November 25, 2009

Thanksgiving Menu

Steve & I are hosting Thanksgiving tomorrow and I am STOKED! I really love cooking/baking for others~ and doing so on the holidays makes it even more special. This post is for you Jen :) Hope your sweet baby girl shows herself SOON!!!

Here’s whats on the slate for this year~

I’m making….

  • Turkey & gravy: this year we got a 20.5lb turkey, butterball. I always cook the turkey in a Nesco Roaster (which is pretty much an “oven” you put on your counter). It’s amazing. We stuff the turkey into a turkey bag & let it cook away for HOURS. We’ll cook it at the temp on the turkey for as long as it requires and then 3-4 more hrs on low … till it almost falls off of the bones! Mom taught me a great trick a few years back… To make the gravy, take a large tupperware or jar & put flour in it (as the thickening agent for the gravy). Add cold water to the mix & shake until well combine. THEN add that mixture to the hot turkey drippings to make the gravy. Doing it this way elimantes the possibility of having clumps of flour in the gravy :) Good call mom!
  • Cranberry sauce: I’m using my friend Lacy’s recipe. It is SO amazing… pretty much cranberries, orange pieces/zest, sugar, water, cinnamon, & pecans. SO good!!!  My mom always says that cranberry sauce reminds her of her grandmother… so now it reminds me as well :) Steve doesn’t eat this, but I always still make it.
  • Stuffing/dressing: When we lived in WI, we always made basic bread dressing (which was good). When we move to Texas, we had the opportunity to try cornbread stuffing… OH MY. It is so amazing… and we’ve never looked back. From now until forever~ we’re cornbread stuffin’ folks. I’m planning to bake the corn bread today to make tomorrow’s task a bit less daunting.
  • Broccoli corn bake: This is one of the classics in my family. It’s my grandma Rugotska’s recipe. Very basic, but delicious! It’s one of those recipes that we’ve had at every holiday since I can remember. Just making it makes me think about all the good holidays we shared as kids.
  • Pecan pie: This is also grandma Rugotska’s recipe. YUMMO! This one always reminds me of my dad b/c he is just a big pecan pie fan. Love it. Crust will be from scratch as well… wish me luck!
  • Appetizers for the PACKER game: marble cheese, summer sausage & crackers, french onion dip & pretzels, and cheesy sausage biscuit balls.
  • Dinner rolls: I have to admit, I just bought some Hawaiian sweet rolls… but I think I might also make these. They look just FANTASTICALLY yummy.
  • Bavarian Peach Salad: Jello salads always remind me of my grandparents & this recipe is no exception… once again, this is  grandma Rugotska’s recipe. She actually gave me this one for my bridal shower. We did one of those fun games where you mail the recipe cards out with the invitations to the shower and then they guest bring them back filled in :) This was the recipe grandma chose to include. It’s pretty much a blend of peach jello, peaches, and cool whip which turns into this amazing orange fluffiness when mixed & chilled. YUM! It’s suppose to be made in a jello mold… but I can’t quite bring myself to do a jello mold. So I usually just sick it in a pretty glass bowl. It has the same effect in my personal opinion.

Other people are bringing:

  • Pumpkin pie
  • Apple pie
  • Mashed potatoes
  • Sweet potato casserole
  • Salad

This year we’re skipping:

  • Squash…. I tried to find some acorn squash at the store to no avail. I’m not a huge butternut squash fan… and spaghetti squash isn’t very “thanksgivingish” so I figured I’d pass this year.
  • Green bean casserole… I figured we had enough veggies with the broccoli corn bake, the sweet potatoes, and the salad.

That’s what’s on the slate for this year. We’re really looking forward to celebrating the day with friends tomorrow….and most especially…. we’re looking forward to giving Thanks to the One who made us & saved us.

November 24, 2009

Showered in Blessings

Today is a good day. I feel blessed beyond belief and incredibly thankful for all that I’ve been given in the last 24 hrs.

I spent the morning “cold calling” prisons… yes cold calling prisons. I am doing my dissertation research on prisons and prison “membership”… or “what it means to be a member of a prison.” I already collected my data in Norway & have been waiting patiently to get access to Texas prisons. I got the good news back on Oct 21st that they were giving me access!!! YAY, but it took till last week to get the contact numbers and the true go-ahead to make some calls. So after my week off with the flu (likely the swine variety) I started making calls. It’s a weird thing to cold call prisons… what do you say? “Hi there, I have approval to do research, let me in?” That doesn’t work well. I had to try to kind of explain my situation to the gatekeepers and hope they’d have the wardens call me back.

