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Ramen Noodle Crust

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Ramein Crust
Ramen Crust

Here we are adding a new crust to our library.  They make all kinds of things out of these noodles that almost all of us have had at one point in our lives.  Usually, while we were young.  This is something that I’ve been trying to figure out for a while and I’ve finally cracked it.  And it was so simple.

This crust will go great with any quiche that your trying to make that uses an Asian inspired filling.  An upcoming post will feature this as the crust, so stay tuned.

Makes 2 Crusts

Ingredients

  • 2 packages of your favorite Ramen Noodles
  • 2 Eggs
  • 4 Pie Pans
  • 2 tsp Coconut Oil

Preparation

Prepare just the Ramen Noodles by the directions on the package.  Just make sure you don’t use the flavor packet yet.  When done strain the water and allow the noodles to cool completely.  Coat the bottom of 2 of the pie pans with Coconut Oil and lightly coat the outside of the remaining 2 pie pans.  You are basically making a release mold to help hold the form while cooking the Noodles.  When you’ve coated these, but them in the refrigerator until you’re ready to fill them.

Place the noodles into a mixing bowl and add the Eggs and optionally the flavor packets and mix everything together gently but thoroughly.  Remove one set of Pie Pans from the refrigerator and fill with half of the Noodles.  Using wet hands, press the Noodles out and up the sides of the bottom pan.  You will only be able to spread this out so much because the Noodles will try to pop back to their original shape.  When you’ve evenly spread them as much as you can, place the outside oiled Pie Pan on top of the Noodles and press down starting in the middle of the pan.  Working to try and get the Noodles tightly compacted and evenly spread out throughout the bottom of the pan.  When complete, place this back in the refrigerator and repeat for the other pie pan.  Get the other pair of pans out and repeat.  Keep these in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.  It is also a good idea to stack them and put some kind of weight on them to keep everything together while cooling.

After the pans have been cooled for at least 25 minutes, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. When the oven is ready, put the pans in on the middle shelf.  If you’ve got pie weights, use them, but they are not absolutely necessary.  Bake for 15 minutes, and remove the top pans.  Bake another 5 minutes and then you can remove them and allow them to cool.  Refrigerate if your not going to use them right away.

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Chicken Pasta and Tomato Quiche

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Chicken Pasta w/ Sun Dried Tomato Quiche
Chicken Pasta w/ Sun Dried Tomato Quiche

Last week we made a Lasagna Quiche which was primarily made to be easy to make and help recover after a hard skate.  Since not everyone likes beef or pork, here is one that uses chicken for the main ingredient.  This one got topped with a little Prosciutto for fun but that is optional.

Serves: 16 – 22 (2 Quiches)

Ingredients

  • 4 Chicken Breasts
  • 1 cup Bow tie Pasta
  • 6 tsp Olive Oil
  • 2 tsp Ground Pepper
  • 1 tsp Sea Salt
  • 4 cloves Garlic, minced
  • 4 tsp Marjoram, chopped
  • 1/2 cup Red Wine
  • 1 cup Sun Dried Tomatoes (not in oil), chopped
  • 2 pie crusts
  • Base Quiche Mix
  • 2 cups Romano Cheese, shredded
  • 1/2 cup Prosciutto, diced (optional)

Preparation

Prepare the Pasta according to the instructions on the package, or alternatively you can prepare this in a skillet with just enough salted water to cover the pasta, at a boil until the pasta is soft but firm.  Remove from the water and strain.  In this case, return the pasta back to the warm skillet and mix in 2 tsp of Olive Oil to coat all the pasta.  Remove from the skillet and put in a container and refrigerate until final assembly.

Pound out the Chicken Breasts until they are no thicker than 1/2 inch.  Coat each side with Olive Oil and season each side with Salt, Pepper, 2 cloves minced Garlic and a light sprinkle of about 1/2 of the Marjoram.  In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the chicken breast to a golden brown on the outside.  This should take 4 – 6 minutes per side.  Be careful not to cook too long, the chicken will get tough.  We want this to be browned and still juice in the middle.  Set aside and allow to cool.  Refrigerate in a container until ready for final assembly.

In a small pot, over medium-high heat, combine the Red Wine and the Sun Dried Tomatoes with the remaining Garlic, Marjoram and 1 or 2 tsp Olive Oil and bring to a slow boil, stirring occasionally.  Continue to cook for 3 – 5 minutes at the slow boil.  Remove from heat and allow to cool in a container before refrigerating this tomato sauce until final assembly.

Final Assembly and Cooking

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Take the refrigerated chicken and dice into 1/2 inch chunks.  Then in a large mixing bowl combine and thoroughly mix the pasta and chicken.  Then transfer equal amounts to each of the prepared pie crusts.

