Spinach Swiss and Gruyere Quiche

Let me start out by saying, cooks that say it takes 35 minutes to cook a quiche are dirty liars... or maybe they just have a better oven than me, because it took FOREVER to cook. And by forever I mean 55 minutes (that's pretty much forever in quiche-years, right?).

For this dish, I made a variation of a Paula Dean dish. In her's she used just swiss cheese and also added bacon. She also made the crust from scratch and that... was not going to happen. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/spinach-and-bacon-quiche-recipe/index.html

Here are the ingredients I used:

6 Large Organic Cage-Free Eggs

1 1/2 Cups Heavy Cream

A dash of Salt and Peppa

1 bag of fresh Baby Spinach (no toddler spinach)

1 bag of Trader Joes shredded Swiss and Gruyere mixed cheese

Trader Joes frozen folded pie crust

Spinach Swiss and Gruyere Quiche

If you buy the TJ's crust, you have to let it thaw for 30 minutes. Then you can unfold it into a metal pie pan. Mine basically cracked into two pieces when I tried to do this because I am terribly un-delicate with anything you have to mold with your hands (you should see my college ceramics projects). Anyways, lay it down in the pan, press it up against the sides and smooth out any cracks or gaps.

As you can see, the pie pan recently crash dieted and her outfit is too big. Take a knife and trim off any extra crust that is overlapping the edge. Then go around the edge and press it down with a fork.

Now to prepare the spinach... oh, the spinach. sigh. Boil a medium-sized pot of water. Once it's boiling, pour the bag of baby spinach in it and cook it for about 20 seconds to 'blanche' it (look at me using these terms). Then pour the spinach into a strainer and run it under very cold water to stop it from further cooking. 

Now is the part where you will be simply amazed by how much water spinach is able to hold. Using your hands, squeeze out as much water as you can from the spinach... until your hands fall off. The large bag of fluffy spinach, then turns into a baby patty of green, nutritious love.

Chop this patty up into slightly smaller pieces. Now you can open your bag of cheese and fill up the pie crust about halfway (or 98% of the way if you get overzealous with the cheese, like me) with cheese and spinach pieces. 

Now it's time to make the liquid mixture, which was surprisingly easy. In a blender, combine the eggs, cream, salt and peppa (the 1990's female R&B group... oh wait, no?) Blend it for two minutes. Then pour your mixture evenly over the cheese until it reaches the edge. Discard the rest. 

Turn on the over to 375 degrees and cook FOREVER. The End. Just kidding, guys. It's supposed to take 35-45 minutes, but like I said, it took mine almost an hour. You know it's done cooking when it doesn't jiggle when you shake it, and a toothpick test in the middle comes out clean. 

Here is a picture of my quiche saying, "Hey look at me, I look like I should be done cooking, but I'm going to stress you out and take another 20 minutes."

When it is done, if it ever gets done, take it out and cut it into 8 slices. Besides the stress of making sure the quiche was full cooked so that I didn't give my whole family food poisoning, this dish was relatively easy to make and it tasted really good!

Banana Yogurt Muffins

I began my day by taking a trip to Trader Joes, which was enjoyable since the workers there always seem to be in a good mood. I was able to get all of my ingredients there, and for very good prices... AND I got to have an awkward conversation about my New Years plans with the cashier. Bonus.

Banana Yogurt Muffins
I found this recipe on this website: http://justjennrecipes.com
I followed most of it exactly, but was unable to find the yogurt she used, so I used vanilla instead, which worked out great.

These are the ingredients you will need:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
2 eggs
4 ounces banana yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
brown sugar to sprinkle


Begin by preheating the over to 350 degrees and filling a pan with liners (it makes about 18). 
I used easter themed liners to give the muffins some personality, I think they appreciated this.


Now, wisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. This includes the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. 

I recommend using heart-shaped measuring spoons. It makes your food feel more loved.

Then mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl (mashed bananas, melted butter, eggs, yogurt, vanilla). I highly recommend mashing the bananas with your own *clean* hands... I found this much easier and fun than using a fork.... and, let's face it, I'm kind of a rebel.

Now mix the bowl of wet ingredients into the dry bowl. You are then ready to fill each of your muffin liners about 3/4 of the way... like I said, when I did it, I was able to make 18. Finally, sprinkle a little bit of brown sugar on top of each one before placing it in the oven. 

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, until wa-la (technical term)! They are finished!

Now all you need to do is find a way to present them....

....and hope that no monkeys riding elephants come to steal them before your guests arrive.