Bacon and Swiss Quiche

Found these recently and tried it out. It was great! I really love quiche, so this was a nice version that was a bit healthier.

I didn't ahve any phyllo that would have thawed in time, so I used a pre-made pie crust instead. It was a bit more calories, but not too bad. The original recipe can be seen on WeightWatchers.com.

Ingredients
2 sheet(s) phyllo dough, cut into three strips each  
3 large eggs
1/4 cup regular egg substitute
1 cup(s) fat free half and half
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1/4 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup(s) (shredded) low-fat hard cheese, Swiss, grated
4 oz cooked crisp turkey bacon, diced 


Directions
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray.

Lay phyllo dough in pie plate, one piece at a time, coating each layer with cooking spray — dough should cover bottom and sides of dish. Fold in any overhanging corners.

Whisk together eggs, egg substitute, milk, flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Sprinkle cheese and bacon over phyllo dough. Pour in egg mixture and place quiche on a baking sheet. Bake until firm, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool at least 5 minutes before cutting into 8 wedges.

Oriental Salad

Oriental Salad:

1 lb. fresh spinach, washed (I used baby spinach - it looks nicer and doesn't have so many stems)

1 can water chestnuts, drained and sliced ( I buy the presliced ones)

3/4 cup drained bean sprouts ( I used fresh)

1/2 lb. fried bacon, crumbled

3 hard boiled eggs, diced

dressing:

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup sugar

1/6 cup catsup ( not the 1/2 cup I originally tried!)

2 T. vinegar

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

Toss salad ingredients together.  Mix dressing ingredients; add to salad.  Toss and serve. 

Eat immediately after adding dressing - not good the day after.

Smokey Sweet Potato Souffle

I keep seeing recipes that I'd like to try, so I'm adding a "TO BE TRIED" label for those recipes. Once I try them, I'll update the pose and remove that label.

Saw this while I was watching 5 Ingredient Fix on Food Network with Little Lady #1 recently. Looks fantastic!

Ingredients

• 5 pounds sweet potatoes, pricked with a knife
• 1 pound sliced bacon
• 1 chipotle in adobo, chopped, plus 2 teaspoons adobo sauce
• 1/4 cup Grade B maple syrup
• 5 eggs, separated
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Roast the potatoes on sheet tray until fully cooked, about 1 hour. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile cook the bacon in large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels, reserving the rendered bacon fat. Chop bacon and set aside, reserving 1/4 cup for garnish.

Peel the sweet potatoes and mash. Add the potatoes to a large bowl. Stir in the chopped chipotle, adobe sauce, maple syrup, chopped bacon and egg yolks. Mix together until combined. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

In a separate large bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add 1/3 of whipped egg whites to sweet potato mixture and fold to create a lighter base. Fold in remaining whites until just incorporated, leaving some white streaks.

Grease a 2 quart baking dish with some of the reserved bacon fat and gently pour in sweet potato souffle mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining chopped bacon. Put the baking dish on a sheet tray and bake 40 minutes.

Boston Baked Beans

I'd been looking for a good baked bean recipe for a few years. I'd tried a couple and none were ever very good. I made one last call to my friends and family for a recipe that rocked, and my bud Martha came through! These beans are fantastic!

Thanks to Martha for sharing! Check out her food blog - Throwing Spoons

From Cook's Illustrated - Published January 1, 2003. 

Ingredients

4 oz salt pork, trimmed of rind and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 oz bacon (2 slices), cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped fine

1/2 cup mild molasses

1 1/2 tablespoons brown mustard

1 pound dried small white beans (navy or pea beans, about 2 cups), rinsed and picked over

Table salt

1 tablespoon mild molasses

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

Ground black pepper

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 300°F.
2. Add salt pork and bacon to 8-quart Dutch oven; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and most fat is rendered, about 7 minutes. Add onion and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 8 minutes.
3. Add 1/2 cup molasses, mustard, beans, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and 9 cups water; increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil. Cover pot and set in oven.
4. Bake until beans are tender, about 4 hours, stirring once after 2 hours.  Remove lid and continue to bake until liquid has thickened to syrupy consistency, 1 to 1 1/2 hours longer.
5. Remove beans from oven; stir in remaining tablespoon of molasses, vinegar, and additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Why this recipe works: To create a Boston Baked Beans recipe packed with multiple levels of intense flavor yet traditional enough to make Fannie Farmer proud, we started with a combination of salt pork and bacon browned in a Dutch oven before adding dried small white beans. Cider vinegar gave our sauce tanginess while mustard and molasses boosted its flavor. Removing the lid for the last hour of cooking reduced the sauce in our Boston Baked Beans recipe to a syrupy, intensified state.

The beans can be made ahead. After cooking, cool them to room temperature and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Serves: 4 to 6

Bacon-Wrapped Pineapple

The Chinese buffet near us has these and they're yummy. I wanted to make them for the Super Bowl and found this recipe from Rachael Ray. They were so good!


Ingredients

1 pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into half-inch chunks, about 40 chunks

1 pound sliced lean bacon, about 20 slices

Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 425°F.
2. Cut bacon strips in half making 2 equal size pieces, about 4 inches each. Wrap each half-strip of bacon around a pineapple chunk, pierce it with a toothpick and place on a baking sheet. Bake until the bacon is crispy, about 15-20 minutes.