Mushroom Asparagus Quiche

What can I say about quiche that hasn’t already been said? It’s an easy-to-make dish, it can be customized however you like, and, with its filling of eggs, milk (or cream), and cheese, it is substantial enough to satisfy just about anyone. You can get super creative with assembling the various ingredients and produce works of art, but even fledgeling foodies can prepare a quiche that looks and tastes delicious. The main fillers in this quiche are mushroom and asparagus - which is a fairly misunderstood and underappreciated vegetable! For other tips and suggestions on how to cook asparagus, please visit our friends at Quick Easy Cook. Their blog is teeming with information on subjects ranging from kitchen utensils to specific ingredients and foods to chef apparel (think comfortable shoes!) - and has a plethora of quick and easy healthy recipes that even novice cooks can master.

Okay, back to the quiche - here's a simple dice-and-dump recipe for a hearty breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

 

Ingredients: (serves 6-8)

~8 asparagus spears

~4oz mushrooms

4 eggs

1 cup milk (I used 1%)

~1 cup + 3 TBSP shredded cheddar cheese

~2-3 cloves garlic, minced

Pepper, salt, paprika to taste

1 pie crust

Heat oven to 350°F.

Beat eggs in a bowl. Add milk and spices and mix well. Finely chop the asparagus and mushrooms.

 

Toss the chopped mushroom and asparagus with 1 cup of shredded cheese. Place pie crust in a 9” pie pan, spread veggie-cheese mixture into the pie crust, then pour in the egg-milk mixture. Sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese on top.

Bake 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the quiche cool for 5-10 minutes, then dig in!

 

~ Karla

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Portobello Mushroom Strudel

I’m always looking for quick weeknight dinners, but throwing salads together, making sandwiches or an omelette quickly gets boring. However, with some time spent prepping on the weekend (and store bought pie crusts!) weeknight dinners can be a breeze. One such dish is a simple strudel. Here’s one of our recipes for a chicken strudel, and if you’d like a vegetarian version, follow along for a crispy but moist and cheesy strudel recipe using Portobello mushrooms, asparagus and spinach. The veggies can be cooked ahead of time and refrigerated to speed up the process. You could even assemble the strudel, cover it with plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge until ready to bake.

Ingredients:

1 small onion - chopped

8-10 asparagus stalks - chopped

2 cups packed fresh spinach - chopped

3 large portobello mushroom caps - sliced about ½ inch thick

4 tsp oil

Red wine vinegar or lemon juice (optional)

Salt, black pepper

1 pie crust

3 provolone cheese slices

Egg wash (optional)

Mix 1:1 parts water and beaten egg

Mushroom Sauce (optional)

~⅓ cup dehydrated wild mushrooms- soaked in hot water for half hour

1 tsp oil/ butter

2 tsp flour

¼ tsp thyme leaves

1.5 cups water/vegetable stock/milk

Salt, black pepper to taste

Spinach, asparagus mixture

Heat 1 tsp oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and garlic, cook until onions are translucent. Add the asparagus and spinach, season with salt and pepper and cook until spinach is wilted (1-2 min). Add lemon juice or vinegar, take off the heat and set aside.

Portobello mushroom slices

Slice the mushroom caps about ½ inch thick. Heat the remaining oil over medium heat. Place the mushroom slices in a single layer. Once they are browned on the bottom, turn them over. Add some lemon juice or vinegar if using, and let the mushroom cook until the other side is browned.

Assembling and baking the strudel

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Roll out the pie crust on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using the back of a knife, gently mark vertical lines on the pie crust approximately dividing it in thirds. Using a sharp knife, make horizontal cuts on the outer sections as shown.

Place the cheese slices slightly overlapping each other in the middle third of the pie crust. Top it with the spinach asparagus mixture. Lay the portobello slices on top of the mixture.

Fold over the sides and press them together to seal. Seal the ends of the strudel, and brush the top with egg wash (optional).

Bake for 30-40 minutes until the top is browned.

Mushroom sauce

While the strudel is baking, prepare the mushroom sauce. Roughly chop the rehydrated mushrooms. Heat oil/butter over medium-low heat and add the mushrooms. Sauté for a minute, then add flour and cook, stirring continuously, for a couple minutes. Add the water that the mushrooms were soaked in (and/or vegetable stock or milk). Season with salt and pepper and let the sauce reduce to the consistency of your liking.

Slice the strudel and serve it topped with the mushroom sauce for extra deliciousness!

~Gayatri

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Posted by The Cooks of Cake and Kindness on Monday, April 11, 2016

Chicken Strudel

Many years ago, when my sister and I were still in high school, the head chef at the office where my mom worked would have these delectable chicken strudels for sale around the holidays. It became a tradition to stock the freezer full of them to savor through the holiday season, and when the chef moved on to a different venture, we were supremely disappointed to no longer have access to his culinary masterpiece. Thankfully, my mom got her hands on a recipe! While this version doesn’t exactly replicate the holiday favorite, it is wonderfully delicious in its own right.

 

 

Ingredients: (makes 2 strudels, about 4-6 servings)

~1.5 lbs chicken breast, cooked and shredded or chopped

2 9” pie crusts

~8 asparagus spears, chopped roughly into 1-inch pieces

~8 oz spinach

~8 oz mushrooms, sliced

Sliced Provolone or Havarti cheese (about 6-8 deli slices each, depending on size)

Paprika, garlic, pepper for seasoning

Margarine or butter (optional)

 

Note: Refer to our goulash or spinach mushroom lasagna for instructions on how to cook the chicken breast so it is flavorful and juicy. For a vegetarian option, replace the chicken with seitan or firm tofu, or add more veggies such as broccoli and cauliflower.

 

Heat oven to 375F.

 

Divide spinach, mushrooms, chicken, and asparagus in half. Roll out the pie crusts. On one side of each crust, layer spinach, chicken, mushrooms, and asparagus, then top with the cheese slices. Fold over the other side of the pie crust and crimp the edges together, similar to a calzone. If desired, brush melted margarine or butter on top for a golden-brown crust (I generally skip this step).

 

 

Bake for about 30 minutes until the edges turn golden brown and cheese starts oozing out (yumm!).

 

 

Let cool, then slice and enjoy!

 

~Karla


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Posted by The Cooks of Cake and Kindness on Monday, August 3, 2015

Garlicky Oven-roasted Asparagus

I always try to make balanced meals, with good portions of protein and vegetables. With time in short supply, however, I rarely have time to prepare interesting veggies and generally resort to the steam-in-a-bag frozen peas, corn, or green beans. On occasion, though, I plan well enough to be able to cook some fresh vegetables, which always taste better than frozen! I especially love asparagus because it’s super healthy (good source of fiber and vitamins A, C, E, K; contains antioxidants; low in calories) and there’s not much chopping involved. This method of preparing asparagus has quickly become a go-to for dinner, and it could easily be applied to other fresh veggies, such as zucchini, summer squash, or green beans.

 

Ingredients:

1 large bunch (~2 lbs) asparagus

~2 TBSP canola oil (or oil of choice)
~1 tsp ground black pepper
~1-2 TBSP ground or minced garlic

Preheat oven to 425F. In a bowl or plastic bag, combine the oil and spices.
 



Rinse the asparagus and chop off about 1.5 inch off the woody base. Place asparagus in the bag, seal, and shake well so that each stalk is coated. Lay the asparagus in a foil or parchment lined baking pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, per desired crunchiness or softness.

Let cool a few minutes, then serve up as a delicious side for any meal!

~Karla


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Posted by The Cooks of Cake and Kindness on Wednesday, July 22, 2015

One pot pasta with creamy garlic sauce

The convenience of a one pot meal is extremely appealing, and for certain dishes, like pasta, it even helps enhance the taste and texture. Cooking the pasta in the sauce helps soak up the flavors better and it also thickens the sauce. A good example of a delicious one pot pasta is the Italian One-derpot which has a tomato based sauce and can be customized to your taste with the vegetables you like. I wanted to try a pasta with creamy sauce with the one pot convenience, and found this garlic parmesan pasta recipe quite interesting. I added some asparagus and mushrooms, increased the quantity of garlic to make the sauce really garlicky, reduced the amount of cheese and butter, and adjusted the liquids as required. This pasta is so rich and creamy - its hard to tell that there’s no cream and hardly any cheese in the sauce.

Ingredients: (~3 servings)

½ Tbsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chopped portobello mushrooms (or other kind)

1 cup chopped asparagus

Other vegetables that would work really well: broccoli, carrots, snap peas

¾ - 1 cup milk

~2 cups water or vegetable broth

1 tsp unsalted butter or margarine

4 oz dry fettuccine pasta - uncooked

Salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

chopped cilantro or parsley for garnish

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat and saute the mushrooms and garlic for a couple minutes. Add ¾ cup of milk and about 1.5 cups of water. Add the butter and season with salt and pepper. Add the fettuccine and let the liquid come to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add asparagus and simmer for another 5-10 min until pasta is al dente (make sure to stir a couple times). Add more water and/or milk if required. Remove from heat and mix in the parmesan cheese. Serve warm garnished with chopped herbs and extra parmesan cheese if desired.

~Gayatri

Note: Since you're not draining and cooling the cooked pasta under cold water as you would usually do (when pasta is cooked separately), it will continue to cook a little in the hot pan with the sauce even after you take it off the heat. So, make sure not to overcook the pasta.


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Delicious pasta with mushrooms, asparagus and creamy garlic sauce - cooks in a single pot saving time and cleaning...

Posted by The Cooks of Cake and Kindness on Thursday, June 25, 2015