24 May 2011

Impossible mid-week meals

I've had a few emails recently asking for recipes for quick meals. I made this impossible quiche a few days ago. The prep time took five minutes, I put it in the oven for 40 - 50 minutes and it was on the table. This quiche makes its own 'pastry' so even if you think you don't make good pastry, or have never attempted pastry, this will work well for you.


This is an excellent mid week-meal and even if you have a husband or teenagers who must eat meat at every meal, the bacon in this quiche and the promise of home made apple cake for dessert, maybe with some piping hot custard or ice cream, might persuade them it's not so bad after all. If you have more time in the morning than in the evening, make this in the morning - even half cooking it would be fine, put it in the fridge for the day and finish off or warm it up just before you eat it.


IMPOSSIBLE QUICHE - serves 4 - 6

Place the following in a frying pan and cook, then put it to one side.
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 3 rashers of bacon or a cup of ham, chopped 
  • ½ red capsicum,  finely diced
In a mixing bowl, combine:
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • ½ cup cream
  • ½ cup plain flour
  • 1 cup grated tasty cheese
  • handful of chopped parsley
  • salt and pepper to taste
Add the fried vegetables to the egg mix and pour it into a greased ceramic quiche dish or shallow pie dish.  Cook in the oven on 190C/375F until golden brown and set in the middle.

Serve with a fresh garden salad. 

MY VINAIGRETTE - I much prefer a vinegar-heavy dressing on my salads.
  • ½ cup good vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 tablespoon mustard
  • ½ tablespoon honey or sugar
Put it all in a jar and shake till it has combined.



And for dessert?  Why not try a serving of apple pulp cake. I had a lot of pulp left when I juiced apples last week. This took care of one of the bags of apple pulp.



APPLE PULP CAKE
  • 125 grams/1 stick butter
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 3 eggs - room temperature
  • 1 cup apple pulp or stewed apples
  • 2 cups self-raising flour
  • pinch salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • milk or buttermilk

walnuts and brown sugar for topping

NOTE: if you have no apples, tinned peaches or apricots - well drained and mashed with a fork, would be a great alternative.


Cream together the butter and sugar until light and creamy, add the eggs and work it in. When fully incorporated, add the flour, apples, salt and vanilla.  Fold in and add enough milk or buttermilk to make a thickish dough.  Add to a cake tin and sprinkle over half cup of crushed walnuts and one tablespoon brown sugar. Bake on 190C/375F until golden brown.

If you're following along with the vinegar making, don't forget to find a warm place to keep your vinegar.  The bacteria and yeasts need warmth to grow.

Happy cooking everyone!

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29 comments

  1. I love recipes for quiche! Thank you for sharing! I hope to try this soon! :) Have a blessed day!

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  2. Mmmmmm....I'm drooling. I know what we'll eat tomorrow. You never let us down with your "down to earth" recipes. I love, love, love these three.

    Diane in North Carolina

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  3. Hi Rhonda,
    You read my mind! As much as I love to cook and always make from scratch I think I'm going through a doldrums with meal planning so tonight it's quiche and the apple cake will be there to follow up.
    Thankyou...again!

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  4. that apple pulp cake cooks delish!!!

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  5. Rhonda,
    I have been reading your blog voraciously for the last week and a half. You have encouraged me greatly. I have 5 daughters (4 live at home) and we homeschool. My oldest daughter living at home has special needs and is 24 and the other three are 18, 16, & 15. The younger three all have severe asthma. We are nearing the end of their really bad season (Nov - May). During this time they can be quite debilitated, which then means I get really behind in my home keeping.

    You have really helped me these last couple of weeks in my attitude about work. I usually feel as if I am always trying to catch up and never am able to. Between tending to them and being up late with them, the house work falls behind. Which then gives me a bad attitude and I tend to want to resent serving them, instead of doing it joyfully.

    With a simple change in mindset it has caused me to be much more peaceful. The workload hasn't diminished, my it doesn't seem like a mountain any more.

    Last week was my husband's 50th birthday and I wanted to have the kitchen sparkling for him. I would work for 45 min or so, then would reward myself with coming to read an encouraging post by you. Things were not perfect, but I felt pleased and peaceful. You can't over-rate peacefulness.

    Thanks so much for your encouragement. Now for a question from this yank who lives in Texas. What is a rasher of bacon? Is it a slice?

    Thanks so much!

    Lora

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  6. Hi Rhonda,
    I make an impossible pie once a week and it's great that you can cook it from scratch and have it one the table in less than a hour. I also make the sweet version for dessert occasionally, yum!

