Bacon, Tomato, and Mushroom Quiche with Whole Wheat Crust

Greetings! I have a terrific dinner or brunch recipe for you today. Quiche! I made this a few weeks and haven't had the chance to blog about it yet. But it's been on my mind ever since I made it. So good!!!

Quiche is really quite brilliant. It comes together in no time at all, is versatile, and is good for a crowd. Paired with a side salad, it's an all-around meal!

The crust that I made for this quiche could not have been easier. And it's healthy too! It contains only four ingredients: wheat flour, salt, olive oil, and water. Easy! And I didn't even need to use a food processor; I was able to make the crust by hand.

The recipe came together from a few different sources. The crust recipe was from food.com, and the actual quiche was a combination of some different quiche recipes I read online and one from my Taste of Home Classic Cookbook.

Ingredients:

For the crust:

-1 cup flour (all-purpose or wheat)

-1/2 tsp. salt

-1/4 cup olive oil

-1/4 cup ice cold water

For the quiche:

-1/2 cup chopped onion

-1/2 cup chopped mushrooms

-approx. 12 grape tomatoes, sliced in half

-four strips of bacon

-1 cup cheddar cheese (or cheese of your choice)

-1 Tbsp. wheat flour

-3/4 tsp. dried herbs de provence

-1/8 tsp. ground pepper

-4 eggs

-3/4 cup milk (I used 1%; probably any kind is fine)

Instructions:

For the crust, in a medium bowl, mix flour and salt with a fork. In a separate bowl, mix together the oil and water with a whisk. Pour liquids into the flour and mix well until the dough comes together. Press into 9-inch pie plate.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

For the quiche, start by cooking your bacon (frying or baking it). Use paper towels to remove as much grease as possible. Set aside to cool; once cool, break or cut into small, bite-sized pieces.

In a pan over medium heat, saute sliced onions for 3 to 4 minutes. Add slices mushrooms, and continue to cook for 4 or 5 more minutes. Cool vegetables slightly.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. In a large bowl, add the cooked onions and mushrooms, sliced tomatoes, bacon pieces, cheese, flour, herbs, and pepper. Pour the eggs and milk into the large bowl with the vegetable mixture, and mix together. Pour the entire mixture over the prepared crust. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until eggs are set. You can tell this by shaking the pan to see if the eggs jiggle or by using a cake tester or toothpick; it will come out clean with the quiche is done. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

This crust isn't necessarily the prettiest crust in the world, but it was tasty! I'd definitely make it again. It was a slightly thin crust, which was fine by us, but if you wanted a heartier, thicker crust, I might recommend increasing the ingredient proportions by one and a half (but doubling it would be too much, I think).

And of course, you could easily substitute other vegetables that are your favorite! Asparagus would be a great addition this time of year. This quiche could easily be made meatless as well. And you can use your favorite cheese (or cheeses); it doesn't necessarily have to be cheddar!

I also have to admit that I think this was my first time making quiche! I honestly can't remember ever making it before... I've eaten it many times in my life, but I've never actually made it. Guess there's a first time for everything. :)

Hope your week's off to a great start!

April 3rd: Let's Toast to Whole Grains!

 Forgive me, but I'm skipping another Wedding Wednesday post this week to bring to you instead another important "W" - Whole Grains!

Last week, I entered a giveaway on one of my favorite blogs, Delicious Dishings, and low and behold, I won! I was shocked. I don't often win things. :) And within two days of learning that I won the giveaway, an amazing package full of whole grain goodies was at my doorstep!

This giveaway was sponsored by Oldways and the Whole Grains Council, and it's in celebration of Whole Grain Sampling Day, which is today, April 3rd!

I couldn't believe all the amazing goodies that were in this box! 

I do make an effort to eat whole grains, but I'll admit that I don't eat them as frequently as I should. This package should help me eat more of them, for sure! :)

I mean, look at all these goodies!

Crackers, chips, cereal, muesli...

brown rice, pasta, cookies, cookie mixes, etc. etc. etc...

Here are some of the brand names that were in the generous package:

Among Friends Baking Mixes

Barbara's Bakery

Bob's Red Mill

Carl Brandt

Dr. Kracker

Freekehlicious 

Frontier Soups

Goose Valley

HomeFree Treats

Jovial Foods

Nabisco

Pamela's Products

Real McCoy's Snacks

Tasty Bite

Upfront Foods

Way Better Snacks

Mike and I have already been enjoying the Bob's Red Mill gluten free muesli over greek yogurt. Delicious!

I am especially excited to try these sweet potato tortilla chips too!

This whole grain wheat pasta can easily be made into a nice meal...

And of course, I am psyched to try these cookie mixes, being a huge baker and all. :)

And fitness bread? I didn't even know such a thing existed! Neato.

Last night I made this delicious Frontier Soups wheat berry chili for our dinner, and it was fantastic! Until now, I've never actually cooked wheat berries (!!). I was so glad to have the chance to try them, and I can definitely see them becoming a staple item in our pantry!

And the chili was delicious. We only needed to add ground turkey, broth, and canned tomatoes to the mix. It came together easily and was very flavorful and filling. I'd definitely recommend it! And with the chili, I tried the Engine 2 Crispbread that came in the package - also tasty!!

If you're wondering how to know which products are whole grain, it's easy; just look for the whole grain stamp! And if you don't see the stamp, check the ingredient list on foods for common whole grains like: hulled barley, brown rice, buckwheat, whole corn (including popcorn :)), oats and oatmeal, whole rye, whole wheat, wild rice, amaranth, buckwheat, millet, and quinoa.

And I'm sure many of you already know, but whole grains provide some excellent benefits to your health. Three or more servings of whole grain a day are recommended, and they provide you with great antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. And they also help lower your risk of chronic diseases such as stroke, diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

Enough said. I think you're picking up what I'm putting down.
We all need to eat more whole grains. :)

Who's with me??! I hope you will make an effort to eat some whole grains today, and I hope you will make them a regular occurrence in your diet in the future as well. And if you have any favorite whole grain products or recipes, I'd love to hear about them in the comments!

Thanks again to Megan from Delicious Dishings and the generous folks at Oldways and the Whole Grains Council for this awesome package of goodies. Cheers to Whole Grains!!

Avocado Egg Salad

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

If you colored Easter eggs this year, there's a chance you have some leftover eggs. Don't throw them out! Instead, try this awesome recipe for avocado egg salad. I made this last week, and Mike and I each enjoyed a couple sandwiches with the recipe. Soooo good! The avocado takes the place of the traditional mayonnaise used in the recipe, and it's a terrific substitution. I don't know if I'll ever go back to traditional egg salad. This avocado version is far better (in my opinion :)).

I semi-followed a recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod for our avocado egg salad. The ingredients I used are below, but be sure to check out the original recipe as well. There are a few different versions of this floating around the web, but I loosely followed Two Peas and Their Pod's version.

Ingredients:

-4 hard boiled eggs, chopped

-1 medium avocado, pitted and peeled

-2 Tbsp. plain Greek yogurt

-2 tsp. mustard (regular, not dried)

-2 to 3 tsp. fresh lemon juice

-2 celery stalks, finely chopped

-salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, avocado, yogurt, mustard and lemon juice. Mash with a fork and mix until well-combined. Mix in the chopped celery and then the salt and pepper to taste. Serve on bread as a sandwich or eat with crackers, pita bread, etc. This salad is best served the day it is made, but it will last in the fridge for a few days (it might just turn slightly brown).

And of course, when you're making this, feel free to adjust the ingredients according to your tastes. It's a pretty flexible recipe!

I could have eaten this avocado egg salad with a spoon! It was so good. And thanks to the lemon juice, it really doesn't turn too brown if you don't eat it up right away. But, it won't stay that nice, fresh green color either.

Instead of eating it by the spoonful, I ate it like a normal person on a sandwich. ;)

 I've never been a big mayo person at all, so coming across this idea for egg salad was pretty awesome.

If you like egg salad and avocado, you have to try this version! Seriously!

You have to. :)

3-Ingredient Healthy Banana Oatmeal "Cookies"

I've definitely mentioned on the blog before that I'm very much a snacker - I eat several small meals or snacks throughout the day, every two to three hours. For that reason, this recipe I'm sharing with you today is a very "Colleen" recipe. It comes together in no time at all, is healthy, and is the perfect snack for any mid-day hunger that might strike!

Cookies without the guilt? Win win.

The original recipe for these healthy cookies is from Skinnytaste.

