Basic Herb Quiche

One of the things I love making in the summer for dinner is quiche.  It's easy to throw together, it makes for a bit of a lighter dinner, and it's delicious.  This recipe is quiche in its simplest form, but it's one of our favorites.

herb quiche

Basic Herb Quiche
1 refrigerated rolled pie crust
2 tsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
salt and pepper
2-4 Tbsp of dried parsley, depending on taste
4 eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
4 oz Gruyère cheese, grated

Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Place pie crust in pie pan.  Place on rimmed baking sheet and bake until lightly golden, 12-15 minutes.  Remove and reduce oven heat to 375 degrees.

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5-7 minutes.  Stir in parsley and remove from heat. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, milk, and 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper.  Gently stir in the onion mixture and the grated Gruyère.  Pour the egg mixture into the crust.  Bake until just set and knife inserted into the center comes clean, about 35-40 minutes.  Let rest 5 minutes before serving.  Serves 8.

source:  recipe from woman's day, May 2011

Tips for Traveling to Yellowstone

flowers in front of the Tetons

I wanted to do one final post about our vacation to Yellowstone: some tips I would give to anyone who is planning a trip out there.

Know ahead of time what you definitely want to see while you're there. There are SO many geysers, hot springs, trails, and waterfalls in Yellowstone.  It can be very overwhelming if you just arrive and then try to decide how to spend your time. Do some research, buy some maps or books, and pick your "must see" list.  (Some of ours were Old Faithful, the Canyon of Yellowstone, Tower Falls, Morning Glory.)

Be flexible with your plans once you are there.  While we did have a rough idea of the hikes we wanted to go on and what we wanted to see, we didn't stick to a strict schedule for each day.  We made sure we hit one or two of the main things we wanted to see each day, but then we left room for whatever we saw along the way.  There are always animals to stop and watch or a random little turnoff or trail that you decide you want to go down.  I think that's what makes Yellowstone so great:  you could never run out of things to see and do!

Pack a lunch.  Because we never quite knew where we would be during our days, we found that having lunch in our car and/or day pack was most helpful. The restaurants in Yellowstone are all around the major areas of the park.  But if you're driving around or decide to do an extra hike somewhere along the way, it's hard to know if you'll be around a restaurant when you get hungry.  We also found that we were hungry a lot, so it was good that we had so many snacks with us.

Bring bug spray.  I read that there are over 40 varieties of mosquitoes in Yellowstone, and I believe it!  The bugs were literally swarming around us at times.  I did notice a huge difference once we put the bug spray on, though.

Set aside time to drive down to the Tetons.  If you aren't planning to spend any time in the Tetons, reconsider!  They are breathtakingly gorgeous and totally worth the 1-2 hour drive down, depending on where you are in Yellowstone. Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone basically back right up to each other, so it's not that much out of your way.  You won't be sorry you saw them!

Pack a variety of clothes.  We were told that it can get pretty chilly in the evenings in Yellowstone, even in July.  It never got as cold as we expected it to, but we were glad that we brought jackets, long-sleeved shirts, and sweatshirts to wear when we needed them.  We also made sure we had good rain jackets.  We brought hiking clothes for both hot and cool weather, but ended up needing only shorts because of how warm it was.  It helped me to know that we were prepared for any kind of weather.

I think that pretty much sums up what we learned from our trip.  We loved our vacation and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is thinking about going!  If you want any recommendations or further tips, please feel free to contact me!

Birthday Week

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Today is the second day of my Birthday Week (yes, that was capitalized).  I absolutely love my birthday and I love anticipating it by mini-celebrating in the days leading up to it.  This week instead of just making my favorite food for my birthday dinner on Thursday, I decided to make several of my favorite dinners throughout the week.  I might post recipes later, so stay tuned.  Most years I pick a random dessert in lieu of the traditional birthday cake, so I'm also thinking about making a couple different desserts too.  I mean, your birthday only comes once a year, right?!

