What's For Dinner Wednesday-Ham and Cheese Quiche

I made this quiche a while back for a church potluck and got several comments on its tastiness.  I thought I would share the recipe with y'all as well. 

I really love a good quiche.  When the hubby and I were visiting France a couple of years ago I fell in love with Quiche Loraine.  I haven't tried making one myself for the fear that it won't be as good as the French version I had on many different occasions! 

Instead, I keep trying other quiche recipes to fulfill my love of baked eggs and cream!  The great thing about quiches is that you can just dump bunches of different things in and it will yield a yummy, creamy concoction.  Well, maybe not just any combination, but almost!

Here is the list of ingredients for this Ham and Cheese Quiche
Pie Crust:
either ready made or this flavorful homemade version
1/2 cup butter
1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 tsp. paprika
2 tbsp. cold water

For the filling you will need:
2 tbsp. all purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt
pepper to taste
3 eggs
1 cup half and half
4 slices swiss cheese
1/2 cup chopped spinach
4 oz. can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 cup diced ham
1 cup cheddar cheese

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Combine the crust ingredients in a bowl, all except the water. 

Mix together, add water as needed.  The crust holds together very well and is so soft that I just pat it out to size with my hands, no rolling pin needed.  I am telling you crust recipes with butter are the best all the way around.  Easy to make, easy to work with, and easy to eat!  Can't get much better than that!!  Pat your dough out to the size of your pie pan.

Transfer the crust to your pie pan.  Pat the edges us to to top of the pan.

Bake the crust for 5 minutes, then let cool.

In a medium bowl beat together flour, salt, pepper, eggs, and half and half.

Cover the bottom of the pie crust with swiss cheese.

Sometimes it is beneficial to have a little pajama clad helper to do a little extra beating of the egg mixture, just to make sure it is well blended!

Sprinkle spinach evenly over the cheese and place mushrooms on top of spinach.

Pour egg mixture over mushrooms.  Cover with ham and sprinkle cheddar cheese over the top. 

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the filling is set and the top is golden brown.

Take that baby out of the over!  Let it cool slightly, then cut and serve.

This really is a very easy meal to make, with out a lot of prep work.  If you use a pre-made crust you cut about 5-10 minutes off the prep time.  So, this is a great option for busy Mom's who want something easy to fix when they come home from work.  This dish is so creamy and the extra seasonings in the crust really adds to the overall flavor of the quiche.  I think this dish is going to appear again at our house very soon! 

Happy Baking!

Grandparent's Day

Yesterday was Mr. E's Grandparent's Day Celebration at school.  He was fortunate to have three of his four grandparents in attendance. 

The kids were so cute as they marched in and up on the stage.  Mr. E is the tallest, and oldest in his class, and it is cute to see his head sticking out from all the rest!  The kids did a great job singing several songs.  I had only heard Mr. E sing one.  He clams up about what they do at school.  I had no idea he knew the Pledge of Alegiance until he blurted it out randomly this summer.  When I asked him how he learned it, he responded, " We say it everyday at school."  I was shocked and excited. 

Here is Mr. E with my parents, a.k.a. MiMi and Papa.  We took a picture with Miss C added to the mix, but she wasn't cooperating.  She just clung to my Mom's leg and wouldn't look at the camera, so we settled on this one instead.  

This is Mr. E with the Hubby's Mom, a.k.a. Grammy.  She watches my kids on Mondays so she was able to come too!  Grampy had to work, but Mr. E was fine with it, he was glad to have Grammy! 

Grammy also brought baby K with her. That is my youngest niece. She will be 2 in November, so can't call her baby K for much longer. Baby K got so excited to see Mr. E, she calls him Buba just like Miss C!  Afterwards we all went out for lunch.  Mr. E and Miss C had fun playing with their cousin and the other kids from school who happened to venture to the same fast food establishment. 

I am so thankful for my Grandparents ( I still have 2 of my grandparents) and the influence they had, and still have on my life.  I am also thankful for my parents and my husbands parents and the active part they have in my children's lives.  My kiddos love them so much!  They are awesome caretakers and spoilers of my children and I couldn't ask for anyone else to do the job better!

Happy  (late) Grandparents Day!

Makin' It Monday-Embellished Backpack

Mr. E needed a backpack for preschool again this year.  There is nothing wrong with the backpack from last year.  I just didn't like getting his school work back all crinkled from where he would cram it in his bag.  The bag was a little smaller than a normal sheet of paper, so he had to cram it to get it to fit. 

Can you blame me for wanting to preserve pristine works of art?  I mean 30 years from now (probably because it will take me that long) when we reminisce about the time Mr. E was in preschool I would rather see his work, than the creases and folds all over the paper. 

Thus enters the new backpack.  

I found this awesome Nautica backpack at my local Goodwill for $3.00!!!  It is totally cool just the way it is, but I felt the need to add a little more to the bag.  First of all Mr. E's name has to be on the bag somewhere, so why not add the name and a little boy bling at the same time. 

Since Mr. E is crazy about tractors, especially John Deere tractors I decided to applique the John Deere Logo on the front and use some John Deere fabric for his name too.  How appropriate for my tractor lovin' baby!

I ironed my fabric to some Wonder Under and then traced the letters for Mr. E's name.  Then I cut out and ironed the letters to the backpack.  To add some extra detail, and support I used yellow embroidery floss around the letters and the logo. 

Mr. E is pleased with the outcome and the extra details make it easier for him to find his backpack in the line of backpacks at school! 

Hope you find some good deals on your next thrifting visit!  Maybe even some you can spruce up a bit too!

Happy Crafting!

Things to Try Thursday on a Friday- Bermuda Shorts

Okay, another clothes refashion, hope you don't mind too bad.

I have a pair of denim Bermuda shorts that I bought last year at Target, but when I put them on they loom like "Mom" shorts. I know I am a mom, thus all my shorts are mom shorts, but these just don't look like what I would like them to.

On one of my Good will shopping visits I went specifically to look for wide, straight leg jeans. In other words a pair of jeans that were as wide at the thigh as they were at the hem.

I lucked up and found a pair that fit me! This was made easier because length didn't matter. I have ling legs, so buying jeans can be a bit complicated.

Originally I was gonna wack the jeans of and hem them myself, but I found this great tutorial for altering the hem of jeans over at Make It and Love It.

So, that's what I did for my shorts. They still have the professional Jean hem, which let's face it is a hard thing to duplicate.

Here is my final product. I have enjoyed wearing these shorts in the hot smoldery weather that we called summer. If the temps don't rise, I may have worn my new shirts for the last time this year :(.






If you have jeans to alter, this is definitely a tutorial to check out!

Happy sewing!

Amy


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