Artichoke & Feta Quiche

Making crepes last week got me in the mood for breakfast so I chose a flavorful quiche recipe. It is also from the Cook This, Not That!, book.

INGREDIENTS:

3 extra large eggs

1 cup 2% milk

7 oz. artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

2 Tbsp chopped sun-dried tomatoes

2 links cooked turkey or chicken sausage

3/4 tsp kosher salt

Cracked pepper to taste

1 frozen pie crust

HOW TO MAKE IT:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk the eggs until frothy, then add the rest of the ingredients and pour into the pie crust.

Bake the quiche for 45 minutes or until the eggs are completely set (a toothpick will come out clean) and the top is a light golden brown.

Let set for 5 minutes before serve... but then serve and EAT UP!

I was so impressed with this recipe and it was so good!! The flavors compliment each other so well. The feta cheese sorta dissolves thru the whole dish so there is a light feta zest with each bite... so if you LOVE feta cheese like I do then you are extremely pleased. It needs the full cooking time so don't try and rush it. But seriously make this dish- low in calories (makes six servings- approximately 250 calories a piece!) , pretty good for you, and doesn't taste like it should be! :)

Keep on cookin' cupcakes

Banana Crepes meets Bananas Foster...sort of

I almost blew my New Year's Resolution! This week was crazy busy and Saturday evening rolled around and I still hadn't made a new meal yet---AHHHH!! So after some thinking I decided to do something sweet and picked out a nice Banana Crepe recipe. After I picked it out I spotted the triple sec in our refrigerator and remembered when a friend made Bananas Foster but used triple sec in place of the rum. I decided that I would make the bananas in the modified Bananas Foster way.

INGREDIENTS:

Crepes
1 cup flour
3 eggs-lightly beaten
5 tblsp. butter
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt

Bananas
3 bananas-cut in half both ways
4 tblsp. butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 triple sec

Make the bananas first. Melt butter in a pan on medium heat. Add the brown sugar and triple sec and bring to a low simmer. Add the bananas and cook for a few minutes on each side, spooning mixture over the bananas. Remove bananas from pan and set aside.

Mix all the crepe ingredients together. Heat a pan on medium-high heat and apply anti-stick spray. Put a small amount of batter in the pan and coat the bottom of the pan evenly (the layer will be very thin). Let it cook until the bottom is a golden brown, then remove from the pan and place two banana halves in the center of the crepe and roll it up. Repeat process until you are out of crepe batter or bananas. Add some whip cream (or you can add ice cream) to the top and eat while still warm.

I like this recipe- it was sweet but not dessert sweet. The next day I did more traditional crepes with mixed berries on the inside and it was really good too. The crepe batter is the best that I have had; it has wonderful flavor and maintains the light, delicate taste that makes the crepe a great treat. I look forward to using the crepe batter with strawberries, and will also try it with ham and cheese blintz varieties.

Overall, I probably would not intermingle the two recipes again and would stick to more traditional crepe flavors. But if you like bananas, I do recommend looking up a good Bananas Foster recipe as it is SO DELISH!

Until next time, cuppies, keep cooking and definitely keep eating. :)

GREEN CHILE CHEESEBURGERS!

For my birthday the husband got me this awesome cook book called Cook This, Not That!, by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding. It is a compilation of some restaurant favorites and how to make them at home on the cheap AND with fewer calories. There will be many recipes that I make out of this book, but this week I wanted something that I have never tried before and wouldn't likely order in a restaurant.

The recipe for the green chile cheeseburger jumped out at me as a good candidate because of the different flavors involved.

Ingredients (recipe makes 4):

1 lb. ground beef

4 oz. roasted green chiles, drained and chopped

4 slices swiss cheese

4 potato buns

4 medium slices red onion

4 thick tomato slices

salt and black pepper to taste

1. Heat a grill, stovetop grill pan, or cast-iron skillet

2. Season the beef with salt and pepper and form into 4 patties (do not overwork the meat)

3. Cook on one side for 3-4 minutes (until nicely charred), then flip and immediately place 1 tablespoon of chiles onto each burger, followed by a slice of cheese. For medium-rare burgers continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes.

4. Remove the burgers, and toast the buns. Place the onion and tomato on the bottom of the buns, then place the burger.

AND ENJOY! The burgers have great flavor and while they seem like they would lack, the mixture of the swiss cheese and green chiles is SO GOOOOOD and I will definitely be making them again--- actually I will be making them again tonight for dinner as I forgot to take a picture last night (well I remembered but by the time I did remember it was way too late...burger in stomach).

The husband is going to try mayo on his tonight- I would never pollute my food with the substance, but I can see that if you like mayo, then it would be good. I also did not use tomato on the burgers because I forgot to buy them, and I actually don't think that the burger needs them. Instead, tonight when I make them I am going to caramelize the onions. My only hesitation in doing so is that it could overpower the other flavors- but it is worth a shot (love me the caramelized onions!).

Give these babies a try- if you are already grilling all you need is the swiss and the chiles so fire up the bar-b!

[PICTURE TO COME TONIGHT-JUST WANTED TO GET THIS SUCKAH UP]

TORTELLINI SOUP

Well this week after all the rain and crazy weather that we had, I decided to make something that makes me feel all warm and cozy inside--- hence the soup choice. It came out of a cookbook that my 6th grade class made where each kid contributed a recipe and then we bound them into little cook books. There are several recipes that I am looking forward to trying out of it.

The tortellini soup is courtesy Missy Waltz- so thanks Missy!

