Ham and Mushroom Quiche

What to do with leftover Easter ham? The possibilities are all delicious, but this year I attempted my first quiche. From what I gathered doing some research on the interwebz, there were about a bazillion ways to make quiche. I stumbled along and came up with something I found pretty tasty (and it even qualified as "dinner" for Hubby which is quite a feat since he would probably say there is only one person's serving of actual ham in the quiche ;-) )

Ham and Mushroom Quiche

Serves 6

8 oz diced cooked ham

8 oz sliced mushrooms

1 small red onion

4 eggs

1 cup milk

6 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 refrigerated pie crust (Pillsbury is my brand of choice)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and prepare a pie pan for baking with the refrigerated pie crust.
2. In a skillet with some olive oil, saute the mushrooms and onion together until soft.
3. Layer the ham on the bottom of the pie shell, then the onion/mushrooms, and finally the cheese.
4. In a bowl, beat together the eggs and milk and pour over the top of the quiche filling.
5. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes until the egg is set and a knife stuck in the middle comes out clean.
6. Allow to cool a bit before serving.

Super easy and super delicious. I didn't use any seasoning since the various components were pretty flavorful on their own. I have a feeling you could adjust the filling for whatever veggies you had on-hand and it would be just as delicious!

Smokey Bacon and Broccoli Mac and Cheese

As a result of some poor planning on my part I had quite the assortment of leftover ingredients from recipes that never came to fruition. One thing led to another and Smokey Bacon and Broccoli Mac and Cheese was born.

Smokey Bacon and Broccoli Mac and Cheese

12 oz small pasta (mini penne was my choice)

3-4 oz. bacon, cooked and chopped

1 small box frozen chopped broccoli, thawed

4 Tbsp butter

4 Tbsp flour

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 1/2 c milk (I did a skim and whole combo)

4 oz Fontina cheese, grated

4 oz smoked Gouda cheese, grated

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Pinch cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Using a large pot, boil the noodles according to the package instructions for al dente. Strain and set a side reserving pot for later.
3. In a large sauce pan, melt the butter on medium-high heat.
4. Whisk in flour and garlic and cook until golden brown, stirring constantly. (A spatula works just fine as I still haven't replaced my silicone whisk so this is my bechamel go-to at the moment.)
5. Add in milk and continue stirring over medium-high heat until the sauce thickens and bubbles begin to form.
6. Remove from the heat and add in your spices, bacon, and cheeses stirring until melted.
7. In the large pot, combine the noodles, broccoli, and cheese mixture then pour into a greased casserole dish (I used a 2 1/2 quart round dish).
8. Sprinkle with extra grated cheese (optional) and bake for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly.

Bacon Breadstick Focaccia

So this weekend I co-hosted a baby shower where the menu followed a theme.

BACON

The menu was comprised of:

Bacon and Cheese Dip

Bacon Breadstick Focaccia

Spinach Salad with Crumbled Backon

Cauliflower Soup with Bacon Garnish

Maple Bacon Cupcakes

Does that not sound AMAZING?!

It was, just take my word for it.

Bacon Breadstick Focaccia

Adapted from Pillsbury.com

Makes 2 Small Focaccia*

1 can of refrigerated breadstick dough

2.1 oz package of precooked bacon slices

2 pieces of string cheese (4 if you want both focaccia to have cheese)

1 egg

Garlic Salt, to taste

Italian Seasoning, to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 375 and prepare a baking sheet (your choice: parchment, baking mat, cooking spray, etc.)
2. Slice the cheese into quarters long ways to make 8 longs strips.
3. Unroll the breadsticks and layer each with a piece of cheese (for half of the breadsticks) and a piece of bacon.
4. Roll the breadstick/bacon combo into two pinwheels, one with cheese and one without.
5. Beat one egg and brush over the top of the bread.
6. Dice the extra slices of bacon (if you haven't eaten them already) and sprinkle over the top along with the garlic salt and Italian seasoning.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

*I have done one big pinwheel and two small ones and the two small ones seems to turn out better.

