Seafood Quiche

This was a new recipe for me, and it was delicious.

1 deep-dish pie crust
1/2 cup cooked shrimp
1/2 cup crabmeat (I used the imitation)
1/3 cup chopped green onion
4 eggs
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 cup shredded swiss cheese (I lined the crust with sliced swiss, which worked fine)
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Sprinkle seafood, cheese and onion into crust.

Beat eggs slightly, then beat in remaining ingredients. Add to quiche dish.

Bake 15 minutes.

Reduce heat to 300 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Linguine with clam sauce

This is one of my favorite recipes to make during Lent. It comes from the best cookbook ever, Betty Crocker's new cookbook. If you can only own one cookbook, this is the only one you need. (I don't know why it's called the "new" cookbook, because that's been the name of it for a million years.)

I serve this with a nice salad and some garlic bread. There would be wine if I weren't on the Lenten wagon.

Linguine with Red Clam Sauce
A seafood and pasta lover's fix-it-fast feast.
Prep Time: 15 min
Total Time: 50 min
Makes: 6 servings

12 ounces uncooked linguine
1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 can (28 oz) Progresso® whole peeled tomatoes with basil (Italian style), drained, chopped
1 small red chili, seeded and finely chopped
1 pint shucked fresh small clams, drained and liquid reserved
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt

1. Cook and drain linguine as directed on package.
2. While linguine is cooking, heat oil in 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook garlic in oil, stirring frequently, until golden. Stir in tomatoes and chili. Cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Stir in clam liquid. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 10 minutes.
4. Chop clams. Stir clams, parsley and salt into tomato mixture. Cover and simmer about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until clams are tender. Serve over linguine.

Updates (and a couple easy recipes)

...from Florida and from taking a break from cooking. Moving involves lots of pizza and Wendy's while you get organized.

I did make one nice dinner for my friends and roommates in my new house. I made cubed steak with mashed potatoes and gravy and green beans and a lemon meringue pie for dessert.

The cube steak was super easy. I mixed flour, salt and pepper and dredged the steaks and then just browned them in the skillet on both sides. I put them in the bottom of a 9 X 13 baking dish and covered them with a mixture of 1 packet dry onion soup mix, 1 can of cream of mushroom soup and one can of beef broth. Covered it with tin foil and baked for about 45 minutes or so. When I took it out of the oven, I took the steaks out, added some flour to make gravy for the potatoes and voila!

I'm also going to share my secret to lemon meringue pie. Get some Jello lemon cook and serve pudding (two small boxes for one deep-dish crust). Make the pudding like the instructions on the box, except add four egg yolks to it. You'll use the four egg whites for the meringue (instead of six like the box says). As a general rule, use 3-4 tablespoons of sugar for each egg white and never make meringue on a day when the weather is crappy, because it won't set up.

While I was in Florida, I made my fish tacos (and shrimp tacos) for the Mexicans, and they loved them. I am going to start making my own tortillas, so watch for that. Plus, I am trying my hand at something called "dirty beans." They are delicious when Rosa makes them, so hopefully we can recreate them.

I also made a yummy seafood quiche, and I'll post that recipe here soon enough.

Tonight is linguine with clam sauce, cesar salad and garlic bread.
Tomorrow night is meatloaf.
Sunday is a belated St. Patrick's Day dinner featuring corned beef, cabbage and potatoes with Bailey's brownies for dessert!

I also met a lady from Poland who made the best cabbage rolls ever, and I'll be making them (and posting the recipe) soon!