Quick and Easy Quiche

When I think of quiche, I would hardly think to describe it as “quick and easy”. Mainly because the only times that I’ve ever made quiche, it’s taken me most of the day. I make the crust from scratch and use a million ingredients that need to be prepared different ways and end up with a final product somewhere around the mid-afternoon and a sink full of more dirty dishes than should be necessary.

Hence why I don’t make quiche very often.

However, today Matt and I had the day off so in addition to sleeping in and lazing around the house all day, I wanted to make something nice for breakfast. Pancakes were out of the question (for obvious reasons) and I didn’t have bread to make French toast. I wanted something a little fancier than plain old scrambled/fried/poached eggs and when I absent-mindedly suggested quiche, Matt got very excited. Not wanting to disappoint him, I quickly searched for a “quick and easy quiche recipe”.

Apparently, they aren’t as rare as I thought…

I had lots of broccoli and a fair variety of different cheeses in my fridge so I figured broccoli cheese was the way to go.

As for the crust…I rarely buy frozen pie crust and my usual pie crust is a bit of a lengthy process so I found a quick 4-ingredient quiche crust, however I wasn’t entirely satisfied with how it turned out. The flavor and texture of it was fine however it stuck pretty badly to the bottom of the pie plate so it’s probably best to just use your favorite pie crust recipe or a frozen crust instead.

But enough yacking, on to the recipe!

Broccoli and Cheese Quiche
(Recipe adapted from Cajun Chef Ryan’s recipe)
I still can’t get over how well this quiche turned out. It’s amazingly delicious and now one of my new staples. Plus, Matt almost ate the entire thing himself…and he’s a tough critic.

Ingredients:

1 9-inch pie shell
6 large eggs, cracked (I only had 5 eggs and it still turned out fine)
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (or any combination of cheeses you want)
2 cups broccoli florets, steamed and cooled
salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F. Using a fork, prick the shell dough a few times to prevent air bubbles from forming. Brown the pie shell in the oven for about 10 minutes.

While the pie shell crust is browning, beat the eggs then add the milk and about half of the cheese in a medium bowl.


Fold in the broccoli florets and then add the spices to the egg mixture.

When the pie shell has browned, removed from the oven. Pour the egg, cheese and broccoli filling into the browned pie shell and then sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.


Return the filled pie shell to the oven. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until the quiche is puffed up and set. (You may want to put it on a cookies sheet as it apparently prevents burning. I didn’t however, and it was fine.)


Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes, then slice into portions.

Theatre!

So, I have a recipe post all ready to go but my image editor is being weird and I can’t edit the pictures right now…so I figured I would instead do a post about theatre – the other love of my life (besides baking…and Matt).

For any of my readers who live in Edmonton and don’t have me on Facebook, I have a show opening next week! I’m playing Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim, playing April 27-30 at the Timms Centre (corner of 87 Ave and 112 Street on the U of A campus). Tickets and more info are available through Tix on the Square.

My brother is also in a show opening tonight and running through to April 30th as well. It’s called BoyGroove (the revival of the original Chris Craddock show) and it’s playing at the Catalyst Theatre (8529 Gateway Blvd.). Tickets are also available through Tix on the Square.

We both did a little press this week for the shows, so here is my interview with Global TV this morning.


And Eric and the boys are on the cover of See magazine!

So, if you’re hanging around Edmonton and looking for some good theatre to see, you should check out Into the Woods and BoyGroove!!

The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made. I’ve been searching for YEARS for a recipe like this. YEARS, I tell you. They are perfect in every way. Flat and crispy on the outside and buttery and chewy on the inside.

However, I know everyone’s different…and some people like big, fluffy cookies. But not me. To me, these are perfection.

Matt even likes these cookies. So much, that when I told him yesterday that I was thinking of making them again, he came home from work all excited, only to give me the biggest, saddest face when he realized that I hadn’t gotten around to making them yet.

And he doesn’t even like dessert!

I made them today though…and he’s proceeded to eat close to half the batch. Yeah. They’re that good.

