Potato Crust Quiche

I spend way too much time cruising around Facebook. One of the sites I really like is Tasty.  It has a lot of recipes that look....well....tasty!  I recently found a quiche recipe that works for breakfast OR dinner.  It has thinly sliced potato slices instead of a crust.  As usual, I made a few minor changes to suit me.

  

Potato Crust Quiche

1 pound Russet potatoes, I used two medium
olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper, divided
1 1/2 Tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese  I had a three cheese blend that I used
5 eggs
1 cup milk
1 Roma tomato, seeded and diced
2 green onions, thinly sliced. about 1/4 cup
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled.  I used the pre-cooked bacon
1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded

  

Heat the oven to 400º.  Spray a pie plate with Pam.

  

Wash and peel the potatoes.  Thinly slice them.  This would be a good time to use a mandoline slicer, but I was too lazy to put it together and then clean it.  So I tried to cut the potatoes very thin and uniformly.

  

Place the slices in a large bowl and drizzle them with a olive oil, about 3 Tablespoons.  Add 1 teaspoon of the garlic salt, 1/4 teaspoon of the ground pepper, and the shredded Parmesan.  Mix gently so that the potato slices are covered.

  

Put one slice in the middle of the prepared pie plate.  Then work your way around in a spiral with the slices overlapping.  Overlap slices all around the edge of the pie plate.

  

Bake for 15 minutes.  The potatoes should be cooked, but not browned.  Remove from the oven.

While the potatoes are cooking, cook the bacon, whip the eggs and milk. I used the same bowl that had held the potatoes.  I did give it a quick wipe with a paper towel.

  

Add the rest of the garlic salt , pepper, green onion slices, diced tomatoes and the cheddar cheese to the egg mixture.  Crumble the bacon and add that.  Carefully pour the egg mixture into the pie plate. If the potato slices try to float to the top, push them back down.

  

Bake for 25 minutes or until the eggs are set and the edges of the potatoes start to brown.

  

Remove and let sit for a few minutes. Then slice and serve warm.  I served it with orange slices.

  

I like quiche and I like to have different recipes to try. This one has Cheddar cheese and it was very good.  I may try it with Swiss cheese the next time.

Portland

Haven't written anything for a while as I was visiting my niece in Portland.  The Portland in Oregon .  I took my iPad, but no matter what anybody tells me, I can't use it to write on my blog.  Or the ways are too complicated for my wee brain.  So I took a break!

Portland is a foodie paradise!  But Natalie's girls have some allergies, so we spent a lot of time finding gluten free, egg free, dairy free, soy free, corn free things they could eat.  Not easy, but WAY easier in Portland than it would be here in Roanoke.  We found a few recipes to make for kids, by kids and are talking about making a YouTube channel for the girls, starring the girls as chefs.  They like to cook and are VERY smart and cute, so I think it will be fun!  They are coming to visit this summer, so we will try to do something then.
 

Natalie and her girls visiting with my girls.  COUSINS!

The Cooking Channel has a show called Unique Sweets and they have a lot of places in Portland.  We tried Kyra's Bake Shop where EVERYTHING is gluten free.  You can't taste any difference from gluten costly...er, expensive?   Full 'o gluten?  It was so successful that Natalie took the girls there for a treat after I left.

Natalie took me to Powell's Books.  Here is the Yelp link.  They have more than one store, but the one she took me to is an entire city block. At least two floors.  Might have been more but we had already fed the parking meter.  TWICE!

It had new and used books all mixed together.  The staff is knowledgeable and there is also a café.  The main store has over a million books.  Plus gifts and maps and it is fabulous.  I grew up going to Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, so I KNOW fabulous bookstores.  Powell's is a fabulous bookstore!  Natalie and I bought a lot of books, but I had to leave before I was ready.  Only had one suitcase.

Frittata Muffins

Well, they are not REALLY muffins.  There is no flour in them.  But I cooked them in a muffin tin to make little personal sized frittatas.  They were good and you might like to try them for a crowd.  Or for multiple meals for you and a friend.

