King's Coronation Quiche (Utterly Divine!)

There certainly was a lot of criticism online about this quiche - by people who hadn't even tried it yet.  But social media is nasty.  The old saying don't knock it until you try it rings true and let me tell you, this quiche is seriously delicious!  The beans in the recipe add a lovely creaminess to the quiche and the tarragon adds a heavenly, elegant aromatic, scent. I can imagine enjoying this delicious quiche in the gardens of King Charles' Highgrove Estate with a nice glass of Chablis!  They do have tours and special lunches there.  A girl can dream!  

This quiche is a keeper and is now a family favorite. I used a store bought TenderFlake deep dish tart shell and it worked fabulously.  You can go to the link below to get the entire recipe that includes the pastry.  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For the Filling:  1/2 cup milk, 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream, 2 eggs, 1 tbsp. fresh tarragon, salt and pepper to taste, 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 3/4 cup roughly chopped spinach, 1/2 cup fava beans (broad beans - I just used some canned of mixed beans).

Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the cheddar cheese onto bottom of pastry shell.  Then add the beans and spinach over top.  Mix up the egg and milk mixture and pour into shell.  Top with remaining 1/4 cup cheddar cheese and pop into the oven for 20-30 minutes.  Delicious!

  A little note:  I sauteed my spinach only because I read the recipe wrong, but I do love doing up my spinach that way! 

Here's the link to Taste of Home with full recipe, including pastry if you would like to make it from scratch.  How to Make Coronation Quiche | Taste of Home

Red Velvet Cake (The Best)

I first made this most delicious Red Velvet Cake for my son's graduation party.  Oh the menu was lovely.  This cake is gorgeous, moist and tastes amazing. I just decorated with fresh berries because my hubby is not an icing fan, but this is the cake where you could go seriously elaborate!  Turn it into a double layer and stuff with whip cream or some creamy frosting.  Then adorn it with fruit if you like, and some fun and playful crowns and flowers as I did here.  A little trip to the dollar store or to Michaels will certainly get your imagination going.  Enjoy!

Put oven to 325 degrees 

1 hour in bundt pan

30-40 minutes in 2 9-inch cake pans

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. salt, 2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 cups sugar, 1 cup vegetable oil, 2 eggs, 1 cup buttermilk, 2 tsp. vanilla, 1-2 ounces red food coloring - you decide how dark red you want it, I went very dark, all 2 ounces!  1 tsp. white vinegar, 1/2 cup black freshly brewed HOT coffee.

What Pan to Use?  Any pan will do!

I made in a bundt cake pan, but if you are making a double layer, divide batter up into two 9-inch cake pans if you like.  I sprayed my cake pan with cooking spray.  If you bake the cake in a bundt pan, the baking time is 1 hour.  Do make sure you check from time to time since all ovens are different and you don't want to burn.

Putting it All Together!

Mix together oil and sugar with a whisk or put into mixer and mix well.  Then add the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and red food coloring.  Mix well.

Then stir in the hot coffee and white vinegar and continue mixing.

Mix the dry ingredients together, then add to the wet mixture and combine.

Pour batter into your oiled up pans or bundt cake pan, put on the middle rack in the oven  and bake for about 30-40 minutes.  As mentioned, in a larger deeper pan, bake longer,  1 hour, just keep an eye on it.  

When cake is done and you take it out of the oven, let it cool completely.

If you put into a bundt pan, run your knife around the edges first and then gently tip over onto a plate.  Get creative!  Oh you will love this cake!

Parisian Cream of Green Bean with White Wine and Herbs - Original Recipe and Modified

Here is a soup I invented for Soup Sisters.  It's in "The Soup Sisters and Broth Brothers Cookbook, More than 100 Heart-warming Seasonal Recipes for You to Cook at Home." Edited by Sharon Hapton.

It's my signature soup and it is perfect whether you serve it for a fancy luncheon or during the week with a nice glass of wine.  It is luxurious and will make you feel like it is a special occasion. 

This past weekend instead of adding whip cream however, I swapped it with 1% milk.  Still delicious

2 lb. green beans, trimmed, 2 tbsp. olive oil, 1 onion, finely chopped, 1/2 cup diced celery, 1/2 cup peeled and diced carrot, 4 cloves garlic, minced, 1/4 cup butter, 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, 8 cups chicken stock, 2 cups whipping cream (modified, 2 cups 1% milk, 1 cup white wine, 3 tbsp. finely chopped chives, 3 tbsp. finely chopped fresh dill, 3 tbsp. finely chopped parsley, 3 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves, salt and pepper to taste, fresh parsley for garnish.

Have ready a bowl of ice water.  In a large saucepan of boiling, salted water, cook the beans until tender, about 15 minutes.  Drain well.  Immediately put the beans in the ice water.  Set aside.

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the onions, celery, carrot and garlic.  Cook, stirring often, until the onion has softened (make sure the garlic doesn't brown).  Scrape the onion mixture out of the pot and set aside.  Wipe out the pot.

In the same pot, heat the butter over medium heat.  Add the flour.  Cook, stirring, for about 15 seconds.

Gradually whisk in the stock and cream or milk, whisking constantly to avoid lumps.

Add the wine, drained beans and reserved onion mixture.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Add the chives, dill, parsley and thyme.

Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender, 10 or 15 minutes.

Puree the soup until smooth.  Reheat gently.  Season with and pepper to taste.

Ladle up vibrant bowlfuls, garnish with parsley and celebrate green bean season!

Tasty Turkey Meatballs with Simple Tomato Sauce - The entire recipe is 4 WW points

 

All of these meatballs are a total of 4 points if you add 2 tbsp. Kraft Light Parmesan, 6 points if you add 4 tbsp. Kraft Light Parmesan, so I will let you do the math for your portions.

I made these simple turkey meatballs for my family and I for lunch today.  They were succulent and I didn't put too much thought into making them, but they turned out really nice.

I like to cook for the whole family, or make enough for leftovers and to freeze.  This recipe is using two packages of 94% lean ground turkey from Costco.  Honestly, this is just a mishmash of spices and herbs - whatever I found closest in the pantry, but the fennel and fresh basil really made these extra good for me.

RECIPE

2 packs of lean ground turkey, 1 egg, 1/2 cup True Value Panko from Walmart (it's the lowest in calories), 2-4 Tbsp. Kraft Light Parmesan, 1/2 tbsp. garlic powder, 1 tbsp. fennel seeds, 1 tbsp. Caribbean mixed spice from Costco, 1 tbsp. rosemary, 1 tbsp. Italian spices from Costco (or use oregano), 3-6 fresh basil leaves, torn up and toss in, 1/2-1 tsp. salt and 1/2 - 1 tsp. pepper.  Mix up with your hands until nice and blended.  Roll into 2 inch balls and put into a Pam sprayed 8 X 11 baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

PS  I forgot to add any onion today and I think I liked these delicate juicy turkey meatballs even better this way.

HUNT'S TOMATO SAUCE - 0 POINTS.  Add your favorite seasonings, warm through and spoon over your turkey meatballs!  Oh soooo delicious!  If you want Parmesan, Kraft Light Parmesan Cheese is only 1 point per tbsp.