Ham & Mushroom Crustless Quiche

1/2 onion, diced
1/2 c mushrooms
ham, cooked
4 large eggs
1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
ground pepper, to taste
pinch cayenne pepper
herbs to taste (fresh dill and/or parsley, for example)
1 1/3 cups milk
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or other type of cheese)

Preheat oven to 180C. Lightly grease a 10-inch quiche/tart pan (or a 9-inch pie plate). Saute onion and mushrooms with a bit of butter. Whisk together eggs, flour, baking powder, salt & pepper. Whisk in milk, then stir in mushroom mixture and ham. Pour quiche into prepared pan. Top with cheese. Bake for 25 minutes (30-35 minutes in a pie plate), or until center is set and the outside edge is golden brown.
**Can also add in other veg (for example, asparagus or broccoli)

Less Boring Potatoes

Firstly, credit where credit is due. Slightly modified due to lack of or choice regarding ingrdients, but still good and simple enough. I love any kind of potato salad, and this fits in as a good side.

Potatoes, cooked & diced
Olive oil
Sea Salt
Fresh ground pepper
2 tbspn capers
Spring onions, minced
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbspn red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp paprika
handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1. In large bowl, mix potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper, toss to coat, and roast until golden and crusty, about 30 minutes, in 200C oven.
2. In the meantime, combine in bowl the capers, green onions, mustard, vinegar, paprika, a bit of salt and pepper, and 2 and 1/2 tablespoons olive oil.
3. When the potatoes are ready, add them to the bowl, toss gently to coat, and fold in the parsley. Taste for seasoning. Let cool to slightly warm or at room temperature.

Chocolate Stout Cake w/Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting

I found just the thing to make for St. Paddy's Day, although I changed it up with Youngs Double Chocolate Stout (very lovely in it's own right) in place of the Guiness. And since I doubt I will be able to find shamrock sprinkles here in Oz without ordering them from USA Foods, some green food colouring made it's way into the frosting.

1 c unsalted butter
1 c stout
3/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
2 c all purpose flour (or self-raising flour and no baking soda or salt)
2 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2/3 c sour cream

Melt the butter in a sauce pan, remove from heat and let cool a bit. Mix in the stout and cocoa powder. Mix the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Mix the eggs and sour cream in another large bowl. Mix the stout mixture into the egg mixture. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet. Pour the batter into one or two greased and parchment lined circular cake pan(s). Bake in a preheated 350F oven until a toothpick pushed into the center comes out clean; about 20-30 minutes. Turn out onto wire rack to cool.

Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting:
4 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
1 c confectioners sugar
3 tbspn Bailey’s Irish cream (or other brand, or some vanilla if you don't want to use Bailey's)
green food colouring or sprinkles to top!

Mix everything together. Frost cake when cooled.

Polpettone

Polpettone is described as 'the giant meatball' as well as an Italian meatloaf. It is basically a meatloaf with meatball seasoning added, sometimes cooked in the sauce before being baked, and filled with salami, cheese and hard-boiled eggs. I saw a few recipes, but made up my own, based upon my meatloaf recipe and meatball seasonings.

1 kg beef mince
4 slices salami
3 hard boiled eggs
shredded cheese (I used colby as that is what I had, although I'd prefer mozzarella)
basil, thyme, oregano, parsley, to taste (I used dried but will be using fresh in the future when I start my herb garden, and may add rosemary as well, but didn't have any)
packet french onion soup mix
bbq sauce

Mix beef mince with seasonings (including onion soup mix), in a large bowl. (You can add breadcrumbs and an egg if you have less meat, or simply prefer it this way. Some ground pepper probably wouldn't go amiss either, but you definitely don't need salt.) Spread meat flat on counter or wax paper and place slices of salami, overlapping, in the middle. Top salami with some shredded cheese. Cut eggs in half lengthwise and place on top of cheese, then roll up the meatloaf. Cover meatloaf in a decent layer of bbq sauce, then bake for about 45 minutes to an hour, on 180C.

Baked Oatmeal

Been wanting to try a baked oatmeal for some time now, as I figure I could make it in bulk, then eat it for the next few days---easy brekky. I slightly modified this recipe.

1 c large flake oatmeal
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch each of ground cloves, nutmeg, cardamom
1/4 tsp salt
2 T maple syrup
1 T dessicated unsweetened coconut
1 c milk
2/3 c juice
2 T chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 170C. In a large bowl, combine everything. Using oil or margarine, grease up a casserole dish and then dump in oatmeal mixture. Bake for 30 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed.

Old-Time Beef Stew

This is one of my favs that my mom makes, and it is pretty much straight out of the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, which come to think of it, I have to, so I didn't need to get her to email it to me...oops;)

2 pounds diced beef
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic
1 medium onion, sliced
1 or 2 bay leaves
Ground sea salt & pepper
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp paprika
Dash ground allspice or cloves
6 carrots, chopped
4 potatoes, chopped
1 pound small white onions (optional)

Flour, salt & pepper diced beef. Saute onion il oil. Thoroughly brown meat in 2 tablespoons hot shortening or oil. Add 2 cups hot water and rest of ingredients, minus veg. Cover, simmer 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking. Remove bay leaves and garlic. Add vegetables. Cover and cook 30 to 45 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Serves 6 to 8.

Personal Note: Mom likes to mix up some biscuits and drop on top of stew for the last 10 mins or so to serve along with the stew.

Fish w/Olive, Tomato & White Wine

Yes again I should have taken a picture but I was just to keen to begin eating.

