Martha has this recipe in November Living as a breakfast idea, but I like to serve quiche for dinner with a salad. I was excited about this because Swiss chard and mushrooms are high up on my list.

I started with a store bought pie crust (sorry Martha) and cut the recipe in half to make it in a pie pan instead of on a baking sheet as the recipe says. Here are the proportions I used:
1 1/2 tbsp butter
1/2 lb baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
6 oz Swiss chard, stems removed washed and coarsely chopped
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups half and half
1 1/4 cups shredded white cheddar

I baked my pie crust ahead, but wish I hadn’t since it got too brown, so I would say skip that. Melt half the butter in a skillet and cook mushrooms until tender about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and remove. Then add the rest of the butter and cook the garlic about 1 minute. Add chard and salt and pepper. Cook covered, stirring occasionally, for 6 minutes. Raise the heat and cook off the liquid. Mix with mushrooms. Whisk eggs and half and half with salt. Sprinkle half the cheese on the bottom of the pie crust, then top with the vegetables and the rest of the cheese. Pour egg mixture over it. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

The result? Blech!!! Horrible. There’s too much half and half in this. It was practically white inside and tasted like flavorless cottage cheese. I did not care for it at all. I picked the veggies out and ate those and crust. The leftovers went in the trash. Really, really bad.

Martha has this recipe in November Living as a breakfast idea, but I like to serve quiche for dinner with a salad. I was excited about this because Swiss chard and mushrooms are high up on my list. I started with a store bought pie crust (sorry Martha) and cut the recipe in half to … Read more →

This looked like a fun recipe from Food Network Magazine (and funnily enough, there’s also one in Everyday Food this month, but the FN one just looked better to me). This is super, super simple yet full of flavor and is a totally nontraditional Asian dish that you will love. I’ve tweaked the original recipe a bit to fit my needs, but didn’t have to do too much to it.

1 slice whole wheat bread

1 1/2 tbsp milk

1 tsp soy sauce

1 lb ground turkey

1/2 can water chestnuts, chopped

3 scallions, with white chopped and green cut into 3 inch long thin pieces

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 egg

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

1 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil

salt and pepper

1/2 cup hoisin sauce

1/2 cup mayo

2 tbsp lemon juice

4 individual sub rolls

Rip the bread into small pieces and pour milk and soy sauce over it. Meanwhile, mix the turkey with the scallion whites, garlic, ginger, water chestnuts, cilantro, 1 tsp sesame oil, salt and pepper. Then mix in the bread. Add some breadcrumbs if mixture is too wet to form into meatballs. Form into medium sized meatballs. Bake meatballs at 350 for 15 minutes.

Mix mayo, hoisin, lemon juice, and remaining 1/2 tsp sesame oil and spread on toasted sub rolls. Place meatballs on rolls and top with thinly sliced scallions.

This looked like a fun recipe from Food Network Magazine (and funnily enough, there’s also one in Everyday Food this month, but the FN one just looked better to me). This is super, super simple yet full of flavor and is a totally nontraditional Asian dish that you will love. I’ve tweaked the original recipe … Read more →

I was inspired by Lucinda Scala Quinn’s stuffed shells on Mad Hungry recently and wanted to try a version of her recipe. She uses prosciutto in hers, which intrigued me. I could only find large shells, not XL which was a bummer, but I made do. I also did not use radicchio since I don’t care for it. Instead I substituted spinach. I used jarred tomato sauce and cottage cheese instead of ricotta (what a cheat I am). I like some sauce on top of my shells so I poured some over the top before baking.

This was good, but I don’t think I would use the prosciutto again. It was interesting, but was kind of a smoky taste that I didn’t feel really went with the dish. I do like stuffed shells and I wish I could find the XL ones because stuffing all those little shells took me FOREVER!

I was inspired by Lucinda Scala Quinn’s stuffed shells on Mad Hungry recently and wanted to try a version of her recipe. She uses prosciutto in hers, which intrigued me. I could only find large shells, not XL which was a bummer, but I made do. I also did not use radicchio since I don’t … Read more →

Sarah at Mum in Bloom has chosen cold remedies for the next project.  I’m looking forward to trying these., but I hope I don’t really need them any time soon!

Sarah at Mum in Bloom has chosen cold remedies for the next project.  I’m looking forward to trying these., but I hope I don’t really need them any time soon!