I was SO blessed to have this awesome warden in a prison near houston call me back. I’m now all set to start my interview in early December.

THEN I was working on some things on the computer and I get this crazy frantic phone call from my good friend Lacy. I can barely understand what she’s saying because she is so exited. Finally the pieces of the puzzle start fitting together & I realize she’s saying “our paper got accepted to comm monographs!” A

All in all ~ one heck of a good day. I have a new research site & a pub for the vita. To God be the Glory.

 

November 20, 2009

Christmas Memories

I’ve now been lying in bed since Sunday. It is FRIDAY. This means that I’ve had a lot of free time on my hands….I had really hoped to make it back to class today, but I can’t seem to put 3 sentences together with out several hacking coughs in the middle. My amazing friend Abby is going to teach for me today (and Dina covered my class on Wed). A big shout out to these ladies for keeping my class on track. I could not have done it with out y’all!

With all the free time,  I’ve been thinking a lot about my favorite holiday memories.

Here’s one of my favorites for you!

When we were little, my family always went to my dad’s side of the family for a (pre) christmas celebration. It was almost always the saturday and sunday 2 weeks before christmas. Those weekends were some of the best memories I have from my childhood. We only lived 30 min away from both sets of my grandparents, but usually only saw them on the holidays. That’s one of the reasons why these memories are so special :)

This particular Christmas we were sitting down to eat dinner out the “breeze way” which is what they liked to call the unheated 4-seasons type room on their home. They always had a space heater in there making it just warm enough :) (although, you could always still see the steam pouring off of the food!) My cousins Dustin & Andy thought it would be a good idea to run their silverware through the candle flame for fun. They would “cut through” the flame with knifes, forks & spoons. Of course, brother Ben did not want to be left out of the fun! SO, he decided to through a napkin on TOP of the flame! BEN!!!!

Clearly it took 2.5 seconds to catch on fire and produce a tall flame. Everyone freaked out & backed away from the table. In my childhood mind, I thought it would be a great idea to get that flame off of the table, b/c who wants to burn the table down…. so I proceeded to throw the flaming napkin on floor.

[Yeah, smart move Brit. You could have thrown a glass of milk on it, but instead, you chose to burn the carpet! :) ]

Luckily Dad rushed over & stomped it out… but there was forever a burn mark in the carpeting right next to the ‘kids’ table! I miss holidays when I was a kid; I miss being together with my whole family. The older you get, the more difficult it becomes to get everyone together on the holidays. Hopefully this year we’ll be able to catch up with a lot of cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents during our trip to WI.

Christmas 2003 with my brother! I miss this guy :)

Pre Christmas Celebration 2004 @ my parents old house. Left to right around the table… My mom’s parents & brother, Steve & I, my dad’s parents RIP

Christmas in Florida with Steve’s family Eric, Tia, Sarah & Sydney 2004…?

Christmas 2005 in our Apartment with Steve’s cousins Ken, Sher, and Steph (left to right)

November 18, 2009

Bored & Sick

Last week was NCA, or the national communication association conference. It was a blast. I got to catch up with old friends & profs and spend time with some of my future colleagues & grad students! I flew into chicago on Wed and had lunch with my good friends Stephanie and Erika. Erika works for Google and we got to eat lunch in the Google Lunchroom… um AMAZING. It was such a cool experience! We had Wild Mushroom Ravioli with Brown Butter and Fried Basil and it was fantastic! I can’t imagine eating lunch there every day… if I was in industry, I would definitely want to work at Google. They have so many great perks. The rest of the trip was spent visiting and conferencing. It was a lot of fun to hang out and catch up with others!

Sunday came around and it was time to head home. Unfortunately, I had started to develop a headache and felt just exhausted. When I got home @ 1:00pm on Sunday, I couldn’t do anything but just take a nap. Since then, it’s just gotten worse. I’ve got a fever, chills, body aches, sore throat, cough etc. I’ve pretty much been home bound since Sunday. Thanks to some good friends, my class is covered for today (and friday if need be). They say you’re contagious for up to 24 hrs after your fever breaks… so as of right now, I’m still contagious. Poor Steve, he’s been sleeping on the couch so as not to get sick.

