Bacon and Cheddar Quiche - Pinterest Pick #8

This week's recipe is a Pinterest pick!  It's easy, tasty, and can be used as a main dish, a side dish - or breakfast, lunch or dinner! The cheese and bacon make it delicious.  And it's fairly affordable.  Check out my pin HERE and get the original recipe HERE.

Bacon and Cheddar Quiche

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup 2% milk
• 8 oz shredded cheddar (I used Sharp White Cheddar)
• 1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 refrigerated pie crust
• salt and pepper
• cayenne
• smoked paprika

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375
Roll out pie dough and press into pie dish.  Top dough with 2/3 the bacon, and 2/3 the cheese.  Beat together the eggs, cream, milk, and spices.  Pour custard mixture into pie.  Sprinkle top of pie with remaining cheese and bacon.  Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Enjoy!
***Note, I served mine with a caesar salad and it made a delicious dinner!

Special Post #6 - Pimento Cheese

I spent 1/2 my childhood in NY and the other half in FL.  In neither of these locales have I found a vast amount of pimento cheese.  But from what I hear, it's extremely popular in the South.  Pimento cheese is something I haven't eaten before, but I kept seeing it on TV and online when searching for recipes.  
After researching a few different recipes, I settled on one that contains a combination of mayo and cream cheese.  Some people make with one or the other, and after seeing a couple of recipes I decided to make it with both.
It was delicious!  Some people eat it just as a dip, but I decided to use it for grilled cheese sandwiches and boy was it ooey gooey cheesy deliciousness!  I think pimento cheese is better warm than cold, but eat it which ever way you like best.
Here is my recipe for it:

Pimento Cheese
Ingredients:
8oz sharp cheddar, grated
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup Hellmann's mayo
1 4oz jar of diced pimentos, drained well (***make sure you drain it or the pimento cheese gets too watery)
2 tsp hot sauce (I use Louisiana's Pure Crystal, always my 1st choice for hot sauce! Use your favorite.)
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp smoked paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Combine all ingredients and mix well.  Let sit in fridge for at least and hour so flavors can meld.  Use a hand mixer or food processor to combine ingredients for a smoother product.

Enjoy!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup - Home Cooked Recipe 29

I recently had some dental issues and needed to have food that was easy to eat.  Instead of just going and buying cans of soup, I thought I would try my hand at making my own.  One of my favorite soups is the broccoli cheddar soup they serve at Panera, so I decided to make my own version.  Here is the recipe!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Ingredients:

1 package frozen broccoli

2 cups sharp cheddar, grated

1 stick of butter

1 small onion, finely diced

1/4 cup flour

1 cup milk

1 cup cream

3 cups chicken broth

1 carrot, shredded

1 bay leaf

dash of cayenne

salt and pepper

Directions:

Melt butter in large pot over low heat.  Add onions and cook for 5 minutes, or until tender.  Whisk in flour and cook an additional 4 minutes.  Whisk in milk, then cream, then chicken broth, and bring it to a boil.
Add cayenne, then season with salt and pepper.  Toss in bay leaf.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes. 
Microwave broccoli for 3 minutes, then add to soup.  Stir in grated carrot.  Cook for 10 minutes, then remove bay leaf and puree until smooth (either with and immersion blender or in an actual blender in batches). 
Add cheese to soup and whisk over medium heat until smooth. 
Enjoy!
***Some fun ideas are to garnish soup with more cheese and homemade croutons, or serve the soup in breadbowls.  You can also add a dash of smoked paprika when you add the cayenne, it gives the soup a nice sweet smokiness.  Another way to impart even more cheesy goodness is to add in a can of cheddar cheese soup, I use Campbell's.