Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 ½ shallots, minced
• 8 oz. deli sliced ham (kinda thick)
• 1 bag flat-leaf baby spinach, roughly chopped
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated (about 1 cup)
• 1 Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust
• 4 large eggs
• 1 ½ cups half-and-half
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions

1. Prepare your pie crust by gently unrolling into the pie dish. Push it down into the pan making sure the dough hangover is pretty even around the pan. (If it doesn’t come out perfect don’t worry. Look at mine, lol. I think that it gives it a homemade feeling and rustic quality.   Here is a link to directions on crimping your crust: http://localfoods.about.com/od/piestarts/tp/crimping.htm Totally simple!
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks set in lower third. In a large skillet, heat butter over medium. Add ham and shallots, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add as much spinach to skillet as will fit; season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and toss, adding more spinach as room becomes available, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Make sure all spinach is used.
3. Transfer spinach mixture to a colander. Press firmly with the back of a spoon to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Put spinach mixture into pie crust, top with cheese. Place crust on a rimmed baking sheet.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Pour egg mixture into crust.
5. Arrange baking sheet on rack, and bake until center of each quiche is just set, 55 to 60 minutes, rotating sheets from top to bottom halfway through. Let quiches stand 15 minutes before serving.

I would’ve doubled the recipe but I was kinda peed off that I couldn’t find my other pie dish so I lashed out by starving everyone. lol If there are more than 4 people, double up! Also, play with your favorite meats and cheeses etc. It’s impossible to mess up, really. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 large yellow onion

1/2 c. olive oil

6 medium garlic cloves, peeled and minced

3 cans (28oz) crushed tomatoes (I used Publix’s brand)

3 tbsp. fresh parsley

3 tea. dried oregano

1 tbsp. crushed red pepper

1 tbsp. sugar

3 tbsp. Italian Seasoning

salt

pepper

DIRECTIONS: 

Grate the onion. This will release more of the juices and give you smaller onion pieces. If you are not in the mood for it, by all means, chop it.

 Heat the olive oil and add onions until translucent. (3 – 4 minutes) Add garlic and cook for a minute or two longer.

Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Taste and adjust. Cook, uncovered for 15 – 20 minutes.

 Cook’s Notes: Personally, I like a little sweetness to my sauce but find your balance. I added more than the recipe I gave you. A little sugar is definitely needed to cut the acidity of the tomatoes. This isn’t needed when using jar sauce because there is a large quantity already in there…trust me. Well, you really don’t have to; check the label. Lol. Anyway, I used 3 to 4 tbsp if you wanna keep it fierce…lol.

As I told you, I’ve exhausted my Fiercefoodie budget for the month (or until Greg forgets) yesterday on my Patron. Nevermind the fact that he ate 2 cupcakes.  Ummmhmmm…. Anyway, I noticed that I have no breakfast contributions on the site so I decided to try to get some daylight shots for a change (supposedly a key factor in food photography) and scramble some eggs.  Plus, I was in no hurry to dirty my recently cleaned kitchen, so a one-pot dish was ideal.  After a check around the fridge, I found a couple slices of oven roasted deli turkey, deli Muenster cheese, a little white cheddar, a shallot, sundried roasted tomatoes and a little heavy cream.

Of course, you can use ANYTHING for the scramble. Scrambles are quick and more forgiving than trying to fold your eggs over into an omelette. I can do it though (very slowly however) so don’t sleep on my skills. : ) But with the scramble, you get to stuff it with a lot more goodies that otherwise wouldn’t fit in that thin little envelope. Usually, I use leftover mushrooms, onions and peppers but apparently I haven’t cooked anything lately (if you let Mr. Ungrateful tell it, lol) Hey! Birthday girls eat out.

On to the good stuff…

Today started as a good day. I took my new camera to work to photograph the Holiday Luncheon and Christmas Tree Pics. I was uber excited although I had a 9 am meeting just before the festivities. In any event, I sorta kinda donated my car keys in with my canned good donations to one of the 4 food banks we partner with every year. The worst part is that I did not notice they were missing until after their business hours. So, my friend picked us up from work and now we’re trapped. We probably wouldn’t be going anywhere but I never noticed how much I liked the option. : )

In a hurry to whip something up, relieve my stress and not take my stress out on the “unneccessarily pouty Greg” I remembered that I had purchased Jerk Pork from Publix. I used to be skeptical of pre-seasoned meats for some reason but since it’s just the two of us, I decided to give it a try. The meat is cut into big bite-sized chunks and is marinated in a jerk seasoning. IT IS SPICY AND DELICIOUS. I served it over egg noodles that night with corn on the cob and a side salad. However, a friend of mine says she makes it with yellow rice and I presume any other kind of rice or noodle would work just the same. This meal is hella quick, tasty and EASY. Give it a try one night. (P.S. I buy 2 packs for about $2.50 each and we eat it for lunch the next day as well). Good Stuff…

Super Super Easy!!

