Hash Brown Quiche

My daughter was baptized on Saturday.  What a special day! She was baptized in the morning so we had our family back to our house for a brunch after.  This hash brown quiche was a hit!  It's been a long-standing favorite at our house so I was pleased with how the three pans I made were inhaled.  We make it often for dinner (we're big fans of breakfast for dinner).  It is SO delicious!  The hash browns combine with the eggs and milk and become fluffy and light.  As it cooks the majority of the swiss and cheddar cheese rise to the top and becomes ooey and gooey (yes, that's a word).  And the ham adds the right amount of saltiness to this savory dish. This is such an easy, delectable casserole.  You might find yourself going back for seconds fourths! 

 It worked out perfectly for a busy morning as I made them the night before and refrigerated them until I popped them in the oven in the morning.  I'd never made it this way before and was nervous it would turn out.  Thankfully they turned out exactly as they have in the past when I've made them according to the recipe.  My kid's voted that we make this on Christmas morning now instead of our usual casserole.  I think maybe we'll just make this in addition to our traditional dish.

Hash Brown Quiche from "The Essential Mormon Cookbook"

8 shredded frozen hash brown potato patties (I usually use 9 for a 9x13 pan)

1/2 cup butter, melted (I use 1/4 C)

1 C cubed precooked ham

1 C shredded cheddar cheese

1 C shredded swiss cheese

8 eggs

2 cups milk or cream

1/2 teaspoon salt

Place hash brown patties in greased 9x13 inch pan.  Pour melted butter evenly over the surface of potato patties.  Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes.  Remove from pan.  Sprinkle potatoes with ham and cheeses.  In a large bowl beat eggs.  Add milk or cream and salt.  Stir.  Pour mixture over cheese and ham.  Bake at 350 F for about 30 minutes.  Serves 8.

Tips:  If making the night before--just skip the step where you bake the potatoes.  Just pour butter over potatoes and proceed to adding the cheeses and ham on top of them.  After quiche is assembled, cover and refrigerate overnight.  Also, I bake it covered with the foil. 

Christmas Dinner

Wondering what to make on Christmas Eve or Christmas day?  I've compiled a list of a few of our very favorites--many that I'll be making this weekend as well.  I love the holidays and love getting in the kitchen and making our traditional meals and treats.  We always do ham on Christmas Eve and our favorite breakfast casserole on Christmas morning.  We also make sugar cookies to leave out for Santa with a big glass of milk.  So here are some of our tried and true holiday favorites.  Merry Christmas!
(Just click on the recipe names and it will take you right to the recipe)

SIDES

Bacon Wrapped Green Beans

Brown Sugar Carrots

Cheesy Potatoes 

Barbeque Green Beans

BREADS

Amazing Rolls!

Cinnamon Rolls (Christmas morning tradition)

Butterscotch Bundt Rolls

SALADS

7-up Salad

Spinach Salad

Berry Salad

APPETIZER/DRINK/SNACK 

Apple Brickle Dip

Creamy Crockpot Hot Chocolate

Candy Chex Mix

Cauliflower Soup

 DESSERT

Moist Orange Carrot Cake

Andes Peppermint Crunch Cookies

Divine Chocolate Mint Cookies

Gingersnaps

Not Pictured (but I just had to add them):

Sugar Cookies

Pumpkin Blondies

Oreo Truffles

Apple Spice Bars

Oatmeal Cake

Oatmeal Cookie Bars

Creamy Crockpot Hot Chocolate

 Don't you just LOVE Pinterest?  I adore it!  And if you're not on there...you must go check it out.  I saw this hot cocoa on there and knew I had to try it as it was touted as the "Best Ever".  I love a good hot chocolate. I used to mix up the instant cocoa and have it for dinner with toast when I was a poor college student (although that can't be considered a good hot chocolate).   And then in between my junior and senior year in college, I stayed in Vienna for a few weeks and loved the little cafes there and drank oodles of cocoa.  Although it did require a sugar cube or two to sweeten it up for this American.

Well, no sugar cubes required for this recipes.   It really does have the perfect balance of sweetness. Check out the line-up for this creamy, silky cocoa:  heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk,  real chocolate, milk, and vanilla.  How could that not be perfect?  And it really was no lie...it REALLY is the "best ever".  I often feel like I need to add or subtract something from hot chocolate because it never seems 100% right.  But I have found THE recipe. The ratio of milk to cream to chocolate is absolutely perfect!   You must try this!

Creamy Hot Cocoa in Crockpot from Mrs. Happy Homemaker

1.5 cups heavy cream

1 can of sweetened condensed milk (14 oz) 

2 cups milk chocolate chips

6 cups milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Stir all the ingredients together in your crockpot.  Cover and cook on low for 2 hours--coming back to whisk it every so often.  Garnish with whipped cream or marshmallows

Barbeque Green Beans and a Winner!

