[crustless spinach quiche]

a full pie of awesome

Yields 6 servings (can easily be chilled and enjoyed in about a week)

Ingredients

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

5 eggs, beaten

3 cups shredded Muenster Cheese

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9 inch pie pan.  

Heat oil  in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft.  Stir in spinach and continue cooking until excess moisture has evaporated.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, cheese, salt and pepper.  Add spinach mixture and stir to combine.  Scoop into prepared pie pan.

Bake in the preheated oven until eggs have set, about 30 minutes.  Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Note: For individual servings - distribute the spinach mixture into a greased muffin pan.  Each muffin tin should be a little less than half full.  

You can also use any other additional vegetables you want like mushrooms, sliced red pepper, scallions, green olives, tomatoes.  Feel free to mix up the cheese too - it's really just according to your preference.

[chicken cacciatore]

serves 2 generous servings

serve with garlic bread

Ingredients:

3 skinless chicken breasts

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp olive oil

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1/2 pound white mushrooms, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 (14.5 oz) can whole tomatoes in juice

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes or more to taste

Directions:

Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  Heat the oil in a saute pan, or large electric skillet, over moderately-high heat.  Brown the chicken on both sides, about 8 minutes.  Remove the chicken.  

Reduce the heat to moderate. Add the onion and pepper, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to brown.  Add the wine and the garlic, cook until reduced by half. Add the tomatoes and juice, oregano, red pepper flakes and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and simmer on low heat,  covered for 10 minutes.  Return the chicken breasts to the pan and simmer on low heat, covered, until the chicken is just done, about 20 minutes longer.

[chicken marsala]

Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch. Published by William and Morrow, 1993.

Ingredients
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Essence, recipe follows
2 (6 to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in halves and pounded thin
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
3 cups sliced mushrooms (cremini, oyster, shiitake)
3/4 cup Marsala
1 cup chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chopped chives, for garnish
 
Directions
In a shallow bowl or plate combine the flour and Essence and stir to combine thoroughly. Quickly dredge the chicken breast halves in the seasoned flour mixture, shaking to remove any excess flour.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and cook the chicken breasts until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter to the pan and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are golden brown around the edges and have given off their liquid. Add the Marsala wine and bring to a boil, scraping to remove any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. When the wine has reduced by half, add the chicken stock and cook for 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Lower the heat to medium and return the chicken breasts to the pan and continue to cook until they are cooked through and the sauce has thickened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, add salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with chopped chives and serve immediately.

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.
Yield: about 2/3 cup

[alice springs chicken quesadillas]

We've finally nailed one of our favorite dishes from Outback.... we hate eating there, but love the food for curbside takeaway.  

Honey Mustard Sauce/Dressing

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup honey

2 Tbsp Grey Poupon Dijon mustard

Whip ingredients in an electric mixer for 1 minute.  Chill until needed.

2 chicken breasts

1 cup sliced white mushrooms

4 slices bacon

1 Tbsp butter + 1 Tbsp divided

shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 Tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

4 medium tortillas

Heat oven to 375.  Place bacon in Pyrex pan.  Cook bacon for 20 minutes or until fully cooked.  When done, let bacon drain on paper towels.  

Pound chicken breasts to about 1/4 inch thickness.  Season with salt and pepper.  Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat.   Cook chicken on each side until golden brown.  Place breasts in foil and wrap to keep warm and continue cooking until ready.

Keep skillet on medium heat and melt 1 Tbsp butter.  Add mushrooms and saute.  Remove mushrooms from skillet and set aside in a bowl.

Slice chicken into thin strips about 1/2 inch to 1 inch in length.  Set aside.  Rough chop the mushrooms and set aside.  Chop the bacon and set aside.  Heat butter in sauce pan over medium heat.  Place tortilla on melted butter and cover with 2 spoonfuls of honey mustard sauce and spread to cover most of tortilla.  Sprinkle 1 chopped chicken breast over sauce and cover with 1/2 of mushrooms and bacon and enough cheese to lightly cover tortilla.  Drizzle 1 spoonful of honey mustard sauce over cheese and cover with another tortilla.  Flip quesadilla when light brown and cook on other side until also light brown.  Repeat with other 2 tortillas.

Cut quesadillas into 6 pieces and serve with honey mustard sauce for dipping.

Serves 2.

[chicken madeira]

It looks harder than it is - this is our new favorite dish.  It's amazingly light and delicious.

Serves 2-4
For two: serve with garlic bread, each serving having 2 breasts
For 4: Serve with garlic mashed potatoes, one breast each

1 Tbsp olive oil

4 skinless chicken fillets

8 asparagus spears

4 mozzarella cheese slices

Sauce: 

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 cups sliced fresh white mushrooms

3 cups Madeira wine

2 cups beef broth

1 Tbsp butter

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Pound chicken breasts to about 1/4 inch thick.  Sprinkle each fillet with salt and pepper.  Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet/sauce pan over medium heat.  Saute the chicken fillets 4 to 6 minutes per side, or until the chicken has browned up a bit.  Remove chicken breasts and wrap them together in foil to keep warm while you make the sauce.  Don't clean the pan - add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and keep pan at medium heat.  Add the mushrooms and saute for about 2 minutes.  Add the Madeira wine, beef broth, butter and pepper.  Bring sauce to a boil and reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the sauce reduces to about one-quarter of it's original volume.  When the sauce is done it will thicken and turn a dark brown color.  

As the sauce is simmering, bring a medium saucepan filled about halfway with water to a boil.  Add a little salt to the water.  Toss the asparagus into the water and boil for 3 to 5 minutes until they're tender, but not mushy.  Drop the asparagus into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.  (Keep them in the bath until sauce is done.)

When sauce has finished, set oven to broil.  Arrange chicken breasts on a baking pan (discard the foil).  Lay two asparagus spears on each fillet and cover each with a slice of mozzarella cheese.  Broil chicken for 3 to 4 minutes or until the cheese begins to melt with light brown spots.  

Serve with a ladle of sauce (with mushrooms) on each breast.