Bell Pepper, Spinach & Ham Quiche

Found this one on the internet somewhere but I've tweaked it, so saving here to remember how I did it in the future.

Ingredients:
Pillsbury crust (the kind you unroll and put in a pie plate, or make your own)
4 Eggs
Diced ham (Eyeball the amount. I used what I had on hand, thin-sliced smoked lunch meat ham & diced it up)
3 oz Cream Cheese
1/3 C Half&Half
1/2 C grated Cheddar
1/4 C grated Parmesan
Handful of fresh spinach chopped up
Diced Bell Peppers & Onions (Shortcut: buy the premade version of this in the freezer section)
S &P, Garlic-salt, to taste

Directions:
1. Begin by either making a pie crust or placing the Pillsbury one in a pie plate.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
3. In a large bowl beat the cream cheese until soft (may microwave for 20 seconds or so on 50% power to soften it up quickly). Add in the Half&Half and the Eggs--whisk it up. Salt & Pepper to taste.  Add grated cheeses and mix well.
4. In a small skillet sprayed with Pam, saute the diced ham and the bell pepper/onion mixture and toss in some cut-up fresh spinach. Saute just until soft (a minute or two) add s&p and garlic-salt to taste.
5. Stir the veggie mixture into your egg mixture and mix well to combine the two.
6. Pour into your pie crust and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. If the crust is cooking too quickly place a little foil around the rim of the crust and finish baking. Mixture should be "firm" when it's done baking, not jiggly at all.
7. After you take it out of the oven sprinkle it with a tiny bit more grated Parmesan.
8. Allow it to cool just a little--Enjoy!

Roasted Veggies

Easy roasted veggies --

Roasted Okra – Toss w/ olive oil, salt, pepper. Roast in oven at 425 for 15-25 minutes depending on how crispy you prefer. 

Roasted Carrots -- they taste like sweet potato fries! Toss with olive oil, salt & pepper.  Roast in oven at 425 for 20 minutes or so.  (Baby carrots work good great too)

Roasted Asparagus -- Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  425 for about 15-20 minutes

(All were good and a different way to eat them.  Sam and Seth aren't big carrot fans (they are Scott's favorite though) and they will eat them like this.)

Chicken Pot Pie - Easiest On The Planet

I got this recipe from the Ko Jo Kai cookbook that Kristen helped publish! :)
I thought I had already posted this one on here because I've had it a long time, but I was searching for it the other day & realized I'd never posted it on Menu Mamas. It's so easy, doesn't take much of a recipe to follow, but I'm the girl who looks to a recipe for boiling an egg, so I need this easily accessible! ;)

Ingredients:
1 pkg frozen pie crusts
2 cans white chicken
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can mixed veggies, drained
s&p
butter spray (optional)

Directions:
1. Get the pie crusts out of the freezer before you start working. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl, mix chicken, soup & veggies. Season to your liking (I use s&p, garlic salt, etc.)
3. Put one of the pie crusts (aluminum and all) in an oven safe dish & heat for 8-10 minutes.
4. Pour the chicken mixture into the baked crust.
5. By this time, the "top" pie crust will just slide out of the aluminum pie pan. Place it on top of the mixture.
6. Spray the top of this pie crust with butter spray (or brush on an egg white if you prefer) to give it a nice color during cooking.
7. Bake for 30-40 minutes or so.

Green Smoothie

I'm back on the juicing/smoothie kick since Amber recommended the movie "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead" (gotta watch that documentary if you haven't!!) Anyway, made this today & didn't want to forget the ingredients I used.  Very healthy & tasty!

Blend the following ingredients in juicer or mixer (I'm using a Vitamixer) 

1C unsweetened vanilla coconut milk

a small cup of ice cubes

1 peeled banana

1 apple cored (but with peel on)

large handful of fresh spinach leaves

a handful of fresh blueberries

Blend & serve! 

Best Ever Broccoli

Bonki encouraged me to post any paleo friendly recipies that I came across so I am going to try to be better about doing that!  It does have a tiny bit of sugar but not enough to make it nonpaleo in my book.  I made this tonight as a side & it really is the best broccoli I've ever had.  I copied & pasted below from  www.benandbirdy.blogspot.com. 

 

1 large head broccoli

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt (or half as much table salt)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Lemon wedges, for serving (I keep forgetting this, but I’m sure it would be good)

Peel the broccoli with a sharp paring knife as best as you’re able. The thick peel will keep the broccoli from going fully tender, so you really do want to remove it.

Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position, place a large rimmed baking sheet on the rack, and heat the oven to 500 degrees. Cut the stem off of the broccoli, and cut it into long, ½-inch thick pieces. Cut the rest of the broccoli into long, fairly narrow florets, then put it in a bowl, drizzle it with the oil and toss well until evenly coated. Sprinkle with the salt and sugar, and toss to combine. (The sugar helps it brown, so please don’t omit it.)

Working quickly, remove the baking sheet from the oven. Carefully transfer the broccoli to the baking sheet and spread it in an even layer, placing it flat sides down wherever possible.

Return the baking sheet to the oven and roast until the stalks are well browned and tender and the florets are lightly browned, 9 to 11 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately with lemon wedges (if you remember).

 

 

Veggie Delight

Again, this is probably a no brainer, but sometimes it's just the idea or being able to actually remember what I did that helps me! :)

A friend of mine got me hooked on the Veggie Delight sandwich at Subway--I never thought I'd like it, but now that's about all I order.

To make my own at home I now use those whole wheat sandwich thins (those things are awesome)! On my sandwich I like to put: spinach leaves, sliced bell pepper, alfalfa sprouts, avocado & pepperocini's. I have also discovered this wonderful dressing, (I went and looked at the bottle so when I run out I can reference it here) it's called Creamy Vidalia Onion Vinegarette and it actually seems quasi healthy. Anyway, it tastes great and I always put a little of this dressing on my sandwich.

I vary up my sandwich by what veggies I have at home of course. Sometimes I add cucumber, sometimes I add black olives. But overall you would be amazed how great a total vegetable sandwich can taste!

O.k. enough of that. I think I'll go have another bite of Reese Cup Candy now. ;)

Shrimp Summer Stir-Fry

Really good and easy (from the Pioneer Woman website), especially this time of year when the fresh veggies are so yummy (and cheap!)

Ingredients
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
4 cloves Garlic, Minced
12 whole Jumbo Shrimp, Peeled, Deveined, Tails Left On
2 whole Zucchini, Sliced On A Slight Diagonal
2 ears Corn, Kernels Sliced Off
½ cups Grape Tomatoes, Sliced In Half Lengthwise
Salt And Freshly Ground Pepper, To Taste
Chopped Fresh Herbs, If Desired

Preparation Instructions:

Heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add minced garlic. When oil/butter is hot, add shrimp and cook for 3 minutes. Remove to a plate. Do not clean skillet.

Add the rest of the butter and oil and heat over medium heat. Add zucchini slices in a single layer and cook for one minute, tossing once. Scoot the zucchini to the edges of the pan, then add corn kernels to the middle of the pan. Cook for one minute. Add grape tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and toss around, then add shrimp. Cook for an additional 30 seconds, then remove from heat. Serve on a big platter.

Grilled Vegetables

This goes great with the Marinated Beef Kabobs recipe!

Whatever combo of veggies you choose.

I used:

strips of red, yellow, & orange pepper

asparagus, cut into 2" lengths

zucchini, sliced diagonally about 1/3" thick

red onion chunks

portobello mushrooms, cut in 1" cubes

Marinade: (enough for about 8-10 cups of veggies)

1 T Worcestershire sauce

3 T balsamic vinegar

1/8 cup olive oil

1/4 cup Zesty Italian dressing

1 T fresh minced rosemary

1 T fresh minced thyme

1 t dried basil (i didn't have fresh)

salt & pepper to taste (a little salt & a lot of pepper)

Put veggies and marinade in ziploc bag. Marinate 2-3 hours.

When ready to cook veggies, preheat grill pan about 5 minutes (i use a grill pan that looks like a skillet but has holes). Grill should be medium-high heat. Pour drained vegetables in pan and cook for 10-15 minutes, turning often, until veggies are starting to soften and barely starting to brown.

Stuffed Portobello Mushroom

This was a great side dish for the grilled steaks we had this weekend. Easy and yummy!

Portobello Mushroom caps (large size ones)
Baby spinach
Grated mozzarella cheese
Season salt to taste

Take Mushroom cap and lay several pieces of baby spinach on the the underside of it (where the stem would be attached). Use enough to make a good layer with spinach leaves overlapping.

Cover the spinach layer with grated mozzarella cheese (use a lot).

