From the Kitchen…

It’s been a past few weeks that are hard to describe.
Babies born,
baby going to Heaven,
an older gentleman going to Heaven,
hosting people,
family visiting,
scores of meals made…

I’m still trying to recover from the busyness,
from the happiness and heartache that ran side by side.

I got the idea from Shelly to do a food post,
and since cooking is something I’ve done a lot of the past weeks,
here’s a few favorites.

Online recipes are just great.
Pictures – I LOVE pictures. Pictures sell me.
Reader reviews – yes please.

Without further ado, let me present…

1. The Spinach, Tomato and Feta Quiche

Pinned Image
[picture from food.com]

THE BEST QUICHE RECIPE EVER. ***** [5 Star :)]

My friend Rochelle first made this for a baby shower, and I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve made it since! It’s SO good.
A few changes I made from the original recipe:
I use a regular pie crust, add 1 more egg, and 1/3 cup more cream.
The fresh garlic is a bit strong, but adds immense wonder flavor.
If the cloves are large, I’d recommend to cut back or your husband or family may know what you had for breakfast. :)
Also, I use 1/3 of a package of frozen, then thawed, spinach.

Also, if you want less carbs, you can cut the crust and mix all ingredients into the eggs.
This works quite well too, and I like to bake them in muffin tins.

2. Paula Deen Spinach and Bacon Quiche

Pinned Image
[pauladeen.com]

**** Star

This was delicious as well, the bacon added great flavor.
Also, I liked it better using mozzarella cheese than Swiss.
The first quiche tops it for me with the Greek flavors, but this is a great recipe too.

3. Soft Pretzel Sandwiches.

Pinned Image
[photo: Hilda Smucker]

***** Star

My sister had raved about these.
She made a big batch at a time and put them in the freezer for her husband’s lunches.
I was immediately all ears, because packing lunch is not my favorite thing.
I tried this recipe, and immediately my husband and I were big fans!
They are handy-dandy and taste wonderful besides!

4. Crusty Bread.


[photo: mine]

***** Star

My aforementioned friend Shelly (who is a fabulous cook and baker)
first introduced me to this bread, which I thought was AH-MAZ-ING.
But scared little baker that I am, it took me a few months until I tried it myself.
And then I couldn’t believe how easy it was, and how amazing it made me look. :)

Alteration: I added 1 cup whole wheat flour instead of all white, and I loved that flavor.

5. Wild Rice Soup


[photo: tastykitchen.com]

**** Star

HELLO, Panera Bread. This tastes like something straight out of that cafe.
And paired with the crusty bread? It is so so good.

This recipe calls for turkey or chicken; I used chicken.
Also, I thickened it at the end with a bit of cornstarch to make it more creamy.

Edit: my friend Beth reminded me about grating the carrots instead of slicing them.
I agree with her – it makes it so much better! And, it cuts down the cooking time.

6. Apple Cinnamon Dessert Chimichangas

[photo: jcocina.com]

**** Star

These were really really good, a recipe given to me by my sister,
[given by her sister-in-law; credit must be given :)].
It’s a bit of a different flavor; tortillas, pie filling, but excellent.
Next time I would also add softened cream cheese.

7. Chocolate Chip Cookies


[photo: kelseysappleaday.blogspot.com]

***** Star

I’m always on the lookout for the PERFECT chocolate chip cookie.
This one ranks very high in my opinion ~ soft and chewy.
The get-out-of-the-oven-before-they’re-brown kind of soft.

And those are a few of my favorite foods at the moment. :)
Enjoy!

~clarita

27 Replies to “From the Kitchen…”

  1. hhmmm…there’s a poplular eating spot in Ho Co that uses the pretzel bun for some of their sandwiches :) Looks yummy. Are the apple chimichangas deep fried?? My brothers used to make them with cherry pie filling – yes, cream cheese would be great – kinda like a fry pie! I was planning to make choc. chip cookies today – kids have Spring break next week, so we’re gonna need some treats. Can’t wait to try this recipe – they look perfect! thanks for sharing

  2. Yum, I think my mouth is watering! I want to try the first quiche!

    Caught up with your recent blogs. So sorry to read of your friends loss.

    Your children are so delightful to see, and your little man has amazing eyes! Your blogs do show your thankfulness, give God praise, and bring joy to the hearts of your readers!

