Cheeseburger Quiche

This is one of those recipes I always meant to try. Instead, it found its way into a box with assorted other papers and things. I uncovered it the other day and wondered why I’d never given it a try. It’s from the Family Circle magazine October 2011.

I do want to point out that the recipe calls for grape tomatoes, which are not the same thing as cherry tomatoes. Some folks assume that they are. Grape tomatoes are the size of, well, grapes.

Cheeseburger Quiche

1 refrigerated piecrust (from a 15-oz package)
1 lb lean ground beef
`/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 medium red onion, diced
2 packed cups baby spinach
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
5 large eggs
¾ cup 2% milk
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Unroll crust and roll out slightly. Fit into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch deep pie dish. Flute edge. Line crust with nonstick foil. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes. Remove foil.

Meanwhile, cook beef in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, 5 minutes, breaking apart with a spoon. Spoon into a bowl and stir in ketchup and Worcestershire sauce.

In same skillet, cook onion for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add spinach and tomatoes; cook 3 minutes. Season with 1/8 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Stir in beef.

Transfer beef mixture to crust. In medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, mustard and remaining 1/8 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Sprinkle cheese over filling. Carefully add egg mixture.

Bake at 400 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

Makes 6 servings.

Cookie Dough Ice Cream Dessert

                                                                                       

I saw this recipe on the Pillsbury website and can't wait to try it! I don't know about how life is where you are, but here in the Deep South it has been hot and muggy for what seems like forever. I know. It's July and it's supposed to be that way. But a cold snack or dessert just seems perfect, especially when it's as easy as this appears to be.

 

Cookie Dough Ice Cream Dessert

1 roll (16.5 oz.) Pillsbury refrigerated chocolate chip cookies

1 container (1/2 gallon) cookie dough ice cream

2 cups Cookie Crisp cereal

2/3 cup hot fudge topping                                

• Heat oven to 350°F. Line 13x9-inch pan with heavy-duty foil, extending foil over sides of pan. In pan, break up cookie dough. With floured fingers, press dough evenly in bottom of pan to form crust.
• Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, remove ice cream from freezer; place in refrigerator to soften.
• Spread softened ice cream evenly over cooled crust. Top evenly with cereal; press lightly into ice cream. Place hot fudge topping in small resealable food-storage plastic bag; partially seal bag. Cut small hole in bottom corner of bag. Squeeze bag to drizzle topping over dessert. Freeze at least 1 hour or until firm before serving. Use foil to lift dessert from pan. Cut into squares.

Three Cheese Baked Ziti with Spinach

Here's another wonderful recipe from the Campbell's Kitchen. I LOVE baked ziti past with cheese. Can't wait to try it with spinach!

Three Cheese Baked Ziti

with Spinach

1 package (16 ounces) uncooked medium tube-shaped pasta (ziti)

1 bag (6 ounces) baby spinach, washed (about 4 cups)

1 jar (1 pound 9 ounces) Prego® Marinara Italian Sauce

1 cup ricotta cheese

4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (about 1 cup)

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• Prepare the pasta according to the package directions. Add the spinach during the last minute of the cooking time. Drain the pasta and spinach well in a colander. Return them to the saucepot.
• Stir the sauce, ricotta, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese, garlic powder and black pepper into the pasta mixture. Spoon the pasta mixture into a 13 x 9 x 2-inch shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.
• Bake at 350°F. for 30 minutes or until it's hot and bubbling.

Serves 6.

Garden Vegetable Lasagna

I found this recipe on the Campbell's recipe website. It sure looks yummy!

Garden Vegetable Lasagna

1 container (15 ounces) ricotta cheese

8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (about 2 cups)

2 eggs

4 medium carrots, shredded (about 2 cups)

1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and well drained

9 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained

1 jar (24 ounces) Prego® Chunky Garden Combination Italian Sauce

Grated Parmesan cheese

• Mix ricotta cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, eggs, carrots and broccoli in a medium bowl and set it aside.
• Place 3 lasagna noodles in greased 3-quart shallow baking dish.Top with half of the vegetable mixture and 1 cup of the sauce. Repeat the layers.Top with the remaining lasagna noodles and remaining sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
• Bake at 400°F. for 30 minutes or until it's hot and bubbling. Let stand for 10 minutes. Serve with the Parmesan cheese.

This serves 8 (about 1 1/4 cups each) with 321 calories per serving.

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

Last night I went to Fabulous Fourth Friday's launch event. It was wonderful! Ashlee Kozel, owner of The Dandy Lion Boutique, made these fabulous desserts for us to eat while we watched a small fashion show. She baked the cupcakes in mason jars to celebrate Mardis Gras and the night's theme. Really! Mason jars. The cupcakes were so moist and yummy. I wonder if she has any left? LOL

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup boiling water

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed of mixer for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water. Batter will be thin.

Pour batter into prepared pans.

For CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups with paper bake cups.

Bake 30-35 minutes.

Ashlee baked her cupcakes in the mason jars, without paper bake cups. Then she added a wonderful frosting -- but she didn't share that recipe. It was yummy white with sprinkles on top.

Pear Bread

A funny thing happens when you're faced with a large pear tree and lots of really small pears. Yeah. You guessed it. You start baking things you've never ever tasted before. That's okay. I'm thrilled to have the pears. I love to eat them. More importantly, this particular tree got its start from my Gran's pear tree. The tree means a lot to me because it reminds me of the wonderful times spent at her house. Oh, and the bread's pretty good too!

Pear Bread

3 eggs

1 ½ cups sugar

¾ cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

4 cups peeled, cored, finely chopped pears

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla. Mix well. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Stir into the egg mixture just until moistened. Don't overblend because that will make it dry.
Toss pears with lemon juice. Stir pears and pecans into batter. The batter will be really thick.
Spoon the batter into two greased bread loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Pear Cake

There are many thoughts that cross a person's mind when she is staring at three buckets of pears. Desperation. Determination. And a frantic search for pear recipes.

Most folks immediately think of canning pears, especially the hard pears like we have. But why can something we're not going to eat? I could always make a cobbler. And I will before the pears are gone. But I really wanted to make a cake. I'd made a cake with apples. Why couldn't I make one with pears?

I didn't know how it would end up. But the entire kitchen smelled wonderful as it baked in the oven. I served it warm. Wonderful! Moist and delicious. Seconds, please!

Pear Cake

4 cups peeled, cored, chopped pears

2 cups white sugar

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

4 egg whites

2/3 cup Crisco oil

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine pears and sugar. Let stand one hour.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat 10-inch tube pan with PAM.

Slightly beat egg whites. Add oil, chopped pecans and pear mixture.

Combine flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. Add to the pear mixture. Pour batter into the tube pan.

Bake for one hour and 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Let cool on wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan.