Red Pepper, Mushroom and Bacon Quiche with Goat Cheese

Cooking breakfast on the weekend is one of my favorite things to do.  Some times I try to get a little fancy when my mom comes into town or we have guests.  I tried making mini quiches when my mom came into town and they were good, but the crust was a little too thick and kind of ruined it.  I tried again when another set of guests came into town.  That wasn't a big hit either.  After evaluating the unsuccessful attempts for the perfect breakfast and listening to feedback from my toughest critic, I decided to do some research and step up my game.  This time, it worked!  So let me share my secrets and the recipe I used...

Ingredients;

Crust:
1 1/4 C flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper, fresh ground
1 stick butter, cold
3 or 4 tbsp ice water

Filling:
6 eggs
1/4 c milk
1 c red peppers, chopped
1 1/2 c mushrooms
6 strips of bacon (you can use sausage as an alternative)
2 small or 3 tbsp shallots, minced
1 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Goat cheese (to add on top of the quiches)

Let's get started, because that looks tasty!

For the pastry dough, measure all the dry ingredients, chop the cold butter into 1 tablespoon pieces and spread over the dry ingredients.

Using a pastry blender, mix the ingredients until the mixture looks crumbly.  Add 1 tablespoon of ice water at a time, until fully incorporated (see picture below).  The recipe says 3-4 tablespoons of water.  I just used 2 tablespoons.  So be careful not to add too much water.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge.  The pastry dough is good for about day or two (about 24 - 48 hours) in the fridge. 

Take the pastry dough out of the fridge an hour before you start making the filling. 

For the filling, start by chopping the red peppers and mushrooms into small cubes.  Mince the shallots.  Chop the bacon into small pieces.

In a large non stick pan, add the bacon.  On a medium-high temperature, fry the bacon until the pieces have browned.  Remove the bacon from the pan, place on a few paper towels and leave the juices/fat from the bacon in the pan. 

Add the veggies into the pan, turn down the heat to medium and slowly saute the peppers, mushrooms and onions.

Let all of the juices from the vegetables cook out.  It's better for the juices to cook out now then when they are in the quiches.  Add the thyme, chives, salt and pepper once the juices have cooked out.  Turn the heat off and set the pan aside.

After allowing the vegetable to cool, beat 6 eggs in a bowl.  Add the 1/4 cup of milk and add the sauteed vegetables into the egg mixture.  Mix in the bacon.

Remove the plastic wrap from the dough.  Lightly flour your board.  Roll out the dough.  Be sure that the pastry dough is very thin, so that you can almost see through the dough.  Since we are making the small ones, it is important to make the dough thin so the crust is not too thick and does not over power the ingredients in the quiche.

TIP:  When rolling out the dough, I put plastic wrap on top so the dough does not stick to the roller and it is easier to roll out.

Cut a piece of the dough, larger than the round pan and line the pan with the dough, trimming the edges.  Be sure that the dough lines the pan, and the dough is molded into the pan.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

You can fill the tart with pie weights or prick the dough with a fork to create small holes in the dough at the bottom of the tart pan.  Place the pan in the preheated oven at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.  This allows the pastry dough to bake a little prior to adding the filling.

Once you have removed the pie crusts from the oven, fill them to the top with the filling (egg mixture).  Add 1-2 tsp of goat cheese on top.
I got a little excited and forgot to take a picture of the filled tarts before putting them in the oven :)

Bake the tarts at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Be sure that the egg has cooked completely.  The crusts will also start to brown.  A good way to see if they are done is by sticking a toothpick into the center to be sure it is not runny but firm.

All done.... thyme 2 taste!

Serving suggestions - You can serve with a side of greens, tossed in a vinaigrette or a fruit salad.  I also sometimes chop fresh basil and sprinkle it on top.

Alternative ingredients - If you are vegetarian, you can omit the bacon.  If you like sausage better than bacon, you can add that instead. 

You can find the tart pan here

Let me know what you think or any other ingredients you try!

Mild Italian Sausage

When someone, or actually anyone asks me if I want to make sausage, that is a guaranteed yes!  The one thing I have always wanted to try to make.... so I documented my first time and I have the recipe that I used so I can share it with you!

Ingredients

3lbs marbled pork shoulder, cut into 1 1/2" pieces
3 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp paprika
2 tsp toasted fennel seeds
1 1/2 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp freshly cracked pepper
4 Tbsp minced fresh parsley leaves
2 tsp red pepper flakes
pork casings

Drop the pieces of pork into the meat grinder.

Roll the ground pork into medium size balls and pass the balls through the meat grinder again, on a finer setting.

