Christmas Menu

Alright, I will now put you all out of your misery!  For Christmas breakfast for the family, hosted at my mom's house, we fed about 15 people.  We had salmon croquettes and grits (Mommy's responsibility), vegetarian sausage, bacon (AWESOME Walmart Great Value brand thick cut), turkey sausage, biscuits... and for Jameil's contribution, asparagus bacon quiche, tomato basil quiche and spinach and mushroom quiche (top left).  All awesome.  I LOVED the asparagus bacon.  The bacon flavor permeated the quiche making it a beacon of awesomeness.  My mom loved the tomato basil as did my cousin Erica.  Rashan's favorite was spinach and mushroom.  Sorry there aren't more pics but everybody was hungry and I didn't have camera batteries until Rashan got there!

I also made white sangria, red sangria & a non-alcoholic sangria (for the kids originally but the adults all loved it, too basically cranberry juice, apple juice, fruit and sugar muddled together).  The red sangria was not great because it didn't have enough sugar (what happens when you don't use a recipe "per se" and just wing it.  Lol.  Didn't matter, they still drank most of it.

Here are my recipes all from AllRecipes.com


Spinach Mushroom Feta Quiche 

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 (4.5 ounce) can mushrooms, drained
• 1 (6 ounce) package herb and garlic feta, crumbled
• 1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Saute garlic and onion in butter until lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Stir in spinach, mushrooms, feta and 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon mixture into pie crust.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into the pastry shell, allowing egg mixture to thoroughly combine with spinach mixture.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle top with remaining Cheddar cheese, and bake an additional 35 to 40 minutes, until set in center. Allow to stand 10 minutes before serving.

Result: Yummy.  Like I said, Rashan's favorite.  I used less butter than this called for.  Also, instead of using garlic and herb feta I used plain feta and sprinkled in italian seasoning.  I also used fresh mushrooms and spinach because I'm bratty like that.  Lol.  The filling was AWESOME.  I had to stop myself from eating it all while I was cooking.  I also didn't use a deep dish and therefore brought down the amount of time in the oven.  Just keep an eye on it.  It got a little browner than I wanted but was still a hit.

 

Asparagus Bacon Quiche

• 1 pound fresh asparagus
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 (10 inch) unbaked pastry shell
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
• 10 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups light cream
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch pepper
• cherry tomatoes, halved

1. Cut eight asparagus spears 4-in. long for garnish. Cut remaining asparagus into 1/2-in. pieces, using only tender parts of stalks. Boil 1 qt. of water in a large saucepan; add salt and all of the asparagus. Return to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse asparagus. 
2. Brush bottom of pastry shell with egg white.
3. In a bowl combine asparagus, Swiss cheese and bacon; mix gently. Place in bottom of pastry shell. In another bowl, beat eggs, cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper until smooth. Pour into shell. 
4. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Arrange the asparagus spears, spoke fashion, on top of quiche; place cherry tomato halves between spokes. 

Result: Again, my fave.  I sauteed the asparagus in butter and olive oil instead of boiling it. (Lolol. Unnecessarily fat, I know! But not my fault!  My mom ran out of EVOO!  The shame!)  I skipped the egg white step, too and just cooked the crust in the oven for 5 minutes before adding anything to it.  Apparently this takes away the soggy crust quiches sometimes have.  I also did not do those garnishes.  The asparagus because I didn't want to give up the asparagus I cooked with and the tomato because I was following the chef credo of not garnishing with an ingredient not in the dish.  THANKS FOOD NETWORK & TOP CHEF!!  I also added onion sauteed in butter to this one which was delicious. (Lol... more fat)

 

Tomato Basil Quiche

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 tomatoes, peeled and sliced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese, divided

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Bake pie shell in preheated oven for 8 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until soft; remove from skillet. Sprinkle tomato slices with flour and basil, then saute 1 minute on each side. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. season with salt and pepper.
3. Spread 1 cup shredded cheese in the bottom of pie crust. Layer onions over cheese, and top with tomatoes. Cover with egg mixture. sprinkle top with remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until filling is puffed and golden brown. Serve warm. 

Results: Mom's fave.  Didn't use a deep dish crust again.  I also used 3 roma tomatoes instead of 2 regular tomatoes.  Be quick when sauteeing the tomatoes because they soften quickly.  One minute per side is max because it will continue to cook a little in the oven.  I loved the layered look of this one.  I only baked the crust for 5 or 6 minutes.