Category Archives: things we like to eat

Ham & Swiss Cheese Quiche

Posted in breakfast, things we like to eat by

I love breakfast for dinner! It’s always so simple and yummy. Quiche is one of our favorite breakfast for dinner recipes, not only because it’s so delicious, but also because it is an easy way to use up the abundance of eggs we have thanks to our hens.

Yet another admirable characteristic of quiche is that there are so many variations you can throw together. We normally start with the basic ham and Swiss cheese recipe below, and then add whatever we have on hand. This has included: green chiles, sauteed bell peppers, pepper jack cheese, feta cheese, cheddar cheese and today we added leftover steamed broccoli (gag!). Since I’m the only member of the family who doesn’t enjoy broccoli, sometimes I give in and make it for them. But I still refuse to eat it. I have to admit though, the broccoli did look quite pretty in the quiche (not that I’ll be able to tell you how it tasted or anything).

Here are the ingredients~

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And, yes, we do use a store-bought pie crust (**gasp!**). The pie crust provides even more opportunities to add variety to the quiche recipe: you could, of course, use a homemade pie crust or you could go the (lazy) route that we do, using a pre-made crust. We’ve even made it with no crust at all, which turned out well; yet another option, that we have not tried, is to make a potato crust.

The first step is to form the pastry dough into the pie plate, being sure to get the crust all the way up the edge of the dish. Then, using a fork, prick the inside of the pie shell, and bake for 8 minutes. I use a crust protector to make sure that the crust doesn’t get to crispy, but you could also just use foil.

This is after we pulled it out of the oven~

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After you have pulled the pie crust out, lower the oven temperature to 325*

Now we come to the filling. The last couple of times that I have made this, I have used chunky, leftover ham, however we have also used sliced lunch meat ham. The original recipe that we (loosely) based this on called for bacon, so that is yet another option.

Next, put the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl…

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and mix well.

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Pour the egg mixture into the baked pie crust.

Here is the quiche with broccoli~

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And here’s the original ham & Swiss cheese~

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As you can see, we normally make two, especially if we are eating them for dinner…

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Now bake at 325* for 40-50 minutes, depending on how full your pie crusts are. Just keep checking on them until they are no longer goopy.

If you can contain yourself, wait 10 minutes to slice.

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Ham & Swiss Cheese Quiche

Makes one 9 inch quiche

  • one 9 inch deep dish pie crust
  • approximately one cup of chopped ham 
  • 3-4 chopped green onions
  • 1/2 cup half-and-half
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 7 eggs
  • 8-9 ounces shredded Swiss cheese
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400*

Using a fork, prick the inside of the pie shell, then bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven; lower the temperature to 325*

In a large bowl, mix all the remaining ingredients. Pour the egg mixture into the baked pie shell.

Cover the edges of the crust with either foil or a crust protector. Bake until set, about 40-50 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

 

tags- breakfast, quiche, pie, eggs, ham

S’mores Pie

Posted in sweets, things we like to eat by

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We came across this S’mores Pie recipe while doing research on French macarons, which were to die for, but that’s another post.

Who doesn’t love s’mores made over a campfire?? This is the same idea, only in a rich, creamy pie version.

By the way, the recipe makes one pie, however we doubled it (cause we’re piggy that way!), so don’t be confused when you see two pies in some of the pictures!

Okay, so let’s get started~

Preheat your oven to 350*.

To make the crust, mix crushed graham crackers and melted butter together in your pie dish. Mix until combined and press firmly into the pie plate while working the crumbs up the side of the dish.

Like this…

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Now let’s get started on the good stuff-

Place both types of chocolate chips and butter in a heat-safe bowl. Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan until it simmers, pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips and butter, and whisk until melted and combined.

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Add whole eggs and egg yolk along with the vanilla. And mix until well combined.

Pour chocolate mixture into pie crust and bake 20-25 minutes until filling is set and toothpick comes out clean. I used a metal crust protector to keep the edge of the crust from getting too dark.

Place pie in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1-2 hours before starting the marshmallow topping.

To prepare the marshmallow topping place egg whites, corn syrup, salt, vanilla, and cream of tartar in a bowl, and whip on high until stiff peaks form.

Slowly add sugar and mix well.

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Now you’re ready to add the topping to the pie, creating decorative peaks with a spatula as you go.

If you’re not serving the pie right away, it can be refrigerated until ready to serve.

The last step is toasting the marshmallow topping (“toasting” is the key word- not burning- be careful!). It took 1 minute in my oven to achieve the desired toasted effect, so watch it carefully. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

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Yum!! Dig in!

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While I felt this s’mores pie was perfect as is, there are a few variations that you could make, such as: using a chocolate cookie crumb crust, or no gooey, gaggy marshmallow topping (as my friend Laura calls it), she’s wrong by the way, it was delicious! The chocolate filling had a good texture and the combination of the two types of chocolate made it really rich and a great go-to chocolate pie filling recipe.

S’mores Pie

Makes one 9 1/2 inch pie.

Ingredients:

For the crust:

  • 2 cups of finely ground graham crackers (about 15-16)
  • 6 Tbsp melted butter

For the filling:

  • 3/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup of milk chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 whole eggs
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla

For the topping:

  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 cup corn syrup
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
  • 2 Tbsp sugar

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350*. Grind graham crackers in food processor until they are crushed into a fine crumb. Place graham cracker crumbs into pie plate, add the melted butter. Mix well until combined. Press crumbs to bottom and side of pan with the palm of your hand until evenly distributed.

Place chocolate chips and butter into a heat-safe bowl. Heat heavy cream in a sauce pan until it simmers, pour hot cream over the chocolate chips and butter, and whisk until melted and combined. Add whole eggs and egg yolk and mix until combined add vanilla, mix well.

Pour chocolate mixture into pie crust and bake 20-25 minutes until pie filling is set and a toothpick comes out clean.

Place pie in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1-2 hours before starting the marshmallow topping.

To prepare the marshmallow topping place egg whites, corn syrup, salt, vanilla, and cream of tartar in a bowl, and whip on high until stiff peaks form. Slowly add sugar and mix well.

Add the topping to the pie, creating decorative peaks with a spatula as you go.

Place pie under broiler for 1-2 minutes until marshmallow topping is toasted and golden brown. Watch carefully- the marshmallow burns quickly.

Serve immediately, store leftovers in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

Original S’mores Pie recipe is credited to Entertaining with Beth, I just made a few modifications. 

 

tags- dessert, pie, sweets, marshmallow, chocolate, graham crackers