  3. Thank you for the mention again in your post. Btw, I LOVE that you took up the idea! We should do these frequently . . . sharing our favorite foods and sharing them and linking to each other . . . and others who’d want to join in! Our brains and menus and kitchens might not know what hit them with all the inspiration! :) That quiche looks soooo good. I saw one of your sisters mention in on FB and wanted to know the recipe! And yes, I’d make my low carb version and be perfectly, blissfully, happily eating an “S” breakfast. :) I’ve been wanting to try Hilda’s pretzel sandwiches too ~for the freezer for husband. I feel like packing lunches is harder than ever because 1/2 the time, he doesn’t need one {when he’s doing real estate}, but the other mornings when he does tile, he DOES need one and then I don’t feel stocked with the proper lunch box foods. Frustrating! Mmmm . . . and the wild rice soup. I’ll have to try it! I have tried many since I always have an abundance of wild rice from home, so one more can’t hurt since I haven’t had one yet that I don’t like. :) As for the desserts: they look great! I’ll have to serve them up to family and guests for the time being. My waistline and scales are loving me for by-passing things like this for almost 3 months, yes indeed, but perhaps I’ll allow a small bite to taste test. :) I hope your weekend will be sweet and restful. xoxo

  4. Those recipies all look delicious, but thanks especially for the soft pretzel one.  I made the sandwiches for supper tonight and this was only my second time making pretzels, the first time was a flop, but these are delicious!

  5. YUM, OHhhhh! A few years ago, I had the privilege of tasting my good friend Kathy’s pretzel rolls. They were lucious. The picture of the cookies makes me want to lay my face down onto them and see if any end up inside my mouth. They look so pillowy! You are a heroine to me right now… I’m pretty sure I will be making your version of that quiche any day now and the people who eat it will be begging for the recipe. Hugs to you!

  6. Your food is even better in real life. Yay for recipe swapping… you should win the award for Most Recipes Post-Mailed To Sister Within First Six Months of Her Marriage. Long title, I know, but so true. Anyway, thank you for constantly inspiring me to death. :) love love love.

  7. yum! what a great post. you have me salivating over here! the apple jimchangas and the pretzal sandwiches are what caught the eye here. Love pretzal sandwiches, haven’t made them in a long time!

  8. @FOREVERLANE – Yes, that is a GREAT idea! I’m always ALL EARS for any new recipes – especially those given by recommendation! I love that you started this – and I’m thinking it may be a regular feature. Like once a month or two?

  9. @Joelle – Oh, that made me smile to read that! I’m so glad they turned out well for you! Yeast products can be kind of scary, because when they flop they REALLY flop. But when they’re perfect, it’s such a good feeling! :)

  10. @Richgem – I love your word pictures – the pillowy cookies! It made me laugh, because it’s so true! And about that quiche – yes, I think nearly everyone I’ve served it to has asked for the recipe! And I’ve served it to quite a few people. :) I’m so thankful my friend first introduced me!

  11. @dreamstillcometrue – yay for recipe swapping is right! but i think  i’ve gottten just as many wonderful recipes from you as you have from me. maybe more. :) thanks to you and jean, i’m a much better cook than i used to be. :)

  12. I’m definitely going to make some of these recipes! I can’t wait to try them. I will say this re: your wild rice soup, in any chicken/turkey soup, grate the carrots. It’s annoying to do, but seriously, it will change your life. I can’t explain what it does, but you’ll never go back to chopped carrots in soup again.

    I’m eyeing the bread recipe and that first quiche for this weekend . . .

  13. These all look really good! I love pictures with recipes and even better when they are tried and loved already. Can I just pin the whole post? :)

  14. I loved your baking post! I’m with you on the picture…after seeing all yours it’s making me hungry and want to go cook even though it’s 11pm :) I’ve been quite busy gardening this week instead of cooking much and mostly it’s been quick meals like salads but eventually I’m going to have to try out that quiche recipe and that soup looks mighty yummy too!

  15. Oh oh oh, this post killed me! I think all but one thing is not in my diet, but I’m drooling! Yummy yummy, thanks for sharing the recipes. I’m going to try to cut out dairy in some of them and maybe gluten when I can so that Em and I can enjoy versions of them.

  16. Just made my second batch of those wonderful choc chip cookies. I made one yest but I took 2 doz to friends and the rest are….. well lets just say they are history:). So today is yet another batch in the making. This was a really neat post, thanks.

  17. *testing testing* Is this thing live yet? Or rather, made known to the public? Looks so good and I hope the move is worth it for you!

    1. It’s coming, it’s coming! :)
      Soon and very soon. Hopefully within a week or so! :)
      Thanks for being my buddy and all your encouragement! xoxo

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