green chile casserole topped with fried egg and dollop of sour cream...

...for breakfast. when did i get so new mexican?

rum custard pie

i had a potluck to go to and i wanted to bake something easy. i should have chosen to bake something quick & easy, because i got called into work in the morning, and when i got out i only had an hour to bake something, which is how long this pie took to bake. it was tasty but because i couldn't wait to cool it down, serving it warm just wasn't the right way to serve it. either way, everyone ate some and i didn't have any leftover.

1 prepared pie crust

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs (i used 3 eggs because the farm fresh eggs we buy are huge)

1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup light rum

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

whipped cream, for garnish

powdered sugar, for garnish

Directions:

1 Preheat oven to 350º.

2 On a lightly floured surface, unroll pie crust.

3 Roll pastry into a 12-inch circle.

4 Press pie crust into a 9-inch deep dish pie plate, crimping edges, if desired.

5 In a large bowl, beat sugar and eggs at medium speed with an electric mixer until well combined.

6 Add evaporated milk, water, rum and salt.

7 Beat at low speed until combined.

8 Pour mixture into crust.

9 Sprinkle top of pie with nutmeg and cinnamon.

10 Place pie onto a rimmed baking pan with a depth of 1/2-inch.

11 Add hot water to baking sheet coming halfway up the pie plate. Be careful not to get any water in the pie itself.

12 Bake for about 55 minutes, or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean.

13 Garnish with whipped cream and powdered sugar if desired.

shrimp quiche

i made this as a fast dinner. we have a huge bag on tiny shrimp so i took a couple of cups and sauteed them in olive oil and garlic. i used chedder cheese and some feta. ryan and i enjoyed it so much we ate 3/4 of the quiche in one sitting.

1 (9 inch) baked pie shell

4 ounces small, cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined

2/3 cup grated Gruyere cheese

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup light sour cream

1 tablespoon finely chopped green onion

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Spread shrimp evenly across the bottom of the pie crust. Sprinkle cheese over the shrimp.

Stir sour cream, green onions, salt and pepper into the beaten eggs; then pour mixture evenly over the shrimp and cheese.

Bake in a preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

oatmeal whole wheat quick bread

wanted to make a loaf of bread to eat with dinner. this was fast and easy to make (i made it in the toaster oven) and i've been eating it toasted with butter and honey for breakfast/snacks everyday.

Ingredients

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

Grind oatmeal in a food processor or blender. In a large bowl, combine oatmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, dissolve honey in vegetable oil then stir in the milk. Combine both mixtures and stir until a soft dough is formed. Form the dough into a ball and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet.

Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until bottom of loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

my birthday uncake and my unbirthday cake

...as gillian said. for my birthday i whipped up a fast no bake "chocolate eclair" dessert. the day after my birthday, travis' mom baked up this lovely cake pictured. i had an awesome birthday/birthday weekend.

2 individual packages graham crackers

2 (3 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix (i used 1 vanilla and 1 banana pudding mix)

3 cups milk

8 oz container whipped cream

1 (16 ounce) package prepared chocolate frosting

Directions

Line the bottom of a 9x13-inch pan with graham crackers. In a large bowl, combine pudding mix and milk. Stir well. Stir in whipped cream to pudding mixture. Spread half of mixture over graham cracker layer. Top with another layer of graham crackers and the remaining pudding. Top all with a final layer of graham crackers and frost with chocolate frosting. Refrigerate until serving.

variety of oatmeal thumbprint cookies

i baked a batch of oatmeal thumbprint cookies. i think the end total was about 3.5 dozen bite size cookies. the first dozen i baked followed the recipe minus the walnuts and i used peanut butter and strawberry preserves for the topping. the second dozen followed the recipe with the walnuts using prickly pear jelly melinda had made and the remainder of the cookies followed the recipe minus the walnuts, also with the prickly pear jelly. these cookies taste really buttery and i liked the way all the batches came out, but i think i enjoyed the original recipe with the walnuts the best.

1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 large egg, separated

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups rolled oats

1 1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts

About 1 cup fruit jam

Preparation

1. In a bowl, with an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter, brown sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla until smooth. Stir or beat in flour and oats until well blended.

2. In a small bowl, beat egg white and 2 teaspoons water to blend. Put walnuts in a shallow bowl. Shape dough into 2-teaspoon-size balls and dip in egg white mixture; shake off excess, then roll in walnuts. Place 1 inch apart on buttered or cooking parchment-lined 12- by 15-inch baking sheets. Press your thumb into the center of each cookie to make a 1/2-inch-deep indentation.

3. Bake cookies in a 300° oven until lightly browned, about 15 minutes; if baking more than one pan at a time, switch pan positions halfway through baking.

4. Carefully fill each indentation with about 1 teaspoon jam (if indentations have disappeared, make them again with the rounded end of a wooden spoon). Return to oven and bake until cookies are golden brown and jam has melted, about 15 minutes longer. With a wide spatula, transfer cookies to racks to cool

banana nut ice cream pie

when i bake desserts, ryan says i usually put something in it that he can't eat so i finally decided to make a dessert for him. i altered this recipe a little from the original but it worked out fine. i used cookies n cream ice cream instead of butter pecan because supposedly he's allergic to pecans. i also made a graham cracker crust instead of using a vanilla wafer crust. i made a separate caramel pecan sauce for myself and just used regular caramel on his slices. the pie is really good and i'm sure u can use pretty much any flavor ice cream u want. when u cut into the pie, pull it out the freezer and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes because the frozen bananas make it very hard to cut into. also, wet your knife with hot water before cutting into the pie.

Ingredients

2 medium ripe bananas sliced

1 prepared vanilla wafer crust

6 c. Butter Pecan Ice Cream softened

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

3 Tbsp. instant banana pudding mix (dry)

1/4 c. butter

3/4 c. caramel ice cream topping

½ tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbsp. crushed pecans

Directions

Slice the bananas and place them evenly over the bottom of the prepared pie crust.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the softened ice cream, cinnamon, and banana pudding mix. Stir until all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. Spread the ice cream mixture evenly into the crust. Freeze for 4-6 hours.

Immediately before serving, prepare the Warm Caramel Sauce. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over med-low heat. Add the caramel topping, vanilla extract, and crushed pecans. Stir until thoroughly combined and warmed through.

Remove the pie from the freezer. Cut into 8 slices and place on individual serving plates. Drizzle each slice with approx. 2 Tbsp. of the warm caramel sauce and serve immediately.