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The other thing I'm doing this week is taking advantage of all of the free birthday things that are offered by restaurants and stores.  I know there's like 38459 restaurants that give you a free dessert or free food if you come in on your birthday, but I don't like going out to eat on my birthday and having a bunch of strangers sing to me, so those don't appeal to me.  I read an article back in January that featured some restaurants that email you a coupon to get something free in the weeks around your birthday. Apparently I signed up for a bunch of them! Here are the ones I've received and how you can sign up for them too:

Ruby Tuesday: a coupon to get any handcrafted burger for free, have 2 weeks to use it (here)

Moe's: a coupon to get any entree for free (excluding fajitas), have 1 week to use it (here)

Coldstone Creamery: a coupon for BOGO any creation, have 2 weeks to use it (here)

Baskin Robbins: a coupon for a a free 2.5 oz scoop of ice cream, have 10 days to use it (here)

Rita's: a coupon for a free regular Italian ice, have 1 week to use it (here)

Starbuck's: register a giftcard and then join the rewards program, you'll get mailed a coupon for any drink any size, have 2-3 weeks to use it (here)

Panera: get a MyPanera rewards card and register it, they'll put a free treat on it (usually a sweet or pastry), have 60 days to use it (here)

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Also, I've been doing a little shopping with my birthday rewards.  With a Loft credit card, you'll get a $15 off one purchase during your birthday month (here for credit card information).  And with a Victoria's Secret credit card, you'll get $10 off one purchase during your birthday month (here for credit card information).  And if you sign up to be a rewards member at DSW, you'll get $5 off one purchase during your birthday month (here to sign up).

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So I guess it looks like Caleb and I will be spending a lot of my birthday week eating!  What did you expect from me, the one who posts a new recipe like every two days?  But then there's also the shopping.  And I'm hoping to spend some time laying out by the pool, and then hanging out with Caleb a bunch.  And we're still waiting for my nephew to be born (any day now!), so hopefully there will be a trip to meet him and see my family.

How do you like to celebrate your birthday?

Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookies

Have you ever had a pizookie?  This "pizza-cookie" is cookie dough baked in a personal-sized dish, much like a little pizza.  I was introduced to the concept just last week and am now sad for the years of my life that were without pizookies. Personally, I prefer making these deep-dish cookies rather than dropping dozens of cookies on baking sheets and checking on them every 30 seconds between the 10-12 minute mark to make sure they're not over-cooked.  Your cookie-baking life will be much simpler with the pizookie.

my delicious deep-dish cookie

Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookies
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp sea salt
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
.75 lb chocolate, chopped (I used semi-sweet chips)

Beat together butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, vanilla, and sea salt.  Sift together the flour and baking soda.  Stir into batter. Add chocolate chunks and stir until well mixed.

Fill 4" ramekins (or other small baking dish) with raw cookie dough, about 1/2" thick.  Place ramekins on baking sheet and put in the middle rack of the oven.  Bake at 375 degrees for 12-18 minutes (you want them slightly undercooked but not doughy).

Remove from oven and place each ramekin on a napkin (so that you can hold the hot dish).  Top with ice cream.

With the remaining cookie dough you can make chocolate chip cookies, baking the cookies for 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees.  Or you can roll the cookie dough into logs and store them in the freezer to pull out next time you want a pizookie.

source:  recipe from white on rice couple

DIY Confetti Manicure

confetti nails

Rarely do I paint my nails.  I just don't find it practical with all of the cooking and then subsequent dish-washing that I do.  However, the other day it was kind of rainy and I was tired and a little bored.  So I decided to try this nail idea I had seen.  I ended up really liking it!  I call it a confetti manicure because I think it looks like I dipped the ends of my nails in confetti.  All you need is nail polish and a couple of bobby pins.

nail polish

1.  I did two coats of essie ballet slippers and let them dry.  

2.  Then, I opened up a bobby pin and bent it into one straight piece.  

3.  I put a few drops of essie peach daiquiri on a post-it note, dipped one end of the bobby pin into the nail polish, and then "stamped" random dots of color on all of the nails on one hand.  I re-dipped the bobby pin after each dot I placed on a nail. I let those dots dry.