So now I sit here… bored!!!!! Seriously, I am really sick of just laying around, watching TV, and napping. I’m really ready to be well again. I am, however, very excited for the holidays b/c all that’s on TV are thanksgiving & christmas commercials. I’m hoping to plan a cookie exchange some time in the near future! Anyway, if you feel so incline, say a prayer for my quick recovery!

November 9, 2009

An Amazing Blessing

The last few week have been amazing and frustrating at the same time. I’ve had such amazing news to share but have been unable to share it! So here it is….. drum roll……

I HAVE A JOB AND WE’RE MOVING TO OHIO!!!

Ohio University

I got a call from Ohio University Oct 10th. I thought they were calling to schedule an interview at NCA… nope, they wanted me to come out for a campus visit/interview!!! UM SERIOUSLY? I was incredibly excited for the trip, but also overwhelmed with all that had to be done in a 10 day period!

For those who aren’t in the academy, this next part might be tough to understand… but when you’re “on the market” you really don’t talk about it with other people who are job hunting. It’s easier to just not talk about it. You don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings…AND you don’t want to tell people in the department you have an interview in case you don’t get it (or others have applied for it…)

So, needless to say, I shared with friends ‘outside’ of school, but not that many w/in the department/field. I did get help from some awesome professors and friends who shared their job talks with me and a few others who watched me practice. I am forever indebted to you ladies!!! Thanks SO much!

This is the new union, The Baker Center

*Note… all of these pics are from the Facebook webpage for Ohio University.

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I flew out to Columbus, OH on Oct 21st. The entire trip was truly magical…maybe a better word is blessed! I arrived and had a very nice gentleman (car service) transport me to Athens. It took us a little over an hour to get there. The flight in and driving trip south was unreal. The fall colors were in full force. I can’t remember seeing such beauty during the fall season in a long time. Austin has many wonderful qualities, fall is not one of them! I actually felt badly for the guy next to me on the plane (and for the car transport person) as I couldn’t help but verbally express how beautiful I thought it was outside! I kept exclaiming ~ “Oh my gosh” and “Wow that’s just gorgeous” pretty much the entire trip to Athens!

Needless to say, I’m psyched we’ll be moving to a place that has seasons. [note to self here: remember this statement next winter when you are knee deep in snow, soot, and salt...]

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I arrived in Athens and had a few minutes to freshen up before dinner time. The search committee chair (and the rest of the search committee) met me at the hotel & we headed off to a restaurant called “Stephens”~ how appropriate huh? The food was fantastic; I had pesto salmon. YUM! The search committee was incredibly welcoming and easy to talk to. I really enjoyed dinner and looked forward to the events day 2. When I got back to the hotel that night, I had the most amazing news on my voice mail. I FINALLY got approval to conduct research in the Texas Prison System!! All in God’s perfect timing. He saw fit that I got approval JUST in time to share that news during my job talk the next morning.

The job talk on Day 2 went amazingly well. I was able to have a nice breakfast with several of the faculty members and then headed off to the presentation. People asked questions at the end and they were tough, but fair and interesting. I really loved the collegiality that I was starting to obseve in the department. I spent most of the day meeting with faculty members in small groups (2-4 faculty & myself). Late afternoon the search committee chair took me to one of the community based prison facilities in Nelsonville. It was amazing. Seriously, I kind of slipped in to interviewer mode and just had a blast. I think Scott enjoyed the tour as well. I was able to meet a few of the ‘residents’ of the facility and see the cells and other classrooms etc. I ended the day with a fantastic meal with two wonderful faculty members.

Friday, Day 3, was my final day at OU. It was very laid back and relaxed. I had the most amazing gingerbread french toast (note to self, try to recreate the amazingness of that meal!) and then have a few more meetings with faculty, the dean, and the director. Lunch with one of the amazing ladies in the office and I was off!

View of campus from the air

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I was about 30-45 min out of the city … when the director called and told me that the faculty had met, and they were going to offer me the job!!! I was so excited that I could hardly contain myself :)   such an amazing blessing to know before I even reached the airport that the job offer was in the works.

