One of the primary reasons I started this blog is because I was so often hearing people say how they cook, but they prepared the same foods all of the time and they were bored with their meals.  Adding herbs, spices and other flavorings to the most simple recipes can totally change the meal.  Be slightly creative with how you present the food, and your partner, family and friends will see you are an amazing cook!

Making something from scratch, or homemade, is healthier, less expensive and can actually be more simple to prepare than you think.  A perfect example is pancakes, waffles, cake mixes and breads or biscuits.  Instead of spending money on store bought baking mixes, all you need are a few basic pantry items such as flour, baking soda, salt and sugar.

I added vanilla, almond extract and cinnamon to a basic waffle recipe.  The flavor takes on almost a desert-like quality.  Sweetness also comes from the blueberries. The bacon (I use applewood smoked) gives just a touch of salt, so the waffles become the perfect combination of salty-sweet.  Honestly, though I served the waffles with syrup and whipped cream, they are tasty with nothing on them at all.

For this recipe, you do need to have a waffle iron.  Though a fancy Belgian waffle iron makes wonderfully thick, fluffy waffles, any waffle iron will do.  One quick trick for knowing when your waffle is done: when the steam stops, it’s ready.

Blueberry Bacon Waffles

Serve with butter, maple syrup and/or whipped cream (I do ALL three!!)  Leftovers, if you have any, can be placed in a freezer bag and warmed in the microwave for about 1 – 1 1/2 minutes.

Update: I recently used strawberries in place of the blueberries and the waffles were just as yummy!!

As I mentioned before, all of the wonderful holiday gatherings we attend bless us with the opportunity to visit with family and friends, and with an abundance of leftover meats, cheeses and vegetables.  A couple days after Christmas, I woke craving quiche. What a perfect use for the leftovers in my refrigerator!

I love to cook, however baking is not really one of my strong skills.  Probably because it requires more precise measurements and I rarely measure anything (in fact, I often struggle to figure out the actual measurements for the recipes I post in this blog!), and because it seems to take a bit more patience.  This crust is very simple and forgiving.

Crust

2 1/2 C Flour
2 sticks cold butter – cut
1 t Salt
1 t Sugar
4 T (+ up to 4 T more) Ice Water

Mix the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl.  Add the butter, mix into the flour with a pastry cutter.  Blend until the mixture is crumbly.  Add the ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time and work into the flour with your hands.  Be careful not to over work it.  When the dough forms, divide in half and form to balls.

Press into disks between plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.  Roll dough onto a flour surface until it’s about 14in round.  Roll onto the rolling pin and transfer to pie dish.  Press into the dish and form the edges of the crust.  For those of us who aren’t pastry chefs, the term “rustic” was invented.  I just smoosh (highly technical cooking term!) the crust so that it’s even around the dish.

Quiche Filling

6 eggs

Beat the eggs and stir in the cottage and Swiss cheeses.

Add the meat and vegetables.

Blend parsley, thyme, salt and pepper.  Add to egg mixture.

Add grated Nutmeg.

Pour into the pie crust and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the quiche is firm in the middle.  I put the broiler on for a couple minutes to brown the cheese on the top. This quiche is light and moist.  Serve with fruit for a tasty breakfast, lunch or dinner.  It is just as wonderful warmed the next day too!!

Each year, in March, my children and I celebrate Dr. Suess’s birthday with a tasty and colorful meal of green eggs and ham.  It is a tradition that evolved into one of my son’s favorite meals.  The amusing part is that he will not eat scrambles eggs with ham if I don’t add the green food coloring, go figure! So, when I discovered this recipe, I had to adapt it for him.  Please feel free to leave out the food coloring, and know that I’m speaking from experience when I tell you that some colors do NOT go well with scrambled eggs (at least not if you want anyone over age 9 to try them!).  Blue turns to a lifeless grey color, not appetizing at all! However, red makes for a great breakfast for say, um…Halloween.

The recipe actually caught my attention because I am terrible about having a healthy breakfast during the week.  This is an easy way to be sure that some protein makes its way into my body to jump start my metabolism, and avoid that mid-morning snacking session.

If you prefer, you can substitute the eggs for the appropriate equivalent of egg whites or pourable egg mixture.

Walking Omelets

12 eggs
3/4-1 C chopped meat (ham, bacon, sausage, etc.)
3/4-1 C shredded cheese (use your favorite, but the sharper flavored hard cheeses work great)
1-1 1/2 C chopped vegetables (green onion, broccoli, mushrooms, red pepper, etc.)
1-2 t salt (I prefer a flavored salt, garlic or cayenne pepper are flavorful)
1 t fresh ground rainbow pepprcorn
1/2 T parsley (fresh or dried work)
muffin pan or silicone muffin cups, sprayed lightly with cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Scramble the eggs.  You can add a bit of milk, cream or even cold water if that is your preference.  Cold water helps the eggs to be lighter and fluffier.  Add the spices and continue to beat until airy.  Place some of the meat, cheese and vegetable mixture in the bottom of each muffin cup.  Pour the egg mixture to fill each cup to 3/4 full.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until firm and lightly browned.

Refrigerate to eat through the week.  The omelets will be good for the week refrigerated, but can also be frozen.  Allow to thaw before microwaving.  Microwaves vary, and you don’t want the egg to become rubbery, so you will have to test to see how long it takes to warm through (my microwave takes about 30 seconds, but I’ve seen some recipes call for 2 minutes in the microwave…I would then have hockey pucks!)

As you can see, I didn’t name these “walking omelets” just because you can warm it and walk out the door to work or school, ours actually have feet!

For the Green Eggs and Ham version: add several drops of green food coloring to egg mixture (and for my child, omit all vegetables!)