Okay...so I don't make quiche very often. It's too "breakfast-y" for me...and I'm not a HUGE fan of breakfast. I may have mentioned that a time or two or three. But what I decided to do was combine a bunch of dinner foods into this quiche and guess what? It turned out pretty stinkin' good! Just three eggs was all it took to bind the whole thing together into a yummy dinner creation!! Even #1 son enjoyed it and he HATES quiche! Yay me!

Chicken Cheddar 
and Spinach Quiche



1 cup chopped, cooked chicken
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 can water chestnuts, drained and rough chopped
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 (9 inch) unbaked deep-dish pastry shell
3 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups milk


Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Place pie crust into pie pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together chicken, cheese, onion, flour, water chestnuts, spinach, salt and pepper.

Gently spoon into pie crust.

In another bowl, beat eggs with milk. Pour mixture over chicken.

Bake for 45 - 50 minutes or until done and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

The line up.

Mix everything together except the milk and eggs.

Mix the eggs and milk together in a separate bowl.

Pour the milk mixture over the spinach mixture.

Pour into the prepared pie crust.

Then bake it up!

Mmmm...this was so good! I had some chicken thighs in the freezer that needed cooking and it was one of those days that I didn't want to go to the store so I dug around until I found all the ingredients for this! Winner, winner, chicken dinner! Gonna make it again....fo' sho'!!!

Chicken Thighs in 
Creamy Pasta Sauce



4 chicken thighs
1 large sweet onion - thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves - minced
Salt & pepper
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups pasta sauce - store bought or homemade
1 8-ounce package pasta - any kind

Season chicken on both sides.

Heat some olive oil in a large skillet. Add seasoned chicken and brown on all sides.

Remove chicken to a plate.

In the same skillet, add sliced onion and garlic and saute until tender and caramelized.

Return chicken to the skillet on top of the onions and garlic. Cover and simmer on low for about an hour or until chicken is done.

Remove chicken and add pasta sauce and cream. Stir to combine.

Cook pasta according to package direction.

Place a spoonful of pasta on a plate, top with chicken then cover with the creamy pasta sauce.

Here's the stuff you'll need.

Brown the chicken in some olive oil for a bit.

Remove the chicken then caramelize the onion with the garlic.

Yummmmm!!!

Add the chicken back in the skillet 

with the onions and cook it for a while.

Remove the chicken again and add the 

pasta sauce and the cream and stir.

Cook the pasta, add a chicken thigh and cover with sauce! 

Delish! And easy!

I love nougat candy. Not plain nougat, though. I like mine kicked up with stuff. My favorite candy in the whole world is See's Rum Nougat. I LOVE THEM!! I haven't had one in a long, long time because there are no See's stores here in SC except during the holiday season at the mall. When I go to CA or AZ to visit friends and family, I always stop and load up. Anyway...I decided to make my own nougat candy and it turned out pretty good, I have to say. I added pecans and dried cranberries to it so it wouldn't be boring. I enjoy making candy anytime of year...not just the holidays, but I'll be sure and return to this recipe when Christmas rolls around! If you enjoy a honey based candy, then this is really great. I have another nougat candy recipe that I'm going to make at some point that's more chewy than this one, so stay tuned!

Honey Nougat Candy



3 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup hot water
2/3  cup honey
1 egg white, beaten until stiff peaks form
1 cups rough chopped pecans
½ cup Craisins

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, cook sugar, water and honey until mixture reaches 270 degrees on a candy thermometer.

Remove from heat. Add the beaten egg white and whisk until combined. Add nuts and Craisins and beat mixture until it thickens.

Pour mixture into a greased 8x11 inch pan.

Allow to cool and cut into squares.

Here's the ingredients.

Combine the water, sugar and honey in a saucepan.

Boil until the mixture reaches 270 

degrees on a candy thermometer.

Whisk in the beaten egg whites.

Then stir in the nuts and Craisins.

Pour into a greased dish. Let it set up...

..then cut and eat!

Chili Mac Soup

I was in the mood for soup. I was perusing recipes online when I came across a recipe that used canned cheddar cheese soup. I took that little bit of info and cooked up this soup. I had no intention of using canned soup so making my own cheese sauce was the way to go! This soup is really easy and VERY good. Again....it fed the whole bunch of us with very little leftover...just enough for IT Guy to take some in his lunch. I love soup!!!!

Chili Mac Soup

(Maybe I'm the only one who will notice this, but I see my reflection in the spoon in the picture. Haha!!)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3/4 pound lean ground beef
1 4-ounce can diced green chilies
1 tablespoon chili powder
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 can(s) (14 1/2-ounce) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 recipe cheese sauce (recipe follows)
1 1/2 cups uncooked elbow pasta
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Heat oil in a 5-quart soup pot over medium-high heat; add onion and green chilies and sauté 4 minutes, until translucent.

