Crustless Onion Dip Quiche

Sorry, I haven't been around much. I am pregnant, due in March, and a little sidetracked. But I have Gestational Diabetes and this was a wonderful recipe for me to share at my book club meeting. I didn't want to forget what I did... so here it is. Enjoy!

2 large onions
2 brick of light philly cream cheese
5 eggs
1 T Light Mayo
1 T Light sour cream
1/4 c sour cream
1 T Brown Mustard
2 T Balsamic Vinegar
1 T olive oil
1 can Artichokes (quartered)
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar
Salt and Pepper to taste
Pinch sugar
1/2 t Paprika
Pinch Sugar

Cut onions in half and slice thinly.

Heat olive oil in large pan and saute the onions, with a pinch of salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar, over a low to medium heat for 20-30 minutes, careful not to brown them, just let them cook into heavenly onion wonderfulness. When they are a deep color and soft and sweet, add mustard and vinegar and set aside to cool. When cool mix in a can of quartered artichokes.

In a large bowl, beat eggs, add milk, softened cream cheese, Mayo and Sour Cream. Salt and Pepper to taste.

Spray a deep dish pie plate with pam.

Spread onion mixture in pan.

Pour egg mixture over the onions and artichokes.

Top with shredded Cheddar and sprinkle with paprika for color.

Bake at 375 F for 30 minutes, or until sides are set and middle is not too soft, (it will cook more as it sits), let it sit for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

Something is eating our strawberries. We have a pretty big patch now which has resulted in many unripe strawberries, but no ripe ones. Bah humbug. So we went out east to pick some strawberries today. 7 1/2 pounds of strawberries actually. So, I made some freezer jam. I will freeze some for smoothies also, and we will eat some. And I suppose I will make something, but I dont know what.

But the freezer jam is exciting. And easy.

This is the recipe from the box of pectin:

4 cups of crushed strawberries (You can use a food processor but dont over process, you want some chunks. Or you can use a potato masher.)
4 Tbs fresh lemon juice
4 cups sugar
2 pouches of pectin (I used Certo)

Mixe the sugar and the berries. Let sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix Pectin and Lemon Juice. Add to the berries and stir for about 3 minutes until the sugar is dissolved and it is no longer grainy. Pour into small containers (I used the twist top ziplock brand containers and a few other smaller ones I had in the house), leaving 1/2 inch for expansion while freezing. Let sit at room temp for 24 hours to set. May be stored for up to three weeks in the fridge and up to a year in the freezer.

This recipe makes 8 cups of Jam.

I wish I had a working camera. But it is bright red and beautiful!

Blackberry Pie

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/sour_cream_apple_pie_with_streusel_topping/


I was looking for a pie to make for today (it's Mother's Day! ) and I came across a yummy looking recipe for sour cream apple pie. But I have a big thing of blackberries in the fridge (I overestimated Nathan's consumption), and I thought Blackberries and sour cream sounds good.

So I adapted it.

It is similar to the original but I subbed the berries for the apples and used a roll out crust. But here it is:

Sour Cream Blackberry Pie

1 cup sour cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
3 cups rinsed blackberries
1 9" unbaked pie shell

Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix together all ingredients until crumbly.


1 Preheat oven to 400°F.
2 Beat together sour cream, sugar, flour, salt, vanilla and egg (can beat by hand). Add berries, mixing carefully to coat well.
3 Put filling into a pie shell and bake at 400 degrees initially for 25 min.
4 Remove from oven and sprinkle with Cinnamon Crumb Topping. Bake for and additional 20 more minutes. At this point I covered the edges of the crust with foil so it wouldn't burn.

Let cool for a hour before serving. Serves 8.

This is the most beautiful pie! I wish I had a working camera, but you will just have to take my word for it. The top is browned and sparkly, the berries are bursting through the top like purple sunshine.

Enjoy!

Edited to add:

Or not. I spit it right out, though my dutiful family ate it. The blackberries got hard. I don't know why. But Yuck. Maybe Strawberries would work better? Or maybe I should have just done it with apples. I also made some whole wheat sugar cookies for the kids for lunches this week, so I served those and I will send Paul out for ice cream tonight. It is Mother's Day, after all!

Nana's Noodle Pudding

My Mom's Mom is obsessed with dieting and exercise. But she makes one, very notable, exception.

Nana's Noodle Pudding

1 pint sour cream
8 oz cream cheese
Scant 1 cup white sugar
5 eggs
1 pound of wide egg noodles
1/2 cup- 1 cup corn flake crumbs
3 T white sugar
3/4 stick of melted butter

Mix the sour cream, cream cheese (This is easier if it is whipped, otherwise you might want to use a mixer), eggs and sugar. Cook noodles to package directions. mix noodles with creamy mixture and spread into a prepared casserole dish (I use an 8 by 13 inch pyrex). Refrigerate overnight.

Bring to room temperature before cooking.

