Lisa's Kitchen Blog

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Is there a better breakfast than quiche? You can add whatever vegetables or breakfast meats you have on hand, and you get a delicious, cheesy egg pie. You can’t go wrong!

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This is the basic quiche recipe I like best. This time, I included spinach, asparagus, and mini heirloom tomatoes. The spinach went into the dish and the asparagus and tomatoes decorated the top. This quiche definitely has springtime written all over it!

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Single pie crust (Use refrigerated crust or try my pie crust recipe)

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup milk

4 eggs, lightly beaten

8 oz. shredded cheese (I used my standard Colby Jack)

10 oz. fresh or frozen spinach (thaw completely and squeeze out the liquid), chopped

1/4 cup chopped onion

Other assorted vegetables or cooked breakfast meats of your choice, chopped)

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Whisk mayonnaise and milk together. Whisk in the eggs. Place a layer of spinach on the bottom of the pie shell. Top with a layer of shredded cheese. Add meat or other vegetables. Repeat layers. Pour egg mixture over the top. I added asparagus spears in a clock-face-type design, with mini heirloom tomatoes sliced in half and placed cut side down between the spears.

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Place pie pan on a cookie sheet and cover the quiche with foil. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15-20 minutes, or until the middle of the quiche is set.

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With this basic quiche recipe, you can create countless different combinations. How about bacon, onion and Cheddar with chives on top? Or ham with Swiss. Canadian bacon and pineapple with mozzarella sounds good, too … like my favorite pizza in quiche form! Use what’s fresh, what you have on hand, what’s on sale … whatever you like! Enjoy!

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You can’t beat cheesecake. It’s so rich and creamy and delicious. Some people think it’s tricky to make, but it’s not. It’s basically cream cheese, sugar, and eggs. Nothing complicated about that. I’ve made Irish creme cheesecake over the years, sometimes with a chocolate swirl, and it’s always a big hit. I also love a little Irish creme in my coffee on occasion, so in honor or St. Patrick’s Day, I decided to add a layer of coffee flavor to the cheesecake I made for my Irish sweetie. It was the perfect ending to our dinner of reubens and oven fries, and it was even better straight out of the fridge the next morning for breakfast, along with a big cup of coffee. Slainte!

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15 graham crackers

4 Tbsp. melted butter or margarine

4 8-oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened (I used the 1/3 less fat variety and you can’t tell the difference)

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

4 eggs

2 Tbsp. cocoa

1 Tbsp. strong coffee or espresso

1/3 cup Irish creme liqueur

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Crush the graham crackers into crumbs. You can use a food processor to do this quickly and easily, but I find putting the crackers in a large resealable plastic bag and beating them into crumbs with a rolling pin is a good way to release stress. It’s also a good job for the kids. Add the melted butter and combine well, then press onto the bottom and up the sides of a springform pan.

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In a large bowl (I used my stand mixer), beat together the softened cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time.

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Transfer half of the mixture into a separate bowl. Into one half of the mixture, add the coffee and cocoa and stir well to combine. Add the Irish creme liqueur into the other half and stir well.

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Pour half of one of the mixtures into the crust, then half of the other, and repeat, making layers in the pan. Run a knife through the batter in a tic-tac-toe pattern to create swirls.

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Bake at 350 degrees F. for 40-45 minutes, until the center is set. Let cool completely before removing the sides of the springform pan.

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Here’s a little hint for making cheesecake: Sometimes you’ll get cracks in the top once the cake cools. It doesn’t affect the flavor at all. The best way to remedy this is to make a chocolate ganache and pour all over the top, or if you’ve made a plain cheesecake, open a can of cherry pie filling and pour it over the cheesecake. Nobody will know the difference!

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Madeleines are the perfect combination of cookie and cake, and they’re easy to make, but fancy to serve This morning I came across my mini madeleine pan and decided to put it to use. While digging in the same cupboard, I found my mini donut pans. I should clean out my cupboards more often!

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I made these with a little orange flavor, which of course tastes great with chocolate or powdered sugar. This recipe made 20 mini madeleines and 20 mini donuts. 

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1 egg, separated

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1/2 cup milk

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 Tbsp. orange juice (or you could use orange liqueur)

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. orange zest

1/4 tsp. salt

Powdered sugar and/or chocolate for topping

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Beat the egg white on high speed until foamy. Add 1/4 cup of the sugar, a little bit at a time, then beat until it becomes a stiff and glossy meringue. Set aside.

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In a separate bowl, beat all the remaining ingredients (except powdered sugar and chocolate) on high for 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Fold in the meringue.

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Fill greased and floured madeleine and/or mini donut molds 2/3 full. Tap the pans on a counter to release bubbles. Bake 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees F., or until lightly golden.

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Drizzle melted chocolate over the tops, dip one end of the madeleines in chocolate, or sprinkle them with powdered sugar. I put some of the donuts in a plastic bag with a little powdered sugar and shook them up to coat them.

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This seemed like the kind of treat that called for tea, so I brewed a nice cup and made myself a pretty little plate of madeleines and donuts, and had a fancy little snack. The kids loved the donuts, and they’re so much better for them than the fried variety smothered with frosting. Give these little gems a try!

The credit for this entry goes entirely to my husband, Jayson, who is a great cook and a master at just throwing things together and coming up with something fabulous.

Last weekend, he managed to make one dish three ways, taking us from lunch to supper (or is it dinner?) with relatively little work.

First, we had thawed a package of fresh pork side, which was part of the half of a hog we bought from our neighbor. Fresh pork is so amazingly good, and the sausage we got from the butcher is absolutely the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my life. Back to the fresh side … if you’ve never tried this cut, it’s basically a very thick bacon that has not been cured, so it tastes more like pork loin than bacon.

Jayson cut up the thawed fresh side into bite-sized pieces and browned it in a little oil in a Dutch oven. He added carrots, celery, tomatoes, and bell peppers. Once the meat was cooked and crispy, and the vegetables tender, he took about 1/3 of the mixture out of the Dutch oven and sat it aside. 

Then he went to work turning what was left in the pan into a delicious soup. He added frozen corn kernels, green beans, black beans, and spicy vegetable juice. Lunch was ready. He served the reserved meat/veggie mix in tortillas with a little cheese on top, which went perfectly with the soup. A delicious lunch for a cold day!

That evening, I made a favorite at our house, mini meatloaves. Jayson turned what was left of our fresh side-veggie soup into a tasty side dish. He just warmed the soup to a boil, dumped in some instant brown rice, turned the burner off, covered the pot, and waited for the rice to cook. It soaked up all of the spicy vegetable juice base of the soup, giving it an amazing flavor. 

Thanks to Jayson for being so clever in the kitchen, and for making such yummy food for us. The kids definitely got their required daily servings of vegetables!