Slow Cooker Quiche

Looking for a meal that doesn't heat up your house during the hot months? I didn't think this was even possible - but my crust came out crusty and flakey and my quiche wasn't soggy at all. This was a super success. 

Slow Cooker Quiche

7 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

3/4 cup chopped ham

1/2 cup chopped broccoli

1/2 cup chopped bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 tsp minced garlic

Roll a double pie crust out on parchment (I used Betty Rabe's recipe for oil crust pastry). Press and flatten into sides of crock and up the sides 2 1/2-3 inches.

In a skillet saute onion, bell pepper, and garlic 3 min. in a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle of salt and pepper. Add broccoli and ham and cook 2 min.

In a bowl whisk eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Stir in veggies and ham. Pour into crust. Make sure crust is still flattened to the sides of the crock.

Cover crock with a stretch of paper towels and hold in place with lid. 

Cook on High 3 hrs until quiche is set.

Spaghetti Squash Yum!

This recipe was sitting out on the RS table...I don't know where it came from, but thought I'd share it with you!

1 spaghetti squash
2 T. olive oil
1 white onion, chopped
1 1/2 C. chopped vine tomatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 feta cheese
3 T. black olives
2 T. chopped fresh basil

Cook squash in oven with water until tender (350 degrees).

Heat oil in skillet and cook onions until tender.  Add garlic and cook for 3 more minutes.  Stir in tomatoes.

Put everything together in a large bowl and toss.

Serve warm.

Sizzler Toast

This is what we call Sizzler Toast because it is similar to the bread they serve at Sizzler.

It is best on Texas Toast (bread) or an artisan bread (slightly crispy on outside) but regular bread works too.

Butter both sides of the piece of bread I use a tub butter because it is easier to spread. Place in a non stick pan or non-stick griddle. Sprinkle top heavily with parmesan cheese (just the cheap kind in a green can). Flip over (before the bottom is cooked). Sprinkle other side (was the bottom, now the top) with parmesan. Allow bottom to cook until cheese is brown and toasty. Flip over and cook until cheese on 2nd side is brown and toasty.

If the parmesan flavor is too strong...just do one side, or sprinkle more lightly next time. But we like a lot!

Pretzel Jello

This is what I took to Thanksgiving this year. I will post 2 variations of the recipe. The one with pineapple is the one I tend to make and the one with just strawberries is from my sis-in-law. They are both good.

Pretzels, crushed (not to a powder, but into pieces). Measuring 2 2/3 C. after crushed.

3/4 C. melted margarine or butter

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 C. white sugar

12 oz. coolwhip, divided (I do Fat Free)

2 C. boiling water

6 oz strawberry jello

10 oz. frozen sliced strawberries, thawed (save juice)

20 oz can crushed pineapple (drained well)

Put pretzels in the bottom of a cake pan. Pour melted butter over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool completely (at least 1 hour).

Blend softened cream cheese, sugar and 8 oz. coolwhip (not all 12 oz). Spread over cooled pretzels.

Mix water and gelatin until dissolved. Add strawberries with juice and drained pineapple. Pour carefully over cream cheese layer. Let set in fridge.

Once set. Spread the remaining coolwhip over the top.

Version #2

2 C. crushed pretzels

3T. sugar

3/4 C. melted butter

8 oz cream cheese, room temp.

1/2 C. sugar

small carton cool whip

20 oz frozen sliced strawberries, or 1 qt. fresh (sliced)

6 oz. strawberry jello

2 C. boiling water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix the pretzels, 3 T. sugar and melted butter. Put into a 9 X 13 pan. Bake for 7-8 min until toasty. Set aside to cool.

Beat together cream cheese, cool whip and 1/2 C. sugar. Spread over cooled crust.

Combine strawberries, jello and boiling water until jello is dissolved. Let stand in refrigerator until partially jelled, then pour over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate until set.

Granny's Biscuits

A while ago, I made some homemade chicken noodle soup (for the first time!) in the crock pot and while perusing online for a good recipe, everyone said that you have to have biscuits with chicken noodle soup.  I’m pretty decent at rolls, but I’ve never made a biscuit in my life. 

I researched and compared and researched some more and found, what I think, is an amazing recipe.  And easy!  Which we all know I’m a big fan of.  :)

Granny’s Homemade Biscuits

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder (aluminum free if you have it)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup milk

Combine all dry ingredients and blend well with a whisk. Cut in butter (if you don’t know how to do this, click here) until resembles coarse bread crumbs. Stir in milk until all comes together to form a dough ball. Turn out dough ball onto a well floured surface. Let set for a couple of minutes and pat out to about 1/2″ thick. Cut biscuits with floured biscuit cutter and place into ungreased baking pan. Form remaining dough into ball and repeat until all dough made into biscuits. This recipe will make approximately 12 biscuits. Bake in 425-450 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. 

