Category Archives: Vegetable Main Dishes

Heirloom Tomato + Pesto Quiche

14 Replies

More quiche for you!

toms

This one was good. I think the best one ever. Pesto + cheese + heirloom tomatoes = an unbelievable combination. One that I would put in pasta. Why not in a quiche?

toms3

I’ve said it before but I just love making quiche and having it around because it is good for any meal.

toms4

Serve it with some form of potato for a nice weekend breakfast, on it’s own for lunch or with a big green salad for dinner.

pesto

It just works!

cheese

I usually make two quiches at a time and eat them for various meals all throughout the week.

quiche

And, I use frozen store-bought crust. I wish I was making my own, but I’m just not there yet. Does anyone have a super simple homemade crust recipe? Please share — I’d love to give it a try.

quiche2

Now, for this quiche, you definitely have to like pesto to enjoy it. I made this once and put 1/2 cup of pesto in it. The pesto flavor was prominent. I did enjoy it, but the next time I made it I put 1/3 cup of pesto in it, just to see how that would turn out. It was good too and much less strong on the pesto taste. So, in the ingredients list I said to add 1/3 – 1/2 cup of pesto, depending on your taste for it! It’s good either way, just choose how strong you want it to be!

all

Also, as far as assembling the quiche. The first time I made it, the order I went in was first crust (obviously), pesto, tomatoes, cheese, egg. The second time I went crust, pesto, cheese, egg and then tomatoes. I reversed the order of egg and tomato. I definitely enjoyed the second try better as far as order, with the egg going before the tomatoes — the tomatoes on top. That is what I put in the directions.

quiche1

I hope that you get to make and enjoy this simple, delicious quiche!

Ingredients:
*This is what I used for one quiche. Can easily be doubled, tripled, etc.
1 9-inch pie crust (I used a frozen store-bought one)
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk (I used coconut)
1/3 – 1/2 cup pesto
3/4 cup mini heirloom tomatoes, sliced
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350*.

Start by slicing the tomatoes. I took each mini heirloom tomato and sliced it lengthwise into thirds.

Crack the eggs into a large bowl. Whisk the eggs well. Add the coconut milk (or regular milk) and whisk well again until the milk is incorporated.

Spoon the pesto into the bottom of the pie crust. Using the back of a spoon, gently smooth it over the bottom of the crust. Sprinkle the cheese over the pesto. Pour the eggs over the cheese. At this point, I took the whisk I used to mix the eggs and very gently stirred the egg mixture in the crust. I did not want to incorporate all of the ingredients, just wanted to make sure they cooked together a bit. Last, place the tomatoes slices over the eggs. The tomatoes should cover the entire top of the quiche.

Place the quiche in the preheated oven and bake at 350* for 10 minutes. Increase the heat to 400* and bake for another 30-40 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

*This will be best if you let if cool for about 20 minutes before eating. It will be watery/runny straight from the oven. The longer you let it cool, the better it will be. It makes excellent leftovers because once you warm it up in the microwave, it doesn’t get runny again.

Enjoy!

Notes:
-I made this once and used 1/2 cup of pesto and another time I used 1/3 cup of pesto. It was good both times. The pesto amount is definitely flexible — the point of it is to add flavor — so add as much or as little depending on your love (or not) of it.

-If you can’t find mini heirloom tomatoes (I feel like I was lucky!) just used grape or cherry tomatoes. Or any tomatoes you have!

-You can use any type of milk that you like! It doesn’t have to be coconut.

-It seems to me that the time in the oven for quiche is very variable. The first time I made this quiche it took 35 minutes total. The second time it took 50 minutes total. I bake it on on a lower temperature at first, just to get it started without being too hot right away. Once you increase the heat to 400*, I would start checking it after 30 minutes.

-Again, this is best if you let if cool before eating. It is watery/runny right out of the oven. It reheats in the microwave very well.

Salmon + Veggie Salad

5 Replies

I’ve got another salad combo for you.

salad1

Juicy tomatoes.

toms

Creamy avocado.

avocado

Salty capers.

capers

Pickled red onions.

onions

And fresh, delicious salmon.

salmoncooking

Piled high on a bed of greens.

salad4

This salad is amazing. Everything goes so well together. Also great for these warm days. It requires very little cooking and prep work.

salad5

In the directions, I tell you how I prepared my salmon for this salad. But you should definitely prepare it your favorite way. If you have a grill, I am sure that would be perfect {dreaming of the day I can have a grill}.

salad

I suggest an oil-based dressing for this salad, but again, use what you love. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

salad3

Oh, I have to mention! This salad was inspired by a delicious meal we ate the The Tomato Bistro.

