Bacon Spinach Mushroom Quiche

I'm not a big breakfast person. I prefer not to eat in the morning mostly because I'm not hungry. Since we've been married, Nate and I have been doing a big breakfast on the Saturday mornings that we have been home. I'm always hungry for Saturday morning breakfast! I look for a new recipe each week to try out that weekend.

I found this gem.

Seriously my new favorite breakfast and so easy!

I've already made this recipe a couple times and it will stay on my rotation of recipes now! I can't wait to try some different ingredient combinations to mix it up.

This recipe does require some prep before you pop it in the oven. To save myself time in the morning,  I pre-cooked and crumbled my bacon and washed and sliced my mushrooms, putting both in a sealed container in the fridge until morning.

Bacon Spinach Mushroom Quiche Recipe

1 (10 oz.) box frozen spinach

8 oz. fresh mushrooms

8 oz. cooked bacon, crumbled

1/2 tsp. minced garlic

5 large eggs

1 cup heavy cream or half and half

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella 

1 pre-made pie crust

salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Place pie crust in a 9 inch pie dish.

Thaw the frozen spinach in the microwave. Drain in a colander and squeeze out any juice.

Cook the bacon until crisp. Reserve some of the bacon grease to sauté the mushrooms. Thinly slice the mushrooms and toss in the skillet with the bacon grease. Add the minced garlic and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute on medium-high heat about 5-7 minutes.

In a bowl mix the spinach, mushrooms, and bacon together. Spread it out on the bottom of the pie crust.

In a medium bowl whisk the eggs until fairly smooth. Add the cream, parmesan, and a dash of salt & pepper. Whisk to combine. Pour the mixture into the pie dish over the bacon, spinach, and mushrooms. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella over the top. 

Place quiche in the preheated oven and bake for 45-60 minutes, until the center is solid and the top is golden brown. Slice & serve!

Recipe slightly adapted from http://gigglesgalore.net.

I promise you're going to love this recipe!

What's your favorite quiche ingredient? Comment below!

Megan

Creamy Alfredo Sauce

This sauce is the best alfredo ever!!

It tastes just like that creamy, cheesy alfredo from Red Lobster or Olive Garden. Sometimes I make the alfredo with shrimp and pretend I'm at Red Lobster. Or I add chicken and steamed broccoli like Olive Garden.

It is SO simple & rich! Believe me - you will be licking the spoon!

To make the alfredo sauce

You will need 4 ingredients: butter, half & half, garlic, and parmesan. 

In a small saucepan, melt the butter. 

Once butter melts, add the half & half and simmer for 5 minutes.

Stir in garlic and cheese. 

Stir until cheese breaks down and heat through.

And that's it! Creamy, cheesy, garlic-y, yummy alfredo sauce! 

Alfredo Sauce Recipe

1/4 cup butter

1 cup half & half

1 clove garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups parmesan

parsley for garnish

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.

Add half & half and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add garlic and cheese and stir quickly to break up cheese. Heat through.

If sauce is too thick for your liking, add more half & half or milk to thin and heat.

Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Recipe adapted from All Recipes.

I love making angel hair and alfredo sauce when I need a really quick dinner! You can make this in about 10 minutes since the pasta only has to cook for 4 minutes! 

One of my absolute favorite comfort foods with ingredients I always have on hand! 

Did you lick the spoon?

Megan

Angel Food Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Nate and I went the entire month of April with no sugar!! We avoided sweets and most refined sugars (we still ate fruit). It was a long 30 days.

The first thing I made was this beauty.

  I love making angel food cake because the mixer does all of the work! The key is to beat the eggs, beat 'em again, and beat 'em some more! You want those egg whites to stand up by themselves! This gives you that light, fluffy, and sponge-like cake.

This was my first time making an angel food cake with a chocolate frosting. It was so simple! A light, fluffy cake with a light, fluffy frosting. Perfect. 

Nate grated semi-sweet baking chocolate squares on my box grater into fine shavings. He did such a good job. :)

Okay let's get to the recipe! This recipe is from the 4-H Baking Project Book. 

Angel Food Cake Recipe

1 cup cake flour

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided

1 2/3 cup egg whites, about 12 large eggs

1 tsp. cream of tartar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. almond extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Adjust oven rack to lowest position.

In a small bowl, whisk flour with 3/4 cup sugar. Place egg whites in the electric mixer's bowl and beat at a low speed until beginning to froth. Add cream of tartar and salt. Beat on medium speed until egg whites form soft mounds. Add remaining 3/4 cup sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time, until all sugar is added and whites are shiny and form soft peaks. Add vanilla, lemon juice, and almond; beat until just blended. 

Sift flour over egg whites about 3 Tbsp. at a time, and gently fold in. Gently scrape batter into a 10-inch tube pan and smooth the top. Give the pan a couple raps on the counter to remove any air bubbles. Bake until the cake is golden brown and the top springs back when pressed, about 50-60 minutes.

If the cake pan has prongs around the rim, invert pan on prongs over a cooling rack. If no prongs, invert pan over a bottle or funnel so air can circulate. Let cake cool completely, 2-3 hours.

Remove the cake by running a metal knife around the edges of the pan, being careful not to separate the crust from the cake. Slide out of the pan and cut the same way around removable bottom to release. Place the cake, bottom side up on a plate. Cut slices by gently sawing with a serrated knife. 

Chocolate Frosting Recipe

1 small container cool whip, 8 oz.

3 oz. semi sweet baking chocolate, extra for garnish

berries for decoration

In a small bowl mix chocolate into cool whip. Using a serrated knife slice the cake in half longways. Spread some of the frosting on the bottom layer and put the top layer back on. Ice the top and sides. Sprinkle with chocolate shavings and top with fruit. 

