Fresh Tomato and Basil Quiche

This dish is perfect for summer time as it uses fresh basil and tomatoes ... both abundant and delicious during the summer season. Do this dish justice and only make it when tomatoes are in season. It is just wrong to buy tomatoes in winter when they are hard, pale and tasteless!

I want to post this recipe now as our local farmers market is having a tomato festival this weekend!

Fresh Tomato and Basil Quiche (adapted from Cooking Light)

1 frozen/ refrigerated roll out style pie crust thawed
olive oil
1 cup sliced onion (I halved my onion then sliced)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup sliced tomato (I mixed cherry and traditional tomato on my quiche)
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil
1 cup 2% milk
1 1/2 TBS flour
salt and pepper to taste
3 large eggs, beaten

1. Unroll pie crust and carefully place in quiche pan. Par bake at 400 degrees about 10 minutes. Poke a few holes in the crust before placing in oven.
2. Add a bit of olive oil to a non-stick skillet. Heat over medium-high until hot. Add onion and garlic, saute 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Spread onion mixture in bottom of the prepared crust.
3. Sprinkle cheese over the onion and arrange tomato slices over the cheese. Top with basil.
4. Whisk milk and flour together. Add to beaten eggs and whisk a bit more. Pour over tomatoes. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 - 45 minutes until golden and knife inserted near center of quiche comes out clean.

Serve with a fresh summer salad! Yum!

Arugula pizza with ricotta cheese and poached eggs

Here is a lovely way to make pizza without the usual red sauce. This is perfect for a busy day kind of meal as it can be prepared quickly. I used Trad.er Joe.s pizza dough but you can opt for an even quicker roll out crust such as Pills.bury if you like.

Arugula pizza with ricotta and poached eggs

1 bag refrigerated pizza dough (if TJ's is used, be sure to divide it in two and allow to sit at room temp 30 minute before using)

16 oz container part-skim ricotta cheese

1/2 cup shaved fresh Romano cheese, divided

1 TBS white wine vinegar

6 large eggs

2 cups or so arugula

4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp grated fresh lemon rind

1/2 TBS fresh lemon juice

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425

2. Work pizza dough into a thin flat circle by rolling out on a floured work surface

3. Place dough on pizza pan and place in oven and bake about 7 minutes until lightly golden.

4. Combine ricotta and 1/4 cup cheese.

5. Remove pizza crust from oven and spread ricotta mixture evenly over crusts leaving 1/2 inch border around the edges. Return to oven and bake 5 more minutes or until crust looks nice and done.

6. While pizza bakes, add water to a large skillet, filling 2/3 full. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer. Add vinegar. Break each egg into a custard cup, and pour gently into pan. Cook 3 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Carefully remove eggs from pan using a slotted spoon. Set aside.

7. Combine arugula, remaining 1/4 cup Romano cheese, and the next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl. Toss well. Top pizza with arugula mixture and eggs. Sprinkle with pepper. Cut into 6 slices.

Meatless Monday: Fingerling potatoes with swiss chard and eggs

Alright... the title does not sound terribly appealing but do not let that scare you from trying this amazingly tasty dish! Loaded with goodness and flavor, this is a great Meatless Monday meal. Give it a try ... I bet you will like it!

Fingerling Potato-leek hash with Swiss chard and eggs

(From cooking light)

2 TBS olive oil

2 cups sliced leeks, rinsed well (about 2 large)

12 oz. fingerling potatoes, cut lengthwise into quarters

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/4 tsp Spanish smoked paprika, divided

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

4 cups thinly sliced trimmed Swiss chard

4 eggs

1/4 shredded Gruyere cheese (or more!)

1. Heat large skillet over medium heat. Add oil to pan. Add leeks, cook 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add potatoes and garlic, cook 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally. Add small amount of water if needed to prevent burning. Can deglaze pan with water or small amount of wine.

2. Stir in 1 tsp. paprika, 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper. Add chard, cook 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Using a spoon, push potato mixture aside to make 4 egg-size spaces. Crack 1 egg into each space; sprinkle with remaining salt, pepper and paprika. Cover and cook 3 minutes. Sprinkle cheese over potato mixture. Cover and cook 2 more minutes or until egg yolks are lightly set.