    Lisa

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  7. Good morning ladies! I hope you have a lovely day or evening, depending on where you are.

    Dear Lora, I'm so pleased the blog has helped you. It sounds like your work load is quite heavy, and we all need encouragement when we have a lot of work. Yes, a rasher of bacon is one slice. :- )

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  8. I love quick and easy recipes. One of my recipe binders is dedicated to the very easiest meals! When I'm meal planning, I always count on at least one super easy meal each week. Thanks for the quiche recipe.

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  9. Thank you for the apple pulp cake recipe. I'm going to try that for tea tonight. Should be perfect with pork roast.

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  10. This looks like a great one to pull out of a bare cupboard. I might make it tonight, substituting the capsicum for what I have on hand. Thanks Rhonda.

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  11. Perfect Timing!
    My Brother and little ones are visiting from the southern states and you have just solved my "what to feed them" problem. Going to hit the shops now and get everything I need. You are a gem Rhonda!
    PS: Adore the apple pulp cake YUM!

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  12. I love impossible Pie. My recipes slightly different to yours, I don't add cream to make it low fat.
    You can also roast some pumpkin and place on the bottom with some shredded spinach, or add a can of tuna instead of the bacon, or even corn kernels, grated carrot and zucchini.
    If you add an extra 1/2 cup of flour (I use self raising) you can pour this mix into muffin tins. The muffins are great to pop into lunch boxes and they freeze fairly well (just need to use then with in a couple of weeks).
    You can make this in the morning and take on picnics too.

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  13. I make that quiche too, usually on Sundays for lunch and then we have the rest for lunch at work the next day! It is really yummy.

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  14. Rhonda, Thanks for the apple pulp cake recipe, just one thing you may want to change the line to say add eggs to butter/sugar mix, instead of sugar again.

    Love your blog.

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  15. That quiche looks delightful, will make it for Tino for dinner:) plus the sald....minus the dessert lol, he's on a weight loss mission. Thanks Rhonda! Can't wait to get your book, something I'm really looking forward to, Vx

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  16. I've been making impossible pie for years but the apple pulp cake sounds great.

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  17. Thank you for sharing these recipes I will definately try them. I am always looking for simple family food ideas.

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  18. Thank you so much for posting this recipe, D has been requesting a quiche and I've been put off by the amount of pastry and cream

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  19. Rhonda I made your quiche for dinner tonight and the whole family loved it. I don't usually eat egg dishes and I loved it!!!!!

    Thank you for posting such a delicious recipe.

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  20. Delicious! Except we call ours a fritatta :)

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  21. Oooo, quiche is my go-to favorite fix for nights when I'm tired or we're busy. I just love quiche. Thanks for the new recipe!

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  22. Hi I make Impossible Pie a lot, slightly different recipe, but same easy result. I often put the mix into muffin tins for the lunch box and picnics. It is a very popular choice at morning teas too!
    The apple cake looks great, it is getting cooked very soon at this place!
    Regards
    Julia formerly of Mackay!

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  23. The impossible quiche recipe I have been using for years is similar but has so much butter - I've often found mine too greasy to,so I've made yours for dinner tonight!

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  24. I made this pie last night and it was most delicious. All with on-hand ingredients. And they say real men don't eat quiche ;)

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  25. Hi Rhonda
    I made the quiche tonight but unfortunately my husband and 2 young kids didn't like it. I loved it! They are just used to my normal quiche with pasty on the bottom and won't try anything new. I'll be making it for myself for lunches from now on. Pfft! to them. The cake is in the oven now. I used mashed tinned peaches. Can't wait to try it!
    Natalie

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  26. I haven't made a quiche in a year or so. Not sure why. I love them and you're right. They're so quick to make. Thanks for the reminder! That headline was perfect!
    I shared a link to this post on my blog. Love to share the food I've run into on the web each week that's on my list to make.
    http://rosiedreams.com/favorites-for-the-week/
    Thanks again!

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  27. Thank you so much for this recipe! This non (but aspiring) cook made it this evening and it turned out just lovely. Not only that, but ALL the kids loved it! Can't ask for better than that. ;-) Maybe I'll become a cook one of these days after all...

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  28. I love quiche & this has been a great recipe for me. I have to get dinner in a hurry when I get home from work otherwise my 4yo just wants to snack constantly. Its so much easier without having to worry about pastry, and it works with gluten free flour too. Plus I get 5 eggs a day from my chooks & its a good way to use them. Mostly I give them away or sell them at work, but its nice to use them myself :)

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