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Grain Free Pesto Topped Quiche…Or Egg Pizza

Eggs and pesto go very well together. I’ve made a pesto quiche before…one version that had pesto on the bottom and one that had it mixed in.

The problem is that the pesto usually kind of gets lost in the eggs. Sometimes you can’t even tell it’s there. So last night I decided to top our quiche with pesto.

I made a simple egg and cheese quiche. I let it bake until the top was just set. Then I topped it with pesto and extra cheese.

It worked very well. The pesto stayed on top and added great flavor.

Are you grain free and looking for a pizza substitute? Make the quiche thinner and this is like pesto pizza! You could even add extra toppings. Mushrooms, onions, peppers,…I may need to try this very soon.

The next time you make quiche, instead of mixing all of the meat and vegetables inside consider topping it. The possibilities are endless. (Plus picky eaters can pick off what they don’t like that way 🙂

This makes a great breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner! And the leftovers are good warm or cold. Perfect for a quick weekday breakfast.

What is your favorite way to make quiche? What toppings would you add?

Pesto Topped Quiche

1/2 – 1 cup pesto (I blend peas, olive oil, salt and garlic powder for a simple allergen free pesto. You can add nuts and cheese and use basil or spinach for a more traditional pesto)
4 eggs + 5 egg yolks
1 cup milk or dairy kefir
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
1 cup shredded cheese (I used a combo of marble and parmesan)
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Grease a 9″ pie plate. Mix eggs, milk, seasoning and  1 cup shredded cheese. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake at 375 for 20 – 30 minutes, until top is set.

Spread pesto on quiche. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over top.

Bake another 25 – 35 minutes, until eggs are fully set.

Let set for 5 minutes before serving.

Dutch Apple Tart

I recently pulled out my Old Pennsylvania Dutch Recipes book again. As I flipped through it I realized there are so many recipes in it that I want to try! I was specifically looking for some kind of apple dessert.

There were quite a few. I chose Dutch apple tart…very fitting for me 🙂

It is a pretty simple recipe, and it turned out great!! It is a little messy since the sugar creates a syrup. But so delicious.

Serve it with ice cream and drizzle the extra syrup over top.

I did have a little problem with the pastry being too dry. It needs more water than the recipe calls for.

It’s not a very photogenic dessert, but I did what I could 😛

Dutch Apple Tart

1 pastry recipe, prepared (recipe below)

1 Tbsp. flour (I used organic all purpose, but whole wheat would probably work fine as long as it’s finely ground)
1 cup organic cane sugar
5 medium-size apples, pared, cored and quartered
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 Tbsp. butter

Pastry:
1 1/2 cups flour (organic all purpose or whole wheat)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup lard, butter or palm shortening
3-6 Tbsp. cold water

Mix flour and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly (I use a food processor for this). Add water gradually until the dough just holds together.

Line an 8″ round baking dish with the pastry. Sprinkle a mixture of the flour and 1/4 cup of the sugar on the bottom of the pastry.

Put apples cut side down on the pastry. Sprinkle with a mixture of the remaining sugar and nutmeg.

Dot with butter.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 55 minutes, or until apples are tender and a rich syrup has formed.

Chili Cheesecake

A couple weeks ago I was watching the show The Best Thing I Ever Ate. One of the dishes featured was a savory cheesecake. It looked pretty good, although I can’t remember at all now what was in it. It got me thinking…maybe I should try making a savory cheesecake.

I had some leftover chili I didn’t know what to do with. So I turned it into chili cheesecake.

I honestly had about 5 minutes to prepare this dish after running in the door from a visit to the the doctor and running errands. I thought it might be a huge failure. I didn’t have a recipe. I didn’t measure. I just dumped, mixed and stuck it in the oven. Praying it would have enough time to bake and that it wouldn’t be a pan of slop when it came out.

To my great surprise it actually turned out really well. Both of the kids even loved it.

This is a great way to use up leftovers and come up with any kind of savory cheesecake you can imagine. You can eat it as is or use it as a dip.

It’s been almost a week now since I made it so I’ll do my best to remember what I did 😛  I just made a small dish. You can scale it up to make it in a pie dish or spring form pan.

