. The muffins may be eaten warm or cooled completely and frosted.

To frost the cupcakes: Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the mascarpone cheese and then beat in the honey. Spread the frosting over the muffins. Sprinkle with the walnuts.

Sausage something-or-other and cinnamon apples

The original recipe title of this recipe is "Sausage braid," but it sounds too much like a meat headpiece to me, so I decided to rename it. And then I couldn't think of anything snappy. But, regardless of the name, it's a scrumptious meal.

Now, I'm not typically a sausage eater. At all. But I will eat anything that Suzanne and Carter dish up when it's their turn to cook on Thursday night. Well, this little humdinger of a meal is what they served one evening, and it, folks, is a winner. Even for this self-professed non-sausage-eating person. Something about the way the cream cheese and the veggies and the crescent rolls all combine together with the sausage just makes it work. Oh, and this is another one of those versatile foods; we eat it for dinner here at our house, but I made it for brunch at my parent's house one morning and it was perfect then, too.

Sausage Braid
12 ounces bulk pork sausage*
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
3 ounces cream cheese, cubed
2 tablespoons chopped green onion tops
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley (I used 2 teaspoons dried parsley instead)
1 tube (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls
1 egg, lightly beaten

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the sausage, onion, celery, green pepper and garlic until meat is no longer pink and vegetables are tender; drain. Add cream cheese, green onion and parsley. Cook and stir over low heat until cheese is melted; set aside.

Unroll crescent dough on a greased baking sheet; seal perforations. Roll into a 12-inch x 10-inch rectangle. Spoon sausage mixture to within 3 inches of long sides and to within 1 inch of ends. On each long side, cut 3/4 inch-wide strips 3 inches into center. Starting at one end, fold alternating strips at an angle, forming a braid.

Brush dough with egg. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown. Refrigerate leftovers.

*I can't find 12 ounce bulk pork sausage, so I just use the full 16 ounces that I can find.


Cinnamon Apples
4 apples, peeled and cored
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon butter

Toss the first four ingredients in a large Ziploc bag to coat the apples. Pour the apple/sugar mixture into a medium saucepan and add the water and butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender. (Cooking time depends on how tender you like your apples - and probably on the type of apple you have; Patrick likes them very tender, so I cook them for at least 25 minutes.)

Breakfast for dinner - homemade buttermilk pancakes

Last week, I made a cake that called for buttermilk (see the oh-so-creatively named "chocolate cake" recipe, below). After using one cup, I still had quite a bit left in the carton and wanted to use it before it went bad. Patrick and I love us some pancakes, and to me, Bisquick pancakes have always been "homemade enough." Not so much anymore. I don't know that I'll ever be able to look another Bisquick pancake in the eye again. Last night, I used the rest of the buttermilk on some as-close-as-they-come-to-Cracker-Barrel pancakes and don't know if I'll ever be able to go back to Bisquick. These are melt-in-your-mouth good.

This recipe uses butter (yes, in addition to buttermilk - this is not a healthy pancake), and I think the butter gives it that nice golden, crunchy crust. So tasty.

Buttermilk pancakes
From America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 cups buttermilk*

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, melted butter, and then the buttermilk. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour the buttermilk mixture into the well, and whisk very gently until the buttermilk mixture is just incorporated (a few lumps should remain). Be careful not to overmix the batter.

Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet (I use an electric griddle instead) over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Brush the pan bottom with 1 teaspoon oil. Using 1/4 cup of batter per pancake, add the batter to the skillet and cook until large bubbles begin to appear, about 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes, and cook until golden brown on the second side, about 1 1/2 minutes longer.

If you're not eating these immediately as they come off the skillet of griddle, you can keep them warm by putting them on a wire rack (on top of a baking sheet) in a 200 degree oven.

One note: I would recommend letting the buttermilk come to room temperature before adding to the egg/butter mixture. I didn't, and the buttermilk was straight-from-the-fridge cold and made the melted butter get lumpy. Not good. I think room temperature buttermilk would combat that issue. Also, to keep the pancakes as light and fluffy as possible, the key is to mix the batter minimally. Stop stirring the batter when there are still streaks of flour visible. Overmixing the batter develops the gluten, which turns pancakes tough.

*If you don't have buttermilk, you can whisk 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice with two cups of milk in a medium bowl and set aside for a few minutes to thicken.