Needless to say, the whole thing was made official on Monday Nov 2nd and Steve and I are going to be moving our lives to Ohio in a few short months. While it will be incredibly sad to leave the friends and family we’ve made in Austin, we’re very much looking forward new challenges, adventures, and experiences!

I guess all that’s left to say is “Go Bobcats!”

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Too much? :)

November 9, 2009

Bat in the stairwell…

Bats don’t generally freak me out too much. I grew up going up to my cottage every weekend when I was little and there were always bats overhead at night. We’d be walking home from the beach/lake area back to the “directors cabin” and the little guys were always swarming around overhead. My mom swears they used to dive bomb her all the time b/c of her hair spray… She’s not a big fan of bats. But to be honest, they never really scared me that much.

Well, that all changed today. I was walking up the stairwell to UA9 … for those who don’t know… UA9 is the building that my office is in on UT’s campus. It’s a pretty scary sight normally. Bird poop everywhere, random poster boards lying around, Old chalkboards out in the open… REALLY pretty scary/gross. In fact, I will NOT come here at night by myself. It’s just too darn creepy. This used to be an old apartment complex and the building is always creaking in strange ways… you never know….

Anyway! Back to the story. I was walking up the stairs and came up on this fuzzy little thing stuck to the wall just outside the third floor doorway. I lean in a bit for a closer look and UGH!!! It was a BAT! A bitty bat just clinging to the brick wall, sleeping, chilling, right in the middle of the stairwell! I quickly proceeded to keep walking up the stairs (and along the way really freaked out some journalism student). When I arrived at my office, I emailed one of the amazing ladies in the CMS office, Jennifer, and she proceeded to save the day!

This is the email I got back from Jennifer. It was too cute :)

“I have contacted safety and they should be sending someone over…..she said “tell her not to disturb or touch it”…I am thinking….are you insane…you think she is going to say “wake up little bat, come bite me”!”

Needless to say, the bat has now been removed. That was enough excitement for anyone in one day! I guess that’s what I get for living in Austin, bat capital of the world.

Note. we called our cabin the “director’s cottage” b/c the entire peninsula used to be an old YMCA camp and we just kept calling the buildings by their original names when my grandparents bought the place 29 years ago!

November 5, 2009

Pumpkin Pie Fudge

As of Late~ I’m a bit of a “pumpkin addict”. That’s probably obvious based on the last three posts and now we have pumpkin post number FOUR!

PUMPKIN PIE FUDGE! This makes a TON of yummy rich fudge~ so be sure to share! I like giving fudge as gifts around the holiday seasons and this recipe is totally “gift worthy!”

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In other news ~ my SLR is in the shop getting the auto focus fixed. AND NOW my point & shoot is shot :( not working any more. It keeps spitting out this error code and according to internet blogs…it’s not looking good. So… might be pictureless posting for awhile from here on out till the SLR is back in commission. :(

Okay, back to the recipe! I have to confess…that I did not make this on my own. I truly needed Steve’s help in order to successfully complete this batch. I stirred the fudge like a crazy person while Steve monitored the candy thermometer. I should probably also mention we were stirring & watching whilst trying NOT to get seared with hot spattering fudge. Yeah… be sure to use a DEEP sauce pan. We had to use the cover to try to deflect the splattering candy away from our skin & toward the back of the stove. It was a *fun* mess to clean up :) HA! Needless to say, we WON the battle with the fudge & lived to tell about (and share it!)

Here goes!

Adapted from:Confections of a Foodie Bride (adapted from Southern Living)

  • 3 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 2/3 cup evaporated milk (I used the full fat version)
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • 2 Tbsp corn syrup
  • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp ginger
  • 1/4 tsp allspice
  • 9 oz white chocolate chips
  • 7 oz jar marshmallow cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Start by measuring out the chocolate chips, getting the marshmallow cream open with a spatula in it, and the vanilla ready to go with a tsp measure. Spray a 9×13 with Pam spray & set aside. You’ll have to work quickly when you pull the fudge off of the stove, so it’s best to be prepared! :)

Melt butter in a large sauce pan (4 quarts). Add in the sugar, evaporated milk, pumpkin, corn syrup, and spices. Set stove to medium-high heat and stir constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. It will have to be at a pretty steady rolling boil before it will get close to the needed temperature. Continue to cook until the temperature rises to 234F degrees (soft ball stage). I had to turn my stove up to a heat of 8 out of 10 to reach this temp. It probably took around 7-10 minutes of constant stirring until we registered the correct temperature.