Note: This recipe freeze well too. Just place your cut biscuits onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper or parchment paper and place cookie sheet into freeze making sure to keep level. Once frozen remove and place into a freezer bag and place into freezer. When ready to use just follow baking directions and bake only the amount that you need, you do not have to bake all of them at one time. 

Some personal notes from experience:
It says to use a floured biscuit cutter-I didn't.  I used a metal, fondant cutter I have and I never floured it.  Worked like a charm.  You could also use a metal canning lid or anything you have laying around!  Also, a lot of different women said that, with biscuits, the less you handle the dough the better.  Just FYI.  A few sites said to use aluminum free baking powder, others didn't specify.  I happened to have it on hand so that's what I have been using the last couple of months that I've been making these.  And lastly, it really does only make about 12-14 biscuits.  You will think that sounds like plenty...until you taste them.  If you have a big family (meaning more than two people) you'll want to double the recipe.  Just know that it does take a lot longer to cut the biscuits out with double the dough.





Oh!  And one more thing - another blogger said that the biscuits should always have their sides touching while baking.  She said that it helps them rise better...don't ask me why.  This pic is from the first time I made the recipe and since then I have tried it with ALL of the sides touching and it works great.  So, make sure they're all connected.  :)  Enjoy!

Banana Squash

Cut banana squash into the serving size of pieces that you want (smaller than a potato).  Scoop out the "guts".  Place a piece on a piece of tinfoil skin side down.  Put some butter (real butter is best by far!!!) (about the size of a pad of butter you would get at a restaurant to go on your roll) and 1 T. of brown sugar on top of the squash (on the fleshy part that you are going to eat).  Wrap the tinfoil up around it leaving the skin side still down.  Place on a cookie sheet.  Bake at 450 for 1 hour.  Remove from foil, use a knife or fork to remove the flesh from the skin. (You don't eat the skin).  Pour the "juice" on top.  Yum!

Gauzas (Pot Stickers)

Dip in Sweet and Sour Sauce. (recipe posted separately)

We usually make these for New Years Eve with Ham Fried Rice and Sweet and sour sauce.

1 tube jummy dean hot sausage
1 bunch green onions (wash and cut off roots and ends...but leave most of the white part to be chopped up with the rest of the stalk)
1/4 head green cabbage, chopped
1 pkg wonton skins (found in the produce section)

Brown sausage.  Drain if excess fat.  Add chopped onions and cabbage to frying pan with sausage.  Cook
until cabbage starts to sweat and onions are cooked.  Remove from heat.

Place a wonton skin on counter.  Get a small bowl of water.  Get your fingers wet.  Wet down 2 adjacent (touching) edges of the wonton wrapper.  Place a small spoonfull of filling (sausage mixture) in the middle of the wonton skin.  Fold the two dry edges of the wonton skin diagonally to form a triangle.  (So the 2 dry edges will meet the two wet edges).  Fry in a small amount of oil until browned on both sides.  (Not deep frying---just a few T. in a pan).  Remove from oil and place on a plate covered with paper towels.

Sweet and Sour Sauce (Won Ton Sauce)

Great with Ham Fried Rice, or chicken strips or Gauzas.

1 (6 oz) pineapple juice
1/2 C. granulated sugar
1-2 T. Ketchup (I do 2)
1/4 C. red wine vinegar
1-3 tsp. soy sauce (I do 3)

Combine all and bring to boil.

Use a whisk to stir in mixture of...
2 T. cornstarch mixed with
1/4 C. water

Turn down heat and cook until thick.

Ham Fried Rice

This is one of my family's all time favorites.  If I am ever making a weekly menu and ask "what should I make for dinner this week"...I get a unanimous resounding "Ham Fried Rice!!!"

I got the recipe from my Mom, who got it from the Pitkins who were our next door neighbors when I was growing up.

I always serve with sweet and sour sauce (which I will post separately).  Usually when I make ham fried rice  it is a meal in and of itself.

It is also delicious with Gauzas (Pot-stickers) which I did not make this night for dinner, but I will post the recipe separately.  Also great with fried chicken strips ( as in the previous post).

