On Saturday, Mike and I had another couple over for dinner. Lately, I've been cooking more and more--such a relaxing activity (when everything goes according to plan...) LOL
This was the menu for Saturday night:
Appetizer
Pecan & Craisin Brie
Main Course:
Grilled Swordfish
Sides:
Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes
Grilled Corn
Grilled Peaches
Dessert:
Blueberry Pie (fresh blueberries from Gma McLean-YUM!)
So I was in charge of the appetizer, the twice baked potatoes, and the dessert while Mike was going to do the grilling. Well, the brie and the blueberry pie turned out great....but the twice baked potatoes, well...they turned into mashed potatoes. ooops! Mike talked me into boiling the potatoes to save on time (instead of baking them) and they got all sorts of messy. The skins were coming off, they weren't cooking fast enough, etc. So I threw them into a bowl, added all the fixings and compromised by having the next best type of side. You can't go wrong with mashed potatoes and I told Mike to stay out of my kitchen! (jk-Mike is a great cook!)
I first made the brie for Thanksgiving in 2010 and it's still one of my absolute favorites :) Thought you would enjoy this one. It's so quick and easy!
I forgot to take a picture of it so I found one online so you have an idea of what it looks like.
Pecan & Craisin Brie
Ingredients:
Puff Pastry Sheet (I find them in the frozen food section with the whip cream and quiche cups)
1 brie round
1/4 cup craisins
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup crushed pecans (or any type of nut)
2 TBS of honey or butter-I've used both and they are both good
Butter (you can also use spray butter or egg)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Let Pastry thaw to room temperature. Unroll pastry onto a lightly floured cookie sheet (make sure it a cookie sheet that has sides so that if brie runs out it doesn't spill onto oven floor) . Mix craisins, brown sugar, pecans, and honey/butter in a bowl. Scoop mixture into the middle of pastry. Place brie on top of mixture. Pull up sides of pastry and seal so that there aren't any gaps. Flip entire pastry over and brush butter butter/egg on the top. Cook for 20-25 minutes. Let cool for a bit and then enjoy with your favorite type of cracker! YUM :)
So the next morning, I was craving some sort of breakfast involving eggs (gotta get that protien!) and I was going to try to replicate a frittata recipe that I tried out the weekend that my Trafalgar Girls came to visit (that turned out to be a hit--I'll have to post that one sometime as well.) So anyways, halfway through breaking eggs, etc. I decided to nix the frittata idea and make a quiche (I had an extra pie crust from the 2 pack that I had bought for the blueberry pie.) Well I've never made a quiche before, but didn't think it could be that difficult. You just mix everything together and pour into the pie and bake? Yeah, I think I got lucky on this one. I'm not usually so good as guessing and I was bound and determined to not look at a recipe. I like making up my own! Well, you are going to have to trust Mike & myself on this one but let's just say it was kiiiiiindof delicious. We both loved it and had it for breakfast AND lunch! There is only one slice left!
I threw in random things we had in the fridge and this is what I came up with...
Kelly's "born to be frittata and grew into a quiche" Spinach Quiche
Ingredients:
1 pie shell/pastry
6 eggs
1 cup of spinach
1 tomato, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 cup cream (I'm sure milk will do too)
1 cup of dried bread crumbs (I actually used herb seasoning stuffing-lol. Couldn't taste the difference!)
1/2 cup of shredded cheese
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (more if you like a little kick)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Let it sit for 5 minutes so that bread crumbs can soak up the egg. Pour mixture into pie crust and bake for 15 minutes at 400. Then cook for 15 minutes on 350. You may have different cook times depending on your oven, but you'll know it's ready when you stick and fork in and it comes out clean! I also sprinkled some cheese on top when I pulled it out. Here are some pictures of before....and after. I remembered this time! :)
Enjoy!
