Frittata Florentine

I love quiche, frittata and eggs in general.

I eat eggs for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I made this for dinner.

Full of protein.

Oh, and it has spinach, too.  So that's always a good thing.

I never understand people who don't like eggs.

They're one of my favorite foods.

I could eat them every day.

Especially with cheese.

Frittata Florentine
Adapted from Paula Deen

4 eggs
1 cup small-curd cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 shallot, grated
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
10 oz. box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (or feta cheese is delicious too)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, shallot, salt and pepper.  Add the spinach and stir to combine.  Add the cheese and combine.  Pour into a greased 8x8 baking dish and bake in a 325 degree oven for about 45-55 minutes, until set.  Serve hot.

Blackberry Crumb Cake

You know you love crumb cake.

At least I know I love crumb cake.

It's the perfect way to eat cake for breakfast.  Not that I've had a problem with that in the past.

But some people might.

I'm just not one of them.

So!  Let's make some blackberry crumb cake.

Make a yummy cake and stir in some blackberries

And spread it in a round cake pan.

Now it's time to make the yummy crumbly part.

Mix it together, and sprinkle it over the top...

and then bake it...

then slice it...

and eat it.

Blackberry Crumb Cake


3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
6 oz. blackberries (fresh are best but frozen would work)

For the crumb topping:
3 T sugar
3 T packed brown sugar
4 T butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup flour

Stir together the sugar, egg, oil, milk, vanilla and lemon zest.  Add the flour, salt and baking powder and mix until combined.  Fold in the blackberries.  Spread in a greased 9" round cake pan.

In a separate bowl, mix together the ingredients for the crumb topping.  Sprinkle evenly over the cake batter.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes until a knife inserted comes out clean.

Broccoli-Cheddar Quiche

Hey y'all.  I made this the other day.  I don't have any pictures of a slice of this quiche because it was gone as soon as I sliced it.

So you'll have to use your imagination: crust, broccoli, cheese, custard.  Yum.

My mom told me that she made this recipe up it sounded awesome.  I couldn't wait to try it.

I'm telling you, it's more awesome than I can tell you.

Huh?

My brain is a little fried.

I'm trying to act like a normal person but it's hard.  I'm sure I'll get there eventually.

Hang with me.  And in the meantime, go whip up this quiche.  It's ridiculous.

Broccoli-Cheddar Quiche

1 Pillsbury pie crust, at room temperature
7 oz. broccoli florets, steamed until tender
1 cup shredded white cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 cups half-and-half
4 eggs
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Press the pie crust into a pie plate and crimp the edges.  Lay the broccoli florets on the crust.  Cover with the cheese.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, eggs and salt and pepper.  Pour carefully over the cheese.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.  Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake for another 20-25 minutes, until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean or with some cheese clinging to it.

Let it sit for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

Oh, I just love adding to my collection of what to do with a cake mix...

And I just love cooking cakes in a bundt pan.

I think bundt cakes may be a Southern thing.  I'm not for sure about that, though.

Do you have one of these?

You should.

So you can make this with it.

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake


18 oz. box yellow cake mix
3 oz. instant vanilla pudding
3 oz. instant chocolate pudding
3/4 cup oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Add the cake mix, both puddings, oil, vanilla, milk, eggs and sour cream in the bowl of a mixer.  Beat it on low speed for 30 seconds.  Turn it up to medium-high and beat for another two minutes.  Stir in the chocolate chips and pour the batter into a greased bundt pan.  Bake on 325 degrees for 55-65 minutes, until a toothpick comes out just clean.

Hashbrown Casserole

Hi there.  There's probably no one left out there because I posted a whopping two recipes last month.  Sad. Pathetic.  I know.  I've breached my duty as a food blogger.

I'll try to purge the words duty and breach from my vocabulary.

After nine weeks of preparation, I finally took the bar exam last week.  (Sigh of relief.)

I know you're almost as relieved as I am that the bar exam is over.  Now I'll stop talking about it, right?  Right.

So I actually did take a couple hours off of studying one day and actually left my house.  Wearing real clothes and everything.  And I went to MOPS.  And I took this hashbrown casserole.

And it was warm and creamy and cheesy and yummy.

And then I came back home, put back on my yoga pants and my husband's Kentucky t-shirt, and hit the books again.

Thank goodness my life is back.

Creamy Hashbrown Casserole


2 lb. bag frozen hashbrowns
10 oz. can cream of chicken soup
1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 stick butter
1 onion, diced

Melt the butter in a skillet and saute the onion for about 5 minutes over medium heat, until it begins to soften.  In a large bowl, stir the remaining ingredients together and stir in the butter and sauteed onion.  Spread in a greased 9x13 casserole dish and bake on 350 for about an hour, until golden brown on top and bubbly on the sides.

You can make this (unbaked) up to two days in advance and store it in the refrigerator.  When you are ready, let it sit on the counter for about an hour (until it comes to room temperature), then bake as directed.

Granola

So my friend Bethany gave me a granola recipe and here's my take on it... Thanks Bethany!

I'm a purist when it comes to granola.  No nuts, no fruit.

You can add those things if you like.

My granola just has oats, coconut, wheat germ...and butter and honey, of course.

Oh, and I like a chewy - rather than super-crunchy - granola.

Just being up front with you.




So dump some coconut into a really huge bowl

and then add a whole bunch of old-fashioned oats into a really huge bowl.

Add some wheat germ.

Aren't you feeling healthy?

Don't worry.

That feeling won't last long.

Melt some butter with some honey

and then add some extracts.

Almond extract totally makes this granola.

Okay!  Now add some brown sugar to the oats bowl

and pour the honey and butter on top.

Good luck stirring it up.

Spread it on a sheet pan and bake it for an hour in a 200 degree oven.  Toss it every 15 minutes while it's baking.

You can store it in an airtight container if you want, but don't count on it lasting very long.  Just sayin'.

And I have to tell you...this is stuff is beyond description mixed with fruit and Greek yogurt.

Granola
Adapted from Bethany Farrar

8 cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp salt

Melt together:
2 sticks butter
1 cup honey
2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a very large bowl, stir together the oats, coconut, wheat germ and brown sugar.  In a medium saucepan, melt together the butter and honey.  Remove from the heat and stir in the extracts.  Pour the honey/butter over the oats and stir well.  Spread on a half sheet pan (12x18) and bake in a 200 degree oven for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes while baking.  Cool to room temperature and store in an airtight container.

Cheeseburger Soup

I'm in the middle of my daily bar exam prep.

What's that?

You don't care and you don't really need to know what I'm doing?

Right.  Sorry.

Maybe I should have actually stirred the pasta while it cooked.

So here's (another) soup.

Go make this and I'll get back to studying.

Bye.

Cheeseburger Soup

1 pound ground beef
1 onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley

1 T Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

15 oz. petite diced tomatoes, undrained

1/4 cup flour

4 cups (1 quart) chicken stock 

2 cups whole milk

3 cups extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 cup sour cream

8 oz. (2 cups uncooked) ditalini (or any short-cut pasta), cooked according to package directions

In a large pot, add the beef, carrots, celery and onion.  Stir until the beef is browned and crumbled and the veggies are soft.  Drain any excess grease.  

Return the pot to the stove and add the seasonings and tomatoes.  The juice from the tomatoes will deglaze the bottom of the pot.  Stir to incorporate and cook for a minute.  Add the flour and stir until combined.  Stir in the chicken stock and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.  Add the whole milk and cheese, stirring until combined.  Add the sour cream and ditalini and stir over medium heat until heated through.