2 fish fillets (whatever you like)
olive oil
white wine
1 small onion, diced
1 large head of garlic, diced
2 small tomatoes, chopped
12 kalamata olives, cut in half lengthwise

In one pan, heat up some olive oil, then fry fish a few minutes on each side or until cooked through. In the other, heat some olive oil and saute onion and garlic a couple of minutes, then add tomatoes and olives, as well as a healthy dash or two of white wine. Cook through (simmer for about 5 minutes) then place fish on plate and top with tomato, olive & wine mix.

Mash, on the side
3 large red potatoes
butter
ranch salad dressing
milk
sea salt & pepper, ground
fresh dill

Boil potatoes and using hand masher, mix other ingredients in.

Concord Grape Pie

Just as I am about to head off overseas the grapes in the backyard are looking mighty ripe and plentiful. Good thing hubs mentioned to me that he was planning on cutting down the grape vines while I was gone! I showed him the above picture of grape pie from Food & Spice and he was all for just slightly trimming them instead. My plan is to freeze as many of the grapes as I can fit in the freezer and defrost later to use in a few recipes. I love crumble toppings so much better than traditional pie so this one is a must try. My pics will follow in a few weeks!

4 1/2 c of Concord grapes
1 c of sugar
1/4 c flour
2 tsp lemon juice (preferably fresh)
1/8 tsp salt
1 unbaked 9 inch pastry shell

Streusel Topping
1/2 c of oats
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c flour
1/4 c of butter, melted

Dash or two of cinnamon

Splash or two of vanilla

Squeeze the end of each grape opposite the stem to separate the skins from the pulp. Set the skins aside in a medium-sized bowl. Put the pulp in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Press the boiled pulp through a strainer to remove the seeds. Add the seedless pulp to the bowl with the grape skins, along with the sugar, flour, lemon juice and salt. Stir well to combine. Transfer the mixture to the (pre-baked) pastry shell.

To make the topping, combine the oats, brown sugar, flour, melted butter, vanilla and cinnamon. Bake in a preheated oven at 200C for 35-40 minutes, or until top is golden brown.

Stuffed Zucchini

My mother-in-law gave us the biggest zucchini I have ever seen this weekend, along with some homegrown tomatoes. Picture a normal green zucchini, but about a foot long and twice as thick as a Subway sandwich. She told me to stuff it with onion, bacon, tomato and cheese, so I change it up a bit. I cut it in half lengthwise and scooped out the junk in the middle, then rubbed some olive oil on the inside and sprinkled salt, pepper and basil over. Next I cut up 1/2 a red onion, diced 4 tomatoes, and placed that in. I baked it on about 180-200C for about an hour. When it was cooked I shut the oven off and topped with some tasty cheese, although I think mozzarella would also do. I will attempt to take a pic of the leftover one tomorrow, although as you know, I'm very slack on the photos.

Peach & Nectarine Crumble

My mother-in-law gave us a huge bag of fresh picked peaches and nactarines this weekend, so I decided to make a crumble. You can fit more fruit into this, since you can use any size baking dish, and I didn't feel like making two pies. This is a loose recipe, so you have to determine your own amounts. I used the same ingredients for the filling as I did for my apricot pie, and based the crumble topping on a few different recipes. The topping was really really lovely, without being too sweet.

Filling
Fruit, cut into 4-6 slices per piece depending on size (In this case about 6 peaches and 10 small nectarines)
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp lemon juice, preferably fresh

Mix lemon juice with fruit. Whisk dry ingredients together, then gently mix into fruit. Add to baking dish.

Crumble Topping
Oats
Coconut, shredded
Flour
Sugar
Vanilla
Cinnamon, ground
Ginger, ground
Butter, a little bit, melted

Like I said, you have to sort out your own amounts of the above and get the mix right. Mix all the dry ingredients together than add a splash of vanilla and mix in the melted butter. It shouldn't be too moist but not dry either. Top fruit with mix and bake on about 170C/350F for 45 minutes or so, until fruit is completely soft. Enjoy warm or cold. It's fine on it's own. You don't need any custard or ice cream with this one.

Roasted Broccoli with Prawns

I made the above last night (photo courtesy of The Wednesday Chef). I also added some seafood extender, and mixed it up slightly different than this recipe.

1 head broccoli, cut into bite-size florets
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
salt (might try sea salt next time)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon hot chili powder
1/4 kg prawns, shelled and deveined
1/4 kg seafood extender
juice from 1/2 lemon
Lemon wedges, for serving

Preheat oven to 160C. In a large bowl, toss broccoli with 2 tablespoons oil, coriander, cumin, dash or two of salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and chili powder. Place broccoli onto 2 non-stick baking sheets .In the same bowl, combine prawns and seafood extender, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, lemon juice, dash or two of salt and remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Roast for 10 minutes. Add shrimp & seafood extender to baking sheet and toss with broccoli. Roast until shrimp are just opaque and broccoli is tender and golden around edges, about 5 minutes more. Serve with lemon wedges.

Passionfruit Cake

Steve brought home 7 passionfruits from work Friday, so I decided to make something with them, especially as they wouldn't last long in this heat. I did a quick on-line search and found this recipe for passionfruit cake. It's really amazing, so I may need to try more from Amanda.

Cake:
3 eggs
1 c sugar
1 1/2 c self-raising flour
1/2 c passionfruit pulp (about 3 fruits)

Icing:
1/3 c butter (75 grams)
2 c icing sugar
4 passionfruit

Cake:
Separate eggs. Beat yolks and sugar together, gradually add flour and passionfruit pulp.The mix will be very dry. Beat egg whites stiff with a clean beater. Gently fold into the mixture (will be moist now). Bake 40 mins at about 160C.

Icing:
Beat butter until light and fluffy.
Gradually add icing sugar and passionfruit pulp.