Thanks to SteakAndPotatoesGirl for choosing Guacamoldy with Creature Chips for this week’s project. I made this on Halloween for lunch. Cutting out tortillas with cookie cutters was a great idea, but they just aren’t the same as tortilla chips! I also have to admit I totally cheated on the guacamole. I thought the recipe seemed kind of bare. So I doctored it immensely so that it resembled the way I usually make guacamole. I used 2 avocadoes, 1 cup salsa and 1 cup a mix of sour cream and plain yogurt. I added a few tablespoons of fresh cilantro, poured in a tablespoon or two of the juice from a jar of jalapenos, and a few tablespoons of lemon juice. It was great. It doesn’t turn out very green, but everyone here likes it this way, so that’s the direction I went. It was a nice Halloween treat for us.

Thanks to SteakAndPotatoesGirl for choosing Guacamoldy with Creature Chips for this week’s project. I made this on Halloween for lunch. Cutting out tortillas with cookie cutters was a great idea, but they just aren’t the same as tortilla chips! I also have to admit I totally cheated on the guacamole. I thought the recipe seemed … Read more →

Congratulations Joni Taylor, you’ve won the Martha Stewart Scrapbook. I’ll contact you via email with details. Thanks to all who entered!

Congratulations Joni Taylor, you’ve won the Martha Stewart Scrapbook. I’ll contact you via email with details. Thanks to all who entered!

I’ve been looking at the cookbook: The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook, 2nd edition. I got it from the library. I totally love the idea of this cookbook – they’ve tested many recipes to find the very best recipe for everything they include. I’m going to be making several things from this, but so far the best thing I’ve made was Baked Ziti. I know this is considered a staple for many Italians, but it’s not really something I’ve had very often, except at big banquets, where it is inevitably bad (mushy pasta and bland sauce) The recipes in this book start out with a description of the problems they see with regular preparations of the dishes and the various things they tried to remedy them. This explanation mentioned the mushy pasta and bland sauce complaints, so I was drawn in. And I HATE ricotta cheese, but this used cottage cheese. It sounded really good though, so I gave it a try.

Amazing. Out of this world, insanely good. I thought it was going to be very tomato-y but somehow the sauce gets absorbed or mixed in with the creamy/cheesy sauce. We nearly came to blows over the leftovers. Don’t tell anyone, but when I made this I separated it into two pans and froze one, so we’ll be having it again (no one in the family knows there is another pan of it in the freezer or they would demand I heat it up NOW).

This recipe gets HUGE points from me and I can see why it made it into the book. The only changes I made were that I used whole wheat penne instead of ziti and I ended up adding more sugar than the recipe says since I like my tomato sauce to be sweet. And I used dried basil.

1 lb whole milk or 1% cottage cheese

2 large eggs, beaten

3 oz Parmesan cheese, grated

salt

1 lb ziti

2 tbsp olive oil

5 medium garlic cloves, minced

1 28-oz can tomato sauce

1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes

1 tsp oregano

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil

1 tsp sugar

pepper

3/4 tsp cornstarch

1 cup heavy cream

8 oz while milk mozzarella, cubed

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk cottage cheese, eggs, and 1 cup of Parmesan in a bowl. Cook the pasta with salt, about 5-7 minutes until it begins to soften.

Heat oil and garlic in a skillet over medium heat until the garlic is fragrant, 2 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and oregano. Simmer until thickened about 10 min. Then stir in 1/2 cup of basil and sugar, season with salt and pepper.

Mix cornstarch and heavy cream and cook over medium heat until thick, 3-4 min. Remove from heat and add cottage cheese mix to it with 1 cup of tomato sauce and 3/4 cup of the mozzarella. Add the pasta and stir.

Pour the pasta into a 13 x 9 dish and spread the rest of the tomato sauce on top. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella and Parmesan on top. Cover with foil and bake 30 min. Remove foil and bake another 30 min. Cool for 20 min. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tbsp basil.

I loved this and so did everyone in this house. Truly a fantastic recipe.