Once all the meat has been ground, place the meat into a bowl and add the remainder of the ingredients.

Mix the herbs and spices into the meat.  Using the sausage attachment, stuff the sausage mix into the pork casings.  You definitely need a sous chef for this part.

Wrap the sausage into a circle as you stuff the casings.

After all of the sausage mix has been stuffed into the casings, twist into sausages.

Makes about 15 sausages.
If you do not have casings, you can make sausage patties or meatballs as an alternative.

Thyme 2 taste...

Amazing BBQ lunch in Denver!

We visited family in Denver last week.  The afternoon before our flight we ventured into Denver to find a great BBQ place.  With the help of Yelp, and many reviewers, we found a BBQ place that sounded delicious... now the hardest part - seeing if the the food lived up to the reviews!

As we walked through the door of Boney's Barbeque, my belly started getting excited and my eyes got bigger.  A super low key place, but it smelled amazing.

We ordered a full rack of ribs, pulled pork sandwich, side of sweet potato fries and coleslaw.  Originally I thought that was a little excessive, but when we sat down and started eating, I immediately wanted more!

The ribs were made with a dry rub.  There were 3 different BBQ sauces available, but the ribs did not need any sauce, they were delicious without it.  Very tender and juicy.  For the pork sandwich, we added some house BBQ sauce and coleslaw in the sandwich which gave it that crunch when you bite into it.  I always love topping pulled pork sandwiches with some coleslaw.  The sweet potato fries had some kind of seasoning on them.  I figured it was probably a salt and pepper blended spice.  Oh, and I cannot forget to mention that the corn bread is AMAZING.. moist and so tasty!  All around an amazing meal.

Below are some pictures of the food we tried... I barely had time to take pictures, the aroma was amazing, I had to grab a rib almost immediately.  I definately recommend stopping by this place if you're ever in Denver.

Thyme 2 Taste....

 Full rack of ribs

 Sweet potato fries, coleslaw and cornbread

 Pulled pork sandwich with house BBQ sauce and coleslaw

Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese

It's that time of the year when you walk through the framers market and just want to buy everything!

A few weeks ago I was in Baltimore and stopped at this cute little restaurant, Thames Street Oyster House, to enjoy some fresh seafood.  We ordered our entrees and my crab cake burger came with a side of roasted beets and goat cheese.  I thought it would be something like a goat cheese and beet salad.  I was surprised when they arrived at the table in a ramekin with melted goat cheese on top.  When I tried them, I immediately knew I need to try to make them myself.

I started at the farmers market, with a lovely bunch of beets...

Rinse the beets and clean them.  Cut the greens and the tip (roots) off.....

Place the beet on a piece of aluminum foil and sprinkle with olive oil and salt.

Wrap the beet in the foil.  Repeat with the other beets.  Place the wrapped beets on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 400 degrees for an hour or until you can pierce them with a fork and the beets feel soft.

Chop the beats into chunks and squeeze fresh lemon juice all over them.

Divide the beets into individual ramekins.

Sprinkle 1 1/2 tbsp of goat cheese on top of the beats and place in the oven.  The oven should be set to  a low broil to melt the cheese.
Once the cheese has melted, remove the ramekins from the oven.  Sprinkle with chopped mint, about 1/2 Tbsp.

Serve as an appetizer or a side dish.  Goes well with a nice steak!
Thyme 2 Taste!!

Ingredients;

2 bunches of beets, any color (about 6 beets)
1 small log of goat cheese about room temperature
1 lemon
2 Tbsp of chopped mint
Olive oil and kosher salt (for the beets when you wrap them in the foil)

Serves 4

Feel free to purchase different color beets to mix it up a little bit.

Chicken Enchiladas

We are visiting family out in Colorado and everyone wanted some chicken enchiladas... .seems as though I am not the only one that loves Mexican food.  I think the best part of the enchiladas is my homemade sauce.  Homemade sauce is not as time consuming as you think but is full of amazing flavor...

Take a large pot and add the tomatoes, chicken, onion, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, jalapeno and chipotle peppers.  Simmer all the ingredients together for an hour, on a low temperature.

Remove the chicken from the pot and slice up the chicken into small pieces.  Put the chopped up chicken in a medium size bowl and set aside.

Boil the corn for about 4 minutes, remove from the pan.  Cool and cut the corn off the stalks.

Add the corn into the bowl with the chicken and set aside.  Take all of the chunks of onion, peppers, tomatoes, etc out of the pot and put into a blender.  Blend the ingredients until the sauce is smooth.  If the sauce is too thick, add some juice from the pan.

Add 1/2 cup of the sauce to the chicken and corn and mix together.  Coat the bottom of your pan with a little sauce before you start adding the enchiladas into the pan.  Set the remainder of the sauce aside.

