Deviled Eggs

From: The Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook.

Ingredients:
6 hard-boiled eggs
0.25c Mayo
1t Mustard
1t Vinegar
Paprika, to garnish

Directions:
Hard boil eggs.  Cool and dry eggs.  Cut eggs lengthwise.  Remove yolks and put in a bowl.  Smash yolks, and then add mayo, mustard, and vinegar.  Spoon yolk mixture into egg whites.  Sprinkle with paprika.  Voila!  Refrigerate.  

Hot Mama Grade: A

Hot Mama Notes: This is a tried & true recipe.  It is very tasty.  There are never any left.

Fennel Quiche

Ronald’s Fennel Quiche
From the Moosewood Restaurant New Classics Cookbook

Crust:

1 c unbleached white flour
1/2 t salt (optional)*
1/3 c chilled butter
2 T ice water

Filling:

2 T olive oil
3/4 c diced onions
1/2 t salt
1 c thinly sliced or diced fresh fennel (bulbs)
2 medium fresh tomatoes
1 c seeded and diced zucchini
1 t ground fennel seeds
2T minced fresh bsil
1/4 t ground black pepper
4 eggs
1.5 c grated feta cheese, packed
1 c grated Swiss cheese, packed

Serves 4 to 6
Preparation time: 1 hour
Baking time: 50 minutes

Mix together the flour and the salt, if using, in a large bowl. Rapidly work the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter or your fingers until it resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle the ice water over the mixture a tablespoon at a time, and lightly mix it through the dough.

Push the dampened dough from the sides to the middle of the bowl, to form a ball that holds together. Transfer it to a clean, dry work surface. Cut the dough in half, place one half on top of the other, and press down. Repeat the cutting and pressing steps three or four times until all of the water is well distributed and the dough clings together. 

Lightly flour a work surface and roll the dough into a 12-inch circle. Transfer the pie dough to a 9-inch pie plate, fold the edges under, and crimp with your fingers or a fork. Refrigerate the pie shell while you prepare the filling.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed, nonreactive skillet. Add the onions and salt, and sauté on medium heat until the onions are translucent and juicy, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the fresh fennel and sauté for another 3 to 5 minutes. The edges of the onions will begin to brown.

While the onions and fennel cook, halve the tomatoes through the stem sends and scoop out the pulp and juice, setting aside ½ cup of it. Dice enough of the tomato flesh to make 1 cup and add it, with the z8ucchini and ground fennel, to the skillet. Cook on medium, heat for 5 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the tomatoes soften and begin to fall apart. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil and pepper.

In a blender, puree the eggs, the reserved ½ cup of tomato pulp and juice, and the feta to form a smooth custard. Spoon the sautéed vegetables into the chilled crust, top with the grated Swiss, and pour the custard over all. The pie will be very full.

Bake for 50 minutes, until the quiche is domed, crusty, and golden.

http://hotmamacookbook.blogspot.com/2013/04/unbaked-single-pie-crust-savory.html 

Chili Rellenos Casserole - Lazy Chili Rellenos

Original Recipe at: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/11/lazy-chiles-rellenos/

Ingredients

• 8 whole Roasted, Peeled, And Seeded Green Chiles
• 1-1/2 cup Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated
• 5 whole Large Eggs
• 2 cups Whole Milk
•  Salt And Black Pepper To Taste
• 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Mix together eggs, milk, salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne.
Cut chilies in half and add a single layer of chilies on the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
Top chilies with half the grated cheese.
Repeat with another layer of chilies and another layer of cheese.
Pour egg mixture all over the top.
Place into a larger baking dish or rimmed baking sheet. Pour in 1/2 inch of water and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until completely set.
Cut into squares and serve with warm corn tortillas!

Hot Mama Notes: I roasted my own chilis from the garden.  I thought about making actual rellenos, but it seemed like a lot of work, and I was short on time!  As it is, the kids are complaining about being hungry.  :/  I used a jack/chedder cheese blend.  I used season salt.  I had maybe 10 smaller chilis, mainly poblanos, but there might have been another type in there, too.  

