What's Cooking: Bacon, Spinach, and Cheddar Quiche

My friend Christine gave me a beautiful tart pan and I knew I wanted to use it right away. I had some left over crust and after a quick look in the fridge saw that I had enough ingredients for a quiche. It came out beautifully and was so delicious.

The crust recipe is the same as my apple pie one. 

For the filling I kind of made up my own recipe:

4 eggs
1 cup of heavy cream
4 strips of bacon
2 cups of baby spinach
1/2 white onion finely diced
1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Par-bake your crust for about ten minutes covering it with a sheet of parchment paper and a layer of dry uncooked beans to keep the crust from puffing up.

Mix the eggs, cream, and 1 cup of the cheese together. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, slice the bacon into small pieces and cook in pan until crispy. Remove bacon with slotted spoon and drain all but 1 tbsp of bacon fat. Throw in your diced onion and cook until translucent. Add baby spinach and cook until just wilted. Add the bacon back in and mix well.

Layer the spinach and bacon mixture onto your crust and then pour the egg mixture on top making sure to not overfill (trust me, it'll make a huge mess and you'll never get your quiche out of the tart pan).

Bake 30-35 minutes or until the quiche is set.

Let cook for about 10 minutes and remove from tart pan. Slice and enjoy!

I served mine with a salad but forgot to take pictures since we devoured it immediately!

xoxo,
K

What's Cooking: Honey Soy Glazed Salmon

I usually just grill salmon on the BBQ or bake it in the oven, but wanted to try something different today. After a lot of perusing online, I found a recipe for Honey Soy salmon. I modified the recipe a little bit since I didn't have everything on hand. It came out beautifully! As an accompaniment, I served french green beans with caramelized onions and some soba (buckwheat) noodles in a soy/sesame oil sauce. This was such a great, light, and summery meal. I'm definitely making it again. The plus side is that everything was ready in about 20 minutes.

Honey Soy Salmon
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp of rice vinegar

Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl until well combined. Place salmon in a resealable plastic baggie with half of the sauce mixture. Let marinade for at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour.

Turn on the broiler of your oven.

Place marinaded salmon onto foil covered sheet pan. Broil for about 6-8 minutes or until fish flakes easily.

Green Beans w/ Caramelized Onions 
1/4 of an onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp oil or butter
1 pinch of salt
2 cups green beans (I used frozen b/c it was all I had on hand)

Heat pan over medium heat. Add oil and onions into the pan. Add a healthy pinch of salt and periodically stir onions until they're a nice dark brown.

Add green beans, stirring to combine well. Cover with a lid and let cook for about 5-6 minutes. Flavor with salt and pepper as desired.

Soba Sesame Noodles
1/4 cup of soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
1-2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 tsp of white vinegar
red chili sauce

Adjust all the amounts to your liking. Some people may like it a little sweeter

Mix above ingredients well and add to cooked soba noodles.
Add some scallions and sesame seeds if you want to be fancy.

Writing this post is making me hungry again!

Pig Pickin' Cake

In honor of Father's Day, I thought I'd bake something to bring over to the family gathering tomorrow. I originally ate this cake at a friend's house and fell in love with how light and moist the cake was and the delicate flavor of the frosting. I was completely shocked when I found out how easy it was to make. This was the first time I made this cake into cupcakes, but I thought they came out rather well.

Anyone know where the name comes from? I think it's the weirdest name!

Pig Pickin' Cake 

1 box yellow cake mix
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 can of mandarin oranges
4 eggs
1 container of whipped topping (Cool Whip)
1 package of instant vanilla pudding
1 can crushed pineapple

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Combine cake mix, vegetable oil, mandarin oranges with the juice, and the four eggs together until well blended. Pour into two greased cake pans or lined cupcake tins. Bake 18-20 minutes for cupcakes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove cake from pan, allow to cool completely before frosting!

To prepare frosting, mix whipped topping, instant vanilla pudding, and pineapple together. Spread on cupcakes or pipe on using a pastry bag and tips.

Hope you enjoy this recipe!

Ma's Cha Gio (Vietnamese Spring Rolls)

I managed to get my mom's recipe for cha gio after grilling her with questions since no Vietnamese mom I know even uses measuring cups or spoons. I tried to get her to be as specific as possible, but it was like asking the sky to be green. I know I could have googled another recipe, but I was only interested in making egg rolls that tasted just like my mom's! My mom is such a good cook that the thought of her food makes my mouth water. My husband is already addicted to her cooking and always asks what she's going to cook before we go visit.

My first attempt came out really well. I've always had the job of rolling egg rolls when my mom was making them, but I never realized how much work it was to prepare the filling. It's all of the chopping and mixing that is so time consuming. Hopefully I'll have children one day so I can get some free labor. Here's the recipe I used.

Ma's Cha Gio

1 lb ground pork
1/2 lb shrimp (shelled, deveined, and chopped)
1 large carrot, grated
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 of a small jicama root
1 cup of Black Fungus rehydrated and chopped
1 cup of bean thread; rehydrated and cut (vermicelli)
3 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp pepper
a dash of salt
1 package of spring roll wrappers

Mix all of the above ingredients in a large bowl.

Now, roll your cha gio! I start by placing about 2 tablespoons of filling onto the middle of my wrapper. 

Next, fold the bottom corner up. 

Now, fold the sides in. 

Then, starting from the bottom, roll your way up. 

I fried mine in about 2 inches of oil in a 2 quart sauce pan. Fry them until they're golden brown. Remove from pan and let drain on paper towels. 

Here's what the finished product looks like. 