Cook the ground beef until just pink. Stir in chili powder, cumin and salt and pepper.

Add broth, then stir in cheese sauce until dissolved; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes.

Stir in pasta 10 minutes before serving and allow to cook until done. Stir in cheese until melted and smooth.

Here's the stuff for the soup and the cheese sauce.

For the soup. Saute the onion and 

green chili in some olive oil until tender.

Then add the ground beef and 

cook until almost done.

Add the chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper.

Pour in the chicken stock.

Then pour in the cheese sauce.

Allow to simmer for about 20 minutes. 

Then dump in the pasta and cook another 10 minutes.

Serve it up!

Cheese Sauce:


2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
2 cups mild Cheddar cheese

In a sauce pan, melt the butter on low heat.

Whisk in the flour and salt.

Whisk in the milk.

Turn the heat to medium and stir continuously until the mixture thickens.

Reduce the heat to medium low and add the cheese. Stir continuously until the sauce is smooth and creamy. Add to soup.

Melt the butter in a saucepan then 

add the flour. Stir and cook for a minute or so.....

...then add the milk, some salt and 

pepper and cook and stir until thick and bubbly.

Then stir in the cheese.

Stir until smooth and set aside.

I love scones. I didn't always love scones, but I love them now. I guess it took a while to educate my palate to appreciate them. I think what I love more than eating them, is making them. There are just so many different options when it comes to flavors. One of my favorite combinations of flavors is white chocolate and raspberries so I figured it would be good in a scone. Was I right? Oh yeah...I was right. These disappeared pretty quickly around here. They were delicious!

White Chocolate Scones 
with Raspberries



3 cups flour
2/3  cups sugar
5 teaspoons baking powder
pinch salt
2 sticks butter, chilled and cut into chunks
1 egg - beaten
3/4 cups heavy cream
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup frozen raspberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking pans with parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using the paddle attachment, add the butter chunks. Combine until mixture is crumbly.

Combine the cream and beaten egg. Add slowly to the flour/butter mixture until well combined. Add white chocolate.

On a floured work surface, dump out the scone mixture. Shape into a round. Sprinkle frozen raspberries on top and gently work dough so raspberries are dispersed evenly.

Gently roll dough out into a 14 inch circle then cut into triangles. Place scones on prepared baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Drizzle with glaze.

Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons milk

Combine ingredients into a medium mixing bowl and stir until smooth. Add enough milk to make thick glaze. Drizzle over cooled scones. Allow to set.

Here's what you'll need to 

make these awesome scones.

 

Combine the dry ingredients.

 

Add the butter chunks until the dough is crumbly. 

You'll want to see some small butter chunks in the dough.

 

Combine the egg, cream and vanilla.

 

Pour that into the dough.

 

Then stir in the white chocolate chips. 

This is what you want it to look like.

 

Dump it onto your work surface.

 

Sprinkle the raspberries on top. 

Make sure the raspberries are frozen 

so they don't break down too much in the dough.

 

Roll out the dough into a circle..

or whatever shape you want...

 

..then put them on parchment paper lined baking sheets.

 

Bake them until they are nice and golden.

 

Whip up your glaze them drizzle the cooled scones.

Gotta love sticky wings, right?  At least I do! In fact...my whole family does. When my son-in-law eats wings, he sucks every tasty morsel off those wings...there's nothing left! And that's how it should be..because when the wings are as good as these...you don't want to leave anything behind!!! These. Are. Awesome.

Sweet, Smokey and Spicy 
Chicken Wings



2 eggs
2 cups self rising flour
2 tablespoons chili powder – divided use
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon seasoned salt
4.5 pounds chicken wings, rinsed and dried
1/2 cup honey
1 cup barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons apple juice
3 teaspoons Liquid Smoke

Beat eggs in a large bowl. Dump in the wings and toss to coat. Or put the eggs in a large zip top bag, mush them up then throw the wings in and mix.

Combine flour, 1 tablespoon of the chili powder and the rest of the seasonings in a large zip top bag.

Working in batches, coat chicken wings in flour mixture until all are coated.

Fry wings in heated oil, in batches until all are done. Drain on paper towels.

Combine bbq sauce, honey, brown sugar, remaining tablespoon of chili powder, Liquid Smoke and apple juice in a sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Pour sauce over wings in a large bowl and toss to coat.

Here's everything you need for these yummy wings!

Mix the flours and the spices.

Toss the wings around in the beaten 

eggs then in the flour/spice mixture.

Fry 'em up!

Mix the stuff for the sauce then heat it up.

Pour the sauce over the hot wings.

Then proceed to lick your fingers!!! SO YUM!!!!