Once the temperature is reached, remove the fudge from the heat & immediately add the white chocolate chips, and marshmallow cream, and vanilla. Stir vigorously until the ingredient are well incorporated. (fyi: You might end up with a few white chocolate pieces not completely melted.)

Let stand 2 hours or until completely cool; cut fudge into small squares. I personally like this fudge better day 2. Also it’s good chilled in the fridge. You can also freeze it and save some for later!!

The 9×13 pan makes about 60 small squares (depending on how big you cut them).

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Recipe Notes:

  • You can substitute 2 1/2 tsp of pumpkin spice in place of the other spices in this recipe. I just didn’t have any on hand!
  • Be sure to use a deep sauce pan~ maybe 4 quarts to avoid splattering
  • Try to be careful with the candy thermometer… don’t get fudge over the numbers like we did!! Also, make sure the thermometer stays in the fudge but does not touch the bottom of the pan.
  • It’s probably best to have two hands during the cooking portion of this process!

November 1, 2009

Pumpkin Pie Bars with White Chocolate & Cinnamon Chips

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Fall is such an awesome season~ and I’ve definitely missed it living in ATX. It’s just never really “fall” here… the leaves don’t really change… I guess the air feels crisp, but only occasionally :) That said, when October rolls around, I always BAKE with “fall flavors” in an effort to make it feel more like fall! Pumpkin is just one of those ingredients that puts me in the fall/holiday spirit!! You’ve probably noticed that I’m pretty pumpkin obsessed as of late between banana pumpkin bread & pumpkin cookies… so here’s another fall treat for you! These little guys are just awesome. If you like pumpkin pie, you’ll definitely like these sweet treats!

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OH, and my SLR is in the shop :( auto focus wasn’t working… bleh. So these pictures are from my regular old point & shoot. Sorry if the quality isn’t great!

Crust & Topping:

  • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 12 tbsp. cold unsalted butter
  • 1 cup old-fashioned oats
  • ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts, finely chopped in a food processor

Topping only:

  • handful of cinnamon chips (approx 1/4 c.)
  • handful of white chocolate chips(approx 1/4 c.)

Filling:

  • 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
  • 1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice (I used 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp all spice instead)
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

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Directions:
Heat oven to 350° F.  Spray a 9×13 pan with Pam cooking spray. Dust pan with flour and tap out excess.  Combine the flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar in a  bowl.  Incorporate the chilled butter using a pastry blender or two knifes until the mixture is crumbly.   Stir in the oats and chopped pecans.

Reserve 1 cup of the crust mixture and set aside.  Press the rest of the mixture evenly into the bottom of your greased & floured pan.  Bake the crust alone in the oven for 15 minutes.

For the filling, use a hand or stand mixer to combine the (room temperature) cream cheese & sugar until well incorporated. Add in eggs one at a time. Finally beat in the pumpkin puree, spices and vanilla. Mix on medium speed until smooth and well combined.

Pour the filling over the baked crust & spread in an even layer.  Sprinkle with the reserved crumbs  and white chocolate & cinnamon chips.  Bake for 25 minutes, remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.  I prefer to cool completely & then chill. But, I like my pumpkin pie cold :) These were just devoured by our friends at bible study this week~ hope you enjoy!

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Source: adapted from Annie’s Eats, adapted from Joy the Baker, originally from Kraft :) Whew, how’s that for credit!

October 30, 2009

Pumpkin “cookies” with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Danger. Do not read on if you are on a diet. These puppies are addicting! :)

Thanks to my good friend Jen for passing along this fantastic ~ “go to” recipe.

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One of my favorite things in the world is cooking/baking/entertaining. I know for a lot of people, “hosting” is a stressful process. For me it’s invigorating! I love it. It’s a break from life… sometimes from the reality of stress & pressure that plague my days :) Ah the joys of graduate school! These pumpkin cookies are some of my favorites!! The cinnamon cream cheese frosting is just to die for…. hope you enjoy!