I always love to eat mine with rice noodles, lettuce, and fish sauce. I forgot to snap a picture with the salad greens, but that's usually how we eat it. 

Voila! 

I hope everyone's weekends are going well. I'm exhausted now, but I'll be back with some new posts later. 

xoxo! 

Lemon Squares

Who doesn't love the deliciously sweet taste of a good lemon square? This recipe was given to me by a former coworker after I lamented about my previous lemon bar failures. She told me she had been using this recipe for over 40 years! I thought it would be the perfect sweet treat to bring to a pool party last weekend.

The secret to this recipe's success is definitely the simplicity of it and the use of Meyer lemons. This variety of lemon is sweeter and juicier than some of its counterparts. Definitely give this recipe a try! You won't be sorry (well, maybe your waistline will be).

Lemon Squares


Part I:
1 cup butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups flour
pinch of salt

Mix above ingredients and pat into a 9x12 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Part II:
4 beaten eggs
6 tbsp flour
6 tbsp lemon  juice
2 cups of sugar
grated rind of 1 lemon

Mix above ingredients and pour over Part I (after the crust bakes). Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Let cool slightly. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, cut into bars or squares.

Vietnamese Yogurt

I was really looking forward to trying to make some Vietnamese yogurt after I saw it on my friend Christine's blog. I remember my mom making these all the time when I was a kid and it brings back fond memories of my childhood. I think I get all my culinary curiosity from my Mom. She was always trying out new recipes or techniques and I always wanted to help her out in the kitchen. If only Vietnamese moms used more precise measurements. Getting her to tell me a recipe is a rather abstract practice.

The closest Asian market is about 10 miles away and I was too lazy to make the trek on Sunday. I just bought the store brand sweetened condensed milk and the generic plain yogurt for the starter. Unfortunately, when I got home, I realized I forgot one of the key ingredients...the milk! I really didn't want to go back to the store, so I started searching online for different yogurt recipes. I stumbled upon Andrea's recipe at Viet World Kitchen. Her recipe didn't call for any milk so I decided to give it a go.

I think it came out really well, although perhaps not as tart as I would have liked. I didn't let them set out for a long time since I didn't factor in enough time. I was afraid of going to sleep and them coming out too tart. I really do like the flavor though. It's nice and light with a soft, sweet taste. I also can't believe how much yogurt it made and how cheaply! I was able to make 10 half cup servings for about $3.00 total. I think that's a great deal!  I'm definitely going to try Christine's recipe next time.

Here's the link to the recipe I used: http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2009/08/vietnamese-yogurt-recipe.html

Steak Fajitas

I've been looking for a good steak fajita recipe so we could get our Mexican food fix at home. It's too hard to resist the chips, rice, beans, and cheese when we go out! This recipe was easy and had a great flavor. I think it'll work great with chicken next time.

Fajita Marinade
1/4 cup lime juice
1/3 cup water
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp salt
4 cloves garlic

Mix the above ingredients in a resealable baggie. Add meat, mix together. Let marinade in fridge for at least two hours or overnight.

I sauteed bell peppers and onions in the pan before I added the meat.

Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

I took the opportunity to bake some cookies today since it was relatively cool out. There's no way I'm turning the oven on once summer hits and it's over 100 degrees outside.

I love this recipe and think that it's the perfect chocolate chip w/nuts recipe. The ratio of nuts to chips is just right and the sea salt gives just enough saltiness to counter the sweetness. I've used both pecans and walnuts, both with great results.

I used my trusty silicone mat and parchment paper. 

The ones on parchment tend to spread out more, making thinner crispier cookies. 

The ones on the silicone mat come out thicker. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies w/ Nuts
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
1 stick butter, cold, cut into small pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract - I always add a splash more..it'll make the cookies tastier
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt (I add a bit more b/c I like salty sweet cookies, so add an extra pinch)
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts (or pecans), toasted and chopped (toast in a 300 degree oven for 7-10 minutes, but watch them carefully so they don't burn!)

Preheat to 300F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Beat the sugars and butters together until smooth. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and baking soda.

Stir together the flour and salt, then mix them into the batter. Mix in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Scoop dough into 2 tablespoon balls and arrange about 2 inches apart on baking sheet.

Bake for 18 minutes, or until pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool. 

** If you're using both racks, rotate your baking trays halfway through (move the top pan to the bottom and flip the direction they're facing). It'll make your cookies cook more evenly. 

Seared Scallops w/ Warm Spinach and Bacon Salad

Husband is still on an Atkins style diet and I've been having fun coming up with new dishes for dinner. Last night we enjoyed Seared Scallops and a Spinach and Bacon Salad. It was a really satisfying meal and it took me less than 30 minutes to cook!

For the scallops, I simply seasoned them with salt and pepper and seared in 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of olive oil in a hot pan. Cook three minutes per side or until scallops are no longer opaque.

For the Spinach and Bacon salad, I adapted a recipe from Alton Brown on Food Network.

Ingredients
3 slices of bacon
1/4 cup of onion
1 tbsp garlic
1 tsp dijon mustard
3 tbsp of red wine vinegar
1 packet of Splenda (or 1 tbsp of sugar if you're not watching your carbs)
pinch of salt
pepper
about 3 cups of spinach (I just eyeball it)

Cook bacon over high heat until crispy. Remove and drain on a paper towel.
While bacon is cooking, wash and dry spinach. Add to a mixing bowl.
Remove all but 2 tbsp of the bacon grease. Add onions and saute until translucent.
Add garlic, mustard, Splenda, and vinegar.
Mix well.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add dressing mix to spinach, crumble cooked bacon, and mix salad well.