Velvet Quiche

Light, Smooth and Delightful

from @VelvetVoice

Ingredients
•    8 ounces seasoned, baked chicken- shredded or cubed
•    2  unbaked 9 inch pie crust
•    3 cups 2% Mexican Blend Cheese – Shredded
•    3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
•    5 eggs, lightly beaten
•    1 1/2 cups skim milk
•    1/2 cup diced onion
•    1 (4 ounce) can diced green chile peppers, drained

Instructions
•    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
•    Place crust in a 9 inch pie plate. Sprinkle chicken inside of crust. In a small bowl, combine Cheddar cheese, Monterey jack cheese and flour. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, cream, onion and green chilies. Add cheese mixture; stir well. Pour mixture into pie crust.
•    Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes, until set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

**Cooks Note–  You can use canned fat free evaporated milk instead of regular skim milk.  It gives it a more velvety texture.  However it is excellent made with either.

**I use frozen 9″ Deep Dish Pie Crusts for this.

**  This is good served hot or cold.   It stores and freezes well.

Smokey BBQ Chicken Pizza from @EagleHawk

1 pkg refrigerated pizza crust
1/2 c peperoni
3 cans chunk chicken breast
1/2 c BBQ sauce, or more if desired
1 1/2 c shredded Mexi-blend cheese
1/2 c chopped green pepper
1/4 c sliced red onion

Pre-heat oven to 425o. Slightly grease pizza pan. Roll out pizza crust. Open cans of chicken, drain and mix w/ barbeque sauce. Sprinkle 1 c cheese on crust. Add chicken, pepperoni, cheese, green pepper & onion. Sprinkle w/ remaining ½ c cheese. Bake until crust is golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

Turkey Meatloaf ala @Madame Maracas

(this is a very NON-traditional loaf, I looked at traditional recipes for proportions, altered for my dietary needs (low salt, fat, cholesterol, high protein) as well as my quirky ideas about seasoning.  I’m not one to obey a lot of rules.  it does come out dense, but not dry at all)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Spray meatloaf pan w/”pam” or whatever (I hate dishes)
Place pan on a cookie sheet (for drips & a lil temperature control)

1 lb ground turkey (beef or whatever you like can be subbed)
1 cup commerical bread crumbs (I like whole wheat ones best, more protein per gram & a nuttier flavor, but that’s me and my dietary stuffs)
1/4 cup total parmesean & romano (commerically grated) cheese
1 thingie of eggbeaters (again my dietary thing but I think it’s supposed to be 1 or 2 eggs worth)
1 cup 2 % milk
few dashes low sodium Tamari Soy
few dashes White Worchestershire Sauce (reg if white not avail)
1 heaping tblsp Plochman’s stoneground mustard
1 heaping tblsp commercial minced garlic
1 HUGE sweet onion, diced, sauteed on a “pammed” pan w/a bit of Smart Balance (cardio – friendly butter substitute)
3 cloves garlic, minced, sauteed same pan as onions
1/8 cup green onions, minced, sauteed same pan as onions
basil
tarragon
thyme
Mrs. Dash lemon Pepper (NOT salted)
sage
paprika
holy trio (black white red pepper in varying % depending on my mood, or if beef or turkey I adjust there)

I take the ground turkey or whatever out of fridge so that my fingers don’t freeze up and it’s more manageable.

In a big bowl, I mix the dry stuffs, seasonings, bread crumbs, etc.
Add mustard and commercially minced garlic, mix it in.
Add tamari soy, worchestershire, mix it in
Add egg beaters & milk, mix it in.

It’s pretty doughy now, I’m doing the mix in stages to be sure that all the stuff saturates and I don’t get pockets of cheese nodes or soy heavy spots, etc.

Add veggies I sauteed, mix it in.

Pour this doughy stuffs on top of turkey that’s now in an even larger mixing bowl.  Make like 4 year old in a muddy back yard and squish it together till it’s as even as you can stand it.

Chunk by chunk I put it into the pre-”pammed” loaf pan, making sure to fill the lower corners so I don’t get air pockets, stuff cooks evener, no pools of goo at the bottom.

When I’m finishing the fill, I flatten the top out, again even the edges to the sides of the pan, maybe a lil higher in the middle, a lil lower at the pan edges, but smooth mostly.

Pour tomato sauce over the loaf, shimmying the pan side to side to get the sauce to settle evenly and cover all the loaf just to the lip of the pan.

Slide the loaf on top of a cookie sheet and then onto a middle rack in the preheated oven for 55 – 60 minutes (my electric oven at least).

Time’s up! Take sheet w/loaf pan out of oven, put the pan on a cool burner w/out the sheet underneath to allow for better cooling.

After about 20 mins, it’s set up enough to be pre sliced in pan, eaten, etc.  Sometimes I have leftover sauce that I’ll store in the fridge and put on the warm loaf for a nice contrast.