Ingredients
*This is for two salads. Double, triple, etc., as you please.
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 avocado, sliced
4 tablespoons capers
1/4 of a red onion, sliced
Red wine vinegar
Olive oil
2 fillets of salmon, whatever size you like to eat
Juice from one half of a lemon
Salt and pepper
Mixed greens (or your favorite lettuce)

First prep your veggies. Cut the grape tomatoes in half. Slice the avocado. Slice 1/4 of a red onion. Place the onion slices in a bowl and completely cover with red wine vinegar. Let this sit while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Pour about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a pan over medium-high heat. Let the oil get hot and then add the salmon fillets. I cooked mine for about 2 minutes on each side. Once the first side was done, I sprinkled salt and pepper on each fillet, squeezed some lemon juice into the pan over the salmon and then flipped them. I cooked the other side for 2 minutes and squeezed the rest of the lemon juice on the salmon.

To arrange the salad, I would suggest tossing the greens with dressing first. You can do this in a big bowl and then transfer the dressed greens to smaller serving bowls. In each serving bowl, arrange the tomatoes, 1/2 of an avocado, 2 tablespoons capers, one half of the red onions and one fillet of salmon.

Enjoy!

Notes:
– Letting the onion sit in red wine vinegar is sort of a really quick pickling process. It takes the bite out of the onion, makes them soft and almost sweet. You can let the onion soak in the vinegar as long as you want, even overnight!

Asparagus + Red Onion + Pesto Creamy Quesadilla

6 Replies

This is my new favorite meal.

ingredients

My new favorite lunch. It requires very little cooking (I love cooking, but for now, the less heat, the better). It really requires very little work at all.

And this quesadilla tastes special. It’s like I’m eating something from an exciting, new restaurant. I can’t explain it, it just feels special.

all

Even though I was a bit afraid to, I made this for Greg two nights ago. You see, he is not the biggest fan of cream cheese, sour cream and “other white stuff like that.”

I love cream cheese on a bagel, him not so much. A dollop of sour cream on a fajita? I love it, but not him. When I thought of this quesadilla using cream cheese, I knew I would love it. But I was worried about him.

pans

I decided to give it a try anyway. I didn’t tell him what was in it. I told him to try one bite — if he didn’t like it, I would make him another one, differently.

I watched nervously, as he took that first bite.

chives

He loved it! I could barely believe it.

que

And then. “Is that sour cream?”

Great..I was hoping he wasn’t going to ask. I should have known better.

que5

“No,” I said.

que1

“What is it?” he asked.

que2

My first response? “I don’t want to tell you!”

But, after a few tries with that answer, and his plea of “C’mon tell me, I said that I like it!” I gave in and told the truth.

I put cream cheese in his quesadilla.

que3

Luckily, it turned out well for both of us. I get to make quesadillas with cream cheese, and we both like eating them.

que6

It does sound like cream cheese in a quesadilla could be overwhelming. But, it is the only cheese I put in this one. It actually feels light compared to other cheese-packed quesadillas you can get at restaurants.

que7

The flavor of this is unbelievable. Crispy asparagus and red onion + the creamy cheese + the flavor punch from the pesto = a tasty combination that will leave you wanting more.

que4

And, I used my cast iron skillet to make these — it was perfect!

Ingredients
*This is what I used to make one quesadilla. It can be very easily doubled, tripled, etc.
1 soft tortilla
5 asparagus stalks
1/4 of a medium red onion
8 chive sprigs
1 1/2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 tablespoons of pesto
Olive oil

Chop the asparagus into 1/2 inch pieces. Thinly slice the onion. In a pan over medium-high heat, add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Once hot, add the onion and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the asparagus, give it a good toss, and cook the veggies for another 5 minutes. While cooking, the pan should be very hot. This way, the veggies get crisp and cook quickly. Once the veggies are done, set them aside.

Place a skillet over medium heat (I used my cast iron and it worked perfectly). Place a tortilla into the hot skillet. Carefully spread the cream cheese on one side of the tortilla. Tear the chives into small pieces and place on top of the cream cheese. Next, spoon the veggies onto the tortilla followed by the pesto.