So, if you’re going to make anything on this blog, make these cookies. They are perfect. There is really nothing more to say.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Recipe from Iowa Girl Eats)

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1½ tsp salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 bag semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cream butter and sugars until it’s the texture of cornmeal. Add eggs and vanilla and then mix until combined.


In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in three batches. Add chocolate chips last and mix briefly.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Lemon Bars

I’ve had a mad craving for lemon bars lately…I can’t explain it. I’ve never been a hardcore fan but for some reason they’ve been all that I can think about lately.

What can I say? My life is pretty exciting…

Anyways, late last night, after I got home from rehearsal, I decided to end the cravings once and for all. I made my very first batch of lemon bars. I then proceeded to eat half of them with a glass of wine in front of a girly movie. I now believe that every Monday night should include lemon bars, wine and girly movies.

Mondays are for indulging. Just embrace it.

Lemon Bars
(Adapted from Chasing Tomatoes’ recipe)

Ingredients:

Crust
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup icing sugar
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 cup flour
pinch of salt

Filling
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour
4 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp grated lemon zest

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 F and line a 9x9 inch square pan with parchment paper. *Note: Make sure you line both the bottom AND the sides with parchment. I made the mistake of doing just the bottom and they stuck to the sides pretty badly.

For the crust:

In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and lemon zest together. Add to the butter mixture and combine. The result will look like shortbread dough. Press the dough evenly into the bottom of your parchment paper lined pan.



Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the edges are browned. Remove from the oven and set on a cooling rack.

For the filling:

In another bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, flour, lemon juice and lemon zest. Mix well. Pour over the crust and return it to the oven for about 20 minutes, until the top is dry and the edges are just starting to brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.


When completely cooled, dust the squares with icing sugar, and slice. They keep best in a sealed airtight container in the fridge.

Whole Wheat Yogurt Pancakes

I love pancakes. Unfortunately, Matt does not. This is a constant struggle in our relationship.

However…I guess if that’s the biggest issue we have, we’re not doing too bad.

This is my absolute favorite pancake recipe right now. I’ve made these pancakes at least 3 times in this past week alone…I’m kind of in love with them.

They are just fluffy enough, just sweet enough and partially whole wheat (so kind of healthy…?). You should go make some.

Whole Wheat Yogurt Pancakes
(Adapted from Can You Stay For Dinner’s recipe for Whole Wheat Sour Cream Pancakes)
I didn’t have any sour cream so I used plain, full-fat yogurt in these instead…and they were just as divine.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk (I used vanilla soymilk)
1 egg
3 tablespoons plain yogurt

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk the flours, baking powder, sugar, and salt.

In a measuring cup or small bowl, whisk the egg into the milk. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Add the yogurt and give the batter one final stir.

Spoon a quarter cup of batter onto a griddle or skillet set over medium heat that has been coated with nonstick cooking spray (or butter…I used butter…I like butter). Flip after 3-4 minutes, just as you notice bubbles forming around the edges of each pancake, and cook a few minutes more.

Serve with a pat of butter and lots of maple syrup.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Wow, it’s been awhile…sorry, blog. I have been baking a lot as well as taking pictures and all that jazz – I just haven’t been able to get anything online. Plus my computer got a nasty virus so I was without it for a little bit.

But moving on, I have a nice cupcake recipe for you today! Courtesy of Ms. Martha Stewart, who had the brilliant idea of turning my favorite cookies into cupcakes. Genius, I tell you.

I made these for a party I went to a couple weeks ago, so they’re a little overdue…but delicious none the less. They may actually be my new favorite cupcake recipe. They’re pretty perfect, even without icing.

*Note: And next time, I might use cream cheese icing…cinnamon buttercream is nice, but it’s almost overkill on these.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
(Taken from my Martha Stewart Cupcakes cookbook)

Ingredients:

1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups cake flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1¾ cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1¼ cups milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together both flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each.


Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.


I iced these with a cinnamon buttercream, which is basically just regular vanilla buttercream with a tsp or 2 of cinnamon added into the mix. However, like I said, cream cheese icing might balance the flavors better.