To roast the chilis, I followed these directions (which are from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/authentic-mexican-chili-rellenos/):

1. Preheat the oven's broiler and set the oven rack at about 6 inches from the heat source. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place peppers onto the prepared baking sheet, and cook under the preheated broiler until the skin of the peppers has blackened and blistered, about 10 minutes. Turn the peppers often to blacken all sides. Place the blackened peppers into a bowl, and tightly seal with plastic wrap. Allow the peppers to steam as they cool, about 15 minutes.
2. Rinse cooled peppers under cold water to peel off the skins, and cut a slit along the long side of each pepper to remove the seeds and core. Rinse the peppers inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels.

The kids didn't really dig this recipe much (well, the older one like it okay, but the younger two wouldn't eat much), but my Hubby and I *loved* it!!!  I guess you can't go wrong with what is essentially an EGG casserole.  YUM.  The fresh roasted fresh chilis were the BOMB.  We will definitely make this recipe again.  We are always looking for recipes to use up the chiles from the garden!  :D

Hot Mama Grade: A! :D

I also liked this link about chilis:

http://mexicanfood.about.com/od/chilerecipes/r/Roasted-Green-Chiles.htm

All chiles start out green, and then as they mature, they change color to yellow, orange, red or purple. Green chiles are picked as soon as they reach their full size, but before they begin to change color. They are usually roasted before using them in recipes to impart a smoky flavor as well as soften them and make the skin easy to remove.

Heat Source
Begin by preparing your heat source. You will need something extremely hot to char the chiles with. An open flame, such as a grill, is best but you can also roast them in a hot pan or under a broiler. Turn up the heat and begin roasting the chiles by turning them frequently over the heat source. Roast them until the skins are blackened and blistering. The skins do not need to be solid black, just blackened in areas and the rest of the skin should appear loosened and browned. 

This should take about 10 minutes over an open flame or in a broiler, and 15-20 minutes if you roast them in a pan.

Steaming the Chiles (optional)
Once the skin is thoroughly charred, remove the chiles from the heat source and into a bowl. Cover the bowl loosely so that the hot roasted chiles create a steam. You can cover the bowl with aluminum foil, a lid, or a dish towel. Let the chiles steam for about 10 minutes. This helps to loosen the skins even more, but this step can be skipped if time is of the essence.

Preparing the Chiles 
When the chiles have cooled enough to where you can touch them, begin peeling of the skin. The skin should peel off easily, but if it is being stubborn, you can run it under warm water while peeling. This will remove some of the chiles flavorful oils and should only be done if the skin is very hard to remove.
If you are using the green chiles for rellenos (stuffed chiles) use a knife to cut a two-inch slit from the stem and down the side and use a spoon to carefully scoop out the seeds.

Roasted chiles tear very easily so go slowly and take your time. If you're using the chiles for anything else, you can cut the stem portion off and then slit the remaining chile down the entire side and open it up. Use a spoon to scrape the seeds off. Discard the seeds and stems and use the roasted green chile in your recipe.


More on How to Roast Chiles:
http://mexicanfood.about.com/od/techniques/ht/roastchiles.htm

You can roast chiles under medium heat on the broiler, on a very hot grill, over open fire or on the stove top. For the stove top method it is helpful to use a metal steaming basket placed over the open flame. Place the chiles into the basket and keep the flame medium.