At this point, your tortilla should be crisp but not burnt. If it is still soft, turn the heat up a bit and let it cook longer. Once done, it should be slightly crispy and crunchy, but able to fold over nicely.

Fold the tortilla in half, making a quesadilla.

Cut in half, and enjoy!

Notes:
– For dinner, I made three of these for Greg and I. I did make them one at a time. Unless you feel confident having several skillets going at once, it is definitely okay to do one at a time.

Corn + Black Bean + Tomato Salad

Leave a reply

I’ve always been the type of person who has no trouble eating winter-y food all throughout the summer.

corn

How about you?

beans

You know, like soup in the middle of July. A warm pot pie in August. I’ve always enjoyed warm winter comfort food the entire year.

toms

Until now.

lime

Until now, now that I live in an un-air-conditioned apartment.

both

I never understood why soup in the summer didn’t appeal to people. But I do now. I now understand why people don’t want to do that.

salad1

Enter, this salad. I thought — what can I make that involves absolutely no heat, but still tastes delicious?

salad3

Salad. Expect more. I’ll be with no air conditioning all summer long.

salad5

By the way, I thought making this salad was a great idea to keep cool. And then, I got hungry for stuffed shells. So I made them. So much for keeping cool.

salad2

If it is as hot where you are as it is in Philly, give this salad a try. It will refresh you. It combines the southwest flavors of corn, black beans, tomatoes and salsa with cool homemade (or store-bought) ranch, over a bed of crisp greens. Yes, a perfect summer meal.

salad6

Ingredients
A bowl full of mixed greens (I didn’t measure, but I used maybe 6 cups?)
1 can of black beans, rinsed
1 can of corn, rinsed
2 cups diced tomatoes
Juice from 1/2 of a lime
1/2 cup salsa
Homemade ranch dressing, as much as you please

Start by putting the black beans, corn and diced tomatoes into a bowl. Squeeze the juice from 1/2 of a lime over the veggies and stir.

In a different large bowl, add a few large handfuls of mixed greens (or your favorite type of lettuce). Top with a couple of large spoonfuls of the veggie mixture. Add another layer of lettuce and then more veggies. Spoon the salsa on top and then drizzle ranch dressing over the salad.

Using salad tongs or two spoons, toss the salad very well. This will coat all of the lettuce with the salsa and ranch, making a very nice dressing.

Serve with additional veggies, salsa and ranch, if desired.

Enjoy!

Asparagus + Mushroom + Spring Onion Quiche

8 Replies

I can’t believe that this is only the second quiche that I am sharing with you.

veggies

I am in love with quiche. It has always been a favorite dish of mine.

veggies1

I got a call from my mom on Saturday morning and she asked me if I was hungry.

veggies2

She told me that she made the best quiche ever, did I want any? I had just finished breakfast but figured that by the time I got ready and drove home, I would be ready to try this quiche.

all3

I pulled in, walked through the door and my mom sliced me a huge slice of quiche. It took one bite for me to agree. This was the best quiche ever!

quiche3

I don’t know what it is.  It may be the combination of fresh, spring veggies. Or maybe my mom found the perfect egg to cream ratio. Whatever it is, this quiche is just right.

quiche1

Ingredients
*This makes two 9-inch quiches
1 bunch of asparagus
4 green spring onions
8 oz. mushrooms
2 – 9 inch round pie crusts
8 eggs, divided
1 cup half and half, divided
Olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
Salt, pepper and garlic salt
1 cup cheese, divided (I used mixed Italian and freshly grated parmesan)

Preheat oven to 350*. Roll out the dough and lightly grease two 9-inch pie pans. Push the dough into the pie pans.

Prep your veggies. Chop the asparagus, onions and mushrooms so that they are all about the same size. Drizzle some olive oil into a pan over medium heat and once hot, add asparagus first. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until asparagus begins to get soft. Then add the onions, cooking another 2 minutes to get them soft. Next, add the mushrooms, salt, pepper, garlic salt (to taste) and butter and cook all veggies together for about 5 minutes. Veggies should be soft and slightly browned when done.

For each quiche, crack 4 eggs into a bowl. Whisk well with 1/2 cup of cream.

To assemble each quiche, first put the veggies onto the bottom of each crust. Then add 1/2 cup of cheese to each, on top of the veggies. Next, pour the egg mixture over the veggies and cheese.

Place the quiche in the oven. Set the time for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, stir the quiche filling around. It should be slightly set already, but that is okay. Cook for an additional 15 minutes.

Enjoy!