Asparagus and Bacon Quiche

One of my favorite spring vegetables is asparagus. We were having brinner one night so  I thought this would be a great recipe to try. It was a success! My kids wouldn't try it but my husband and I liked it. For the original recipe, click here. 

Asparagus and Bacon Quiche

Ingredients

• 1 unbaked 9-inch pie-crust (see recipe below)
• 6 oz asparagus, ends trimmed off
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 3 slices bacon
• 3 eggs
• 5 oz freshly grated Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
• 1 cup milk
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
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Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil on the stove. Once boiling, drop in the asparagus and quickly blanch for 30 seconds until bright green. Quickly drain water and run cold water over asparagus. Set aside to cool.
3. Fry bacon crisp in a cast-iron skillet over low/medium heat. Once crisp, remove from heat and set the bacon to drain on paper towels but do not toss the bacon grease! Crumble or chop bacon once cool.
4. Reheat your bacon-greased skillet over medium high heat then sauté the onions for about four minutes, until soft and translucent. Add garlic for a minute. Remove from heat.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, crumbled bacon and sautéed onions and garlic. Prick crust all over with a fork, then sprinkle evenly with the cheese. Pour the milk and eggs mixture over the cheese.  *** I greased the pie plate with cooled bacon grease to increase the flavor
6. Slice the blanched asparagus into 1 1/2" pieces on an angle and scatter over the cheese in the unbaked pie crust.
7. Carefully place filled quiche on a sheet tray and into the oven for 1 hour.
8. After 1 hour, the quiche should be puffy and golden. Let cool completely (it’s best to make this at least an hour before) before slicing.

I thought a whole wheat crust would be best with this quiche and this recipe was a perfect pairing.

Whole Wheat Crust

YIELD: 2 (10 inch) pie crusts

 

Ingredients:

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 6 to 8 tablespoons ice water (about 1/2 cup)

Directions:

1. Cut the butter and shortening into a small dice, then place them in the freezer while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Place the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour,corn starch, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, then pulse a few times to combine. Scatter the butter and shortening pieces over the top. Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of chickpeas. Some of the pieces will be small and others will be larger (about the size of a thumbnail).
2. With the machine running, add 4 tablespoons ice water to feed tube. Add the remaining water one tablespoon at a time, just until the dough is moist enough to hold together with a small portion is pinched between your fingers. Pulse the machine until the dough forms a shaggy ball. Place the dough on a lightly floured board and pat into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Once chilled, divide the dough in two. Use both immediately or wrap and refrigerate for up to two days or freeze for up to two months.

Runza Casserole

I can't believe I have never blogged a recipe for bierocks. This are a pocket of bread stuffed with ground meat, cabbage, and usually cheese. I learned about these when I was in college. I'll have to blog the recipe next time we make them.

What I like about bierocks and now this runza casserole, is that they are excellent recipes for using the cabbage my husband insists on growing each year. I always shred it and freeze it to easily add in to recipes such as these or Chinese food like General's Tso or lo mein. I'll have to blog those recipes soon too. 

Last year my husband grew 4 heads of cabbage so I'll probably need to use these recipes a couple of times.The original recipe for Runza casserole came from here.

Runza Casserole

Crust:                                                             

1 1/4 teaspoon yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup warm water

1 1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup butter, softened

Filling:

1 lb ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 small head shredded cabbage (I use frozen cabbage)

1 tablespoon garlic powder

2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

salt and pepper to taste

cheese (velveta, pepper jack, cheddar, etc)

egg wash (1 egg and 1 tablespoon water) optional

1. Combine yeast, water and sugar and let sit until foams, approx 10 minutes. Add flour and butter. Knead for 5 minutes with additional flour if necessary. Place dough in a warm area and allow to double, at least 1 hour.

2. Cook beef and onion on medium-high in a large skillet. Drain and discard grease. Add cabbage, cook until wilted, approx 10 minutes. Add seasonings.

3. Preheat oven to 350.

4. Split dough into 2 pieces. Roll out into circles. Press on into greased  8x8 casserole dish. Add hamburger mixture. Place sliced cheese on top, as much as you prefer. Add second circle of dough. Pinch crusts together like a pie to seal. Brush on egg wash. Cut vent slits.

5. Bake until golden brown, approx 20 minutes. Cover with foil and cook additional 15 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes.  

