Sausage Crust Veggie Quiche

Alex and I made this for dinner one night; it was delicious. Quiches are a great way to use leftover veggies in your fridge. Good veggies to use include: spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, peppers, kale*, swiss chard*, other dark leafy greens (not lettuce), zucchini, yellow squash, asparagus, eggplant, broccoli, etc. You could put other meats in here as well like bacon, diced ham, chicken, or turkey. You don't have to do the sausage crust if you don't want to. It's a very flexible recipe.

*Please don't use these unless you actually like them.

Sausage Crust Veggie Quiche

Ingredients

8 oz. baby bella or white mushrooms, washed and diced

~5 oz. sundried Tomatoes, jarred

~11 oz. fresh or frozen spinach (thawed and drained)

8 oz. shredded cheese (pretty much any kind: cheddar, american, muenster, swiss, colby jack, pepper jack)

1 roll (16 oz.) breakfast sausage, any kind/flavor

6 eggs

1 c. heavy whipping cream

Herbs! Parsley, sage, chives if you want (~ Tbsp. each)

Salt and peppah to taste :) (~1 tsp each?)

1 Tbsp. minced garlic OR 1 tsp. powdered garlic

1 tsp. onion powder if not adding fresh onions

bit of butter for the veggies

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a large casserole dish. Press raw sausage into dish so that it's flat on the bottom. If there's enough to press it against the sides of your dish, feel free to. Bake until brown. If there's still a bit of pink, that's fine because it's going to be baked again! 

2. While the sausage is cooking, throw together your veggies and butter into a saute pan (except delicate stuff like fresh leafy greens) and cook until soft. Add in salt, pepper, herbs, onion powder, and garlic. Add in delicate leafy greens if you're using them and cook a bit until wilted. 

3. In a bowl, whisk together eggs and cream. Add most of the cheese to the egg/cream bowl and mix. 

4. Remove sausage crust from oven if you haven't already and spread veggies into the crust. Pour over egg/cream/cheese mixture and mix carefully so you don't tear up the sausage. 

5. Sprinkle over last bit of cheese. Bake until mostly firm. Allow to cool slightly. Serve with berries if you want. Enjoy! 

P.S. You could also do this in muffin cups or ramekins. Cook the sausage on the stove top, crumbling it up, and add it to the veggie mixture. Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cups OR use silicone cups/greased ramekins on a baking sheet. Add veggie/meat mixture evenly to all cups and then pour over egg/cream/cheese mixture and stir carefully. Bake until just slightly jiggly, so likely not as long as the big casserole dish.

Carbquik Brownies

These cakey brownies with fudge on top make the world go 'round. This recipe is from the carbquik site, but I've tweaked it a bit.

Cakey Brownies with Fudge Frosting

Ingredients:
Brownie:

3/4 stick butter
4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
2 cups Splenda
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup Carbquik
8 drops liquid Splenda (sucralose)

Chocolate Frosting:

2 tablespoons butter
2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, cut into pieces
2 cups powdered Splenda
2 to 3 tablespoons hot water (or enough to make the consistency fudgy-icing like)
Note: To make powdered Splenda, add the Splenda to a food processor and pulse till very fine.

Instructions:
Brownie:
1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease bottom and sides of square pan, 9x9x2 (or similar) inches.
2. Melt chocolate in the microwave, stopping and stirring every 30 seconds or so. Add butter near the end, when the chocolate is nearly all melted.
3. Add Splenda to chocolate and blend well till smooth.
4. Beat vanilla and eggs in medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed 5 minutes. Beat in chocolate mixture on low speed.
5. Beat in carbquik just until blended. Add in liquid Splenda and stir well. Spread in pan.
6. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or just until brownies spring back in the middle and begin to pull away from sides of pan.
7. Make frosting while they cook.
8. Spread with Chocolate Frosting. Allow to cool. Cut into slices.

Chocolate Frosting:

1. Melt chocolate in microwave till nearly melted. Add butter and finish melting.
2. Stir in Splenda and stir till smooth; add hot water as needed to form a smooth frosting.


This recipe contributed by: Chef Gregory Pryor

Comfort Food: Mini Beef Pies

I made these adorable and delicious little pies twice- once with zucchini and once with mirepoix. I really loved the mirepoix as it tastes like authentic English cooking to me, but you could add lots of different veggies if you want. My family loved this recipe. The pies are super cute, and quite filling. You could add zucchini or yellow squash to this recipe if you want.

Mini Beef Pies

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 white or yellow onion
2 carrots
2 stalks of celery
3 Tbsp. butter
2 c. Carbquik
2/3 c. water (or enough to make the dough...doughy)
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
8 8oz. oven-safe ramekins
3/4 c. heavy cream
savory herb blend (sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley, black pepper, salt)
(1 Tbsp.) minced or fresh garlic (or 1 tsp. powder)

Preheat oven to 350 F.
1. Brown beef in a skillet. Add in some savory blend. Set aside. Do not drain pan.
2. Dice the veggies into small chunks or use a food processor. Melt the 3 tbsp. of butter in the pan. Add some more savory blend. Add veggies, saute until soft and onions are translucent.
3. While the veggies cook, mix up the biscuit mix (2 c. Carbquik + 2/3 c. water).
4. When the veggies are done, add the beef back in. Add the cream. Combine.
5. Place ramekins on a baking sheet. Grease with some spray. Spoon meat and veggie mixture into ramekins. Divide biscuit dough into 8 equal parts. Flatten into disks with your hands. Place dough over meat and veggies mixture.
6. Bake until biscuits are golden and fluffy. Remove from oven. Brush tops with 2 tbsp. butter. Serve.