Quiche Cups

makes 12

Base:
6 eggs
2 tbsp cream cheese or heavy whipping cream

Veggies:
2 cups fresh or frozen spinach, chopped
1/4 cup diced peppers
1/4 cup diced onions or green onions
1/4 cup diced tomatoes, well drained
1 tbsp minced jalapeño peppers

Other add-ins
1 cup shredded cheese
1 tbsp lemon or lime juice
1 tbsp soy sauce
3/4 cup chopped meat
1/2 cup chopped cilantro, parsley, oregano, or other herbs/spices
1 tsp hot pepper sauce

Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line with muffin cups. Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine eggs and cream cheese or whipping cream in blender and mix until fluffy. Add other ingredients as desired. Pulse blender just until mixed.

Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Egg cups will expand as they cook--to prevent falling, cool in oven with door open.

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Modified from a South Beach Diet recipe. Two favorite combinations so far: cheddar cheese, spinach, green onions, and hot sauce, and spinach, lemon juice, parmesan cheese, and cilantro.

Pancakes

Betty Crocker's new pancake recipe sucks. Just putting that out there. Instead of using 1 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp baking soda, it calls for 3 freaking tsp baking powder. So what you end up with is a pancake that tastes like baking powder. No thanks, Betty. I'm sticking with my favorite pancakes.

Tips for making great pancakes:

1. Figure out your stove! I've cooked on a gas stove all my life, so this electric beast in my apartment is throwing me for a loop. Mostly because I can't see how much heat is going into my food. On a gas stove, I'd cook pancakes at about medium heat, but on an electric, it's the medium-high side of low. I burned a depressing number of pancakes before figuring that out.

2. Cook for other people. There is nothing more satisfying or appetite-enhancing than seeing the looks of hunger, desire, and sublime bliss on the faces of those you are feeding.

3. Don't make more pancakes at a time than your pan can hold. If you want to cook a lot of pancakes, use a large electric griddle. If you're stuck with a medium-sized pan, believe me, you're better off making one at a time and ending up with beautifully browned rounds. Trying to flip too many pancakes in the same pan always makes a mess. (If you've got the heat right, you should still be able to cook fairly quickly.)

4. Add extras! Raspberries & dark chocolate, strawberries & bananas, strawberries & blueberries, and a strip of bacon are good starters. (If you don't believe in eating a pancake with a strip of bacon laid across the middle, I encourage you to try it.)

5. If you're adding in extras, mix them in with the batter rather than sprinkling them in once the pancake is cooking. This prevents the fruit/chocolate/whatever from burning.

6. Keep the sizes small! I use about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake. They're easier to flip, quicker to cook, and just look darn cute.

7. Use brown (or extra) sugar, real butter, whole milk, and your favorite flavor/extract when making the batter.

Most Favoritest Pancakes Ever

makes ten four-inch pancakes

1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp melted shortening or salad oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp almond extract

Beat egg; add remaining ingredients in order listed and beat with rotary beater until smooth. Grease heated griddle if necessary. To test griddle, sprinkle with a few drops of water. If bubbles skitter around, heat is just right.

Pour batter from tip of large spoon or from pitcher onto hot griddle. Turn pancakes as soon as they are puffed and full of bubbles but before bubbles break. Bake other side until golden brown.

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This recipe, originally "Favorite Pancakes" from Betty Crocker's Cookbook of 1969, was a staple of my childhood. I changed the white sugar to brown sugar and added almond extract for truly delicious pancakes that are not your typical breakfast fare. With butter and real maple syrup, they are AMAZING.