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Sunday, December 6, 2009

Cold Nights and Comfort Food

It's been cold in Houston the past few days. We had snow on Friday afternoon. It's the earliest snow Houston has seen and was a good 4 inches which is pretty remarkable for the Gulf Coast. It was a blast!!! I went and pulled the weeone out of school early so she could experience something that is more rare than the Houston Texans winning a game....and that's saying something! So we spent the afternoon and evening playing in the snow, sipping hot cocoa and eating comfort food with friends. The weather inspired a family favorite - Italian Sausage and Peppers. A simple mix of sweet Italian turkey sausage with sliced peppers, onions and marinara made for a meal that warmed our hearts.


The cold weather continued on yesterday and today. To warm us up a bit yesterday, we went to get the weeone's Christmas present....please meet the newest addition to our little family, 10 week old Maggie....


With the constant watching involved in a puppy hanging out in our house, the theme for this rainy and cold day dinner was SIMPLE! Crustless quiche was calling my name. A favorite of mine as well as the weeone, crustless quiche is warm and filling while allowing a whole host of variations. Tonight in the mix were Canadian bacon, bell peppers, onions, cheddar and gruyere cheeses. Yum! The downside of quiche is the time required to bake it, but the plus is that the prep time to get it into the oven is short!!!


Crustless Quiche

1 bell pepper, diced
1/2 onion, diced
5 slices Canadian bacon, diced
1 1/2 cups eggs or egg beaters
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup gruyere cheese, grated
1/2 cup milk (or heavy cream if you're not counting calories)
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Over medium heat saute bell peppers and onions in a pan sprayed with cooking spray for about 5 minutes. Add the Canadian bacon and continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes. Pour the veggies and meat into a glass mixing bowl and add the rest of the ingredients, mixing well, until you have at least 4 cups of "batter". Spray a deep dish pie pan with cooking spray and pour in the quiche batter. Bake for one hour or until set. Serve hot.