Scalloped Bacon and Eggs

Every once in a while Hubby gets to reminiscing about meals he had growing up. After trying to rack his brain for a while on this particular brunch/breakfast-for-dinner item I went straight to the source, my mother-in-law, for the actual recipe. This was a great weeknight meal since the eggs and bacon could be prepped ahead of time. First time out of the gate I didn't make any real changes to the recipe trying to make it as close to his childhood memory as possible. It seems like we had ourselves a fine recreation on our hands when all was said and done! This would be an excellent brunch item with some fruit and muffins...or we had ours for dinner with fruit and roasted broccoli (the veggie of choice in our home). Delicious!

Scalloped Bacon and Eggs

Serves 4-6

1 small onion, chopped
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 c milk
5 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
6 hard cooked eggs, sliced
4 oz potato chips, crushed
12 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Sauté onion in butter until softened.
3. Add the flour to the mixture and cook out a bit then add milk, stirring constantly to make sure your bechamel sauce doesn't have any big lumps.
4. Add cheese and stir over low heat until melted.
5. In a greased casserole dish layer eggs, sauce, potato chips and bacon.
6. Bake 15-20 min at 350.

Pasta Carbonara

Pasta Carbonara is Hubby's favorite pasta dish and was on the menu for Valentine's Day this year (granted it actually happened Tuesday night, but whatever last minute decisions to grill steaks to take advantage of unseasonably warm weather are definitely acceptable!) Given that this was something I'd shied away from for a while I went straight to the experts at Cook's Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen for help and background reading materials.

After much reading I realized that the technique behind this dish was just as important as the ingredients. I tried out their suggestions, but there were a few hint I picked up along the way so am going to incorporate them into the instructions for next time. All in all, very delicious.

Pasta Carbonara

8 oz pasta

4 oz bacon, sliced into small pieces/ribbons

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup chicken broth (or dry white wine)

1 1/4 oz shredded cheese*

2 large eggs

2 small cloves of garlic, finely minced/pressed

Table Salt

Pepper

Optional Step - Preheat oven to 200 and warm the serving dish you will use to mix and serve this dish. I went ahead and did this step, but if you were baking bread or something that would probably make the dish too hot, but you might be able to microwave it?

1. In a skillet, cook the bacon pieces in the olive oil until they reach your desired "doneness" (since we all know bacon is an ongoing battle between the crispy and the floppy factions).
2. Add chicken stock/wine and reduce a bit then set aside.
3. In a small bowl, beat the eggs together and mix with the cheese(s) and garlic.
4. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions (I used a spaghetti) with 2 tsp of salt in the pasta water. Reserve some of the cooking water before draining the pasta just in case you need to add it to your sauce to help coat the noodles.
5. Take the drained pasta (still slightly wet) and pour into the dish you are going to serve out of (potentially the one that has been warming in the oven) and immediately toss with the egg/cheese mixture. Use a little of the reserved liquid if necessary. -->The "immediately" is key here otherwise you will end up with scrambled eggs from them sitting on top of the hot noodles for too long before the tossing begins.
6. Once the noodles are coated, toss in the bacon mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste and serve right away. --> Some people toss the bacon at the same time as the eggs, but from what I read this can get clumpy so I wasn't going to take any chances of the bacon not being as evenly distributed as possible ;-)

Deliciousness personified I tell you, deliciousness.

*I used 1/2 oz of a Parmesan and Pecorino Romano cheese blend and then an additional 3/4 oz of Parmeasan.

Ham and Hashbrown Casserole

Both Hubby and my dad decided that this need not be relegated to being "a breakfast food" but they said they would eat it any time of day...probably due to their joint love for ham and potatoes in virtually any form imaginable. Oddly enough, this was not the first time I've made this casserole, but it was the first time I've been able to taste the results (it was a work breakfast pot-luck favorite at Hubby's office so they were the ones who had done the taste testing). I will have to say, second only to the Ham Biscuit, this is my favorite use of leftover holiday ham, for sure!

Ham and Hashbrown Casserole

32 oz bag frozen hashbrown potatoes

8 oz cooked ham, cubed

2 cans condensed cream of potato soup

16 oz sour cream

8 oz shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Mix the ingredients together and pour into a 13 x 9 inch pan.
3. Bake for 1 hour.