Chili Cheesecake

1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips (for a “crust”…this is optional…the chips get soft when baked)
1 cup chili (you could use taco meat, cooked ground meat, shredded chicken, or any vegetables you like)
1 cup homemade cream cheese
3/4 cup homemade sour cream
1 egg
2 egg yolks
seasoning to taste

Place tortilla chips in the bottom of a small baking dish (I used a 4 cup pyrex dish). Top the chips with half of the chili.

Mix the rest of the chili, the cream cheese, the sour cream and the eggs. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Pour the mixture over the layer of chili.

Bake at 400 degrees for about an hour (until set all the way through). Let set 5 minutes before serving.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

I’ve had a recipe for a chocolate chip cheese ball in my list of recipes to try for a long time. I finally decided to make it. I modified it to use real ingredients. I did use regular chocolate chips. I still need to get to the store to try to find better quality chips. Or I need to find time to make my own again. But aside from that it was all good stuff.

It turned out great! A real treat. It’s kind of like eating cookie dough. I served it with a fresh batch of homemade graham crackers. A sweet twist on a cheese ball. Delicious.

The original recipe says to coat it in nuts. I didn’t do that since I can’t eat nuts. I just added some extra chocolate chips to the outside. Dried coconut flakes would be good too. It’s mostly for looks. You really don’t need to coat it in anything.

This post is linked to Fat Tuesday.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

5 oz. homemade cream cheese
1/3 cup white whole wheat flour (you can use cornstarch or arrowroot. Use a little less than 1/3 cup)
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 tsp. vanilla
5 Tbsp. butter, softened
2-4 tsp. molasses
mini chocolate chips

Beat the cream cheese and butter. Mix in the flour, syrup, vanilla and molasses. Taste for sweetness. Add extra syrup or molasses if needed. Stir in chocolate chips (as few or as many as you like).

Refrigerate for two hours.

Scoop onto plastic wrap and form into a ball.

Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

You can roll the ball in chopped crispy nuts, coconut or more chocolate chips.

Breakfast Cups

A couple weeks ago I made a simple breakfast for dinner. I made egg cups and french toast cups. They came together very quickly, and we all enjoyed them. I even got them prepped mostly one handed since that’s about the only way to make dinner without running into the other room every five seconds to get Abram down from something he’s climbed on.

The basis of the recipe is putting bread in muffin cups. Then add whatever to it you want. I did eggs and cheese in some. I did eggs and maple syrup in some.

You could also use the bread in a muffin cup idea with things like sloppy joes or cheeseburger cups or pot pie. The bread is kind of the crust. Then be creative and go from there.

It’s fun to have individual servings, especially for kids. And it’s much faster than making a crust 🙂

These are great for a brunch or for a party. They are also a great prep ahead breakfast. Make them the night before or freeze a bunch and warm them when you need them.

Breakfast Cups

Mini quiche breakfast cups

3 slices whole wheat bread (or whatever bread you tolerate…gluten free, grain free, etc.)
5 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Grease 6 cups of a muffin tin. Mix eggs, milk and seasoning. Place 1/4 slice of bread* in each muffin cup. Top with a little cheese. Evenly distrbute the eggs among the cups. Add another 1/4 slice of bread to each cup and push down so it absorbs the eggs. Top with extra cheese if desired. Bake at 350 for 25 – 30 minutes.

Mini french toast cups

3 slices whole wheat bread (or whatever bread you tolerate…gluten free, grain free, etc.)
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
cinnamon (optional)

Grease 6 cups of a muffin tin. Mix eggs, milk and cinnamon. Place 1/4 slice of bread* in each muffin cup. Pour a little maple syrup on top. Repeat with another 1/4 slice of bread and syrup. Evenly distribute the eggs among the cups. Push bread down to be sure it all gets saturated with the eggs. Bake at 350 for 25 – 30 minutes.

*You can also do it with bread torn into chunks instead of keeping it as slices. This works espically well for french toast.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

I’ve been wanting to make a batch of cinnamon rolls for some time now. I haven’t made any in years. I finally made some over the weekend. The recipe is from my MIL.

