Spinach and Bacon Quiche.

This is a recipe I adapted from several different quiche recipes I have seen. It has a little bit of  everything, and is sooooo good! I hope you like it too.


Quiche

1 (9in) uncooked pie crust
4 eggs, beaten
1 can evaporated milk
1/4 cup milk
1 med onion, minced
1 cup sliced, fresh mushrooms
6 slices bacon, crisped and crumbled
3 cups baby spinach
1 1/2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese (Swiss is good too)
1 Tbsp flour
Garlic salt and nutmeg, for seasoning

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line the 9 inch pie or cake pan with rolled out pie crust and bake for 5 min. Then lower oven temp to 375.
Saute onion and mushrooms in a little bit of oil, then add the spinach; season with garlic salt and a dash of nutmeg.  Mix together egg, milk, bacon, onions, mushrooms, and spinach. Add a little salt, pepper and nutmeg. Toss cheese in 1 Tbsp flour and add into egg mixture. Pour into partially baked pie crust, and bake for 45-50 minutes, until set. Let it sit for 15-20 min before serving.

and Enjoy!

Red. White. and Blue.

Happy 4th of July!!

We had a pretty low-key 4th of July. 

Chad had to work the whole day, so I hung out with my two babies and baked some cupcakes.

o yeah....that's a good day.

[I know you want one...come on over :)]

the boys sported some red white and blue outfits and got us in the spirit of the holiday.

Noa enjoyed his "すいた"...or watermelon...and got himself covered in juice. head. to. toe.

it was a sticky mess. and he loved it.

me, not so much. but it was cute watching him enjoy every second of it.

After Daddy came home from work we ate some beef stew, enjoyed family time, and watched the Macy's 4th of July spectacular fireworks show. it was amazing.

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th!!!

we sure did!

Weekend + choc cookie sandwich recipe!

On Saturday I had an engagement shoot with this cute couple...

I seriously had a blast! Stay tuned for more from this fun shoot!

And today, we had dinner with some friends. It was so much fun!

I was in charge of making dessert....and this is what I made:

Oreo cookie sandwiches (at least that's what I'm calling it...)

They were a hit!! :D

And its super easy!!

here's how you can make your own:

Oreo Cookie Sandwich

Cookies:

1 box of chocolate cake mix

2 eggs

1 stick of butter (room temp)

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

• Cream butter, eggs and vanilla together in a bowl. Add oil and cake mix, and mix until smooth. Add chocolate chips if desired.
• Spoon about a 1-1.5 inch ball of cookie dough onto baking sheet 2 inches apart. (it helps if you have a small, 1.5 inch, ice cream scoop for this to make the dough even size and shape)
• Bake in preheated 350F oven for 8-10 minutes. Cool on baking sheet before removing.

Frosting:

1 (8 oz) box of cream cheese (softened)

1 stick of butter (softened)

1 tsp vanilla

1 lb powdered sugar

[I ran out of powdered sugar, so I only used about 1/2-3/4 lb, and it was still super sweet and yummy!]

• Cream butter and cream cheese together in a med size bowl. Add the vanilla, then slowly stir in powdered sugar.
• Spoon a small amount of the frosting mixture onto one cookie, 1-2 Tbsp, then squish it down with another cookie until frosting is flush with the edge of cookies.

And of course, ENJOY!

♥ Happy Valentine's Day ♥

This morning I woke up to this.....

My sneaky boys woke up extra early to make sure that this was a complete surprise!

...and it totally was :D

A handmade card....made with love and filled with sweet messages....

and the best gift of all...

sweet kisses from my little boy ♥

 In return, Chad came home to this yummy goodness....

OK, ready for this??....They are White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Magic Bars from Baking Bites!

YUM-O

Hubby's favorite treats include anything with white chocolate, condensed milk, and/or coconut....so this was THE PERFECT dessert! - really, it's so good!

Here is the recipe:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup roasted, salted macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
1 cup shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

 Preheat oven to 350F.

• Mix together graham cracker crumbs, oatmeal, and melted butter; Press into even layer in a lightly greased 8x8 baking pan.
• Layer evenly in the following order: first the white chocolate chips, then macadamia nuts, followed by coconut, and topped off with condensed milk (pour evenly over everything).
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until coconut is golden brown.
• Cool completely before cutting.
  
  *Makes 16-20 bars*

 

 

I hope that everyone had a fabulous Valentine's Day!!!

♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

Sweet Tooth doesn't have to = Sugar High

Since getting an oven (yipee!) I've been in the mood to BAKE!
Which is of course a good thing...right?

When I bake, it makes me happy and I feel like a good housewife, doing what housewives should be doing....BUT it also allows for a lot of temptation in the kitchen and a husband that ends up eating 50+% of the finished goods. 

MODERATION is key.

I have a huge list of yummy recipes I've been dying to try, but I am resisting the urge to try them all in one day, or even one week...and spread them out throughout the monthS to come, and maybe even share the goodies with others - in turn making me a good neighbor too :D

The next treat on my list is a secret {to be revealed later, like Valentine's Day...}

but here are the other recipes that I plan on making in the near future...
feel free to try them and share how they turn out for you!!

• Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie - um yes, please!
• Clone of a Cinnabon - I have been CRAVING these for-EVER
• Samoas Cupcakes
• Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies (super easy!)
• Or the more complicated Red Velvet Cake from scratch - still trying to decide which one I want to make more...
• Chocolate Crackles - a re-try...because I failed so miserably last time I tried to make these....
• Chocolate Truffles - minus the Grand marnier and coffee

....and the list goes on.....No really, it does!

Here's one that I checked off my list last week:

Lemon Bars

Lemon Bars
(family recipe)

Crust:
1 cup butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour

Filling:
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup lemon juice

Preheat oven 350F

1. Cream butter and powdered sugar together. Add salt and flour, mix well.
2. Pat crust into 9x13 greased baking dish and Bake for 15-20 minutes.
3. Mix eggs and sugar until pale yellow. Slowly add dry ingredients. Add lemon juice.
4. Pour mixture over hot crust. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until top is golden brown.
   *Cool before serving. Sprinkle with powdered sugar* 

ENJOY! :D

Pizza Pizza Pizza!

Just the other night (at girl's night), I had Papa Murphy's Mediterranean Chicken Pizza for the first time, and I fell in love! It was soooo good....but on a poor-college-student budget, not so affordable on a regular basis... :(

BUT I came up with a solution! MAKE IT myself :D

I searched high and low for copycat recipes of the crust and toppings for this delicious pizza and I found 2 (not 1, but TWO) websites that gave me some great tips! I am going to share them with you, here!

For the CRISPY crust: {I LOVE crispy crust pizzas!}

(from GreatPizzaRecipes) with a few of my own adjustments ;)

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cups warm water
• 1 packet active dry yeast
• 1 ¼ tablespoons sugar
• 3 ¼ cups flour
• ½ teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. mix the water, yeast, and sugar in a glass bowl - allow to sit for 8-10 minutes
2. place flour and salt in a mixing bowl, mix/sift together
3. add liquid to flour mixture and mix for 4-6 minutes (the end result should be slightly sticky and firm - adjust with flour/water)
4. cover and allow to rise for 1 1/2 hours in a warm place {I turned the oven on LOW and put it in there after turning the heat off}
5. put on 14-inch pizza sheet for thick crust and 16-inch for thin crust {I actually cut the dough in HALF and made 2 very THIN crust pizzas on 14-in pizza pans}
6. top with desired toppings (below), bake for 10-15 minutes (or until golden brown and crispy) on 450 degrees.

For topping:
(from TammysRecipes) for the papa murphy's take-and-bake pizza
Sauce Ingredients: {mix and spread over dough}

• 1/3 cup Light or Fat Free Italian salad dressing
• 2-3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• dash of black pepper

Toppings: {sprinkle on sauced dough in order listed}

• 3-4 cups (12-16 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1-2 cups cooked cubed chicken breast
• 1/3 cup Sun Dried tomatoes
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/3 cup diced onions, optional
• 1 cup (or one small handful) fresh baby spinach leaves
• 1 medium-large Roma tomato, diced

This time, I didn't have very many of the ingredients listed here, so I (once again) improvised!

I made a sauce with a can of Italian diced tomatoes, sprinkled sauteed chicken/onions/green peppers, and topped it off with sliced fresh vine tomatoes and mozzarella cheese! It was still SOOO good!
Here are some pics of the masterpiece:

Fresh out of the oven! - YUMMY!

Close-up {with some grated Parmesan cheese}

I ran out of cheese on the second one, so there's only a little on it, but it was still tasty!

I highly recommend making your own pizzas!

It's so simple, soooo much cheaper, and it's completely customizable to your liking!!

It doesn't get much better than this :D