I made these bars for my job the other day. I was watching Paula Deen and she made them and I was really amazed at how quickly and easily it was done. Literally, all you have to do is pour the ingredients into the dish and bake. THEY LOVED THEM!! AND ANOTHER PLUS (and perhaps the greatest) IS THAT IT WAS CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP! ENJOY!!!

Combine:
2 sticks of butter, melted (microwave at 50% power for a few minutes)
1 pack of graham crackers, crushed (I did it in a Ziploc bag)
Press into bottom of 9×9 pan (Can use a 13×9 as well but lessen cooking time)

Layer:
1 c. Butterscotch chips
2 c. Semi sweet chocolate chips
1 c. Pecan Halves, roughly chopped (I like varied sizes and jagged pieces)
1 c. Sweetened Coconut Flakes

Drizzle:
1 Can sweetened condensed milk

Bake:
350 degrees for 40 mins.

Serve:
Allow to cool because they will fall apart otherwise. Top with a little more coconut flakes (so people can know it’s in there and to add a little color. : )

Stuffed Bell Pepper

6 – Bell Peppers (Yellow, Red, Orange)*
1 ½ lb ground turkey
1 cup uncooked Brown Rice (add a bouillon cube to the water before boiling)
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes with chiles and peppers
1 8oz can tomato sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 can corn
1 half container white mushrooms, sliced
4 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
3- 3 ½  cups shredded cheddar cheese
Salt
Pepper
Chopped Parsley Flakes
Sour cream

Prepare rice according to package with bouillon cube or chicken stock in place of water.
Prepare the peppers by removing the tops and digging out the seeds, etc.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add peppers for 4-5 minutes.
Remove from water immediately rinse and set aside.
After they cool, test to be sure they can stand alone. If not, cut a little from the bottom to make them flat.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Coat the bottom of a large skillet with EVOO begin to heat the pan and add seasoned ground turkey, onion and diced pepper tops (minus stems of course), garlic and mushrooms.
Add brown sugar and cayenne pepper.
After meat is browned, drain. (Mushrooms release a lot of water but the meat should be pretty lean already)
Add rice (which should be about 2 ½ cups), diced tomatoes, corn, tomato paste and sauce.
Continue cooking. (The goal is to simmer off some of the water that is released from the tomatoes)
 Fold 1 ½ c. shredded cheese into meat mixture and remove from heat.    
Stuff peppers with hot meat mixture.
Bake at 350 for 5 minutes.
Top with remaining cheese and continue to bake for 7-10 minutes (or until cheese is melted)
Once melted, removed from oven and sprinkle parsley flakes on top.
Serve hot with a small dollop of sour cream.

* – The yellow, orange and red (in that order) are the sweetest of the varieties. If you have picky eaters, the green may be overwhelming for them. Besides, the variety of colors makes for a beautiful presentation.

NOTE: You can stuff these peppers with just about ANYTHING!!! In fact, I might try to stuff tomatoes or squash next. This is probably one of the EASIEST recipes I’ve ever made with stuff I had on hand. Man, it is sooo exciting when you can use what you already have. It’s the little things…

Emeril’s Stew Beef (well, my take on it. Minus the tomato paste, a little extra flour, and beef stock. IDK where he thought I was getting “veal” stock from, lol) and..I didnt use emeril’s seasoning…lawry’s with a little paprika and cayenne was just as good.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons Essence, recipe follows
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound button mushrooms, quartered
2 cups roughly chopped yellow onions
2 cups sliced carrots, (1-inch slices cut crosswise on a diagonal)
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon roughly chopped garlic
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 1/2 cups veal or beef stock, at room temperature
4 tablespoons tomato paste
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
3 to 4 cups 1-inch dice russet potatoes
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Steamed white rice or buttered egg noodles, for serving

Directions:

Set a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the pot and season the beef with the salt, Essence and black pepper, being sure to toss the meat well to evenly cover with the spices. Add 1/3 of the beef to the pot and cook until browned on all sides, 2 or 3 minutes per side. Remove the beef from the pot and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon of the remaining olive oil to the pot along with half of the remaining meat and cook again until browned. Set aside and repeat with the remaining tablespoon of oil and remaining beef. Set aside.

Add the butter and mushrooms to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, about 3 minutes. Add the onions, carrots and celery and saute until onions are softened and lightly caramelized, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes. Add the stock, tomato paste, thyme, rosemary, allspice and browned beef and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, partially cover the pot, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender, about 1 hour. Add the potatoes to the stew and partially cover the pot with a lid. Continue cooking until the potatoes are very tender, about 30 minutes. Remove the lid and discard the thyme and rosemary stems. Add the peas and parsley to the stew, stir well to combine, then remove from the heat. Serve hot, with either steamed white rice or buttered egg noodles.

Emeril’s ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Combine all ingredients thoroughly.