Happy, happy belated Thanksgiving.  I took a much-needed hiatus from life and blogging so I apologize for being incredibly slow on posting the winner of the cookbook.  But we had such a great, relaxing, family-filled holiday.  And now I sit here listening to Christmas music while we put up the holiday decorations and I am feeling perfectly festive and ready for the season.

And thank you, thank you for all of you who submitted side dishes that I could use for our Thanksgiving feast.  They ALL sounded so amazing and I am excited to try many of them out.  I had such a hard time narrowing down which recipe to try for our Thanksgiving.  So I brought in the help of my husband and he decided that something with corn or green beans sounded good.  It was such a tough choice, but I picked Ann's Green Bean recipe and they were phenomenal!!! Seriously.  You have to add this to your upcoming holiday dinners.

That being said, Ann is my sister and so I felt that it would show too much nepotism to give her the cookbook and she agreed.  So I used random.org to pick a winner for the cookbook.  The winner is Melanie Ann.  Leave me your email, if you would, Melanie and I'll get the cookbook to you.  Thanks again everyone for you submissions!!

And now here is that amazing recipe!  Don't let the title confuse you--there is no BBQ sauce in these beans but would go perfectly at a barbeque or as a side dish to accompany your ham or turkey this holiday season.  The flavors are better than any I've ever had in a green bean dish.  You MUST try these!

Barbeque Green Beans from Ann E.

2 pkg frozen french cut beans

1 onion
1 4oz. can of mushrooms
2 medium tomatoes

Partially cook beans. Put all of the above ingredients in a 9x13 baking dish. Make
sauce with 1/3 C melted butter, 2 t horseradish mustard, 2 T brown sugar, 1 1/4 t salt, pepper to taste. Pour over green beans and cover with foil. Bake 20 minutes at 400F.

*Make sure you use horseradish mustard...it makes all the difference

Serves: 12;  Weight Watchers Points+; 1

Berry Salad

While we were living away from family in Ohio, my mom called and told me about this amazing salad that my cousin, Robyn, had brought to a family party.  I still remember her describing it to me and thinking, "Wow, that sounds good...but maybe a little strange".  Oh, how wrong I was (about the strange part)!  My mom made this at our family reunion this summer and I loved it!

So I have now stolen the recipe from her and made it for our family.  The cheesecake pudding mixed with yogurt and cool whip makes such a refreshing, not too sweet base.  I love the berries and bananas (surprise, surprise...). If you are looking for a fun, new salad recipe for your Thanksgiving feast, give this one a try!  This recipe makes a lot of salad--so for our small family I'll probably half it next time.  But it would be great to serve a large family this holiday.

Berry Salad from Robyn B.

2 instant cheesecake jello pudding mix (Fatfree/Sugar free for WW Points+)
1 8oz cool whip (Fat free for WW Points+)
32oz carton of strawberry yogurt

Mix these ingredients together and refrigerate.

Just before serving, Add:
1 sm. bag of raspberries
1 sm. bag of mixed berries (thaw the berries before adding)
bananas

Serves: 12; Weight Watchers Points+: 2

Hawaiian Dip with Fruit Kebabs

What a week it's been.  It feels like I'm barely keeping my head above water right now.  Let me just state yet again--I hate having to sell a house right now. So as a good distraction, I wanted to post this fun recipe.  I made it for my little guy's birthday party.  I had spent way too much time making his birthday cake and so I decided to go more low key on the food.  We went the semi-homemade route and ordered in pizza and then I made some yummy breadsticks and tried this dip with kebabs.  I was not disappointed.  They were the perfect compliment to the pizza and breadsticks.  The dip was really light and refreshing.  I loved the combo of the vanilla flavor with the pineapple and coconut.  This would be a great, fun, different thing to serve up at some upcoming holiday parties. I know it's not the "traditional" kind of holiday dip, but I think it would be just a great way to shake it up and add something really delicious and new to your ensemble.

Hawaiian Dip with Fruit Kebabs from "The Pampered Chef; All the Best"

Dip:
3/4 C milk
1/2 C fat free sour cream
1 pkg (3.4 oz) vanilla instant pudding (fat free/sugar free for WW Points+)
1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
1/2 C sweetened flaked coconut, toasted, divided
1 lime

Kebabs:
6-8 cups assorted fruits such as apples, bananas, and pineapple, cut into 1-inch chunks, cantaloupe and honeydew melon bals and whole strawberries and grapes

1. For dip, combine milk, sour cream and pudding mix; whisk until smooth.

2. Stir in pineapple with juice and 1/3 C of the coconut.  Zest lime to measure 1 tsp zest.  Juice lime to measure 1 tsp juice.  Stir lim zest and juice into dip.  Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.