Yes, it is that ridiculously simple.

Sometimes I add parmesan cheese to the top before baking...you know, if I'm feeling wild/crazy/cheesy.

Crock Pot Pizza

Pizza is Hubby's favorite food. Anything that has the mention of pizza will at least give a first attempt around here and after this recent discovery, we may have may more attempts in our future.

Crock Pot Pizza

1 1/2 lbs ground meat (beef, sausage, etc.)

6 oz. (uncooked) wide egg noodles

24 oz spaghetti sauce

8 oz tomato sauce

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1 pkg pepperoni

24 oz shredded cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, Italian blend...your choice)

1. Boil noodles just shy of package instructions, drain and set aside.
2. Brown meat in a large skillet and add Italian seasoning.
3. Once meat is browned, add the spaghetti and tomato sauces to the skillet.
4. In your crock pot start with a layer of sauce on the bottom, then add 1/2 the noodles, 1/2 the package of pepperoni, and 1/2 the cheeses. Repeat (cheese should be your top layer).
5. Cook on Low for 3-4 hours.

Super simple and tasty. I used a mixture of cheeses, one 8 oz package of cheddar, one 8 oz package of mozzarella, and one 8 oz package of Italian blend cheeses. I used a combination of ground beef and Italian sausage in my first attempt, next time I think I will go with straight ground beef although I may add in some mushrooms which I mention to do this time, but totally forgot to pick up a package at the market. Delicious and will most definitely be happening again this winter!

Sausage and Mushroom Lazy Lasagna

So on The Rachael Ray Show this week (well really I think it was a show from last week that I still had on my DVR) I found a new recipe that I wanted to try out: Lazy Florentine Lasagna. Now there was no way I was going to sneak that much spinach into Hubby's diet, so I made several alterations to this recipe and this is what I came up with:

Sausage and Mushroom Lazy Lasagna

Serves 8

1 lb lasagna noodles broken into pieces

1 lb mushrooms, sliced

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 Italian sausages (about 3/4 lb)

2 tsp dried thyme

15 oz can of stewed tomatoes, undrained

4 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp flour

2 cups milk

8 oz Fontina cheese, shredded

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Nutmeg, to taste

8 oz Parmesan cheese shredded

1. Preheat oven to 350 and bring a large pot of water up to a boil.
2. Break the lasagna noodles in smaller pieces and cook until al dente, reserving a little of the cooking liquid before draining.
3. In a large skillet, brown the sausage with the onion, garlic, and mushrooms.
4. Add in the dried thyme and can of stewed tomatoes, you can break up the tomatoes a bit with your spoon (or whatever) if you want smaller chunks.
5. While that is cooking, melt the butter and then add the flour. Stir and cook for about a minute.
6. Pour in the milk and whisk together with the butter/flour mixture until it comes up to a bubble and starts to thicken.
7. Once thickened, continue whisking and add in the Fontina cheese until melted.
8. In the pasta pot, mix the cooked, drained lasagna pieces together with the sausage mixture and pour into a large casserole dish.
9. Cover with the melted cheese and then top with the Parmesan.
10. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted, bubbly and you just can't stand it any longer!

Delicious. I had some plain tomato sauce on the side which I found to be a good addition although Hubby didn't feel like it was necessary. He did make the suggestion to add in prosciutto next time (this is what kept him from giving it the elusive 5 star rating, he was content with the amount of sausage, just wanted another meat product in the mix.) Hubby loves his pork products!

(But shhh, don't tell him it was CHICKEN Italian sausage!)

Stuffed Shells

Stuffed Shells must be a thing recently as I've seen recipes on several websites as of late. After The Pioneer Woman posted her take, I had gotten the craving for Italian Night as well. I used bits and pieces from her Three Cheese-Stuffed Shells with Meaty Tomato Sauce posting, but made several changes for the ingredients I had laying around and what I thought might be tasty (please note I hate ricotta cheese, it's a texture thing, so I always substitute cottage cheese when recipes call for ricotta...you can definitely change this back to ricotta if it doesn't give you the heebie-jeebies).