Prepare the Base Quiche Mix and into that add the tomato sauce and mix completely.  Pour this equally over the chicken and pasta in the pie crusts.  Top that equally with the Romano Cheese and Prosciutto (optional).

Place the quiches in the oven and cook for 30 – 40 minutes, checking after 30 minutes to make sure the cheese doesn’t get too brown.  The top should be just turning golden brown when ready to come out.  Either serve hot or pack up and head to the rink.

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Lasagna Frittata

Lasagna Frittata
Lasagna Frittata

Almost every hockey player knows that one of the best recovery foods is comprised of either beef or chicken, tomatoes and pasta.  If you’ve ever been around a game that goes to multiple overtime periods, you’ll find trays of meaty lasagna or other meaty pastas being devoured by the players in the overtime intermissions.  So why not make a quiche.  Here is and update to the original Lasagna Quiche from the Real Men DO Eat Quiche cookbook.  This actually makes mini-lasagna in each pie pan, instead of what we came up with before.

Serves: 16 – 22 (2 Quiches)

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Hamburger
  • 1 lb Italian Sausage
  • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 large Onion, finely chopped
  • 1 Shallot, finely chopped
  • 4 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 Tbsp Pepper
  • 1 Tbsp Salt
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
  • 2 cups Porcini Mushrooms (chopped)
  • 1 cup Spaghetti or Bolognese Sauce (pick your favorite)
  • 12 pieces of Lasagne Pasta
  • Base Quiche Mix
  • 6 tsp Butter
  • 2 Pie Pans
  • 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
  • 1 cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded

Preparation

In a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat add the Olive Oil.  When the oil is hot, add in the Onions, Shallots and Garlic and stir.  After about 2 minutes add in the Pepper, Salt and Cinnamon and continue to stir until the onions are soft and translucent, about 2 minutes more.  Add in the Beef and Sausage and raise the heat to high.  Continue cooking this until the meat is just starting to brown, about 5 – 10 minutes.  Add in the mushrooms and continue cooking for another 5 – 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  You’ll know your done, when the meat is starting to get a crisp browning and the mushrooms have soaked up most of the grease.  Remove and stain to reduce the grease.  If you want you can use the grease later in the Spaghetti Sauce and Base Quiche Mix to add flavor, I don’t because this makes a greasy quiche.  Put the strained mixture in a container and refrigerate until final assembly.

Although I’m told that some Lasagne Pasta doesn’t need to be cooked first, I cook it by the instructions anyway.  Instead of cooking these in a large pot with a lot of water, I’ve taken to using a skillet or large pot with just enough water to cover the pasta.  To the water I add a dash of Olive Oil and Salt.  Then when the water is boiling, add in the pasta and cook for about 6 – 8 minutes.  This is a little faster and uses a whole lot less water.  Strain the water out and put the pasta back in the hot pot and add in 4 teaspoons of butter and make sure this is all melted and fully coating the pasta.  If you need to add a little heat to get this done.  Transfer the pasta to a container and refrigerate until final assembly.  If you want to you can line your pie pans with 1 teaspoon of butter each and refrigerate.

Final Assembly and Cooking

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare the Base Quiche Mix in a large mixing bowl as you normally would.  Add in the Spaghetti or Bolognese Sauce and continue to whisk for an additional 3 minutes.

Place one layer of pasta in the bottom of each pie pan.  Then spoon in a layer of the meat mixture.  Slowly add the eggs/sauce mixture to form a layer.  Top this is a thin layer of the shredded cheeses.  And repeat this step until almost to the top edge of the pie pans.  Three layers is usually enough.  Top the last layer with all of the remaining cheese.

Place in the oven and cook for 30 – 40 minutes.  Keep an eye on the cheese so that you don’t burn it, but a little browning makes for a good flavor.  Remove from the oven and either serve or pack it up for the rink.

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Guinness Corned Beef

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Guinness Corned Beef Stew
Guinness Corned Beef Stew

Irish Corned Beef Stew is always a good meal.  If made right its always got a lot of flavor and can be considered a whole meal.  Here we’ve taken the basic concept and add another flavor, Guinness Beer.  This one you’ll need to allow an extra 8 hours to cook the filling in a crock pot or slow cooker.  The version pictured above was made with a regular pie crust, but we made on of these with an Irish Soda Bread Crust which was even better.

