Spinach Quiche and a Sewing Weekend!

This quiche recipe is from Paula Deen... so it's no surprise that it is made with lots of cheese...heavy cream... and bacon... fabulous!

 

 

So my sisters and I and our mom had a whole weekend at the cabin, all to ourselves, to sew sew sew!



And we did!



We all felt like we had to make use of every second we had, even eating seemed superfluous!

So many projects were begun and finished...

 

a cute sewing machine cover...

 

 

 

an apron... baby bib... and purse...

 

 

 

an adorable baby quilt...

 

 

 

another purse... kids drawing case... and shirt...

 

We were productive!

 

 

 

And Mom just hopped around from station to station helping solve problems one after another!

 

 

 

To top it off, Rach brought these cute jars for everyone to make their own pin cushion jars,

too cute!!!

 

 

 

F-u-u-u-u-n!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was soooo nice to be at the cabin too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's a lot of sleeping bats!

 

 

 

I can't wait for next year!!!

 

 

 

Spinach and Bacon Quiche- Paula Deen

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cups chopped fresh baby spinach, packed
• 1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
• 1 (9-inch) refrigerated pie crust, fitted to a 9-inch glass pie plate

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine the eggs, cream, salt, and pepper in a food processor or blender. Layer the spinach, bacon, and cheese in the bottom of the pie crust, then pour the egg mixture on top. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the egg mixture is set. Cut into 8 wedges. 

Everything but the Kitchen Sink Muffins... and the Train Park.

This delicious recipe for "Morning Glory Muffins" came from King Arthur Flour.

They have carrots, pineapple, coconut, walnuts, almonds, granny smith apples, and golden raisins. I also exchanged a portion of the white flour for wheat flour. Basically everything but the kitchen sink!!

I used 5in squares of parchment paper for the wrappers. If you tied little bows around them they would make a sweet little gift : )

And if you want to indulge, add a sweet cream cheese spread... it's like a glorified carrot cake!

And this is McCormick Railroad Park in Scottsdale. It is such a wonderful place full of history and lots of fun! It has an old presidential train, and 100 year old train depots that are now cute little shops and restaurants. They have kept the prices very reasonable, and I think we are so lucky to have something like this in our city!

So long for now!

Morning Glory Muffins- King Arthur Flour
( I exchanged 3/4 cup of white flour with wheat flour, and added pineapple )

1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) raisins
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) white flour
1 cup (7 1/2 ounces)  white or brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups (7 ounces) carrots, peeled and grated
1 large tart apple, peeled, cored, and grated
1/2 cup (1 1/2 ounces) sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup (2 ounces) chopped walnuts
1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) sunflower seeds or wheat germ, optional
3 large eggs
2/3 cup (4 5/8 ounces) vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin, or line it with papers and spray the insides of the papers.

To make the muffins: In a small bowl, cover the raisins with hot water, and set them aside to soak while you assemble the rest of the recipe. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, spices, and salt. Stir in the carrots, apple, coconut, nuts, and sunflower seeds or wheat germ, if using. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and orange juice. Add to the flour mixture, and stir until evenly moistened. Drain the raisins and stir them in. Divide the batter among the wells of the prepared pan (they'll be full almost to the top; that's OK).

To bake the muffins: Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, until nicely domed and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven, let cool for 5 minutes in their pan on a rack, then turn out of pans to finish cooling

An Old Favorite, A New Mug, And a First!

This breakfast was inspired by one of our favorite places in Phoenix, The Farm at South Mountain.

It is such a special place, with pecan groves and fabulous restaurants that use their own freshly grown ingredients. Just thinking about it makes me anxious for summer to end so we can go!



I could eat this every morning!

French toast with a crusty french bread... carmelized bananas with brandy... vanilla-cinnamon syrup with toasted pecans... and whipped cream!

And this is my new favorite mug. When I saw it in Starbucks it said, "I'm super cool." So I bought it, cuz that's what you do when you come across a talking mug!

And the First...

Trip to the lake for Will!

The first of many to come.

He kind of resembles Sponge Bob on his lifevest.    ; )

Happy Summer!

For the how-to on the french toast refer to the Go Nuts with French Toast! post from August 2009.

Enjoy!!!

Red, White, and Blueberry Pancakes!

This delicious pancake recipe is from Martha Stewart Living.
It uses part flour and part cornmeal and it is goooood.

July is one of my favorite issues of the year.

 The recipe wasn't in this month's, but I wanted to include it because it's so beautiful!



Here are the pancakes fresh off the griddle, with warm juicy blueberries.

First I spread orange honey butter on them, using orange juice that has been reduced until it is thickened.

And then top them off with whipped cream, berries, and cinnamon maple syrup with pecans.

Happy 4th of July!!!

 

 

Blueberry-Cornmeal Pancakes - Martha Stewart Living

Ingredients-

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup whole milk
1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for griddle
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 cups (1 pint) blueberries

Directions-
1.Whisk together flour, cornmeal, 2 tablespoons sugar, the baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, milk, butter, and egg. Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined (mixture will be lumpy).

2.Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Heat a griddle or large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Toss blueberries with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Brush griddle with melted butter. Spoon batter onto griddle 1/3 cup at a time. Sprinkle with sugared blueberries, about 2 tablespoons per pancake. Cook until edges are set, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip, and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter and blueberries, adding more butter to griddle and keeping prepared pancakes warm on a baking sheet in the oven.

Orange-Honey Butter- Bobby Flay
3 cups fresh squeezed orange juice
2 sticks butter, slightly softened
2 tablespoons honey
Pinch salt

Place orange juice in a small non-reactive saucepan over high heat and reduce to 3 tablespoons. Place butter in a bowl and add the orange syrup, honey, and salt; mix until combined. Scoop into a large ramekin, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

Crepe Crazy and the Kid Cave!

Look out! This is one of the best desserts ever!!!

I had a dessert similar to this one at a restaurant and have never forgotten it. They used puffed up pizza dough baked in a brick oven, incredible!

It is warm crepes with nutella, carmelized bananas with brandy, vanilla ice cream, and almonds.

Sometimes only the Best will do!

I'm not even a banana person, but these absolutely make the dish!

A few days earlier we had crepes filled with warm sweet cream cheese topped with fresh strawberries and blackberries soaked in a bit of sugar.

And a few days before that... we had crepes with melted dark chocolate chips, cream cheese and fresh blackberry sauce.

To make the blackberry sauce, mash them through a sieve, add sugar, and reduce over the stove until thickened slightly.

Oh Crepes... I've never met one I didn't like!

And this is the kid cave!

We decided to make the kids there own little space in the closet under the stairs.
We prepared it secretly and sent them on a scavenger hunt to find it.

 Of all the kids, Will thinks it's the most magical : )

Poor guy, his work is never done.

What's a cave without a bear?!

( He was a Costco steal. I couldn't stop laughing as I was by myself pushing the shopping cart with his huge arms hanging out the sides. )

Also among the amenities is a  Hi-Tech Quaker Oats Messaging System.

Dom humored me and let me screw two giant eye hooks into the wall for their pulley system : )



It's been so much fun.

'Til next time!!!

For the crepe recipe that I like to use, refer to the post Dessert for Breakfast Any Day, June 2009.