"Authentically French"* Quiche

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 3 big scoops of sour cream (about 1 cup)
• pinch of salt (and pepper)
• finely chopped ham (or bacon)
• finely chopped onion
• finely chopped green peppers
• grated cheese (we've used freshly grated parmesan, gruyere, gouda, or havarti, but you can use whatever you like)
• (could also add chopped mushrooms, green onions, or even chopped broccoli or spinach for power-vegetable kick!)
• unbaked pie shell

Instructions:
Mix eggs and sour cream until smooth. Add salt (and pepper). Put meat & vegetables on bottom of pie shell. Add some cheese. Pour on the egg mixture. (I like to reserve some of everything and repeat the layers: meat & veggies, cheese, eggs.)

Bake 10 minutes at 400°, then reduce heat to 350° and bake another 20-30 minutes.

*Marcie's note: This recipe is from Jason's brother Mike who served in the France Paris Mission. My personal adaptations are in parentheses.

Pizza Dough

(I found this recipe in a "Taste of Home" magazine)
Perfect Pizza Crust

1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
1 ½ C. warm water (110-115 degrees)
2 Tbsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
2 C. bread flour
1 ½ C. whole wheat flour
Cornmeal
Pizza toppings of your choice

Instructions:
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, salt, 1 cup bread flour and the whole wheat flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining bread flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down; roll into a 15 inch circle. Grease a 14 inch pizza pan and sprinkle with cornmeal. Transfer dough to prepared pan; build up edges slightly.
Add toppings of your choice. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until crust is golden brown and toppings are lightly browned and heated through.

This is our favorite pizza dough but we do like thinner crust so I cut the recipe in half for one pizza!!

Poppy Seed Salad

Spinach or Romaine lettuce
Mandarin oranges
Cranberries
Apples – chopped
Poppy seed salad dressing

Pico De Gallo- Proceed with Caution Blog

5 plum tomatoes, diced
1 12-oz can of pickled jalapenos, diced (seed them if you don't want it too spicy)
1 to 1.5 cups fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 of a large red onion, diced fine
1 to 2 avocados
juice of 4 limes
Combine all ingredients except avocado and lime juice in a large bowl and refrigerate at least one hour. Dice avocado(s) and add to the bowl, along with the lime juice. Toss together and let sit for 15 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips.

Lemon Raspberry Bars

Crust:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon salt

Cream together the butter and powdered sugar on medium speed. Turn the mixer to low and add in the flour and salt. Mix until combined and smooth. Press the crust dough into the 8x8 cake pan. Make sure the crust is evenly spread out. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees and remove from oven.

Filling:

2 large egg yolks
1-14 oz. can fat free sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
6 ounces fresh raspberries

Once the crust is cool, combine the egg yolks and condensed milk until well mixed. Stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir until mixture begins to slightly thicken. Gently fold in the raspberries. Fold carefully so you don’t break the raspberries.

Pour the lemon raspberry filling evenly over the crust. Bake for 15 minutes, or until just set.

Cool to room temperature, then chill for at least one hour before serving. Cut into bars and serve. Keep bars in the refrigerator-up to five days.

*Note-use fresh raspberries and make sure you gently fold the berries into the lemon filling or you will have pink bars.

Yield: 16 bars

Sesame Orange Cold Chicken Salad

Ingredients

3 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
1 c. onion, diced and sautéed
1 c. celery, diced and sautéed
¾ c. cucumber, diced
Zest of 2 oranges
½ c. toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped

Sauce:
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
Juice from 1 orange

Seasoning:
¼ tsp. ground mustard
½ tsp. ground fennel seed
Pinch of cumin
Pinch of cayenne pepper
½ tsp. sugar
¼ tsp. ground clove
½ tsp. ground black pepper
½ tsp. kosher salt

Directions

Mix the chicken, onion, celery, cucumber, orange zest, and walnuts. Mix the sauce ingredients together. Add the seasoning to the sauce. Pour sauce over the chicken mixture and toss to coat. Excellent with wheat pita or in a wrap.

Black Bean Salad with Fresh Corn

Black Bean Salad with Fresh Corn
Ingredients

* 2 cups black beans, cooked, rinsed
* 1 ear corn, boiled, kernels removed from the cob
* 1/2 medium red onion, diced
* 1/2 medium red bell pepper, diced
* 1/2 medium poblano pepper, diced
* 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (leaves and stems)
* 1/2 cup lime juice
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
* 1/2 tablespoon black pepper
* 1 tablespoon salt

Directions

Combine the beans, corn, onion, peppers, and cilantro in a large bowl. Whisk together the remaining ingredients in a small bowl and pour over the bean mixture. Chill the salad for 2 hours before serving.