Crustless Broccoli and Potato Quiche

Easter is over. We all (hopefully) survived. And I don't know about all you hosts out there, but the thought of spending one more minute in the kitchen nearly killed me. Oh, but this quiche...it solves problems. See, every single morning — at least an hour before my alarm goes off — I hear those three dreaded words whispered in my ear: "Eggs and potatoes?" I find it ironic that I, the person who doesn't have to be into work until noon, wakes up earlier than many people who go into work at 9am.

This quiche temporarily fixed this small glitch in my marriage. Instead of pulling myself out of bed and back into the kitchen, I simply have to mutter the words, "Microwave some quiche." How great is that? Needless to say, I'll be getting my beauty sleep this week. And I need it.

I realize that this looks complicated. Somehow, I made this look much more complicated than it really is. So don't let the 3,987 steps deter you...once you've done it one time, you'll be a pro.

Ingredients:

• Olive oil 
• 2 cups potato, peeled and diced 
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese  
• 1 1/2 cups fresh broccoli florets
• 4 slices of bacon (optional)
• 1 tablespoon of Italian bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup milk
• 6 eggs
• Salt and pepper 
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder 
• 1/4 tsp onion powder 
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg

Directions:

• Preheat  oven to 325
• Spray a pie pan with non-stick spray
• Grab a few potatoes, peel then and cut them up into small chunks 
• Pour some olive oil into a pan over medium high heat
• Add the potato chunks and throw in a dash of salt and pepper
• While that's heating up, grab your broccoli. If it's fresh, go ahead and toss it right in with the potatoes. If it's frozen (like mine was), microwave it with a tablespoon of water for about a minute, then toss it in with the potatoes
• We only want to heat the potatoes and broccoli up for about 3 minutes. We're not looking to brown it at all
• Throw the potato/broccoli mixture into the pie pan
• Add the shredded cheese and mix
• If you have decided to add bacon, cook it however you want (I use microwave bacon all the way), crumble it and throw on top of the broccoli/potato/cheese mixture in the pie pan
• In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs
• Add the milk and whisk until combined
• Add garlic/onion powder, some salt and pepper and the nutmeg. Whisk some more.
• Pour the egg mixture over the broccoli/potato mixture in the pie pan.
• Sprinkle with the bread crumbs and evenly top with Parmesan cheese. These two steps will create a bubbly crust.
• Place the pie pan into the oven and cook for about 30 minutes on low, then turn temperature down to 250 and let it sit for about another hour.
• This is the tricky part. The thing I've learned about quiches is that you need to allow it to sit at a lower temperature for a long period of time. There's no one perfect amount of time to cook it. Just keep your eye on it, checking it every 15 minutes or so. Once your fork can come out easily and clean from the middle of the quiche, it's ready.

So this week, I'd like to encourage you to rebel. Don't get up and fix your husband and kids breakfast. Show them the quiche, instruct them on how to use a microwave, and for the love of God, get some sleep.

Love and letting loose,
Rachael

Cheater broccoli cheese soup

I'm big on life's staples — you know, those things that you just can't live without. Some of mine include 1) my jean jacket; 2) Almay eyeliner (it's the best stuff you'll ever find); 3) Diet Dr. Pepper; 4) My Helen of Troy Hot Tools straightener. This is just to name a few.

Well, I found another one.

I'm also big on staple recipes. One thing I love about writing and posting new recipes is that it keeps me accountable to trying different things, because otherwise I'd stick with about three recipes. The potato soup that my friend Amanda introduced me to is one of those meals that I could make twice a week and no one would complain. So, I took the "formula" for that soup and plugged it in here, simply with a different foundation. Make no mistakes, this is not a healthy soup, but none of the best ones are. It's thick, creamy and loaded with cheese. And now that I've made it, I'm not looking back.

Ingredients (serves 2 people):

• 1 can cream of broccoli soup
• 1 can's worth of milk
• This is not evaporated milk. After you pour the cream of broccoli soup in the pot, fill that same can up with normal milk and you're good to go!
• 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese 
• 2 cups chopped broccoli
• I buy a bag of frozen chopped broccoli and microwave it for about a minute.
• 2 tbsp butter

Directions:

• Pour cream of broccoli soup into a large pot over medium high heat. Let it warm up for about 5 minutes, stirring often
• Add the milk and whisk until well-blended
• Add both cheeses. Let that warm up until the cheese is melted and blends in with the soup.
• Add the broccoli and stir.
• Add the butter. Stir as it melts.
• Serve hot and topped with cheddar cheese. Place in a bread bowl or served with french or sourdough bread.

The only non-negotiables in this recipe are the ratios for the cream of broccoli soup and the milk. For each can of soup you use, you must use a can's worth of milk. Otherwise, you can add as much cheese, broccoli and butter as you'd like. I've just found this to be the best combination for myself.

Love and broccoli,
Rachael

Broccoli chicken bake

Have I ever mentioned that I used to be quite large? My mom will inevitably get angry at me for writing this and will follow up with a phone call explaining how my body simply matched my "larger than life" personality.

She's my mom. She has to say that. And now that I think about it, I don't even see that as much of a compliment, anyway.

So when I was a freshman in high school, I started a less-intense version of the Atkins diet. It involved a lot of chicken, a lot of broccoli, and a lot of cheese. Mom came up with a broccoli chicken bake that I ate at least once a day. Keep in mind, this is before Atkins was trendy and there were all those fancy schmany "no-carb chocolate bars."

Psshh.

About 25 lbs later, I embraced bread again and have re-made this broccoli chicken bake. It still has the broccoli. It still has the chicken. And it still has the cheese. We've simply thrown in some bread and butter.

Because life without bread and butter is simply no life at all.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag frozen broccoli
• 2 slices of sourdough bread broken into small pieces 
• 2 cooked chicken breasts
• Garlic salt/pepper
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons of melted butter
• 1 can cream of broccoli soup
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

 Directions:

• Steam the broccoli until tender and place in a 8 x 8 x 1 1/2 in. glass pan
• Cut up thawed chicken and cook on the stove over medium/high heat
• Add the juice of the lemon
• Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt and pepper
• Place cooked chicken on top of broccoli
• Mix the milk and soup in a separate bowl
• Pour mixture over chicken and broccoli
• Sprinkle with cheddar cheese
• Drizzle melted butter over bread crumbs in a separate bowl
• Spread bread crumbs on top of broccoli/chicken/soup mixture/cheese
• Bake at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes or until the top is browned. Remember...every oven is different. Keep an eye on it.

Guys, you would not believe how great this stuff smells. When you pull it out of the oven and get that first big whiff, it's like you walked into a Panera that only serves broccoli cheese soup.

I wish there were such a place.

Have a beautiful day, readers! And please, for heaven's sake...

...make this!

Love,
Rachael