Breakfast for Dinner

This was a great weekend. I had a Pinterest Party with friends on Friday, attended the Logan's Martial Arts Academy Annual Picnic on Saturday, and then on Monday was fortunate enough to get to cook for my friend's family. This is the same chica who had friends that set up a meal train for her while she kicks cancer's ass.

Perusing her list of meal train menus I noticed no one had served them any alternatives to dinner so I thought about how much my family loves to have breakfast for dinner. I also have to say that I make a quiche (thanks to Jean Jacob's original recipe) that has been described as magical because it makes "spinach taste like bacon." It was a no brainer. I made spinach, bacon, and swiss quiche, blueberry french toast casserole which has this warm berry syrup (I addGrand Marnier to the syrup as it cooks for a little kick) to drizzle on top, and some fresh fruit and a vanilla yogurt sauce (yogurt, brown sugar and vanilla bean paste) to add creaminess to the fruit. My house smelled like heaven and the aroma left me wanting nothing but butter toffee coffee all day.

It is an unusual meal for Memorial Day but I hope it will be nourishing and soothing to every one's bodies and souls.

Spinach, Bacon, & Swiss Quiche

2 9 inch deep

dish pie crust (I don't do home made pie crust. Not because I don't want to but because it lea

ves me miserable each time I try)

10 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk or half & half (I always use half & half)

1 pkg bacon pieces or 1/2 pound cooked and crumbled bacon

1 pkg frozen chopped spinach thawed with the water squeezed out

1/2 onion grated

1-2 cups of shredded swiss cheese (I grate my own)

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1/2 t dry mustard

1/4 t black pepper

dash of nutmeg

In a 350 oven blind bake the pie crusts for about 5 minutes. In a bowl mix eggs, add milk and then all the other ingredients. Pour into crusts and bake for approximately 50 minutes or until tops are brown and puffy. Make sure the centers are solid. If they are getting too done and the middle is still jiggly, turn off the oven, cover with foil, and let them rest in the oven for up to 10 more minutes. This is delicious any time of day. I save the leftovers and nuke. This is also a great recipe to make crustless if you are gluten free or paleo or just hate crust like I do. You can make it in little ramekins.

Bonus Boozy Bacon Jam

Pinterest is a time sink. I want to move in to Pinterest Land and live amongst the food and gardening boards wearing something

from one of the 389482347297 style boards peeps have set up. I saw this recipe there and fell in love with the idea. Bacon and booze jam. Hot damn I'm in!

The recipe was ez pz and with the exception of forgetting I do not keep bourbon in the house usually I was very eager to try it. This is where having a son who just turned 21 comes in handy.

The process of making the jam begins with rendering the fat from the bacon and only using the bacon. Then in a pot you sautee onions in butter with brown sugar and cook down for 20 minutes. Then you add the bacon to the onions and add the spices, vinegar, syrup, booze, siracha, etc. The mixture simmers for an hour and a half. When it cools you can puree it to whatever consistency you'd like. I over did it and would suggest just a few swift pulses in the food processor.

The results are amazingly sweet, salty, smokey and spicy all at once. I served it with fresh crusty french bread and goat cheese. The goat cheese adds just the right tartness to off set the sweet jam. It was a hit at both parties it attended over the weekend. You know chicks dig goat cheese and dudes dig bacon so it is a win/win appetizer
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My Favorite First

Everyone knows him on facebook as my Favorite First Husband and he absolutely is. He will also be my Favorite Last Husband. Really. Who could handle all this? Who is man enough to try?

Well my baby daddy is turning 48. So I know you are all thinking, "What would he most want his wife, the same wife who shows her emotions by feeding peeps, to make for his birthday treat?"

The answer of course is Jell-O Poke cake. No. Seriously. That gloppy mess that is typically reserved for toddler birthdays. Well, if'n that's what my baby wants, that is what he shall have. Cept I am absolutely not fooling with layers. Birthday cakes at the Dennis household come in a 13 x9 pan no matter what goes in it. The only exception is cupcakes.

So the gist of a Jell-O poke cake is a cake that you poke and pour Jell-O over. Then you refrigerate it for a couple of hours so the Jell_o can both soak in and set up. You can just imagine what 2 cups of gelatin does to the texture of a box cake mix *ack* The best part of this cake will be the frosting. It is...er I mean will be fluffy, sweet clouds. It is possible I cleaned the beaters and bowl, my mama taught me right, with strawberries. mmmmmm. The frosting consists of 2 bars of cream cheese whipped, 2 cups of powdered sugar, and 1 tub of cool whip. It is the perfect topping for any refrigerated cake or dessert, especially with fruit. My Favorite 1st chose strawberry Jell-O for his cake so it was the perfect match. Just as he and I are.

I love that man. He deserves the world. But he's happy with a Jell-o Poke cake, and me. Just in case he needs a little somethin' somethin' on the side, I got him a Samsung Galaxy tablet. Man can not live by poke cake alone. Not my man. Happy Birthday to my Favorite, First, Last, Everything.