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: 10-20 minutes

Here's How:

1. Prepare chiles
   Clean chiles and dry thoroughly.
2. Prepare heat
   Get the heat source ready. Pre-heat broiler or grill, get fire ready or place the metal steamer over the open flame of a stove top

1. Char chiles
   Place cleaned chiles under or over the heat and turn every minute or so until the skin is blackened. The entire chile will not be completely black, but it should be charred about 60%. It should take 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Remove from heat
   Carefully remove the charred chiles from the heat source. Tongs are helpful for this.
3. Sweat chiles
   Carefully place the chiles into a plastic baggie and seal it. This will steam the chiles to continue the cooking and make the skins easier to remove. Let the chiles sweat for 10-15 minutes. Use additional baggies if roasting a large number of chiles.
4. Remove skins
   Remove the chiles from the bag one at a time. As you remove them, rub the chiles to remove the skins. Use a knife to remove any skin that sticks.
5. Use or store
   When the chiles are all peeled, you can use them immediately for best flavor, or freeze them for later use.

Tips:

1. If a baggie is not available, place the chiles in a plastic storage container with a lid. Or on a plate covered with plastic wrap or a towel.

1. 
   What You Need: Be careful of the heat. Always use tongs, pot holders or whatever you need to protect yourself.
2. Remember that the chile does not need to be completely black. As long as the chile is at least 60% charred, it should be fine.
3. Some people remove the skins while holding the chile under running water. The water can remove some of the flavorful oils in the chile so try to remove the skins with just your fingers.

• Fresh, whole chiles
• Heat source- broiler, grill, open fire, stove top with a metal steam basket
• Tongs
• Plastic baggie or plastic wrap

Spinach Asparagus Quiche

Original Recipe: http://rotnerramblings.blogspot.com/2013_03_01_archive.html

• 1/2 Tbls. olive oil
• 8 asparagus spears, ends removed and cut into 1 inch pieces (I used skinny aspargus, approx. 1 cup, diced)
• 4 cups fresh baby spinach, I cut it up into small pieces
• 5 large eggs
• 1 c. milk
• 3/4 c. crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 green onions, chopped - I omitted
• 1- 9 inch unbaked pie crust

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Line a 9 inch pie plate with dough and stick in freezer while you prepare the other quiche ingredients.

3. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the asparagus and spinach. Cook until asparagus is tender and spinach is wilted. 

4. In a large bowl, whisk eggs and milk together. Stir in both cheeses. Add salt and pepper, to taste. 

5. Remove pie crust from the freezer. Place asparagus, spinach and onions on the bottom of the crust. Pour egg and cheese mixture over the vegetables. The chunks of cheese will be at the bottom of the bowl, don't forget those morsels...

6. Bake for 45 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.


Hot Mama Notes: I used the homemade savory crust listed in the post a few before this.  I did not put in the freezer (no room), but I did leave it in the fridge while I got the filling ready.  I also needed to cook my quiche an additional 20 minutes over the listed 45 minutes.  It simply was not cooked when I checked at 45 minutes.  It is cooling now.  I haven't had a chance to taste it yet, but it looks delicious!!!

Broccoli Quiche

Original Recipe is at: http://rotnerramblings.blogspot.com/2013_03_01_archive.html

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbls. butter
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 tsp. garlic, minced
• 2 cups chopped fresh broccoli
• 1- 9 inch unbaked pie crust
• 1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Over medium heat, melt butter in a large saucepan. Add onions, garlic and broccoli. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are soft. 

3.  Spoon vegetables into crust and sprinkle with cheese.

4. Combine eggs and milk. Season with salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture over vegetables and cheese.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until center has set. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Hot Mama Notes: This quiche was delicious.  :)  I used a little over 2 cups of broccoli.  Closer to 2.5 cups.  However, I didn't feel like I had a problem with the filling overspilling the pie crust, thankfully!  I used about 3 cloves of garlic.  I think next time I would mix all the filling items together before putting them into the pie crust, so that the resulting filling mixture is more homogenous.  I followed the directions exactly, and while the broccoli and the milk/egg mixture was fine, I did not like how all the cheese was sort of glommed on top.  Also, I am not sure if this is why the quiche was a bit watery, but I might try draining the broccoli mixture before adding it to the pie crust (or mixing it with the remaining filling items).  

We will definitely make this again some time!  Grade: A-