Original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients
3  tablespoons  unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3  cup  brown sugar
1/4  cup  granulated sugar
1/2  cup  canned pumpkin puree
1/2  teaspoon  pure vanilla extract
1  large egg
1  cup  all-purpose flour
1/2  teaspoon  baking powder
1/4  teaspoon  baking soda
1/2  teaspoon  pumpkin pie spice (used ¼ cloves, ¼ nutmeg)
1/4  teaspoon  kosher salt
1 package cream cheese
½ package of powdered sugar (1.5 lbs?)

Preparation

Heat oven to 375° F.

Beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until smooth. Add the pumpkin, vanilla, and egg and beat until combined. 

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a medium bowl. Slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar and butter and beat on medium-low speed until fully incorporated. Spoon heaping tablespoons of the mixture 2 inches apart onto parchment- or foil-lined baking sheets. Bake until puffed and cooked through, about 10 minutes (first batch on an aluminum pan = 11-12 min, dark pan 10 min~ subsequent batches, a little less time). Let cool for 5 minutes.

Frosting
Clean the mixer, then, as the cookies bake, beat the cream cheese, & sugar. I add in 1 tsp vanilla, 2 tbsp milk, and almost 1 tbsp cinnamon. Spread the flat sides of half the cooled cookies with the cream mixture. This frosting can be used for 3xs the amount in this recipe… or use it frost a spice cake! YUM!
NOTES:

  • Frosting batch is HUGE. Way too large for the number of cookies. Especially if you don’t double or triple the recipe.
  • 1 can of pumpkin = approx 3 batches. I doubled the batch the first time, then put the remaining pumpkin in fridge and make the rest a week later.
  • Calories with cream cheese frosting: 100 cal per cookie (not sandwiches) & 4 g of fat
  • These have a very “cake like” texture to them. I personally prefer them either on day one, OR chilled day 2. They don’t last must past day 2 or 3 at the very most… If serving to guests, be sure to bake, cool & frost on the same day as serving.

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October 28, 2009

Savory Bacon & Cheese Quiche

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Ah yum. Yeah, that’s what this dish made me say, outloud :) Seriously, I feel like I’ve been in a bit of a cooking slump lately. I tried to make a pan seared chicken last night… and it was just okay. I mean, edible, but nothing to try to replicate! (or take pictures of for that matter!!) So today I was bound & determined to cook Steve a yummy meal! I had purchased some pie crusts awhile back, but hadn’t gotten around to using them yet (no, I didn’t make them from scratch this time). Tonight was the perfect opportunity.

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I thought I was going to have to use milk in this quiche b/c I didn’t have cream & then magically I found some half & half in the fridge!!! YAY!!! I avoided the possibility of “soggy” quiche. I looked at probably 10 recipes before deciding to include the ingredients below. It was kind of a combo of a bunch of different recipes~ so I was amazed when it worked out so well! I hope you enjoy :)

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Ingredients

  • 1 pre-bought pie crust
  • 4 eggs +1 yolk
  • 1 ½ c. half & half
  • 1 egg white
  • 2 c. shredded motz cheese (freshly shredded)
  • 5 chopped green onions
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • olive oil
  • 25 (small pre-cooked bacon) or 10 large pieces of regular bacon cooked till crispy. Crumble
  • dash nutmeg
  • salt
  • pepper

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Spray pie plate with Pam cooking spray. Dust pie plate with flour. Set pie crust in pie pan to take the chill off 15 min. While crust is coming to room temp, shred cheese. Dice onions & garlic and sauté in a pan till tender. Cook bacon till crispy & crumble. Combine the cheese, cooled onions, garlic, & bacon.

Brush the bottom & sides of the pie crust with egg white. Put cheese mixture in bottom of pie plate. Combine eggs (and extra yolk), half & half, and seasonings. Pour over crust. Cover outer edges of crust with foil & bake at 400 for 20 min. Remove foil. Bake for another 20-25 min until the quiche is brown & bubbly and center is set.

When the quiche is done, it will not “wiggle” any more ☺ Let sit five mins before cutting & serving. AMAZING!

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I couldn’t stop myself so I went back for a second piece. Probably not the smartest decision b/c I AM STUFFED. But oh so good!!! Hope you enjoy!