Spinach Bacon Quiche

I've always loved quiche. Growing up my Mom always made Quiche Lorainne, which is great, but I usually make something a little bit jazzier. Tonight I found my recipe on allrecipes.com. I'll put my substitutions in parenthesis after the actual ingredients in the recipe:

Ingredients

• 4 eggs (I used 2/3 cup of All Whites)
  
• 2 cups milk (I used evaporated skim milk)
  
• 1 1/4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided (I used swiss)
  
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled (I used 5- never too much bacon!)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, cooked and drained(I used fresh)
  
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pastry shell

Directions

1. In a large bowl, beat eggs; whisk in milk, 1 cup cheese, onion, bacon, salt, mustard and paprika. Add spinach. Pour into pie shell. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake at 400 degrees F for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted halfway between the center and the edge comes out clean.

The next time I make this quiche I will definitely dry to squeeze as much liquid as I can out of the spinach, as the quiche was a little bit soggy. I might also decrease the milk b/c I couldn't fit all of the liquid in the pie shell. Otherwise, the flavor was great. Since it was just me and the kids, I served it with steamed rice and corn, to ensure they'd eat something. Both of them did try some of the quiche!

German Apple Pancake

I know it's been too long since I blogged on here when I have to look back at my pics to see what I cooked...and then SEARCH for the recipe. I don't remember what I served this with!! I was super excited to get to cook with my cast iron pan, which I've only used when we went camping (once). The recipe is from allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 large tart apple - peeled, cored and sliced

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, blend eggs, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Gradually mix in milk, stirring constantly. Add vanilla, melted butter and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Let batter stand for 30 minutes or overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
3. Melt butter in a 10 inch oven proof skillet, brushing butter up on the sides of the pan. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Sprinkle mixture over the butter. Line the pan with apple slices. Sprinkle remaining sugar over apples. Place pan over medium-high heat until the mixture bubbles, then gently pour the batter mixture over the apples.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and bake for 10 minutes. Slide pancake onto serving platter and cut into wedges.

So, I'm not really sure what I expected this to taste like, but I was pleasantly surprised. That said, I don't think I'll be making it for guests, unless they've had it before, and liked it. It tasted like an apple custard...reminded me of the Jello "American" custard that you can buy in the little box. My mom used to make it and sprinkle it with nutmeg, so it was kind of nostalgic. I loved how it puffed up in the pan!