I made a few modifications to meet our standards of healthy. They turned out great!! Rebecca declared them the “best breakfast I’ve ever had.” You can’t beat that.

This is really two recipes – a basic sweet roll dough and the actual cinnamon roll. I prepped the dough Friday night, then made the cinnamon rolls Saturday morning. It worked out well.

I made my own version of frosting to top them. Delicious!

This post is linked to Fat Tuesday and Real Food Wednesday.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

Sweet Roll Dough

2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup lukewarm milk
1/4 cup cane sugar
1/4 cup palm shortening
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

Cinnamon Rolls

Sweet roll dough
2 Tbsp. butter, softened (room temp)
1/3 cup cane sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

Frosting

1/4 cup palm shortening
1/4 cup white whole wheat flour (finely ground)
1/4 cup maple syrup

———————————
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a stand mixer bowl (or a large bowl if doing it by hand). Mix in milk, sugar, salt, egg, shortening and 1 1/2 cups of flour. Mix until smooth. Mix in remaining flour until a soft dough forms (add extra flour if it’s too wet). Knead by hand or with dough hook for about 5 minutes. Pour a small amount of oil on the dough and turn to coat.

At this point you can cover and refrigerate the dough for 3-4 days. Or you can use it immediately.

When you are ready to make the cinnamon rolls let the dough rise until double in size, about 2 hours (it could take longer if it was in the refrigerator…it has to come to room temp before it will rise).

Roll the dough into a 9×15 rectangle. Spread with the softened butter. Sprinkle mixture of sugar and cinnamon over top. Roll up the dough starting with the long side (so it is 15″ long). Pinch the edge of the dough to seal it.

Cut the roll into 15 equal slices.

Place slices flat side up in a greased 9×13 pan, leaving a little space between them. Let the rolls rise again until double (about 45 minutes).

Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

Allow to cool slightly.

While the cinnamon rolls are baking mix the shortening, flour and syrup to make the frosting.

When the cinnamon rolls are slightly cooled add the frosting on top. Serve immediately.

The cinnamon rolls can be frozen before or after frosting them.

Zucchini Soup | Homemade Dutch Apple Pie

Zucchini Soup

Zucchini soup is a great way to use up some of your larger zucchini and get kids to eat it! Pair it with zucchini crackers and cheese…lunch is served.

Zucchini Soup | Homemade Dutch Apple Pie

Zucchini just keeps coming.

I’m still working on using up the last of the zucchini from our garden. Sound familiar? You can only make so much zucchini bread!

One nourishing way to use that extra zucchini is in zucchini soup. It is so good! And so simple. Just cook and puree some vegetables in broth. It turns into a creamy, flavorful nourishing soup.

Zucchini is the base. But you can add any vegetables to complement the zucchini.

I like to use the zucchini that gets a little too big for soup. You can’t tell the difference.

Getting ready for fall.

As fall approaches and I think about school…I also think about sickness. Once all of those kids are together the germs start spreading.

Eating zucchini soup during the summer is a great way to build up the immune system ahead of time. Getting your family to consume broth year round is a great idea.

Soup for breakfast.

I eat soup for breakfast most days. I love it when I have leftover soup that I can just grab out of the fridge and eat cold. Zucchini soup is perfect for an easy breakfast or lunch that you don’t have to cook.

It also makes a great dip for raw vegetables or crackers.

Are you struggling to come up with more ways to use your zucchini? Try zucchini soup!

Zucchini Soup

3 medium zucchinis, chopped
1 small carrot, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
2 cups chicken broth
salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
1 cup diced, cooked chicken (optional)

  1. Cook vegetables in broth until very tender, about 30 minutes.
  2. Add seasoning.
  3. Puree with an immersion blender or regular blender.
  4. Return soup to pot, taste and adjust seasoning.
  5. Add diced, cooked chicken and simmer for 10 minutes.