Keep in refrigerator. 

A lovely light treat that everyone is sure to love!

What's your favorite angel food topping?

Megan

Mini Banana Muffins

It takes some serious self-control to not walk by the counter and pop a couple of these bite-sized muffins in my mouth!

Nate and I have been taking a sugar break. April has been a long month! Even though we aren't eating it, that hasn't stopped me from making it!

I love the chance to make special desserts. Bridal showers are the perfect excuse to make fun, little treats.

Wrappers dress-up anything you're serving.

I only use one banana bread recipe. My mom received the recipe from a friend while she was living in Texas in 1986. It is the recipe I've grown up eating and making- so don't mess with a good thing, right?

I whip up the wet ingredients in my Kitchen Aid and and then add the dry ingredients. This recipe only takes 5 minutes to mix up! 

I've found in the past that mini muffins can be a huge pain when filling each tiny hole! The secret to mess-free, stress-free mini muffins is way too simple. I use a small cookie scoop to fill my tins! So much easier and neater.

Banana Bread Recipe

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs 

2-3 ripe, well-mashed bananas

2 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup cold water

1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Blend together sugar, butter, and eggs. Add bananas. 

In a medium bowl mix flour, salt, soda, and powder together. Slowly add to the creamed mixture.

Add cold water and blend.

Fold in 1/2 cup nuts.

Scoop into tin about 3/4 full.

Bake at 350 degrees F. Large loaf about an hour. Small loaves about 45 but check starting at 35 minutes. Mini muffins about 15-20 minutes. 

Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 3 small loaves, 1 large loaf, or approx. 48 mini muffins.

Recipe doubles and freezes well. 

I wanted my mini muffins to be more decorative so I whipped up some cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

1 block cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Cream together the cream cheese and sugar in an electric mixer. Add in the vanilla and mix well.

Store leftovers in the refrigerator. 

I filled a decorator with my frosting and piped a small star on each muffin before serving. 

A sweet spring treat. 

One of my favorite breads to make and eat :) and use up all of those over-ripe bananas! 

Who has bananas sitting on their counter that are past their prime?

Megan

Molasses Crinkles

These are some of my favorite cookies and one of the first I ever learned to bake! My favorite sweets to bake when I was little were poppy seed bread and molasses crinkles. (Check out my Poppy Seed Bread here). I loved using all of the tiny teaspoons and half teaspoons to measure out spices and extracts.

I also loved making these because I got to scoop the dough, roll it into a ball, and dip the top in sugar.

My house smelled so good while I was baking these! Aren't they adorable! I had so much fun taking pictures of these cute cookies!

These cookies are soft and chewy - my favorite kind! A nice, firm shell with a soft center.

Fresh from the oven! Puffed up gooey sweetness.

The cookies are so good straight out of the oven!

Molasses Crinkles are one of my grandpa's favorite cookies but he likes his on the hard, crunchy side.

I always make sure to make a tray or two a little "overdone" for him.

Molasses Crinkles Recipe

1 1/2 cups soft shortening

2 cups brown sugar, packed

2 eggs 

1/2 cup molasses

4 1/2 cups flour

4 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. salt 

granulated sugar for dipping

Mix thoroughly shortening, brown sugar, eggs, and molasses with an electric beater. 

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. 

Slowly mix dry ingredients into the shortening mixture.

Chill dough.

Using a small cookie scoop, scoop a portion of dough out. Roll into a ball and dip the top in sugar. 

Place cookies sugared-side up on a cookie sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes in a 350 degree F oven. 

Cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Makes about 6 dozen cookies. Note: do not over-bake, as these are a soft, chewy cookie.

These freeze well. 

Recipe from The Illinois Mennonite Relief Sale Recipe book, 1984. 

Great with coffee or milk! :)

Perfect! These make great gifts because it makes so many! I like to stick a couple in the freezer for later too!

Who is ready to bake?

Megan

Healthy Quinoa Skillet

Healthy and easy...it doesn't get any better than that does it?!

I love this quinoa dish and it is ready in 30 minutes or under.

It's fluffy. It's just the right amount of spicy. It's full of fresh cilantro. It's versatile.

Only 10 ingredients! I usually have all of these ingredients on-hand too which makes for a quick meal.

Making the Quinoa Skillet

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir onion and garlic and sauté until lightly browned. 

Pour quinoa into the skillet and cover with broth. Season with cumin, cayenne, and salt & pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.

While the quinoa and broth simmer I cut the zucchini ends off and sliced lengthwise. I scooped out the middle and lined the zucchini on a baking sheet. I popped them in the oven at 350 degrees F to start cooking while the quinoa finished simmering. 

After the 20 minutes, the quinoa should be cooked and fluffy. 

Mix in black beans, corn, cilantro, and heat through.

When the zucchini were soft, I removed from the oven and scooped some quinoa mixture into each boat and sprinkled with cheese. I put them back in the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese.

 

My family received this recipe from one of my sister's college roommates and we absolutely love it!

Quinoa Skillet Recipe

1 tsp. olive oil

1 onion, diced

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

3/4 cup uncooked quinoa

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

1 can corn

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir onion and garlic and sauté until lightly browned.

Pour quinoa into saucepan and cover with broth. Season with cumin, cayenne, and salt & pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

Stir corn and black beans in and heat through. Add cilantro and mix well.

Serve with your favorite toppings!
Some of our favorites are:
salsa, tomatoes, avocado slices, sour cream, or cheese

Eat many ways!
Some of our favorites are:
Fill enchiladas with this tasty quinoa
Fill zucchini boats and cover with cheese
In a bowl with our favorite toppings
As a side with tacos or fajitas
Straight out of the pan...

I love quick dinners that are so yummy!

What would you top the quinoa skillet with?

Megan