I love playing with recipes and have come up with a very simple new(ish) quiche recipe that has scored a hit among friends and family with not only flavor but ease of preparation.

Base recipe:

preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit
1 commercial pie crust (found in deli area of market usually)
4 eggs
1 1/3 cups half and half
cup of grated cheese of your choice
bit of salt or Lawry's seasoned salt
pepper
bunch of green onions, chopped (use all except the gnarly bits at the very end)


 coat pie pan with a bit of olive or other oil.....just enough to keep quiche from sticking. Then line pie pan with crust. Put cheese on bottom of  crust.

beat eggs, half and half and salt and pepper together, add chopped(sliced) green onions and gently mix.
Pour liquid mixture into pie and place in oven.  Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

I have also added bacon, either turkey or pork, cooked zuccini, cooked crookneck squash....just about anything you might like to put in your quiche.  If you aren't watching calories or collesterol, substitute whipping cream for the half and half.....extra good that way!

 This recipe is the result of LOTS of altering a recipe from a magazine.  SO much fun making it my own.  Also, this recipe lends itself well to playing with the additons.  Last week, I made this up and had five different combinations.  I began with 'just' the chocolate chips, then, after baking about 1/4 the batch, added M and Ms.  I baked another fourth of the recipe and then added nuts. After baking about half of THAT batch, I added a few raisins.  I baked half of the remaining dough, THEN added a BUNCH more M and Ms!  Enjoy!

Kat's  Chocolate Cookies

Serves:
3 dozen or more

Ingredients
 1# (4 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar

2 1/3 cups  firmly packed brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/3 teaspoons baking soda    
1 1/3 teaspoons salt         
1 (12-ounce) package semisweet or milk chocolate morsels
2 cups m&ms
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
(opt. throw in some raisins or craisins)
Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease baking sheets. (better yet, use parchment paper....easier cleanup)

With an electric mixer, beat butter and shortening at medium speed until creamy; gradually add sugars, beating until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating well.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Stir in chocolate morsels, m and m's, and nuts, etc. Drop cookies by 1/4 cupfuls about 3-inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool for 2 minutes on baking sheets. Remove to wire racks to cool.

I'm BAAAACK!

Hi Everyone! (if anyone is there!) LOL.....I'm back, having straightened out stuff that made it impossible for me to edit my page.  Will return soon with new photos, recipes and general chit-chat.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving.....just rediscovered my blog and will be posting more later today.  My love to all of you.  Kat

Chicken Chile Verde Stoup

Found a wonderfully simple recipe on the internet and changed it up a bit. Laura said it was the best soup I'd ever made and she always loves the soups I make.

Chicken Chile Verde Stoup

8 or 9 chicken thighs, roasted and taken off the bone
2 cans low sodium NO MSG chicken stock or equivalent amount of home made
1 large can green enchilada sauce (store brand works just fine)
1 large onion, chopped
1# or more frozen corn
2 cans black beans, well rinsed
3 cloves garlic, minced (I use the larger ones on the bulb)
Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
2 Tablespoons oil (I used olive)

First, cook onions in oil until limp(ish), OR you can toss them in with all the other items, except the chicken. The really wonderful thing about this recipe is there's alot of wiggle room. If you're in a hurry, toss it all in, reserving the chicken for the last 10 minutes. Bring to a boil and simmer for 25 to 30ish minutes. If you'd prefer NOT to roast the chicken, cut up the raw thighs and toss it in with the rest of the items rather than saving it for the last 10 minutes. This is a delicious and VERY easy soup/stew.
Kat's recommendation: If you're not in a hurry, roast the thighs first. My first batch was the best. Second batch I did the fast way and, while it was delicious...the first batch was more so!

Cissy's Quiche Lorraine

Mom called me "Cissy" due to my bro as a wee child not being able to say "sister". It stuck for life unless she was reeeeeely ticked off then it was my entire name run together as a single name. YOU know the tone.....big trouble! But I digress. This is a fab recipe that I somewhat adapted from a cooking card from Idon'trememberwhere. Enjoy. Hope to have photos soon of my first two recipes.

Cissy's Quiche Lorraine

1 stick or 1/2 pkt pie crust
12 slices (1/2 lb approx) bacon crisply fried and crumbled
1 cup shredded natural Swiss cheese (4oz)
1/3 cup minced onion
4 eggs
2 cups light cream (20%) or whipping cream
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon cayenne red pepper

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare pastry for 9" one-crust pie. Sprinkle bacon, cheese, onion in pastry-lined pan. With rotary beater, beat remaining ingredients. Pour into pie pan. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven tem to 300 degrees. Bake pie 30 minutes longer or until edge comes out clean. Let pie stand 10 minutes befor cutting; Serve in wedges. 6 servings. (yeah right!)

Cooking Comfort - Grandma's Concoction

This is an original recipe likely adapted from a recipe even older. My Grandma Hill was a caterer and in spite of it's humble appearance, served it at many of her parties. It has been a favorite of mine since I was old enough to chew. As a wee one, I always thought the definition of 'concoction' was that delicious dish!

Grandma's Concoction

1# ground beef
1#can of corn or substitute equal amount of frozen or fresh corn
1# can whole tomatoes not drained
1 large XLNT or similar commercial tamale
1 large onion, chopped
1# bag noodles, cooked to just before al dente
1# or so grated cheddar cheese

cook beef and chopped onion to done, add everything else except noodles and combine until hot and fully mixed in. Fold in noodles and place in casserole dish. Top with as much grated cheddar cheese as you like and bake in 350 degree oven until browned. I like it crispy, but do it to suit what you like. Serve with tossed salad and enjoy!