Here are a few more zucchini recipes you may enjoy:

Zucchini cake with two frostings

Zucchini crackers

Zucchini pizza bites

Chocolate zucchini scones

Zucchini salmon cakes

Chocolate zucchini cupcakes

Real Cheesecake

I love cheesecake.  It comes in a close second for my all time favorite food. Right behind ice cream. I don’t make it often. And I haven’t made it in quite some time. I’ve been wanting to make a REAL cheesecake for a while. But it takes work to make all of the ingredients before you can even make the cheesecake.

This week it just so happened that we had a lot of yogurt (I made a little extra to use up milk) and some sourdough graham crackers that needed to be used up. So it was the perfect time to experiment.

I used the yogurt to make real cream cheese (next time you want to buy cream cheese at the store check the ingredients…you might be surprised by the fillers/thickeners they add). I also made raw sour cream this week.

Then it was cheesecake time.

The outcome…AMAZING! Real cheesecake with totally real ingredients. I’m  in heaven 🙂  It did turn out a tiny bit softer than I like (I like my cheesecake really firm…like almost crumbly…I usually let mine sit in the freezer for a while :). But for most people it would be just right. I scaled back the cream in the recipe below. You could also add a little arrowroot, cornstarch or AP flour to make it thicker.

This is about as real as it gets when it comes to dessert. A totally from scratch cheesecake. A cheesecake I feel comfortable calling healthy 🙂  It’s great on its own…even better with some homemade fudge sauce over top.

This can be made gluten free by using gluten free or soaked gluten free graham crackers. Or you can make a special holiday dessert using pumpkin spice graham crackers or chocolate graham crackers!

Do you love cheesecake? Give this version a try. Let me know if you love real cheesecake as much as I do.

This post is linked to Fat Tuesday and Real Food Wednesday.


Cheesecake

2 cups graham cracker crumbs (whole wheat, sourdough, gluten free, soaked gluten free, pumpkin spice, chocolate or soaked) (pulse in food processor to make crumbs)
1 1/4 cup cane sugar
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil (or a combination)
2 cups homemade cream cheese (It took about 1 1/2 qts. of homemade yogurt to get this)
1 cup homemade sour cream
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. lemon juice (optional)

Melt the butter and stir into the crumb mixture. Press into the bottom of a greased 9″ spring form pan. Set aside.
 
Using an electric mixer blend the cream cheese, sour cream and the remaining sugar until creamy, wiping down the sides of the bowl and the beaters with a spatula to incorporate all the cheese. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Slowly stir the lemon juice into the cheese mixture.

Meanwhile preheat the oven to 350. Place aluminum foil under the springform pan and up the sides (this prevents any water from getting in). Put the prepared pan into a slightly larger rectangular pan. Pour cheese mixture into the springform pan. Set both pans in the oven and fill the rectangular pan with water, half way up the sides of the round pan. Bake until firm and golden brown, about 90 min. Turn off oven, open slightly and let cheesecake set for about 30 min. Remove from water bath. Let cool on counter for 60 min. Cover and let cool completely in refrigerator (at least 4 hours).

Place cheesecake in the freezer for an hour or two before serving to make it really firm.

Homemade Whole Wheat "Oreos"

On Sunday Rebecca got to try an Oreo at church (slight cringe :P). Then she asked if we could make our own Oreos so we could make Oreo sundaes (love this girl…what four year-old asks if she can make something from scratch instead of going and buying more:). Why not? So that was our project yesterday.

I had no recipe and no real starting point. I just started experimenting. And I must admit I am quite impressed with what we came up with! Sometimes homemade baked goods taste good…but not quite like the “real” thing. These actually really taste like Oreos…but they are made with REAL ingredients.

These do not have all of the preservatives and hydrogenated oils that make them shelf stable for half a year. So I store them in the refrigerator. That also keeps the cream filling solid. You can make a big batch and freeze them.

There really isn’t much more to say except these are delicious! The whole family agreed. What could top homemade Oreos? We made homemade cookies and cream ice cream with some of them later in the day 🙂  I also used some leftover cookie to make cookies and cream yogurt. Yum! I’m taking a cookie break today, though 😛

I used butter in my cookie dough. I find that it gives the best consistency/firmness. But if you want to make them vegan/dairy free you could use coconut oil or palm shortening in place of the butter. I also used all purpose flour in the cream filling because that is what I tolerate. You could use organic corn starch or arrow root. I personally like the soft texture the flour gives. Maybe next time I make them I’ll even try soaking the cookie dough.