**I froze mine before baking then unthawed 24hours before baking. I cooked about 45minutes to brown the crust.

Kale, Sausage, and Cannellini Bean Soup

This soup does not photograph well but it is so delicious. In fact, I could go for another bowl right now! 

This recipe comes from my Bible study, "What Love Is" by Kelly Minter. This is my kind of Bible study, learn about God AND yummy food! I had the ladies in my small group over to try out the recipes. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate and a blizzard prevented them from joining us. However, some local college students were already out and decided to come over. I enjoy living near the university and the opportunities it opens up to our family.

Kale, Sausage, and Cannellini Bean Soup

By Kelly Minter

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

6-8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (I used 1 tablespoon minced)

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

shaved parmesan cheese for on top

2 (15 ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained

2 1/2 quarts chicken stock, more if you want a brothier soup

1 lb Italian sausage (Kelly prefers 4 sausage links, I used ground)

1 large bunch kale, large ribs removed, chopped (I could only find baby kale which worked well)

1. Cook sausage in a stock pot. I then put it in a crockpot since I was having a luncheon the next day.

2. Add oil to stock pot.

3. Add garlic and oregano, saute until translucent.

4. Add vinegar and tomato paste, cook another minute until the oil and paste has blended together.

5. Add beans and stock. Bring to a simmer. (I added everything to the crockpot at this point).

6. Add sausage. Kelly recommends adding kale 30-45 minutes before serving so kale isn't overcooked.

7. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with cheese.

Stuffed Pretzels

It's been awhile since my last post because 2015 was a very busy year! My husband got a new job, we sold our house (after I was a single mom during the weekdays for 3 months), moved to a new town 3 hours away, moved out of that apartment into the house we bought 2 weeks before having our 3rd child.  So, I've been busy. I've still been cooking and baking but every new recipe I tried didn't seem blog worthy.

Until....

Stuffed Pretzels!

I've spent many late nights looking at Pinterest while nursing the baby. When I found this recipe for ham, swiss, and jalapeno stuffed pretzels, I had to give them a try.

We didn't have Swiss cheese so I used shredded cheddar instead. I just used leftover ham from a previous meal and cut it into small pieces. I omitted the jalapenos since my kids don't like spicy food.

A first I was intimidated by this recipe with all the steps but I'm glad I didn't let it stop me because it was surprisingly easy and quick even with a 3 year old helping.

We loved these pretzels so much I immediately made another batch since I still had the water and egg wash. We didn't have enough all purpose flour so I had to use some whole wheat flour instead. The dough wasn't as elastic (as I would expect). I didn't try these yet, I wanted to see how they would do freezing them so I will probably find out this weekend.

• Stuffed Pretzels
• 
  
• Ingredients:
• Dough:
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (between 110-115 degrees F)
• 1 package instant yeast
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, very soft
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• Cooking Liquid:
• 8 cups water
• 3/4 cup baking soda
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• Fillings:
• Ham, diced
• Cheddar Cheese, Shredded
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• Egg wash:
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon water
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• Directions:
• For the dough: 
• Combine water, yeast and sugar in a stand mixer bowl with paddle attachment. Let stand for at least 10 minutes or until mixture foams.
• Add butter, flour and salt; kneed for 12 minutes on medium speed.
• Cover with damp towel and allow dough to rise in a warm spot until doubled. (I like to let me dough rise for as long as possible since it gives it a richer, yeastier flavor.)
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• Assembly and Cooking:
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees (F). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
• Add water and baking soda to a large pot and bring to a boil.
• Divide dough into 8 equal rounds.
• Roll each round out into a 16" rope.
• Roll each rope out so it's 4 inches wide.
• In a small bowl combine ham and cheese. Add 3 tablespoons of filling evenly along the rope.
• Tightly roll the dough back into rope, jelly roll style, pinching the edges together. 
• Make a U shape with each rope of dough, holding the ends.
• Cross the ends over each other, pinching ends onto the bottom of the dough.
• Place pretzels - one at a time - into the boiling cooking liquid. Cook for 30 seconds each.
• Transfer cooked pretzels to prepared baking sheet.
• Once all of the pretzels have been cooked, brush the tops of each with egg wash, then sprinkle with garlic salt.
• Place pan in the oven and bake for 16 minutes.
• Eat warm, or transfer to a rack to cool
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My helpers: