ham and fresh tomato quiche

We have a great crop of tomatoes and I did an internet search for something new to put them in. We love quiche and this was savory and yummy.

My changes: I used a little skim milk instead of the half and half. I was out of parsley so I left it out. I used some onion powder instead of onions because the kids don’t eat things when they can see the onions. And I used a mexican blend shredded cheese because it was already shredded.

Ham and Fresh tomato quiche

Total Time: about 60 minutes Source: about.com

Ingredients:

• 1, 9-inch pie crust, unbaked (I just made my own)
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• dash nutmeg
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar or Swiss cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped ham

Preheat oven to 400° F.
Pierce unbaked pie crust several times with fork; set aside. In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, and seasonings. Sprinkle cheese, vegetables, and ham over unfilled pie crust. Pour in egg mixture. Bake at 400° for 45 to 60 minutes, or until nicely browned.
Serves 6 to 8.

something green: hearty split pea soup

It would take a professional food photographer to make this soup look yummy in a photo.

I thought we should have some green recipes for St. Patrick's Day this week. This is referred to as "that green soup" around here so this fits the bill.

Besides being downright delicious let me tell you what else I love about this recipe: one serving (1/2 cup) has only 198 calories , 11 grams of fiber (wow!) and 15 grams of protein. It also only has 2 grams of fat, only a trace of that being saturated fat.

All that, plus its easy to make. I love it.

I found it in The Taste of Home Cookbook on page 75.

Hearty Split Pea Soup

Prep: 15 minutes CookTime: 1 1/2 hours

1 package (16 ounces) split peas

8 cups water

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 large onions, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

2 cups cubed fully cooked lean ham or cooked corned beef

1/2 cup chopped celery

5 teaspoons reduced-sodium chicken bullion granules

1 teaspoon dried majoram

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1 teaspoon rubbed sage

1/2 - 1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

In a large Dutch oven or soup kettle, combine all ingredients; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours or until peas and vegetables are tender.

Yield: 12 servings (3 quarts)

(This reheats very well and I can eat it for lunch all week.)

Ham and Broccoli Quiche

This was a very easy dish to prepare, and though the kids had qualms at first, once they tried it they liked it. Though the pie crust makes this so its not as healthy as it could be, we all agreed that was the really tasty part. I found this recipe through a google search for a ham and broccoli quiche and it didn't have any credits. Thank you to whoever.

Ham and Broccoli Quiche

1 package pillsbury prepared pie crusts

1/2 lb. ham

1 cup chopped onions

16 oz. frozen broccoli

5 eggs beaten

1 cup milk

1 cup swiss or monterey jack cheese (I had neither of those so I used cheddar)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Spray 2, 9" pie pans with Pam and press in the pie crusts. A 9X13 also works, you just have to trim the crusts to fit into it.

Brown onions in a large skillet.

The recipe didn't say anything about thawing the broccoli so I stuck it in with the onions for a while when I beat the eggs and grated cheese.

Stir the onions and broccoli together with ham and cheese.

(I also made one addition at this point by putting in a layer of sliced zucchini at the bottom)

Layer ham/broccoli mix in next.

Stir together beaten eggs and milk and pour over the top.

I pressed the crust down to the level of the filling at this point so it wouldn't get to crisp.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. (Mine came out great at 45)

Sorry if my instructions are a little muddled because I only copied the ingredients and basics down and gave you instructions of what I did.

We served it with ketchup and salsa to convince the kids to eat it, but I liked it just the way it was.

Try it, you'll like it.