3. For kebabs, alternately threat fruit onto twenty-four 6-inch wooden skewers.  Spoon dip into serving bowl; sprinkle with remaining coconut.  Serve with kebabs

Tips: To toast coconut, preheat oven to 350F. Spread coconut onto pan.  Bake 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown; cool completely.

Dip: Serves 8; Weight Watchers Points+: 2

Cheesy Potatoes

For any of you still checking this blog--sorry for the absence. It has been a crazy whirlwind week. My husband was offered a new job back in the West where we are from and we have had a busy, busy, busy week getting the house on the market and getting everything in order. So if any of you are looking for a great house in central Ohio--I know of an amazing one for you to buy :-). So in my lack of cooking, I'm posting a recipe for cheesy potatoes that we make every single year for Christmas Eve. They are amazing!

Cheesy Potatoes

1 (2 lb.) package frozen hash brown potatoes
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
2 C cheddar cheese
16 ounces sour cream
1/4-1/2 C green onions
Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine the hashbrowns, soup, green onions, sour cream, and 1 1/2 C cheddar cheese. Mix well and pour into greased 9x13 pan. Top with remaining 1/2 C cheddar cheese; bake for 30-40 minutes or until all cheese is bubbly and hot.

Andes Peppermint Crunch Cookies

I know we're all probaby still reeling from the sugar overload of the holidays. But these are cookies that are now going to be added to our holiday repertoire. I made these to counteract all the salty appetizers we had on New Year's Eve. I had gotten the peppermint baking chips on a whim and decided to try the recipe on the back. My husband was a little leery at first (I seem to say that a lot on here....he really is complimentary of my cooking) but said many, many times that they were REALLY good. They had the perfect softy and chewy texture because of the coconut (which I was worried would overbear the flavor and it really just adds awesome texture) in them and have a nice flavor combination with the white chocolate and slight peppermint flavor.

Andes Peppermint Crunch Cookies from back of Andes Peppermint Chip bag

2 sticks (1/2 Lb.) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats

1 cup sweetened grated coconut

1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped pecans, toasted

1 1/2 cups Andes® Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300° F. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until fluffy (about 3 minutes). Beat in egg and vanilla extract. On low speed, add baking soda, salt and then flour. Mix completely. Stir in oats, coconut, pecans, and Andes® Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips. Measure out 2 Tbs. for large or 1 Tbs. for small cookies. Place round balls on lightly greased cookie sheets two inches apart. Press lightly. Sprinkle some of the remaining chips on top of each cookie. Bake for 20 minutes for large cookies or 12-15 mins. for small cookies Do not over bake. They get crunchy on the outside but remain soft inside. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool.

Tips: The directions are a little bit specific but I followed them exactly and they turned out perfect!

The Best Sugar Cookies!

Update 10/30/2010....see http://itsdinnertime2.blogspot.com/2010/10/sugar-cookies.html for the "real" story on these cookies :).

Probably like many of you, I have been on a hiatus. This Christmas holiday was exactly what we needed around here. The tanking economy has been stressful (like it has for most of us) and so it was nice to just have a break from life and from my 'to do' list. And so in the process I put blogging on the backburner and just had a holiday. It was much needed! And so now I have to get back to real life and wanted to post this recipe before I went off and checked on all of your blogs! This is my mom's phenomenal sugar cookie recipe. My husband who doesn't prefer sugar cookies even gobbles these up and raves about them. They are SO soft and have the greatest flavor. The key with this recipe is to not overbake them and take them out at the alotted time--even if they still seem a little undone. They will firm up a bit as they sit. I'm sure we're all on a sugar high and not in a cookie mood after the holidays. But when that hankering hits--try these! You won't be disappointed.

Sugar Cookies from Barbs
1 C sugar
1 C butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs beaten
1/8 C milk
½ tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
4 ¼ C flour

Chill 3 hours. Roll out onto wax paper and cut into shapes. Bake at 350 for 6-7 minutes—don’t overcook. When making frosting, add almond extract to it and it makes them so yummy!

Tips: I make my own frosting by softening about 4 T butter and 1/2 cap of vanilla (sorry about no exact science here) and then adding milk and powdered sugar to desired consistency. And the trick that makes these cookies so fabulous is adding almond extract to the frosting. I do anywhere from 2-4 tsp depending on how much frosting I have. Taste and see the amount you'd like.

Leftover Turkey?

