Monday, March 23, 2009

Vegetable Quiche To Go

I often struggle with eating breakfast in the morning. It's not that I don't have the time, it's just that I usually forget or don't put the effort into it. Then of course I'm starving by 9:30 and scrounging through the office looking for something to eat.

I discovered these in a South Beach Diet cookbook, but they really are quite fantastic for anyone's breakfast. One batch makes enough for almost a week's worth of meals, and they store well in the fridge. They're exceptionally easy to make and only take about 35 minutes from start to finish. They also freeze well, so you can easily have these on hand to pop into the microwave on those busy mornings. I used mushrooms, onion, and spinach, but you could easily substitute whatever veggies you have on hand - green peppers, tomatoes, asparagus, etc. Here are some tasty variations:

Feeling Greek? Throw in spinach, feta, and mushrooms.
Feeling Mexican? Try adding some salsa, green peppers, and some mexican spices.
Feeling Fancy? Try smoked salmon, chopped red onion, and capers.

The possibilites are virtually endless. So go ahead and give this quick breakfast a try!

Vegetable Quiche To Go

Vegetable Quiche To Go
Makes 6 servings

2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 c chopped onion
1 c chopped mushrooms
1 c chopped fresh spinach leaves
1 c shredded cheese
2 cups Egg Beaters (or equivalent in real eggs)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 to 1 tsp of your favorite seasoning salt
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. In saucepan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and mushroom, and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add spinach and stir until wilted. Remove from heat. Place foil muffin liners in a 12-cup muffin pan. Place 1 tbsp of vegetable mixture in each cup. Top with a pinch of cheese. In a large bowl, whisk egg beaters with seasonings and evenly divide into muffin cups. Place into oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Cool and remove liners. Store in refrigerator or freezer.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Winners!

Alright - so the time has come to pick the winners. I'm very excited to be giving 5 copies of this delicious book to some very lucky readers. So without further ado, the winners, as chosen by Random.org, along with their most favorite baked goods, are:

1 - Carrie, who says, "Cinnamon buns! I like to make them because they seem extra special, but they're not that difficult. And they taste so gooey and good."

2 - Ashley, who has a penchant for "Moist, savory quickbreads. Mmmmm."

3 - DS, who says that their "favorite baked dessert is Rhubarb Crunch from the Mennonite Cook Book."

4 - Katie Nell likes "most baked goods, but probably my favorite is coffeecake, of any kind!"

and 5 - Kickpleat, who loves a good "coconut and raspberry jam bar. mmm."

Congratulations, winners! Please contact me at 28 cooks AT gmail DOT com so that I can mail off your cookbook!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Back from Jamaica with a Cookbook Giveaway!

So I'm back to business here at 28Cooks. And during my absence, I actually took a much-needed vacation to Jamaica. It was absolutely incredible! We stayed at a newer resort in Runaway Bay, the Gran Bahia Principe, which I highly recommend. It was huge with over 860 rooms, but it never felt crowded. The food was actually pretty good, considering it was an all-inclusive, and we only stood in 1 line for about 5 minutes for dinner one night. We also got the chance to climb the Dunn's River Waterfalls, which were beautiful and amazing, as well as take a Jeep tour down through a few towns and then up into the mountains. All in all, it was a fantastic trip.

And when I returned, I found a box of cookbooks awaiting me. A publishing company had offered to send me 1, but actually sent me 6! So their mistake is your gain! I'm giving away 5 copies of Baking Unplugged.

Baking


This book is specifically taking baking back to the basics and starting from scratch. There are plenty of good old recipes, such as Sour Cream Crumb Cake, Blueberry Muffins, and Moist Vanilla Pound Cake.

And all you have to do is simply leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite baked good is, whether it is to bake it or to eat it. That's it! Simply leave your comment by March 14th and I'll pick a winner at random and post on the 15th.

Good Luck! And now I'm off to adjust to the cold weather...