Stuffed Shells

Serves 8

1 lb. sweet Italian sausage

1 onion, chopped

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 15 oz can of stewed tomatoes

2 15 oz cans of tomato sauce

2 Tbsp sugar

Italian Seasoning, to taste

1 box of jumbo pasta shells

30-32 oz low fat cottage cheese

8 oz Italian Blend shredded cheese

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp dried basil

Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. In a large skillet brown the sausage together with the onion and garlic (breaking up the sausage just like you would ground beef as you go).
3. Use a food processor to chop up the stewed tomatoes (just a little...somewhere in between the size of crushed tomatoes and diced tomatoes).
4. Add the stewed tomatoes and two cans of tomato sauce to the skillet, and then the sugar, Italian Seasoning, salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Let the sauce come up to a bubble and let it thicken, covered for around 30 minutes.
6. Bring a large pot of water up to a boil and cook the jumbo shells according to the package.
7. Drain the shells and rinse with cold water so they are easy to handle when the time comes.
8. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix together cottage cheese, 6 oz of the shredded cheese, parsley, basil, and egg.
9. Spray a 13 x 9 inch casserole dish with some cooking spray and ladle in a layer of sauce on the bottom.
10. Stuff your shells with the cheese mixture and place them open-side down on top of the sauce layer. I squeeze in as many of these babies as I possibly can. I never use the entire box of pasta, but since inevitably there are broken pieces and torn shells, it usually works out fine in the end.
11. Once your casserole dish is lined up with the stuffed shells, ladle on some more sauce to coat (but don't drown the shells...I've made that mistake before in the past) and just save the rest of the sauce so people can put more on their individual servings.
12. Sprinkle on the rest of the cheese (you can totally add more if you like, but one 8 oz package worked out great for me.)
13. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Another grand success! I think I may have finally found a stuffed shells recipe that will be made again (I've made several over the years, but none good enough to keep around for a second attempt.) The only thing I would suggest is letting the sauce cook and thicken up a bit more as it was pretty runny this first round. I'm pretty stoked to the leftovers for dinner tonight and even more excited that I have found a bread option that both Hubby and I enjoy in the Pillsbury French Loaf. It bakes at the same temperature for the same amount of time so I'm calling this a fated combination.

Tortellini and Sausage Casserole

Apparently in March 2004 I purchased and promptly forgot about one of those mini recipe books that are sold in the check-out line at the market. Tonight I put my twist on a Betty Crocker recipe entitled "Creamy Tortellini Casserole".

Tortellini and Sausage Casserole

Serves 4

2 Tbsp Butter

1/2 c. Onions, chopped

8 oz Mushrooms, sliced

2 Tbsp Flour

1/2 tsp Salt

2 c. Milk

3 links of pork sausage, browned

4 oz Gouda Cheese, shredded

1 c Frozen Peas and Carrots

9 oz Package of Refrigerated Cheese Tortellini

1/2 c Ritz Crackers, crushed

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a small casserole dish (1.5 quart).
2. Melt butter in a large sauce pan and cook onions and mushrooms until soft.
3. Stir in flour and salt then gradually add the milk, stirring constantly.
4. Once bubbly, remove from heat and add in sausage, peas/carrots, cheese, and tortellini.
5. Pour into casserole dish and top with the crushed crackers.
6. Bake for 15 minutes, or until bubbly.

I used some mild Italian sausage for this batch that I had leftover from Make Your Own Calzone day (one of our favorites!) and some smoky Gouda cheese. This recipe is definitely a keeper and Hubby declared that he would not change a thing (success!)

Ham and Pineapple Fried Rice

This recipe is my adaptation of one of the Neely's recipes on FoodNetwork.com. I made this on a Saturday afternoon for a hearty lunch and it was definitely a hit. I shall count this as my March success.

Ham and Pineapple Fried Rice

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 8 ounces finely chopped ham steak
• 1 cup finely chopped pineapple
• 4 cups rice
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

1. Heat oil in a large wok and add the onion, garlic, ginger, and green onions. Saute until tender about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the red bell pepper and the ham steak and saute until the pepper starts to soften.
3. Add the rice and pineapple and break up any lumps. Stir-fry until lightly browned, about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
4. Mix in the sesame oil, and the soy sauce and serve.