Serves 16 – 22 (2 Quiches)

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. Corned Beef, sliced and roughly chopped
  • 1/2 Cabbage, chopped
  • 4 large Carrots, chopped
  • 4 Celery Stalks, chopped
  • 2 pints Guinness Beer
  • 2 tsp Garlic, minched
  • 2 Tbsp Pepper
  • 1 Tbsp Salt
  • 1 Tbsp Thyme
  • 2 cups Beef Stock
  • 2 Tbsp Dijon or Beer Mustard
  • up to 1/2 cup Flour, for thickening
  • 1 cup Dubliner Irish Cheddar (one 200 g package) shredded
  • 2 Pie Crusts of your choice
  • Base Quiche Mix, less 1 egg and 1/4 pint Half and Half

Preparation

You’ve got a lot of chopping to do, so get busy chopping the all the vegetables into small chunks no larger than 3/4 inch.  Place all of these in the bottom of a crock pot or other slow cooker.  Layer the chopped Corned Beef on top of that.  In a mixing bowl, combine the Garlic, Salt, Pepper, Thyme, Mustard and half of the Beef Stock.  Mix well so that all the powders are fully mixed.  Add in the first pint of Guinness.  Then pour this mixture into the crock pot over the meat and vegetables.  This should be enough to cover fully cover the ingredients, if not add a little more Beef Stock to cover.  Cover the cooker and set it on high heat for 8 hours.  Check on it at about 4 – 6 hours to make sure that the solids are still covered with liquid.  If not add enough equal parts Beef Stock and Guinness to cover.  At 8 hours of cooking this should be ready, but if you want you can cook longer.

Pour the contents of cooker through a strainer, reserving the liquids into a large pot.  Put the solids into a container and refrigerate until ready for final assembly.  Put the large pot with the liquids over medium high heat to bring to a slow boil.  Add in 2 tablespoons of flour at a time, thoroughly mixing to thicken up the liquid.  Repeat until you’ve created medium thick gravy.  Reduce heat to a slow boil and continue to cook for about 30 minutes stirring occasionally.  Allow to cool and put in another container and refrigerate until final assembly.

Final Assembly and Cooking

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Place the solids from the previous step equally into each of the prepared pie crusts.  Gently mix in a about 1/4 cup of the cheese into the solids.  In a large mixing bowl, prepare the Base Quiche Mix (less 1 egg and 1/4 pint of Half and Half) and mix in 1 – 1/2 cups of the gravy mixture from above.  Whisk for at least 3 minutes to fluff up the eggs.  Pour mixture gently over ingredients in the pie crusts, filling to near the top of the pie pan.  Spread the remaining cheese over the top of the quiche filling.  If you don’t mind a little browned cheese, as in the photo above, simply cook in the oven for 30 -40 minutes, until the cheese is browning in the center.  For a more even browning of this cheese, wrap the pie pans with 3 – 4 inches of aluminum foil around the edges, gently folding down the foil but not pressing into the quiche.

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New England Clam Chowder Quiche

New England Clam Chowder Quiche
New England Clam Chowder Quiche

We’re going to skate well before the Super Bowl kick off, but we already know who is going to win, so we’re going to make this quiche in their honor.  And to keep some of our Boston bred team-mates happy.  They’ve been complaining about all the spicy dishes.

Basically this takes the standard New England Clam Chowder and folds it into a quiche.  It tastes like Clam Chowder, and that’s what counts.  This is just a little cheesier than normal so if you don’t like all the extra cheese, you should trim the recipe to your liking.

Serves 16 – 22 (2 Quiches)

Ingredients

  • 1 large Onion, finely diced
  • 3 Celery Stalks, chopped
  • 4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
  • 4 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour
  • 2 cups chicken or vegetable Stock
  • 2 (10 oz) cans of Chopped Clams in Juice
  • 1 cup Heavy Cream
  • 3 or 4 Potatoes, cubed to 1/2 inch
  • Salt and Ground Black Pepper to taste
  • 2 cups Medium Cheddar Cheese
  • 1 bunch Chives, chopped
  • 2 Pie Crusts
  • Base Quiche Mix – adjusted to 1/4 pt of Half and Half

Preparation

Using a large pot over medium-high heat, melt the Butter.  Add in the Onions and Celery and saute until the Onions are translucent and the Celery has softened, stirring often.  Add in the flour and stir well until there are no clumps of flour.  Pour in the Stock, and just the Juice from both cans of Chopped Clams, Heavy Cream and Potatoes and stir.  Bring to a slow boil, stirring often, until the mixture thickens. Then reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook 20 minutes, stirring often.  This will be done when the potatoes are nice and tender.  Add Salt and Pepper to taste.  Then remove from heat and strain the mixture to separate the solids and liquids.  Reserve both in separate containers until ready for final assembly.  Add the Clams to the cooled solids container and mix thoroughly.

Final Assembly and Cooking

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Fill the prepared pie crusts equally from the solids container to make the filling.  In a large mixing bowl, fold in the adjusted Base Quiche Mix into the liquids you separated before and thoroughly whisk.  Pour that gently over the filling in each pie crust.  Sprinkle the Cheese equally over each crust and top with a sprinkling of the chopped Chives.  Into the oven for 30 – 40 minutes or until the Cheese starts to brown.  Remove when ready and either serve or pack them up to take to the rink.