Spinach Quiche

There must be hundreds of recipes out there for egg and cheese combination dishes, and I've read many of them. But in my standard way of cooking, I made a quiche recently and made up my own. I used what I had on hand and a little common sense. The results were just what we wanted--an easy to make, hearty, good-for-you dish. Now it may seem strange that for someone who doesn't like to follow recipes, I usually write down what and how much I put in a dish that I don't make all of the time. That way I can make it again if it's a success. And that's what happened this time. The quiche was a nice combination of flavors without being overpowered by any one. Also, the texture was good without being too eggy or too cheesy. (I know. My husband has told me that there's no such thing as too cheesy.) I've made it a couple of times using this combination and now the recipe has gone into my files. If you'd like to give it a try or just read another recipe, here it is.

Spinach Quiche

Preheat oven to 400°F

Crust:

1 cup flour
3/4 t. salt
1/4 cold water
1/4 cup oil

Mix together dry ingredients. Mix together wet ingredients and add to dry ingredients. Stir until ball forms. Press into 9" pie plate. No need to roll out, just press into place.


Filling:

3 eggs
1 cup skim milk
3 strips of turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup shredded 2% cheddar cheese
10 oz. frozen, chopped spinach cooked and well drained

Beat eggs and milk together. Add cheese, bacon and mix. Add spinach and mix well so there are no large clumps of spinach. Pour into crust and bake for 30 minutes or until set. Enjoy!

Banana Pops

What happens when you find a sale on bananas for 25¢/pound and you buy a lot of them? Then you can't eat them quite fast enough and you are trying to save them from turning to mush on the counter. However, no one wants to bake banana bread and the last extra bananas are still in the freezer because you don't like smoothies. You make Banana Pops.That's what Wally and Theo did.






Banana Pops

1. Peel bananas and cut into halves.

2 .Insert stick. They used grilling skewers because that was what they could find. You could also use straws or popcicle sticks.

3. Melt chocolate chips in microwave. 50% power for 30 seconds and then stir. Repeat until melted.

4. If you have the right ratio of banana size to container size, dip the the bananas into the chocolate to coat. If not, dab chocolate on with a spoon.

5. Roll in sprinkles or nuts, if desired.

6. Place bananas on wax paper or parchment paper and freeze for two hours.

7. Enjoy a cold, sweet treat.

Note: This is the first time they tried this, so they have a couple of things they are going to do differently next time. They plan to cut the bananas into bite size pieces. That way the chocolate won't break off while you're biting into it. Wally, the peanut butter lover, plans to melt peanut butter and chocolate together for the coating.

Spinach Pie

 I make spinach pie fairly often because it's a vegetable based dish that the carnivores in the family like. It is very easy to make and is basically spinach and cheese between two pie crusts. The recipe for it came from someone that I used to work with and I think that she got the recipe from someone she used to work with. Some of you have been asking for it, so here it goes. First I'll show you the recipe that I use. I copied this down quickly over the phone. Next, I'll show you a pictorial of how to make it, and lastly I'll include a "proper" recipe with comments that will be printer friendly.

My original recipe

Pictorial of the basic steps

Spinach Pie

Ingredients:

--Two 9" pie crusts (store bought or make your own. The store bought ones or ones made with lard or vegetable shortening are usually flakier than the ones made with oil. The store bought ones usually are saltier than the ones I make at home, so if I'm making my own, I add a little salt to the spinach.)

--One bag fresh spinach (6 oz. to 9 oz. bags will work. The bigger the bag, the thicker the pie. I like the bigger bag. I also use either baby or regular spinach.)

--2 Tablespoons olive oil (or oil of your choice)

--1 teaspoon of garlic powder (or two cloves garlic minced or as much or as little as you like to taste)

--1 teaspoon nutmeg (I usually leave this out since I don't like nutmeg)

--Fresh Parmesan cheese, shredded ~ 4 oz. or one cup (I use however much fresh I have. If I don't have enough, I used dried at about half the amount.)

Actions:

--Preheat oven to 375 ° F

--Line 9" pie plate with one pie crust.

--In a large bowl mix spinach, oil, cheese, garlic, and nutmeg.

--Put spinach mixture into pie pan on top of pie crust.

--Top with second pie crust and seal edges.

--Bake for half hour or until the crust is golden brown.

--Let cool 10-15 minutes, then enjoy.

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