Bacon Quiche and White Bean & Tomato Salad

The weather here in New York has been amazingly warm and that means lighter dinners to accompany the sunshine! Yesterday (and today) seemed to be one of those days where there just wasn't enough hours in the day to get everything done. I did not have that much time to prep dinner and as of 2:00pm I did not even have anything planned. It was one of those nights I had to grab things from around the kitchen and make something on a whim. I decided to make a delicious quiche and wanted a nice light and healthy side to go with it....so white bean and tomato salad it was. It was perfect and could not believe how quickly it was devoured...only one small piece left last night which happily I ate for lunch today :)

Bacon Quiche

Frozen Pie Crust, thawed
1/4 large onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper
frozen spinach (if frozen thaw and squeeze out any water), I used about 3/ 4 of frozen box
5 slices of low-sodium bacon, sliced the short way and cooked (drain fat)
5 eggs
1 cup skim milk
about 1/3 (maybe a tad more) of shredded cheese of your choice
salt and pepper to taste
couple of dashes of hot sauce (Chalulah)

Lay pie crust into a pie plate. Saute onion and green pepper until tender. In a bowl, mix eggs, milk, salt and pepper, and hot sauce.
Layer onions and peppers in the pie crust, add spinach, cheese, bacon, and top with egg mixture.
Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes

White Bean & Tomato Salad

1 14oz can of white beans
2 tomatoes, chopped in large pieces
2 Tbl of Olive Oil
1 medium lemon, juiced
1/2 Tbl of oregano
salt and pepper

Mix together. I let sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Serve at room temperature or cold.

Back and Not Counting Calories for this Recipe :)

So it was a long three plus weeks of no oven and finally we got a new one put in. I could hardly contain my excitement that I just had to make a full-fat, no reservations meal. However, only the stove-top and broiler were used and I still have not had a fully-oven-cooked meal yet. I have had the itch though and I am just waiting for the right meal to share with you...besides this one :)
I decided to make croque-madames and spinach salad with warm bacon dressing! Yum yum! I do not think I can ever think of a ham and cheese the same way again. This is one of the most delicious sandwiches I have ever had and I do not regret the amount of calories that were consumed. Luckily I have a treadmill, two children, and a large house to keep me busy. Anyway, I do not deprive myself of certain meals and treats. ALL THINGS IN MODERATION!

Croque Madame (3 sandwiches)

6 slices of sourdough bread
Thin sliced ham
3 large slices of Munster Cheese (or Gruyere) and 1/4 cup shredded for sauce
Dijon Mustard
2 cups Skim Milk
3 Tbl of butter
3 Tbl of flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
grated nutmeg
3 eggs

(PREHEAT BROILER TO LOW)

Bechamel Sauce

Melt 3 tbl of butter in a small sauce pan on low heat. Whisk in flour and cook until it becomes a roux (light brown). Whisk in the milk until it comes to a boil, whisk constantly. Reduce heat and simmer, whisk occasionally. Whisk in salt, pepper, nutmeg, and 1/4 cup of cheese. Remove from heat.

To Make Sandwiches

• Spread bechamel sauce over three slices of bread, just enough to coat. Top with one slice of cheese and then ham. On the remaining slices of bread, spread a thin layer of dijon mustard. Put together to form sandwiches.
• In a hot skillet, spray a coating of PAM (or you can use butter). Grill sandwiches like a grilled cheese so that they are light brown on both sides.
• Top each sandwich with a thick layer of the bechamel sauce and stick under the broiler for  a few minutes or until they are bubbly and starting to brown.
• While the sandwiches are under the broiler, fry up your three eggs.

Top each sandwich with an egg and eat immediately! Trust me, you won't be able to wait!!

Improvise!

I am currently going on 3+ weeks of no oven. You do not realize how fortunate you are to have certain things until they are gone. It has been three weeks of improvising meals. However, I am lucky to have a gas stove so I can still use the cook top and the handy-dandy crock-pot. Regardless, it is still time consuming to use the cook top over the oven and I am slowly getting tired of it. Not too mention, the two kids that are continuously distracting me and needing my endless love and attention :) Luckily the weather has been beautiful and we have been spending everyday outside, at the park, and having lunch picnics. One of these days I will find the time to shower my blog with recipes. Until then, I would love to share with you the two things that make my world go round. Hope that everyone is enjoying life and not taking things for granted <3

Breakfast Quinua with Bananas and Pecans

Sometimes it is just easier to make breakfast for dinner. We usually do this once a week on days that I am not feeling like cooking a lot. Tonight is one of those nights. I wanted to do something different from an omelet or pancakes so I decided to make something with Quinoa. This is also a healthy and satisfying dinner!! I have never made Quinoa sweet so I grabbed things that I found around the kitchen that I thought would be delicious together. I must say, this concoction turned out AMAZING! This is definitely something that I will be making again!

1/2 cup Quinoa, Rinsed under cold water and drained
1 and 1/2 cups Silk Vanilla Almond Milk
1 Ripe Banana, mashed to desired consistency (I like mine with a few chunks)
Splash of Almond Extract
Touch of Cinnamon
Tiny pinch of salt
A handful of toasted pecans, roughly chopped

In a sauce pan, add the Silk, almond extract, salt, and cinnamon. Once the Quinoa is rinsed and completely drained, add it to the Silk. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 15 minutes or until the Quinoa is tender. Remove from the heat and add the mashed bananas and toasted pecans.