Cooked and cooled White rice (8 cups cooked for a huge batch)  (This is good reheated and one of the few things I will save for leftovers)
3 eggs
soy sauce (a lot)
White sugar (a lot)
1 bunch green onions
1/2 lb ham (from the refrigerated deli by the hot dogs and cheese---not from the deli itself)



You really just have to adjust the amounts of everything to your liking.  I do a really large batch because we love it.  I usually do 8 cups of cooked white rice (which is 4 cups of uncooked rice).  You can cook it in a pot, a rice cooker or a pressure cooker or however.  Make sure it is all the way cooked and not crunchy.  Then you need to let it cool the whole way.  This is the most important step.  You can spread on a jelly roll pan and put in the fridge to speed things up(if making the same day.  Or place cooked rice in a baggie or container if making with in a few days.

Scramble 3 eggs in a little oil in a frying pan.  Remove from pan and place on a small plate or in a small bowl and set aside

Use 1/2 pkg (which is 1/2 lb) of lunchmeat ham.  We have tried it with these options...chicken, cubed ham, sliced ham from the deli...and we don't like any of them as well as good old lunchmeat.  It does not have to be smoked (as pictured) and it does not have to be this brand.  Any brand will do except buddig.

Chop the ham.




Wash  one bunch of green onions.

Chop off the roots (hairy part) but leave some of the white part and chop off the tops (they tend to be dried out).  Throw roots and tops away and chop the rest.

Saute in a frying pan with a little oil (vegetable or canola are my preference).  The ham and green onions always look like they are about equal parts to me (they are not...but they kind of look like it).

Once ham shrivels a bit and the onions are cooked through remove from frying pan and place on a small plate or in a small bowl.

I have a wok, but you can use a large pan instead.  Wok's get seasoned the more you use them (like a dutch oven or cast iron).  So the more you use it the better your food will taste.

Use a little oil and a paper towel to rub off the old oil.  Whenever you get done using your wok you rub it down with oil to season and protect it.  Then before you use it you use a little oil to clean the old oil off and get it primed for using.

Place a small amount of oil (maybe 1 T) in pan.  Add fully cooled rice.  Remember the cooling is the most important part.  Reheat rice on Medium heat.  If it starts to stick turn down heat and add a little oil.

Stir occasionally.Once rice is heated through add ham and onion mixture (DO NOT ADD EGGS AT THIS TIME).

Add soy sauce and white sugar to taste.  This is the hard part to explain because it is to taste, not measured out.  This is the way I do soy sauce...I pour it on until the pan starts to sizzle (the soy sauce hitting the bottom  of the pan).  Sugar...I'm guessing start with 1/3 C. Stir those both in.  Almost every single time it needs more soy and more sugar (maybe even up to a total of 2/3 C. sugar---just guessing). The soy sauce will also turn the rice into a pretty brown color.

 It should taste really good before adding the eggs, then once you add the eggs it just puts it over the top.

This night I served it with fried chicken strips and sweet and sour sauce on top of chicken and rice.

Evelyn's Raspberry Salad

From Evelyn H.

1 large cool whip (12 oz)
1 large raspberry yogurt (32 oz)
Frozen raspberries (10 oz or larger) (Thaw) (can use fresh also, or strawberries)
Miniature white marshmallows (1/4 bag-4 oz) (whole bag is 16 oz)

Mix all ingredients together.  Chill and serve.  Better if made a few hours ahead so that marshmallows can dissolve a bit.

I haven't tried it yet, but I also thought it would be good with marshmallow creme instead of marshmallows.

Baked Beans

Ok...so this is not a BBQ recipe...but if you are going to a BBQ this is one of my favorite dishes.  These are my Mom's baked beans.

3 (15 oz each) cans of Van Camps Baked beans (remove small piece of fat from each can)
1/4 bottle BBQ sauce (any brand and any flavor)
1 lb. Jimmy Dean Hot sausage (comes in a tube)
1 large chopped onion
1/2 C. brown sugar
1/2 C. green pepper (chopped) (optional---I usually use, my Mom doesn't---good either way)
2 T. worchestershire sauce
2 T. mustard
1 C. apples (2 apples) (great way to use apples that are a little mushy)

Sometimes my mom adds in hamburger also I usually don't, but either way is good.  Brown sausage and onions (also hamburger and green pepper if using).  Mix remaining ingredients in a large oven safe pot.  Bake covered at 325 for 1 hour.  Refrigerate overnight.  Then reheat before serving.  You can freeze and reheat also.  These are 200% better if you will let them cool completely and then reheat.  So make a day ahead for best taste.  These are a little runny, so if you are taking to a party or something you might want to bring cups or bowls for people to put them in separately.  We love these so I always make a double batch.  We can eat these as a meal in and of themselves.

Erika...I need a ringing endorsement on these!  Post a glowing comment!