Ricotta tart

Ricotta cheese is so delicious and this tart is full of it! This is a wonderful dish to make in the spring because you will be able to find locally grown green onions and chives, maybe even dill! We ate this for dinner last night, although this dish would be wonderful for brunch too. This recipe was modified from Cook.ing Light June 2010

Ricotta tart

1 refrigerated pie crust (pillsbury works great)
2 cups thinly sliced green onions
1 (15oz) container part skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup thinly sliced chives
2 TBS minced fresh dill OR 1 tsp dried dill
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1/4 - 1/2 cup grated white cheddar

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Unroll dough and press lightly into a 9 inch pie dish.
3. Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add small amount olive oil and saute green onion for 3 -5 minutes.
4. Combine cooked green onions, ricotta cheese, chives, dill, salt, pepper and eggs in a bowl. Stir gently to combine.
5. Pour mixture into pie crust.
6. Top with cheddar cheese and bake 35 minutes until crust is golden brown and center is set.

Asparagus and smoked salmon frittata

I found this one in the new Cook.ing Light magazine and modified the dish ever so slightly. It called for smoked trout, but I chose the smoked salmon instead due cost and package size. The substitution was great! I also chose to saute the asparagus rather than steam it. This is a super easy dish to make, coming together in about 30 minutes or less.

8 oz thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
1 TBS 2% reduced fat milk
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp salt
4 large eggs
4 large egg whites
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan (I used the Quattro Formagia blend from Trad.der Joes)
1 1/2 tsp fresh dill, chopped ( I used 1/2 tsp dried dill)
4 oz smoked salmon, skinned and flaked

1. Pre-heat oven to 450
2. Saute asparagus in non-stick skillet over med-high heat until crisp tender, about 3 - 5 minutes. Add green onions just before removing from heat.
3. Combine milk, salt, pepper and eggs in a bowl. Whisk.
4. Transfer asparagus mixture into an oven proof skillet coated with oil or cooking spray (cast iron worked well) and add eggs, stirring to combine. Sprinkle with cheese and cook over med-high heat for a few minutes until edges begin to set.
5. Place skillet in oven and cook 8 minutes.
6. Increase heat to broil and cook another 2 minutes until brown and bubbly.

I served this with a side of fresh local tomatoes, sliced and sprinkled with salt/ pepper and a crusty dinner bread. YUMMY!

Asparagus, Green Onion and Goat Cheese Quiche

Alright, if you like asparagus this is the quiche for you. Jason and I visited the farmers market last weekend and found delicious local produce and goat cheese perfect for this dish. There was no local asparagus, but we did find green onions and goat cheese which were used for this dish. I can not say enough about how fabulous this quiche is. Really, this is the best quiche yet!!!

I did make a couple minor changes from the printed recipe - I used a pre-made pie crust rather than fixin' up my own and I added a small amount of white cheddar cheese.

I served this with a side of temphe and corn.

Asparagus, Green Onion and Goat Cheese Quiche (modified from April 2009 Cooking Light)

1 pre-made roll out style pie crust

2 TBS butter

1 bunch fresh asparagus, chopped into 1 inch chunks (hard base stem removed)

1/4 tsp salt, divided

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 cup sliced green onions

4 oz. soft goat cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup white cheddar cheese (Cabot brand is tasty)

4 large eggs

3/4 cup 2 % milk

dash of ground nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 425

2. Press the pie crust into a glass pie dish.

3. Melt the butter in a skillet over med-high heat. Add asparagus, 1/8 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper. Saute about 5 - 8 minutes until crisp-tender. Do not over cook!!

4. Add onions and saute 2 more minutes until asparagus just begins to brown. Remove from heat.

3. Spoon asparagus into the pie dish in an even layer. Arrange goat cheese and cheddar in an even layer over asparagus.

4. Combine eggs and milk and remaining salt/pepper and nutmeg. Stir with whisk. Pour into the pie dish.

5. Bake 30 minutes until set in the center.

Veggie tart

This is a wonderful dish that I modified for the first time a couple nights ago. I found the original recipe in a magazine many years ago and it was called "Fabulous Fritata". I made the recipe many times, loved it, but struggled to cook it through without burning the top or bottom. I had an idea this last time around and it worked! I turned it into more of a tart, cooked in a pie dish with a crust. Lovely, just delicious. Easier cleanup, easier prep.

3/4 pkg Morningstar sausage style crumbles

2 cups thinly sliced red potato

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 tsp dried rosemary

2 cups (or a bit more) fresh spinach, coarsely chopped

3 cloves garlic

4 large eggs, 8 egg whites

4 oz crumbled feta cheese

Pre-made rolled out pie crust

olive oil

1. Saute potato in a large non-stick skillet in olive oil for a couple minutes. Add onion, bell pepper, rosemary, crumbles, salt and pepper. Cook about 5 - 10 minutes until potatoes are just tender.

2. Stir in spinach and garlic, cook one more minute. Remove from heat.

3. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Pour into veggie mixture. Add cheese. Stir gently to combine.

4. Pour mixture into a pie dish covered with the pie crust. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes until cooked through and browned on the top.

*picture to come later!*