Asparagus Mushroom Quiche

Yesterday on hubby's day off I made this yummy quiche.

When I was younger I never liked asparagus, but I love it in this quiche. I just think way back then I didn't really know what to do with it or how to prepare it properly. I found the recipe HERE, but I made a few changes to it like I do to almost any recipe I find. You could also replace the asparagus with chopped broccoli. I don't know how her quiche was done in only 30-35 minutes.

Asparagus Mushroom Quiche

Yield: 8 servings

1 sheet refrigerated pie pastry
1 pound fresh asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium purple onion, chopped
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter
3 eggs
1 cup heavy whipping cream plus 1/3 cup of 1% milk
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon of spicy brown mustard (next time I'm trying a whole teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Unroll pastry and firmly press into a 9-in. deep-dish pie plate; flute edges. Note: I used a metal pie crust guard while I baked this for one hour.

Cook asparagus in a covered dish in the microwave for about 3 minutes or until crisp-tender.

In a large skillet, saute onion and mushrooms in butter until tender. Stir in asparagus. Transfer to crust.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, cream/milk, basil, mustard, salt and pepper; pour over top.

Bake at 375° for about 1 hour or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Super Easy Monkey Bread

I've been wanting to make some Monkey Bread for awhile now so when I saw Paula on The Talk on Halloween giving out her recipe, I decided to make it for our Halloween.

Paula Deen's Monkey Bread

3-12 oz cans of refrig. biscuits (I used Pillsbury Grands jr - Golden Homestyle Buttermilk) 10 to a can.
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 stick of butter (8 T)
1 cup packed light brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease a large bundt pan.
3. Mix in a bowl - 1/2 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons (or to your liking) of cinnamon.
4. Cut each biscuit into 4ths and roll each in the sugar/cinnamon mixture and drop into greased pan.
5. Melt 1 stick of butter (I used Blue Bonnet stick) and mix it well with 1 cup packed light brown sugar.
6. Pour mixture evenly over the arranged, rolled biscuit 4ths.
7. Bake for about 45 to 55 min. Mine was done a little before 45 min.
8. Remove from oven and cool in pan for only 5 min. and then invert while hot onto a plate.

Next time, for just hubby and me, I'm cutting the recipe in half.

Christmas Cookies & Kitchen Chaos

Compared to the decorated Christmas cookies I've made in the past, this year's are a bit sorry looking. But, hubby will think they're beautiful and will gladly eat them, and that's all that really matters anyway.

We're getting a new dishwasher that will be installed the Wed. after Christmas, and I have stuff sitting everywhere that came from under the kitchen sink that I had to remove for the plumber to take out our garbage disposal that stopped working, redo the plumbing there, and take out our old built-in dishwasher that's now sitting on the patio waiting to be hauled away when the new one comes. Hubby thought I was kidding when I said that I was the plumber's right hand man until I told him all the stuff I helped with. Then, add the fact that I started to rearrange a corner cabinet on a whim the same day and never finished it and now that stuff is also sitting to be gone through, purged and rearranged.

Actually, if you'd see my kitchen you'd be amazed I was even able to produce these Christmas cookies...lol I just hope the new dishwasher is worth all of this trouble AND cost. I had gotten used to doing dishes by hand when I decided a couple of years ago that the 30 year old dishwasher that came with the house wasn't doing all that great of a job unless I practically washed them first myself so I just stopped using it. Now, it doesn't work at all. I found a good deal for a new one on-line on Cyber Monday so I decided to replace it. I hate having something around that doesn't serve a purpose anymore or work anymore just taking up space. I just never knew it would be such an involved and costly project.

Cookie Baking Tip - Using parchment paper on your cookie sheets makes baking cookies a hundred times easier and more successful. I didn't become a great cookie baker until I discovered it.

Think Of Fall - Think Of Apples

I made a French Apple Pie today...Click on the pie to get a better look. Autumn is definitely my favorite time of the year (and Halloween is my favorite holiday). When I was a little girl my parents would bring home a bushel or two of freshly picked apples from a nearby orchard for snacking and for baking.

I think this is only the second time in my lifetime that I've attempted to make a meringue. Luckily, both times it came out.

The recipe is from a Kitchen-Klatter cookbook that my mom gave me many years ago! I love that cookbook, and it shows from many uses. I remember her listening to the Kitchen-Klatter radio show every morning when I was little. I think it was on at 9:00 am Mon. through Fri.

I'm Calling It A Masterpiece!

I'm really happy how this turned out since I usually hate working with sheets of phyllo dough.

And, it was really tasty too!

I got this recipe from the PBS Everyday Food show that Martha Stewart produces. Here's their web site. http://www.pbs.org/everydayfood

I love that show and nearly all the recipes prepared there which is a lot in a half hour span of time.

Ground Beef Pie Serves 4-6 Prep Time: 35 minutes Total Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
1 pound ground beef (I used ground turkey instead)
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for dusting
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3 tablespoons sliced almonds
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
5 large eggs
3 tablespoons milk
8 phyllo sheets, thawed
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook onion until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add beef, cayenne, cinnamon, and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until beef is browned, about 10 minutes. Add almonds and parsley; cook 3 minutes more. Let cool slightly.

In a bowl, season eggs with salt and pepper; add milk, and whisk to combine. Fold into beef mixture.

Lay 1 phyllo sheet on a clean work surface. Brush lightly with oil; lay another sheet on top, staggering corners. Repeat with remaining phyllo sheets and oil, rotating sheets slightly each time. Gently place dough in an 8-inch pie plate; fill with mixture. Fold edges over top. Brush with oil. Bake until golden brown and filling is set, 20 to 25 minutes. Dust top with sugar and cinnamon. Serve hot, sliced into wedges