I’ve been looking at the cookbook: The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook, 2nd edition. I got it from the library. I totally love the idea of this cookbook – they’ve tested many recipes to find the very best recipe for everything they include. I’m going to be making several things from this, but … Read more →

Every once in a while I will decide to have a Chinese night. I often make potstickers, stir fried vegetables, egg drop soup, or some kind of lo mein. But no matter what, I always make fried rice. What I love about it is that it is a recipe you can adjust to what you have in the fridge.

I start by steaming two cups of brown rice in my steamer. I cook two scrambled eggs in a deep skillet and then set the eggs aside. In a little oil, I quickly cook a couple of garlic cloves and about 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger. Then I add the rice. I usually add about 1/4 cup of oil and 1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari and cook it for about 10 minutes, stirring once in a while, so some of the rice gets a little crunchy and it all gets an opportunity to become less sticky.

Next I add veggies. You can add anything you want. I always like to use bean sprouts and some chopped napa cabbage or bok choy. Broccoli crowns, diced carrot, frozen peas, mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, or just about anything else you have hanging around works well. I usually saute things like broccoli, carrots or zucchini enough to soften them, before adding tem because they take much longer to cook in the rice. Sometimes I add a few teaspoons of hoisin, stir fry sauce, or sesame oil to give it a different taste. I add the eggs back in at the very end.

My kids love this and it tastes so much better, and has so many more veggies in it than take out.

Every once in a while I will decide to have a Chinese night. I often make potstickers, stir fried vegetables, egg drop soup, or some kind of lo mein. But no matter what, I always make fried rice. What I love about it is that it is a recipe you can adjust to what you … Read more →

French onion soup is one of my favorite things to order when we eat out because it’s something I just never make at home. Well, that is no longer a problem because I’ve hit upon a great recipe for it. It’s adapted from one I tore out of Health Magazine.

4 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

3 large sweet onions, peeled and thinly sliced

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp flour

1/3 cup sherry

8 cups beef broth

1/4 tsp pepper

2 tsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp thyme

4-8 pieces of whole wheat or whole grain bread

4-8 slices Swiss cheese

Heat 1 tbsp butter and olive oil in a large skillet and add the onions and 1/4 tsp of the salt. Cover and cook for five minutes over medium high. Uncover, add1 tsp sugar, and cook, stirring often for about half an hour, until the onions are a light brown or golden color. Add flour and reduce heat to low. Stir for about one minute. Add sherry and cook until reduced, about a minute. Transfer to a large pot and add remaining 1 tsp sugar, remaining 1/4 tsp salt, pepper, beef broth, soy sauce, remaining 3 tbsp butter, and thyme. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for about half an hour or until onions are completely tender. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper as needed.

Toast bread, then melt the cheese on it under a broiler. Place bread in bowl and ladle soup over it.

The key is using sweet onions and being patient. This isn’t a quick thing to whip up, but there’s nothing hard about it either. You just need time to wait for things to cook.

This was velvety, smooth, sweet and very flavorful. The sherry brought in some nice flavor and the onions were soft and melted in your mouth. I like to melt the cheese right on the bread because it’s less messy to eat. My only regret is that I did not double this recipe because I wanted to freeze some, but there just wasn’t any left.

French onion soup is one of my favorite things to order when we eat out because it’s something I just never make at home. Well, that is no longer a problem because I’ve hit upon a great recipe for it. It’s adapted from one I tore out of Health Magazine. 4 tbsp butter 1 tbsp … Read more →

I recently posted my list of Martha’s best recipes. I have done some Martha crafts (more in the first year of the blog, but I still do some from time to time). I’m not a big crafter and so I didn’t think I would have any craft greatest hits, but in looking back through the blog, there were a couple that really stood out for me as being beautiful and easy to do, so I want to share the craft version of Martha’s Greatest Hits with you!

Map Coasters I still love the concept of this

Scarf Dyed Eggs Possibly the best craft EVER

Nut Wreath I still get a lot of comments on this post from last fall. The wreath hangs in my kitchen in fall and is gorgeous!

Glitter Eggs As frustrating as they were to make, they did turn out pretty well and are very impressive looking.

Fish Print This was one of my more controversial posts. The prints I made hang at the family lake house and are gorgeous.

Do you have any favorite Martha crafts?

I recently posted my list of Martha’s best recipes. I have done some Martha crafts (more in the first year of the blog, but I still do some from time to time). I’m not a big crafter and so I didn’t think I would have any craft greatest hits, but in looking back through the … Read more →