Get your tortillas out and put about 2 heaping tablespoons of the chicken ans corn mix on a tortilla and roll the tortilla.  Repeat until all the filling is gone.

Place the tortillas beside one another in the pan, pour the remainder of the sauce on top, cover with grated cheddar cheese.

Bake in the oven at 350 for 15-20 minutes.  You can also broil the top, creating a bit of a crispy cheese coating on top.

Serve with guacamole, sour cream, rice and beans... whatever you wish!  .....Thyme 2 Taste!

Ingredients:

3 lbs chicken thighs or brests, if you prefer all white meat
1 24oz can of whole stewed tomatoes
1 bunch of cilantro
1 large white onion, chopped into quarters
3 cloves of garlic
1 jalapeno, pitted and chopped into quarters
2 Tbsp of chipotle adobe peppers in sauce (depending on how spicy you would like the enchiladas to be.  You can add additional peppers)
1 lime, juiced

2 ears of corn

10 tortilla shells
grated cheddar cheese, varies depending on how much cheese you would like on the enchiladas.

Serves 4-5 people

Banana Bread with Walnuts and Chocolate Chips

It's a shame to throw away over ripe bananas... your solution... freshly baked Banana Bread!

Mash the bananas with a fork or a potato masher in a separate bowl and set aside.

Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Add 1 stick of butter into a medium size bowl.  Beat until creamy.  Add the sugar and beat until fully incorporated.

Add both eggs, 1 tsp vanilla and beat until fully incorporated, but do not over mix.  Add the mashed bananas and lightly fold into the mixture.

Add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and baking powder  on top of the butter mixture.  Fold the ingredients together until fully incorporated but do not over mix.

Coarsely chop the walnuts and add the walnuts and chocolate chips to the mixture.

Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips.  Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan.  Sprinkle with brown sugar.

Bake until the loaf is golden brown and a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and cool slightly.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Thyme 2 Taste!

Ingredients:

1 stick of salted butter
1 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 medium size bananas)
1 3/4 c all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 c. Ghirardelli Chocolate chips

TIP: Place over ripe unpeeled bananas in a ziplock bag and freeze them.  When you are ready to make bread, thaw the bananas on the counter until softened.

Steak Tacos with fresh tomatoes and avocado

I'm pretty sure my taste buds are Mexican because I LOVE Mexican food!  Who has the time to cook a complicated meal during the week?  Not me.... my go to meal on Tuesdays are tacos... Taco Tuesday!

So if you want to throw something together that's healthy and quick, this is your kind of recipe!

Skirt steak is the best kind of steak for tacos because it's juicy, thin and it cooks very quickly.  I like to marinate the meat the night before.  You can toss your steak into a large ziplock bag and sprinkle a pouch of Trader Joe's taco seasoning on the steak.  Add some olive oil (4 Tbsp), lock the bag and shake the bag to ensure the seasoning has covered all of the skirt steak.  Leave the bag in the fridge overnight.

Add 2 tbsp olive oil into a cast iron skillet.  Turn the heat onto high.  You want to skillet to be very hot before you add the steak because you want a nice sear on the outside of the meat.  Cook for 4 minutes and then flip the steak, cooking an additional 4 minutes.  The steak, depending on the thickness should be cooked to a medium temperature.  Do not overcook the skirt steak or it will be tough and not as tender and juicy.

Take the steak out of the pan and place it on a cutting board to let it rest.  When you let the steak rest before you cut it, the steak holds the juices and the steak is juicier.  Let it rest about 3-4 minutes.

Slice the steak about a 1/4 of and inch, into thin strips and if you like, you can make the pieces smaller by cutting it down the middle as well.

Slice the avocado length wise and chop fresh tomatoes into small cubes.  Squeeze some fresh lime over the tomatoes to give them some extra flavor.

 Warm the tortillas in the oven, I usually broil them for about 1-2 minutes just to warm them up. 

 
Assemble your taco... Thyme 2 Taste!!

Ingredients:

Skirt Steak 1lb
1 pkg. Trader Joe's taco seasoning
6 Tbsp Olive Oil (4Tbsp oil in the marinade and 2Tbsp in the pan before you add the steak)
3 Roma tomatoes
1 avocado
1 lime

Serves 4

Ingredients that I do not have but you can add is salsa, white onions and cilantro, cheese, sour cream, guacamole.... etc. 

If you do not have a Trader Joe's close to your neighborhood, you can order it on Amazon or try a regular taco seasoning.  Or maybe I need to make my own taco seasoning?  Perhaps that will be one of my next recipes.  Enjoy!