Please give these a try and let me know what you think! Can you make homemade Oreos? Yes you can! If you think they look good, wait until you taste them!

This post is  linked to Real Food Wednesdays and Fresh Bites Friday and Fat Tuesday.

Whole Wheat “Oreos”
makes 17 – 20 cookies (depending on the size of your cookie cutter and the thickness of your dough)

1/4 cup organic palm shortening
5 – 6 Tbsp. organic all purpose flour (you can substitute corn starch or arrow root)
1/4 cup maple syrup

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3-4 tsp. chocolate extract
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, room temp (you can substitute coconut oil or palm shortening)
6 Tbsp. honey
water

To make the cookies:

Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add cocoa and chocolate extract. Blend well (a hand mixer works well). Taste. Add more chocolate extract until strong enough. Add flour, baking soda, salt and honey. Blend well. If dough is still crumbly slowly add water, 1 Tbsp. at a time until dough will hold together when squeezed with your hand.

Place 1/3 of dough onto parchment paper. Place another layer of parchment paper over top. Roll dough between parchment paper until it is 1/8 – 1/4″ thick. Remove top paper. Cut circles and place onto parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat this process until you have used all of the dough.

Bake cookies at 350 for about 13 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

To make the filling:

Cream shortening, flour and maple syrup in a small bowl. Add more flour for a stiffer cream (note that it will firm up/become solid when chilled). Add more maple syrup for a sweeter cream. You can prep the filling ahead and store it in the refrigerator. Let it come to room temperature before filling cookies.

To assemble the cookies:

Place the cream filling in a small plastic bag. Cut off one of the corners of the bag for a pastry bag. Pipe some cream onto the center of one cookie, leaving space at the edge . Top with another cookie. Press together just until the cream reaches the edge. Repeat this process until all of the cookies are filled. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can also freeze the cookies.

Soaked Breakfast Bar ("Cereal" Bar)

I’ve been doing lots of baking and experimenting this week. Today I came up with a soaked breakfast bar recipe. When I made a batch of soaked graham crackers earlier in the week I realized that the dough was pretty good before dehydrating it. It was soft and chewy. The best part? My 14 month old could eat it easily…and loved it!

I set aside a couple of the graham crackers to eat as-is instead of drying them. They reminded me of cereal bars. Lightbulb…use the same dough to make homemade breakfast bars!

I used my soaked graham cracker recipe. I put half of the dough in the bottom of a 9×13 pan, baked it a little, then topped it with homemade apple butter and the rest of the dough. I baked it again and cut it into bars.

The verdict? Delicious!! A soft, chewy apple cinnamon breakfast bar. The grains are soaked, there are no vegetable oils, there is nothing processed. I feel good about giving these “cereal” bars to my whole family.

You can make them any flavor, depending on what kind of jam/butter you use. Or you can just make them plain bars without a filling. Either way they taste great. And they work really well for young children that are still learning how to chew. You can get really creative and fill them with things like nut butter, coconut, nuts, dried fruit or chocolate chips.

This is an easy grab-and-go breakfast. Make a batch. Freeze them. And you’ve got some on hand whenever you need something quick.

This post is linked to Fat Tuesday and Real Food Wednesday and Fresh Bites Friday.

Soaked Breakfast Bar

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup kefir, yogurt or buttermilk
1/2 cup coconut oil or butter, melted (I used coconut oil)
1/2 cup rapadura/cane sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. honey

1/3 – 1/2 cup jelly, jam or fruit butter

Mix flour, cultured dairy and oil. Cover and let soak 7 – 24 hours.

Mix in remaining dough ingredients until well combined. Spread half of the dough into the bottom of a greased 9×13 pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven. Spread an even layer of jam on top of dough. Spread remaining dough on top. Bake at 350 for another 25 minutes.

Cut into bars. Place bars on a separate baking sheet, with space in between bars. Bake another 5-10 minutes, until dough is baked through. Allow to cool.