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 lbs. italian sausage

1 c. chopped onion

2 cloves minced garlic

5 c. beef broth

8 oz. tomato sauce

1/2 tsp. basil

1/2 c. water

1/2 c. dry red wine

4 c. chopped tomatoes

1 c. thinly sliced carrots

1/2 tsp. oregano

1 1/2 c. chopped zucchini

8 oz. tortellini

3 tbs. parsley

1 chopped green pepper

1.) Brown the sausage in a pot

2.) Add the rest of the ingredients in the order they are listed.

3.) Simmer uncovered for 30-45 minutes

4.) Skim off any fat

5.) DONE and serve with parmesan cheese

This recipe is SO EASY but it is SO DELISH! I recommend it to everyone. Next time I make it I want to add some spice- maybe use spicy sausage and throw in some black pepper or something.

PS- I know the picture shows a crock-pot but I cooked it in a regular pot- I just kept it warm in this.

Locker Room Journal???

I have some BEEF to discuss with everyone.

What is the deal with locker room etiquette these days??? I mean seriously... there have been multiple things that have happened to me in the past that has made me think this, but earlier today I experienced something that prompted me to address this topic.

As usual, the gym is overrun with the "New Years Resolutioners" all January long. Being an advocate for living a healthy lifestyle, I cope relatively well with the vast influx of people and support their decision to get in shape. There are many nuisances that accompany the over populated gym but I venture to say that one of the most frustrating places to encounter this is in the locker room.

Earlier today I hit the gym around 4 p.m., much later than I would normally go, but duty calls and sometimes things get pushed back. As I was finishing my workout at approximately 5 p.m., it dawned on me that the locker room would be packed as I got ready to go back to work. Not able to do anything about it now, I forged my way into the locker room.

There were about 10 girls in various states of dress (or undress), most getting ready to get their workout on, but a few seemed to be finishing up like me. As I was heading over to my locker I noticed a girl sitting on the bench blocking it. This is not very uncommon considering the locker room is quite small and the lockers are stacked two high, so often you have to politely ask someone to move while they are tying their shoes or trying to get everything settled. This girl was different tho (Herein after defined as "Rude Girl").

As I approached I noticed that she was not sweaty, but she was in workout clothes. Her jacket and gym bag were tossed on her right, while her purse (and its contents) were strewn out to her left; in all blocking at least four lockers. I roll my eyes (to myself of course) and try to ignore the indecency and politely ask her to move her purse. She shoots an annoyed look at me, loudly sighs, and proceeds to barely move her purse so that it is still partially blocking my locker. I smiled tightly and opened my locker anyway.

As I begin to change out of my clothes I notice that Rude Girl is not utilizing the locker room as one would think, to get get changed, but is actually JOURNALING. Appropriate? I think not. As a writer I can sympathize that sometimes ideas hit you and you need to jot them down right away before you forget, but I had the distinct feeling that this was more of a "Dear Diary..." moment.

The journaling is weird, but then Rude Girl proceded to answer her phone loudly and began to carry on a long (AND LOUD) conversation, busily exchanging juicy gossip that no one in the locker room cares about or wants to hear.

I go shower and when I return, Rude Girl is now off her phone but has gone back to journaling, appearing annoyed whenever she has to move her stuff for other people. I change and get ready as quick as I can and when I leave I notice that Rude Girl has now put away her journal but appears to be texting or something of the sort on her cell phone. I shake my head and leave the gym fuming a bit.

So... now as I write I start to think of other things that people do in locker rooms that REALLY bother me and I would like to propose a few common courtesy rules that I would like to see in place in the gym locker rooms.

1.) No cell phone usage except for necessary quick calls

2.) Keep personal items in minimal space

3.) No journaling and/or miscellaneous activities that can be done anywhere else

4.) No stretching in the locker room- there is space in the gym for that

5.) No prolonged nakedness ( i.e. I do not want to see you standing there naked for 10 minutes while you blowdry your hair)

6.) Be courteous and considerate of others and their personal space

Those are my thoughts- if anyone else agrees- pass on the love. Peace out cupcakes!

Sister's visit

Well I had the wonderful opportunity to spend this past week with my oldest sister. She flew in on Sunday and I just took her to the airport earlier today. Thankfully my work schedule allowed me to take some time off and enjoy the week with her. I was going to post a picture of us together but we had serious picture fail issues when we tried... maybe next time.

Being with her is so easy, and that's partially because we are family, but beyond that we are very good friends. It is so wonderful to spend time with someone who knows you so well and the time spent is so effortless.

My sister recently went thru the hard and unfortunate loss of her beloved miniature dachshund, Margot. She was a sweet and wonderful companion and is dearly missed. Being with my sister and getting to help her grieve was a hard, but rewarding, experience. There are so many ordeals in life which just seem overwhelming in the moment, but there can always be something learned and I try to approach life in that way. That God is never going to give me more than I can handle, and that I can drink in knowledge thru these experiences, is something that I take peace and comfort in.

Love allows you to extend grace and patience even when you feel empty...

PIZZA BURGERS!!!

Week 2 of my New Years Resolution I decided to make a childhood favorite recipe: Pizza Burgers. This is a delicious and easy recipe that can be ready to eat in less than 30 minutes. I have often thought of making them but then for some reason never got around to it, but then my mom gave me an old family cookbook when I saw her over Christmas, and with my sister coming to visit, I decided that it was time to make the nostalgic meal.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. lean ground beef

8 hamburger buns

1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

1 T. mustard

1 tsp. oregano

1/2 c. ketchup

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients except for the hamburger buns. Spread mixture on the hamburger bun and place on baking sheet. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until the ground beef is cooked. OPTIONAL: add extra shredded cheese to top and return to oven on broil for 1-2 minutes.

I know that it seems like it will just taste like an open faced hamburger, but it doesn't. They are so easy to make, you may as well try it at least once. Enjoy!