Sprinkle cheese with seasoned salt (I used my new Taste of Home Seasoned Salt)

Bake on a cookie sheet at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Country Green Beans

I hardly ever make fresh green beans since my kids prefer to eat a can of Del Monte, but Kroger had them on sale this week and this recipe for them was a hit! Everyone ate them (and Scott ate seconds and thirds)!

Country Green Beans

1 to 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and snapped
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped ham
1/4 cup butter
1/2-1 cup water (enough to just cover the beans)
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp salt (although I think I might leave this out next time since the ham adds that salty flavor)
1/4 tsp pepper

Simmer on medium heat approx 20 minutes or until beans are tender.

Spinach, Mushroom Lasagna

Yeah! A healthy recipe that is easy & yummy! (So easy, I hope none of you will be insulted that I am posting this as a "recipe"! :))

Ingredients:

bag of fresh spinach leaves

fresh mushrooms (baby bellas or other small button type mushroom)

lasagna noodles (I use the oven ready kind to cut down on time)

shredded mozzarella cheese

shredded parmesan

1-2 jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce (or make your own)

minced garlic

olive oil

Directions: Preheat oven to 350

1. Saute spinach leaves in olive oil & minced garlic until leaves are cooked down & softened; transfer spinach to a bowl.

2. Saute mushrooms in same pan, again in olive oil or butter; season mushrooms with s&p and some garlic salt. Saute mushrooms until they are softened and then transfer them into the bowl with the spinch--mix together.

3. In a lasagna dish coated with cooking spray begin to layer--spaghetti sauce, lasagna noodles, a little more spaghetti sauce, mushroom/spinach mixture, cheeses (alternating mozz & parm to your liking), then repeat the layering--noodles, sauce, mushrooms/spinach, cheese, etc. until you have used up all your ingredients--finishing with sauce & cheese to top it off.

4. Bake in oven for about an hour or so until ready.

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Casserole

This is a great recipe coming from someone who did not like Sweet Potatoes until I was forced to try these. I don't even like pecans! They are always a hit and you will not take home any leftovers.

3 cups cooked sweet potatoes (I always use the canned)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 stick of margarine, melted
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 cup pecans
1/3 stick margarine, melted

Mash the sweet potatoes. Add sugar, eggs, salt, margarine, milk and vanilla. Mix well. Put in shallow 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Mix topping. Spread over sweet potatoes, mine always seems to be a little thicker than a spread. Bake at 325 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Mother's Homemade Vegetable Soup

I made a big pot today and thought I would share before I put the recipe away! This is my favorite soup. I usually double the recipe and eat it all week!

1 pound Stew Meat
1/2 chopped onion
5 stalks of celery
1/2 bag of petite carrots
1 Tblsp Worcestershire Sauce
Sugar to taste
1 can undiluted Tomato Soup
8 cups of water
1 can Stewed Tomatoes
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp Italian Seasoning
2 tsp Basil
1 diced potato
1 Bag of Frozen Soup Vegetables (0ptional, sometimes it is hard to find. I found some at Tom Thumb this week)
1 can corn
1 can green beans

1. Brown Meat.
2. Add onions, celery, carrots, Worcestershire Sauce, sugar, soup, can tomatos & water.
3. Bring to a boil.
4. Turn to simmer for 2 hours. Stir occasionally.
5. Add all other ingredients & more water if needed.
6. Simmer another hour.
Season to taste!
Enjoy!

You can add more vegetables if you wish. I usually add extra corn.

pot roast and veggie side dishes

first, thanks to Bonki who has started this blog....

1. The Pot Roast Question..

I think I make mine similar to Emiley. I use a can of cream of Mushroom Soup, a package of Lipton Onion Soup Mix, a package of brown gravy mix. It makes a good gravy so I don't have to!

Squash casserole
I tried this on Sunday because my mother said it was wonderful, and it was.

3 lbs of summer squash - chopped
1 small onion
Boil for 5 minutes and drain
Mix a can of cream of chicken and 1 cup of sour cream, add to squash/onions
Prepare a box of stuffing mix ( I used stove top - traditional)
In a 9x9 dish, place half of the stuffing mix, the squash mix, the other half of the stuffing, top with mozerella cheese and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. It is very tasty.

3. Other side I tried.....Bacon Green Beans

2 lbs of fresh green beans
sautee in 2 T of butter
Add one package of hidden valley ranch mix, toss to coat
Top with crumbled bacon

Ok, I have officially posted. Now I do not feel so guilty for only taking recipes!