Tag Archives: onion

Tomato and Onion Quiche: Traditional and Crustless

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We love quiches and they can be so quick and easy to put together for a very French inspired meal. Instead of a traditional cheese and onion quiche, we added some organic crushed tomatoes and the extra punch of acidity an and juicy red tomatoes added a pink hue to the crust and crustless quiche. Add a small garden salad with a bit of vinaigrette and we have a comforting lunch or dinner.

Depending on preference, with or without the crust changes the flavor profile and texture of the quiche. The crustless quiche’s texture was more like a souffle. The light and airy center had a nice top crust from the cheese. The crust of the traditional quiche added a nice crumb and structural component and a more buttery, savory flavor to the quiche.

Adapted from Midwest Living

  • 1/2 a package (1 crust) rolled refrigerated piecrust
  • 12 ounces crushed organic tomatoes
  • 1 tablespoon butter or vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
  • 3-4 garlic cloves
  • 5 organic Pete and Gerry’s eggs
  • 3/4 cup half-and-half, light cream or milk
  • 4 tablespoons all-purpose ap flour or Bisquick
  • 1/2 teaspoonkosher or sea salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup Parmesean cheese
  • 1/2 cup shredded Swiss, cheddar or American cheese (we used American)

Preheat oven to 45 degrees. Let pie crust stand at room temperature according to package directions. Unroll pie crust into a pie plate. Crimp edges and pierce the pie shell with a fork. Bake pie crust in a 425 degree F oven for 14 minutes.Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F.

In a small skillet, melt butter (or oil) over medium heat. Add onion. Cook until onion is tender and lightly brown, stirring occasionally, then add garlic and cook for a few minutes.

Whisk together eggs, milk,  Bisquick flour, salt and black pepper. Grease another baking bowl or casserole for crustless quiche.
Add the  tomatoes, onion and garlic into the eggy mixture. Pour half the mixture into the baked pie shell for the traditional quiche and half the remaining mixture into a greased baking bowl or casserole dish.

Bake both quiches uncovered, for 30-35 minutes or until egg mixture is set in center.  The crustless quiche may need an extra 5-10 minutes in the oven. If so remove the traditional quiche and bake the crustless one longer. Let both quiches stand 10 minutes before serving.


Fried Rice with Kale and Scallions

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Fried rice is one of the simple and quickest meals to make. I loved the idea to incorporate kale into fried rice (instead of making Kale Chips or Nacho Cheese Kale Chips). I love the flavor of the earthy brown rice, fragrant green onions, fluffy eggs and the bits of kale. I know I will be making this often.

If you do not have scallions in the house, make Gwyneth Paltrow’s delicious recipe with onion. I also like using a little bit of butter for the flavor, but Earth Balance would be a great substitute.

Adapted from My Father’s Daughter

  • 1/4 pound kale, stems discarded
  • 1 T vegetable oil (1/2 T to make scrambled eggs, 1/2 T to sautee garlic)
  • 1 T butter or Earth Balance
  • 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and very finely minced
  • 3 scallions cut into 1/4 inch pieces with kitchen shears
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
  • 1/2 T plus 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 2 egg whites scrambled

Cut the kale leaves in half lengthwise and then cut crosswise into small bite size pieces. Steam the kale for 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the butter and vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Scramble eggs whites and set aside.

Add more oil, add the scallions and garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, being careful not to brown the garlic. Raise the heat  to medium and add the steamed kale. Cook for 2 minutes and then add the rice and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring. Add the soy sauce and cook for 30 seconds more.

Spinach and Cheese Crustless Quiche

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I love quiche, specifically the mini ones that circulate on cocktail party trays. I had made both a Crustless Quiche and Spinach Quiche with Cheddar Crust, but decided to combined both making a Spinach and Cheese Crustless Quiche. It turned out to be super fluffy, full of organic baby spinach and perfect for quick weekday meals.

Adapted from Cooks.com

  • 2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (1 c. reserved for topping)
  • 1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 3 c. chopped fresh baby spinach
  • 2 c. cream
  • 1 chopped large onion
  • 1/2 c. Bisquick
  • 6 eggs
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/8 tsp. pepper

Place eggs, milk, Bisquick, salt and pepper bowl and beat for 1 minute. Add remainder of ingredients and mix. Pour into 10″ pie pan or casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 40  minutes until golden or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

Shells and Cheese

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Nothing says comfort food than macaroni cheese to me. It’s always nice to have some on a rainy day.

In this version, sage and buttery onions flavor the cream sauce and coat the al dente pasta shells. The buttery bread crumb topping and layer of cheese creates a crust and provides an extra element of flavor and texture.

Adapted from Alton Brown and My Father’s Daughter

  • 1/2 pound pasta shells or rice shells (gluten-free)
  • 2 tablespoons gf flour
  • 2 cups soy milk
  • 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
  • a few sage leaves
  • 16 ounces extra sharp cheddar, shredded
  • coarse salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup panko or gf bread crumbs
  • 2 tablespoons butter or Earth Balance

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and turn it on to the convection setting if that’s a possibility.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than indicated on the package. Meanwhile, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it’s free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion and sage leaf. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the sage leaves.

Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the shells into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the shells with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

Milk, butter and sage sauce (L) Butter, flour and onion roux (R)

Whisking in cheddar cheese

Panko or gluten-free bread crumbs with melted butter

Layer cheese and bread crumb mixture onto macaroni and sauce

Lemon Risotto

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I have yet to master risotto, but I decided I would take a shot at it and practice. The cheese, lemony flavor of the risotto was very tasty, however, I still have to get the texture of the rice right. This time around it was a bit chalky tasting still, so more cooking time and broth was required. I will definitely try Nigella’s lemon risotto recipe again.
Adapted from Nigella Lawson

  • 2 shallots or 2 T of onion
  • 1 rib celery
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 1/3 cups risotto rice
  • Approximately 1 quart vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1/2  lemon, zested and juiced
  • 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan, plus more, for garnish
  • 4 tablespoons heavy cream
  • black pepper
  • sea salt, to taste

Put the shallots (or onion) and celery into a mini food processor to finely chopped. Heat half the butter, the oil and the shallot (onion) and celery mixture in a  saucepan, and cook to soften the mixture for about 5 minutes. Mix in the rice, stirring to give it a good coating of oil and butter. Meanwhile, heat the stock in another saucepan and keep it at the simmering point.

Put a ladleful of the stock into the rice and keep stirring until the stock is absorbed. Then add another ladleful and stir again. Continue doing this until the rice is al dente.

Mix the lemon zest into the risotto, and in a small bowl mix lemon juice, Parmesan, cream and pepper.

When the risotto is ready – when the rice is no longer chalky, but still has some bite – take it off the heat and add the bowl of lemony mixture, and the remaining butter and salt, to taste..

Butter, onion, celery, oil mixture
Cream and risotto riceParmesean shreds