Melt butter and add sugar. Add corn flake crumbs until you get a drippy consistency. Drizzle over the top and spread out a bit. You can make as much or as little of the topping as you like, I like a lot, Nana likes a little.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

I am making this and the Pioneer Woman's BBQ meatballs (though I am using turkey) for Mother's day Lunch with our Mom's. Too bad Nana is in Florida. I am not sure about dessert. I am thinking of going out for ice cream.

Happy Mother's Day!

Baked Ziti for Sunday... and another day.

I have been so so so busy... both of my parents are having surgery within these two weeks, my high school reunion was this weekend, two communions, birthday parties, two crazy kids... you know the drill. So I wanted to make something that would have leftovers.

Baked Ziti to the rescue!

My sauce came out yummy today so I am going to record the recipe. Let's call it,

Marinara Sauce

One red onion, chopped
One yellow pepper, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 carrot pealed and chopped fine (I actually use my peeler to make thin strips and then chop those)
1 can of crushed tomatoes
4 cans of petite diced tomatoes
Kosher salt, sugar, oregano, parsley, basil, pepper... to taste
One bay leaf
2 table spoons of olive oil

Heat olive oil in a pot.

Saute chopped veggies until tender. Add some salt and some sugar.

Add crushed tomatoes and two cans of the diced.

Puree with a hand blender.

Add the last two cans of tomatoes. Add spices to taste, including some more salt and sugar.

Simmer for a few hours. I put some in a tupperware for another night, and used the rest for...

Baked Ziti

One pint of part skim ricotta, seasoned
One hunk of Mozzarella cheese, sliced thin
1 1/2 boxes of ziti
about half of the sauce above

For Ricotta-
One egg
a tablespoon of garlic powder
a tablespoon of onion powder
a pinch of salt

Mix all those things together and then add the cheese, stir and set aside till ready to use.

Ladle some sauce into a large lasagna pan to coat the bottom. Boil salted water and prepare pasta according to directions. Put drained pasta into the pan and pour a few cups of sauce on top, stir to coat, add ricotta and fold into pasta mixture, adding more sauce if needed. Lay the slices of Mozzarella cheese on top and bake at 350 until bubbly and hot.

Honey Citrus Chicken

This is a riff on a Rachael Ray recipe I saw on TV. I honestly have no idea what she made because I was at the gym and wasn't listening, but it looked like it had Oranges and Honey and herbs. So here is my take:

One Chicken cut into parts
2 lemons
2 oranges
1 head of garlic
1/2 cup honey
1/2 onion
Kosher Salt
Dried Thyme and Oregano (Or fresh, but I dont have any fresh yet this season)

Rinse the chicken and sprinkle with the juice of one lemon and kosher salt. Refrigerate overnight or for a few hours.

Preheat the oven to 424 F

Take Garlic, cut off the top to expose the inside of most of the cloves, sprinkle with olive oil and salt. Wrap in tin foil.

In a roasting pan, place slices of oranges and the last lemon and the half an onion, sprinkle with olive oil and salt and toss to coat. Move the citrus to the side of then pan and place the chicken around, skin side up. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, oregano and thyme. Rub to coat.

In the microwave, warm the honey to make it more spreadable, drizzle that over the top of the chicken.

Place the roasting pan and the head of garlic in the oven and roast for 45 minutes or until done.

Put the chicken, citrus, onions on a platter. Squeeze out the garlic cloves and scatter them around. Drizzle with the pan juices and serve. I will serve this with some bread, some rice, and probably some corn on the cob.

This is one of those meals that forces us to slow down and savor the time together at dinner, and gives us a reason to take a much needed break from our busy lives.

I think it even deserves homemade bread and maybe a special dessert. I will let you know what I find.

Chicken Taco Burgers and Onion Rings

This tax season thing is really killing my blog. I am just too busy actually living life to write about it. But this came out yummy and I want to remember it. You should try it too!

Chicken Taco Burgers

1 1/2 lb chopped chicken
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1/2 onion, minced (Use the small middles of the two onions for the next recipe, as minced onion in the burgers)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 egg
1 packet of taco seasoning

Mix the meat with all the other stuff other stuff and pop it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. It is easier to work with cool.

Using a 1/3 cup measure to plop a pile of the chicken onto your grill pan or greased grill, flatten with a spatula and cook. Flip. Cook some more. Till done. I served these on potato rolls with some salsa con queso poured on top and a slice of crisp lettuce.

Onion Rings

2 onions cut into 1/4 inch thick rings
2 cups flour
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups canola oil
spices to suit your taste.

Heat oil in a large pot.

Split the flour into two bags and season. Drop a handful of rings into one bag, then dip in a bowl of buttermilk and place in the other bag. Shake to coat. You may have to add some more flour to the second bag and it gets too gooky. Is that a word? Drop in the oil, do not crowd them. Fry for a few minutes and drain on paper towels. Repeat until all the onions are cooked.