This gives 8 rather decent sized slices, takes about an hour and 1/2 total, maybe more w/the veggie prep.

Baked Chicken with Carrots and Potatoes from @ogman

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Ingredients
1 whole chicken (cut up)
Seasoned salt
4 sliced carrots
4 potatoes (cut in 1” cubes)
1 chopped onion
1 tbsp butter
Basil
Garlic Powder
Celery Seed
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 ½ cup water
Paprika

Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
2. Bake cut up chicken for 20 minutes
3. Add all other ingredients
4. Baste chicken with butter and pour 1 ½ cup bouillon over all. Sprinkle with paprika
5. Cover and bake for 1 hour, or until carrots are tender

note: I add the herbs and spices by sight. I suggest trying 1 tbsp of dried basil, ½ tsp each of garlic powder and celery seed. Fresh basil and a clove of garlic may be used optionally.

Ogman’s Crab Cakes by @ogman

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Ingredients
1 pound lump crab meat
1 egg
1 finely chopped red bell pepper
1 finely chopped small onion
1/4 cup mayonaise
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp cayenne peper
3 tbsp bread crumbs
1 tbsp parsley flakes
Old Bay to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Mix ingredients in a large bowl, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Form into four cakes. Fry in hot cast iron skillet, with a few tablespoons of oil, for 2-4 minutes per side. Enjoy with a good beer or white wine.

Plurk Killer Meatloaf by @Willfall

4lbs beef, pork, and buffalo (about 1/3 each)
2 large carrots
1 cup homemade bread crumbs
2 XL eggs
1 cup milk
green hot sauce to taste
approx 2+ oz spice including—parsely, chive, caraway, mustard seed, thyme, celerysalt, black pepper,etc – to taste (forgive him, Will is such a guy cook. )
1/4 cup scallion

Instructions
Grease muffin tins with butter/bacon lay in one or two spinach leaves, fill 24 tins 350 deg F, bake 20 min, then baste with egg,hot sauce and finish by baking approx 10 minutes until 160 deg F at center

Garlic Scallops and Shrimp from @WilmaDelgado

1 tsp Olive oil
2 tbl Slivered garlic
1/2 tsp Crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 lb Lg shrimp, peeled, deveined
1/2 lb Bay scallops
1/2 tsp Paprika
4 tb Chicken broth
1 t Fresh lime juice
1/2 c Finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
Salt and pepper

In a large heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until it begins to brown. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add the pepper flakes to the skillet and increase the heat to medium high.
Add the garlic, shrimp, scallops, and paprika. Saute for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the chicken broth and cook for 1 minute. Remove the shrimp and scallops with a slotted spoon, place on a platter; set aside and keep warm. Add the lime juice, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste to the pan and just heat through.
Pour the sauce over the shrimp and scallops and serve immediately.

Serves four.

Baked French Toast Casserole by @WilmaDelgado

1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash salt
Praline Topping, recipe follows
Maple syrup

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.

Praline Topping:

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well.

Chicken Andouille Pontalba from @WilmaDelgado

¼ Lbs Margarine
2 Lbs Boneless Chicken (½ “ dice)
2 Lbs Andouille Sausage (½ “ dice)
2 Red Onions (½” dice)
1 Stalk Celery (1/2” dice)
2 Carrots (1/4” dice)
4 Lbs Potatoes, Fried (1/2” dice)
¼ Cup Diced Garlic
½ Cup Flour
2 Bunches Green Onion Chopped
1 Tbs Paprika
¼ tsp ea. Thyme, Basil and Sage
2 Cups Water
Salt & Pepper to taste

Sauté’ Chicken, Sausage, Onion & Celery on high heat for 10 minutes.
Add Flour and stir for 2 minutes.
Add Water and stir for 10 minutes
Add remaining ingredients, reduce heat, and bring to a simmer
Once it simmers, cook for 12 minutes, STIRRING Constantly

Seafood Gumbo by @WilmaDelgado

Ingredients:
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped bell peppers
1 cup chopped celery
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne
5 bay leaves
8 cups water or shrimp stock
6 gumbo crabs, broken in half
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage
2 dozen oysters, shucked with their liquor
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped parsley
File powder

Steps:
Combine the oil and flour in a large cast-iron pot over medium heat. Stirring slowly and constantly for 20 to 25 minutes, make a dark brown roux, the color of chocolate. Add the onions, bell peppers, celery, salt, cayenne and bay leaves. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until very soft. Add the water or shrimp stock and stir to blend. Add the crabs and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/2 hours. Add the shrimp and crabmeat and cook for 15 minutes. Add the oysters, green onions and parsley and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the edges of the oysters curl. Remove from heat. Remove the bay leaves. Serve with file powder passed at the table. Serves 6.