...try this turkey & cranberry braid! I'm sure I'm not alone in trying to find new, innovative, delicious ways to use up all that Thanksgiving turkey. This uses the same braid idea that I used in a previous post (check here for pictures on how to make the braid). We made this tonight and it was awesome! The flavors of the turkey, craisins, and delicious swiss cheese go together so well. My hubby was a little bit leery about the craisins being in it--but declared that he wished there were even more and that it added the right amount of sweetness. And, as much as I love turkey, I was glad to be able to use up the last of it for this recipe. It was the perfect ending to our yummy Thanksgiving leftovers!

Turkey & Cranberry Braid from "The Pampered Chef All The Best"

2 pkgs refrigerated crescent rolls

2 C chopped cooked turkey

1 1/4 C shredded swiss cheese

1/2 C sliced celery

1/2 C sweetened dried cranberries

3 T snipped fresh parsley

1/2 C mayonnaise

2 T honey dijon mustard

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 egg white, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 375. In a bowl, combine turkey, 1 cup of the cheese, celery, cranberries, parsley, mayonnaise, mustard, and black pepper; mix well.

2. Scoop filling evenly over crescent rolls. Finish braid as directed in previous post. Brush braid with egg white. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Halloween Tradition

 I'm pretty sure I posted this recipe last year...but I love this Halloween tradition and so I just had to share it again. I really look forward to this as Fall draws near every year. The flavors in this are phenomenal! Baking in the pumpkin with the "lid" on for an hour causes the subtle sweetness of the pumpkin to create the most amazing combo! And as you scoop it out of the pumpkin, you get a little bit of it mingling in with the rice and meat. I know that might sound gross--but it adds just the perfect finish to the whole meal!

Dinner in a Pumpkin
1 small to medium pumpkin
1 onion
1 1/2 to 2 lb. ground beef
1 1/2 C cooked rice
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 T vegetable oil
2 T soy sauce
2 T brown sugar
1 (4 oz) can mushrooms (I don't add this)
1 (8 oz) can water chestnuts

Cut off top of pumpkin and clean out seeds. Paint face on pumpkin with permanent marker (opt). Preheat oven to 350. Saute onions in oil until tender. Add meat. Brown and drain. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, mushrooms, and soup. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon into pumpkin shell. Replace top and put on baking sheet. Bake 1 hour or until inside of pumpkin is tender. Put on plate. remove lid and serve. Serves 6.

Witch Fingers

 With the upcoming holiday, I thought I'd add a fun cookie that we made for a Halloween party last year. I got this recipes off of Allrecipes. They were a hit for being rather spooky! Once they had cooled down they actually hardened up quite a bit and so maybe cook them less than the time says.


1 cup butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup whole almonds
1 (.75 ounce) tube red decorating gel

DIRECTIONS

Combine the butter, sugar, egg, almond extract, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Beat together with an electric mixer; gradually add the flour, baking powder, and salt, continually beating; refrigerate 20 to 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease baking sheets.

Remove dough from refrigerator in small amounts. Scoop 1 heaping teaspoon at a time onto a piece of waxed paper. Use the waxed paper to roll the dough into a thin finger-shaped cookie. Press one almond into one end of each cookie to give the appearance of a long fingernail. Squeeze cookie near the tip and again near the center of each to give the impression of knuckles. You can also cut into the dough with a sharp knife at the same points to help give a more finger-like appearance. Arrange the shaped cookies on the baking sheets.

Bake in the preheated oven until the cookies are slightly golden in color, 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove the almond from the end of each cookie; squeeze a small amount of red decorating gel into the cavity; replace the almond to cause the gel to ooze out around the tip of the cookie.

**We added green food coloring to them. These cookies are also more about the spooky shape (you can display them like they're coming up out of a bucket or something like that) and less about the awesome flavor--just a little FYI.

Halloween dinner

We made this tonight for dinner before the kiddies went trick-or-treating. Now that Kelsey "gets" the holidays I was thinking about what traditional Halloween meal we'd have every year. This was my pick--it was pretty much a no-brainer. I think this is such a fun, memorable tradition. And it is really, really good--with the pumpkin adding just a hint of sweetness that marries SO well with the rest of it. Try it--let me know if you like it!

Dinner in a Pumpkin

1 small to medium pumpkin

1 onion

1 1/2 to 2 lb. ground beef

1 1/2 C cooked rice

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 T vegetable oil

2 T soy sauce

2 T brown sugar

1 (4 oz) can mushrooms (I don't add this...mushrooms...yuck)

1 (8 oz) can water chestnuts

Cut off top of pumpkin and clean out seeds. Paint face on pumpkin with permanent marker. Preheat oven to 350. Saute onions in oil until tender. Add meat. Brown and drain. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, mushrooms, and soup. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon into pumpkin shell. Replace top and put on baking sheet. Bake 1 hour or until inside of pumpkin is tender. Put on plate. remove lid and serve. Serves 6.