Meat Potato Quiche Recipe

Howdy!

This recipe is originally from an old cookbook of my mother's. It was a favorite when I was growing up, and I've since added a few things to make it even yummier. It's beauty might be in it's versatility-- it's perfect for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner. 

  
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive (or vegetable) oil
3 cups coarsely shredded raw potato
1 cup grated cheese (swiss or cheddar)
3/4 cup diced/shredded meat (ham, browned sausage, cooked chicken--this is perfect for using holiday leftovers!)
1 cup evaporated milk
2 eggs
Optional:
sweet onion
frozen corn
red bell pepper
black olives

Directions: 
1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2) Begin cooking meat (if needed). Once meat is cooked, add in onion, etc, and a dash of black pepper. Saute.
3) Skin and grate potatoes. Mix with oil and form to pie plate or skillet
4) Bake potatoes for 15 minutes (until lightly browned)
5) Layer in meat, veggies, and cheese over potato "crust"
6) Beat together the evaporated milk and eggs; pour over meat/veggie/cheese mixture
7) Return pie plate/skillet to oven at 425 degrees for 30 minutes (until lightly browned and knife inserted 1 inch from edge comes out clean). Allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing into wedges.

Bon Appétit! 

 

Adventure well; Live fully.

HAK

 

(Slow Cooker) Beef Vegetable Soup Recipe

Welcome back!

I was thinking about this blog all morning, yet when nap-time came, it completely escaped my mind as I got lost in knitting and drafting a new stationery design. So many happy projects!

Without further ado, a recipe for yummy, comfort food, keep-me-warm-and-nourished-on-a-winter-day soup!

(Slow Cooker) Beef Vegetable Soup Recipe

Ingredients:
Large soup pot (or slow cooker)
Large skillet
1-2 lbs ground beef (or turkey)
1 large bag frozen mixed vegetables
1 large white potato (or 3-4 red potatoes)
2 large stalks celery, chopped
1 large onion (or 2 small/medium ones)
4 cups beef broth
28 oz diced tomatoes
Basil
Oregano
Thyme
Sea Salt
Pepper
Garlic
Bay leaves


Instructions:
1) Brown beef in skillet
2) Chop onions and garlic
3) Add onions, garlic, and spices to beef. Stir and simmer until onions begin to become clear and soften. (A note on spices: I purposefully neglected measurements because I rarely measure them, a technique referred to as "throwing flour" by our friend Stuart. I tend to be passionate about garlic and stingy with salt. Season to your preference)

4) Dump the contents of the skillet into the soup pot or slow cooker.
5) Add remaining ingredients and stir.

6a) Soup pot: Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally
6b) Slow cooker: Cook on low for 4-5 hours (until potatoes soften)

7) Serve with your favorite crackers, crusty bread, or pita

Bon Appétit!

Adventure well; Live fully.
HAK

[Not a boring] Salad

As a general rule, I cook an astonishing amount for two people. What can I say? We love good food, and we love feeding our friends (I can hear you all rushing to knock on my door at mealtime). I love to cook, too, and I especially love to experiment. Now, it's true, I developed my salad making technique through experimentation, but my Mom deserves a lot of credit, too. We made salads for lunch together nearly every day of my four years of high school. Mother-daughter bonding, making a healthy meal, not too much clean up... it was a win all around. 

My general method is pretty simple: Open fridge and pantry. Dump everything on a plate. 

You think I'm kidding. 

I've had everything from cold peas and broccoli to cottage cheese to banana (it's awesome) to parmesan to leftover spaghetti in my salads. Soup is about the only thing I exclude, mostly because I'm terribly messy, and I don't want to deal with the splatter. It's bad enough that balsamic stains, and I loooove balsamic vinegar. 

John and I had salads for lunch yesterday. (Before you think we really are that healthy, the salad was largely inspired by the chocolate chip greek yogurt oatmeal pancakes we had for breakfast and the rotten coconut cake I had made for small group later in the afternoon). We really did need to eat our vegetables. 

So, after church, I started pulling things out of the fridge and washing veggies. 

There's something earthy about cutting raw veggies. It gets me every time, and I wonder why I don't eat salads like it's my job. The preparation and the satisfactory crunch of each bite is refreshing, calming. There's a peace about eating something so healthy. Something closer about God's provision of the food. 

Yesterday's salad: romaine lettuce, cucumber, carrot, tomato, celery, mushroom, apple,

 banana, almonds, sunflower seeds, raisins, dried cranberries, and feta cheese.  

Dressing: balsamic vinegar.

Delicious!!
Adventure well; Live fully.