Frittata Muffins

8 large eggs
1/4 cup half and half
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound sausage of choice.  I used sweet Italian
1/2 cup diced onion
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
4 or 5 baby potatoes, diced small
2 Tablespoons olive oil.  I used Tuscan Herb flavor
7 to 10 basil leaves, to taste
4 ounces Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Pre heat the oven to 425°.

These will stick.  Spray the heck out of a non-stick muffin pan and remove the muffins after cooling a few minutes.  Don't leave the ones you aren't eating right away in the pan.  You will be sorry.  Don't ask me how I know this.  Set the pan aside.

You can change up the fillings.  I had some sausage left over from making pizza and I used that.  Bacon or even vegetarian would work.

 

Cook the potatoes and the onion in a few Tablespoons of olive oil. The small dice means they will cook in the same amount of time as the sausage.  Then add the garlic and cook for one minute.  If you cook it the whole time you cook the potatoes and the onion, the garlic will get bitter. 

 

Brown the sausage in another pan.  When the minced sausage is no longer pink, drain the grease and add it to the potato mixture.  Remove from the heat and set aside to cool a little.

 

Whisk the eggs, half and half and the s&p in a bowl. 

 

Shred the cheese on a paper towel.  This makes it easy to transport it and the clean up is easy, too.

 

Wash the basil leaves and dry them.  Make a stack of the leaves.  Roll them up like a cigar and cut thin slices.  This is called chiffonade and now you are a French chef.  If the thin strips are too long, because you had large basil leaves, make one cut down the middle of the slices.

 

By now the meat will have cooled sufficiently to add the basil and the cheese.  Spoon the meat mixture into the prepared muffin tin.  Gently ladle the egg mixture on top.  Do not over fill. They will puff up a bit and then, as they cool, they will collapse.

 

Cook for 9 to 11 minutes.  Cool for 10 minutes, then use a plastic knife to loosen them and serve warm.

Candy Bar Pizza

I haven't done a recipe in awhile, so here is one. Tara has a gluten allergy, so I will do one for her. Unless oatmeal is one of the things you are allergic to, this should be OK.

Candy Bar Pizza

Crust

2 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
2 TBL butter, melted
2 TBL chunky peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the oats, brown sugar and corn syrup in a medium bowl...I used a stand mixer. Add the butter, peanut butter and vanilla and mix well. Divide the mixture in half and press into two 9 inch cake pans that you have sprayed with Pam. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. It will be kind of puffy and flatten out when you cool it for 10 minutes in the pan.




(Hint: I used the side of a spatula to press it into the pan and then when it was cool I used the same spatula to make an indentation around the inside of the crust so there was a slightly raised edge around the pizza to hold the rest of the ingredients.)

Filling

26 caramels
2 TBL water
1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup chunky peanut butter
2 tsp shortening (I used Crisco)
1/2 cup salted peanuts




This is the most time consuming part. Unwrapping all those caramels! OK. Take one for yourself. Put the unwrapped caramels in a medium bowl and microwave for around 2 minutes. Stir after one minute and watch closely so you don't burn them. If you do, you still have enough left in the bag....unless you ate too many while you were unwrapping! I said ONE. Stir the caramels until they are smooth and drizzle all over the pizza. You may have to spread it a bit with the spatula. Then melt the chocolate chips in another medium bowl. (I know! A lot of dishes to wash!) Stir the chocolate after 1 minute and then microwave in 30 second increments. Stir and see if they are all melted. Add the peanut butter and shortening, stir until blended. Add the peanuts, stir and then spread carefully over the caramel layers.




Chill for 30 minutes before serving.




It worked best for me to keep it in the fridge. It is roastingly hot and humid here, so that may have something to do with it. The caramel tends to ooze out if you leave it on the counter. Pop it out of the pan and cut it with a large knife or a large pizza wheel. It will take a bit of muscle, but totally worth it! I plan on keeping it in the fridge.