This month, thanks to The Secret Recipe Club, I met RACHEL!! Rachel of Rachel Cooks Lucky for me she did a self interview and I found out lots about Rachel and her life. She is a stay-at-home Mom who is now part time Physical Therapist. Her little girl, “E”, is adorable. {This was so amazing because my daughter’s name is Rachel and she is also a Physical Therapist with an adorable little girl}. but I digress. Rachel began blogging because she did become a SAHM and needed something to do between feedings, changings, and playing with that adorable little girl. And she is funny!!
So it was fun cooking from her blog:
Wednesday, 22 August. So here it was. Breakfast. No wait, too late for that! And too early for lunch. So here it was – a Brunch day. And a perfect day to try Rachel’s…
Spinach Quiche with a Cornmeal Crust
This was wonderful. And it was because of the crust. It was the crust that drew me to this recipe. It was intriguing. A cornmeal crust is not something I would have thought of to pair with a quiche, but like Rachel said, it added a little extra crunch to each bite.
1/2 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening
3 Tablespoons cold water
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup of milk (whole would be amazing but I used skim and it still tasted great)
2 cups shredded Swiss Sharp Cheddar cheese tossed with 2 Tbsp flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
pepper to taste
dash of nutmeg
10 ounces cooked uncooked spinach, drained very well shredded
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Combine cornmeal, flour, salt in a small bowl. Cut in shortening using a fork or pastry cutter until combined. Sprinkle water in while tossing with fork, and continue to stir lightly until mixture forms a ball. Roll out on lightly floured board. .Press lightly into a 9-inch pie tart pan. This dough actually worked better for me not rolling it and treating it like a shortbread crust simply pressing the dough into the pan. 
3. Spread spinach over the bottom of the crust.
4. In a separate bowl, combine beaten eggs, milk, cheese, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Pour over spinach.
5. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for 25-25 minutes or until golden brown and set in the middle. Let stand 10 minutes before serving warm, room temperature or cold.
I made 1/2 of the recipe and that was more than enough filling for two 4 1/2″ mini quiches. One for me and one for, well me…tomorrow!!
On rainy days it is dangerous for me. Because I like to be in the kitchen. I can watch it rain. I cannot go outside. I can bake!! And today I needed a quick snack and I was completely out of EVERY snack I usually have. Small bags of pop-corn. Little bags of chips (once in a while) and Cheese Crackers. We eat a lot of cheese crackers. Not the gold-fish. Being so small they don’t last any time. The little square ones. You know the ones. CHEEZ-ITS!!
Lucky for me I was wandering through Rachel’s recipes and she had exactly what I wanted!!
Homemade Cheez-its (Cheddar Cheese Crackers)
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
3/4 teaspoon salt 1 tsp Cajun Seasoning (like Chacheres, or Emeril’s)
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard (optional)
2 tablespoons cold water
1. In a food processor, pulse everything except water together until it looks like course crumbs.
2. While pulsing, add in water 1 tablespoon at a time.
3. Remove from food processor, wrap in plastic wrap and put in refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
5. Roll out dough (quite thin) and cut into squares. Use a toothpick, to poke a hole in the middle of each cracker.
6. Place crackers on lined baking sheet You can place them fairly close together, as they do not really expand. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until crispy. ANd they will crisp more as they cool.
The only change I would make would be too add a smidgen more Cajun Seasoning to give them a little more bite!
After making these I am wondering why I didn’t think of making some before – and NOT paying $$ for boxes!! The world will never know!!
NOW!! About Supper!! How about….
Pasta with Chicken Sausage, Mushrooms, Mozzarella, Tomatoes, Spinach and Basil
The great thing about pasta dishes is they are very pliable. If you don’t really like an ingredient, you can leave it out. You can add more or less of item. You can use different pasta types. But this one didn’t need any changes.
12 oz pasta
reserved pasta water
1 tablespoon olive oil
12 oz chicken sausage, sliced {I used turkey sausage}.
16 oz sliced white mushrooms
3 oz fresh baby spinach
5 oz grape tomatoes {I used diced creoles from the garden.}
1 cup diced fresh mozzarella
1/2 chopped fresh basil
toasted pine nuts for garnish, optional
1. Put on water to boil and cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in sliced sausage and cook until browned and slightly crispy. Remove to a paper-towel lined plate.
3. Toss in mushrooms and sauté until browned and cooked. Toss in spinach and grape tomatoes and cook until spinach is wilted and tomatoes begin to split.
4. Remove from heat and add in cooked pasta, basil, sausage, and mozzarella. Stir to combine, adding reserved pasta water to achieve your desired consistency.
5. Garnish with toasted pine nuts.
This was good, y’all. The only change I would make would be to NOT add the diced Mozzarella until after everything else is mixed. Mine tended to clump together with the spinach. Did not ruin taste, however. I would have loved to use the flavored sausage Rachel used but I could not find anything like it so I settled for Turkey sausage. If I find the sund-ried tomato chicken sausage I will buy some because it sounds wonderful.
These three recipes are just a hint of the goodness you will find on Rachel’s blog. But don’t take my word for it – go and visit. K?
Every month I am excited at the new bloggers I am introduced to by the…..
And visit the Links you find below for some real deliciousness!!
See what the others did with theirs.