Ingredients:

-2 medium/large ripe bananas

-1 cup uncooked quick oats

-1/4 cup of walnuts, chocolate chips, or peanut butter chips

(or any other mix-in of your choice!)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray or line it with parchment paper or a silpat. Mash the bananas well, and combine them in a medium bowl with the oats. Fold in the walnuts or baking chips - or whatever mix-in you are using. Place by the tablespoonful on prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes, until cookies are firm and lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool completely on cooling rack. Makes approximately 16 cookies.

Now, it's important to keep in mind that the texture and taste of these cookies is not necessarily the same as that you'd expect from a traditional cookie! They are soft and chewy, but they are also more dense since there is no flour or leavening agent of any kind. But that is also what makes them awesome! There's no flour...or sugar...in these cookies! That's what makes them healthier. ;) Of course, I had to go and "ruin" it by adding peanut butter chips to the batch that I made, but I couldn't resist. I never pass up the opportunity to pair banana with peanut butter! But I do think that just about any kind of nut or any kind of baking chip would be fabulous in these cookies.

And seriously, these little treats are perfect for that afternoon slump. They're just a tad sweet to satisfy that sweet tooth, but they'll also provide you with some very important nutrients and energy too!

Keep in mind too that you can make these cookies gluten free by using gluten free oats. Hooray!

I almost forgot to mention it, but I added about 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to the dough before baking the cookies. You can never go wrong with the addition of a little cinnamon, in my book.

The next time you have ripe bananas but not enough time to go through the whole process of baking banana bread, try these cookies instead. The whole family will love them! 

And also remember that you can freeze ripe bananas! I realize most of you likely already know this, but every now and then I'll be talking to someone who says they threw out ripe bananas because they didn't have time to bake with them. THEY THREW OUT RIPE BANANAS?! What were they thinking? That should never happen! If I have ripe bananas and not enough time to bake with them when they're ready, I simply peel and slice the bananas and freeze them in a ziploc baggie until I am ready. None of us should ever let a ripe banana go to waste. Ever. :)

This will be my last post before Easter, so to everyone celebrating the holiday this Sunday, enjoy!

This post is linked up to Taste and Tell Thursdays!

Oreo M&M Magic Bars with Graham Cracker Crust

It's almost the end of March and Easter is just four days away. How did that happen??! This week's weather in Boston has been lovely and very spring-like, and spending a lot of time in the kitchen isn't something that's attractive to me right now. I'm in the mood for quick recipes that will still allow me time to get outside and enjoy this nice, fresh spring air.

And that little lead-in, of course, brings me to this easy, quick recipe for Oreo M&M magic mars with graham cracker crust. Eeeeeaaaaaasy. The part that takes the longest is making your graham cracker crumbs in the food processor. But you can save yourself those 5 minutes by buying pre-made graham cracker crumbs at the store, if you'd like. And the ingredient list for this recipe is super short! It's six whole ingredients, folks. That's it!

The original recipe for "Mega Stuff Oreo S'more Magic Bars" comes from Lauren's Latest. The only change I  made to her original recipe was substituting Easter M&M's for chocolate chips. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly!

Ingredients:

-1 and 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

-1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

-1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk

-1/2 cup M&M's

-1/2 cup Jet Puffed Mallow Bits

-1 cup chopped Oreos

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13x9 pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray; set aside. Mix together the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter until moist. Spread evenly into prepared pan to form your crust. Pour sweetened condensed milk over top, spreading to cover the crust evenly. Sprinkle the M&M's, marshmallow bits, and chopped Oreos over top.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes until edges are golden and bars are set (the crust will not jiggle if you shake the pan). Let cool, and cut into bars. Makes 24 bars.

I have to warn you; these bars are on the sweet side (I mean, hellooo, look at the ingredient list ;)). I brought many of these to work to share with my colleagues, and I actually cut the size bars you see in these pictures in half. And that size seemed to be perfect for folks - just a couple bites - enough to satisfy your sweet tooth but not overdo it!!

I wrapped a few of these treats up in a cute little Easter bag to give to our neighbors. :)

Complete with some extra M&M's, of course!!

Although I made these with the "Bunny" M&M's, of course, you can make them with regular M&M's any time of year...or, you can make these bars for other holidays with all the various holiday-themed M&M's that come out each season! So, I'd say these are a nice treat that can vary per holiday. Very versatile. ;)

Hope you didn't mind the change up from a Wedding Wednesday post to a recipe this week! Hopefully I'll have another wedding post next week.

Happy springtime! :)

This post is linked up to Taste and Tell Thursdays!