4.  I then repeated the "stamping" of the dots with Sephora by OPI Meet for Drinks and let those dots dry.

5.  Then I repeated the "stamping" with essie chinchilly and let those dots dry.

6.  I did steps 3-5 for the other hand, then put a top coat on each hand.

Baked Four-Cheese Farfalle with Chicken

While we were on vacation, I asked Caleb if he missed my cooking.  He said yes, he did, but that he mostly just missed being full.  My husband likes to eat frequently (read: snacks before and after dinner and in the middle of the night), so he really missed having a fridge full of food at his disposal.  Caleb loves pasta, so I tried this new pasta dish right after we got home.  I loved the blend of the different Italian cheeses!  If you're also a cheese lover, you will enjoy this dish!

Baked Four-Cheese Farfalle with Chicken

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, or 3-4 smaller ones

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 stick unsalted butter

2 Tbsp flour

1 1/2 cups milk

1 (28-32 oz) can whole tomatoes in juice, drained (1 1/4 cups juice reserved) and finely chopped

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 pound farfalle

2 1/2 cups coarsely grated mozzarella 

1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola

1/2 cup diced Fontina

1/3 cup grated parmesan Romano

Drizzle olive oil in sauté pan and allow to heat up.  Dice the chicken breasts into small pieces and cook in olive oil until cooked through.  Set aside.

Melt butter in a heavy saucepan over moderately low heat.  Add flour and cook, whisking, for 3 minutes to make a roux.  Add milk and reserved tomato juice in a slow stream, whisking, then bring to a boil, whisking constantly.  Stir in tomatoes, salt, and pepper and simmer until thickened, about 3 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Cook pasta al dente according to package directions; drain.

In a large bowl, stir together chicken pieces, pasta, sauce, mozzarella, Gorgonzola, and Fontina.  Transfer to buttered 3- or 4-quart shallow baking dish and sprinkle with parmesan Romano cheese.  Bake at 375 degrees until golden and bubbling, 25-30 minutes.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

source:  recipe altered from The Gourmet Cookbook

Eye Makeup Removers

One of my favorite things to do is try a variety of products and then compare them to each other to pick my favorite.  I'm that girl that actually buys the products from the road tests that Real Simple magazine does.  The last review of products I posted was mascaras I've tried, and someone asked if I would post about eye makeup removers.  I haven't tried a ton, but I do have some favorites.

Aveeno Positively Radiant Makeup Removing Cleanser 

check Aveeno for stores

I love Aveeno products because they always smell so good!

This cleanser did not remove a trace of my eye makeup, though;

I ended up using it just like a facial cleanser.  Thumbs down

on the makeup removing part.

Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover 

$6.49 at Target

I found myself having to use a LOT of this to get

all the traces of my mascara off.  Also, it says it's

oil-free but I found it actually left an oily

residue around my eyes.  Definitely not a favorite.

Yes to Carrots Makeup Removing Cleanser

$9.99 at Target

This does a good job of taking all of the

eye makeup off, but it takes a little scrubbing

in order to do so.  I use this when I'm not in a hurry,

and I like it because it's paraben-free.

Mary Kay Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover

$15.00 at Mary Kay

This is my favorite liquid eye makeup remover.

I don't have to put a lot on a cotton ball, and it takes

off even waterproof mascara.  It's not oily

and because I feel like it lasts a long time,

I think it's worth the money.

Neutrogena Make-Up Remover Cleansing Towelettes

$4.49 at Target

These are hands-down my favorite of all.

They are gentler than a cotton ball, and they 

remove every bit of makeup.  If I'm in a hurry

this is definitely what I grab, and I also

like being able to have them in 

my purse or carry-on if I am traveling.

I've also tried the Target brand eye makeup remover and hated it; I felt like I was using half the bottle just to get my mascara to come off.  I don't think they sell that anymore because now it's the up&up brand.  Has anyone tried that?

What makeup removers do you use?  I would love to know what you recommend!