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Halloween Frittata

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Halloween Frittata with Zombie Chunks and Cheesy Maggots
Halloween Frittata with Zombie Chunks and Cheesy Maggots

Here is an early Halloween themed frittata.  The ingredients include a whole bunch of Zombie Chunks, everything from random body parts to eyeballs.  And somehow it’s been infected with a small colony of Cheesy Maggots.  Just what you want to eat around Halloween.  In spite of the way it looks and whats in it can be eaten.  Only because its cooked enough to finally destroy all the Zombie and Maggot power.

Serves: 16 – 22 (2 frittatas)

Ingredients

  • 1/2 lb Hamburger
  • 1/2 lb spicy Italian Sausage
  • 1/2 Yellow Onion, chopped
  • 4 tsp Olive Oil
  • 6 extra Eggs
  • 3 Green Olives with Pimento
  • 1/4 cup Sun Dried Tomatoes, chopped
  • 1/2 cup Orzo Pasta
  • 1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
  • 1 cup Gruyere Cheese, shredded
  • 2 Tbsp Ground Black Pepper
  • 1 Tbsp Salt
  • 2 pie pans

Preparation

In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly mix together the Hamburger, Sausage and chopped Onion  Chill these in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.  While these are cooling, hard boil the Eggs in boiling water for 8 – 10 minutes.  While these are cooking, take the olives and cut them in half through the middle so that the pimento is in the center of each piece of olive.  Remove the eggs from the bowl and place in cold water.  When cooled enough to handle, peel them and halve them.  Then carefully using a knife hollow out the end of each egg half to the diameter of each cut olive.  Place the cut olives into the hollow of the eggs.  These will look like eye balls sliced in half.  Put these in the refrigerator until ready for final assembly.

Remove the Hamburger and Sausage mixture from the refrigerator and form into patties that shouldn’t be thicker than 3/4 inch or 3 inches in diameter.  In a skillet over medium high heat, use 2 teaspoons of Olive Oil and allow it to get to full heat.  When ready, cook the patties in the skillet until the each side is starting to char, about 5 minutes per side.  Remove and place on paper towels to drain and cool.  When cooled tear the patties up into random sized chucks.  Chop up the Sun Dried Tomatoes and mix them in with the meat chunks.  Put these away until ready for final assembly.

Prepare the Orzo Pasta as directed on the package and when done and drained, transfer to a container and add 2 teaspoons and mix thoroughly.  Place in the refrigerator until ready for final assembly.

Final Assembly and Cooking

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Oil or butter the bottom of your pie pans.  Them take the Egg eye balls and arrange them equally into each pie pan, Olive iris side up.  Then equally arrange the meat and tomato mixture around them in the pans.  Prepare the usual base quiche mix, and add to this the Pepper and Salt.  For an extra flavor add 1 tablespoon of Truffle Oil.  Whisk this up until fluffy.  Pour this over the ingredients in the pans and sprinkle about half of the Orzo Pasta over the top.  Then add on the mixture of the two cheeses.  Then finish topping with the remaining pasta.  Sprinkle a little more pepper over the top and pop them into the oven.  Cook for 30 – 40 minutes or until the cheese is just starting to turn golden brown.  Remove from the oven is either serve or pack up for the rink.

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Spicy Corn and Corned Beef Quiche

Corned Beef with Spicy Roasted Corn Shiitake with Pepper Jack Quiche
Corned Beef with Spicy Roasted Corn Shiitake with Pepper Jack Quiche

Corned Beef is one of our favorite meats.  If you can get a good cut from your store, it’s even better.  Adding the Sun Dried Tomatoes and Spicy Corn to this dish, just makes it that much better.  The Shiitakes are there for their health benefits and to add a little extra flavor.  There isn’t much to say about this quiche except that it is supposedly in the top 10 of all of these recipes.

Serves 16 – 22 (2 quiches)

Ingredients

  • 1 – 1/2 lb Sliced Corned Beef, roughly chopped

Spicy Corn

  • 3 ears of Sweet Corn
  • 3 Tbsp Peruvian Chile Lime Seasoning
  • 2 Tbsp Pepper
  • 2 Tbsp Salt
  • 3 pats of Butter
  • Optionally you can skip the above by using 1 11 oz can of Green Giant Chipotle White Corn and 1 tsp of Lime Juice

The Rest

  • 1/2 cup of sliced Shiitake Mushrooms
  • 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1/2 cup of Sun Dried Tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp Peruvian Chile Lime Seasoning
  • 1 Tbsp Ground Black Pepper
  • 1/2 Tbsp Sea Salt
  • 2 Pie Crusts
  • 1 – 1/2 cup of Pepper Jack Cheese, shredded

Preparation

Preparing Corned Beef is very time consuming and you can usually buy it in most stores, so that’s what I do.  But if you want to make your own, here is a good recipe.  Simply chop up the sliced corned beef into 1/2 inch chunks.  And set aside or refrigerate until ready for final assembly

Spicy Corn

Preparing the Spicy Corn can either take a little work, or almost not work, your choice.  The working way is to take 3 ears of sweet corn with the husks at least covering 1/2 of the ears.  Open them up by folding back the husks and removing the silk.  Sprinkle the Salt, Pepper and Seasoning all over the corn and add a pat of Butter to the side where the husk is still attached.  Fold the husk back over the ear and wrap in foil.  Heat up your grill to at least 400 degrees.  When ready, place the wrapped ears of corn on the grill for 15 – 20 minutes per side.  When done, remove and allow to cool until you can easily handle them.  Cut the kernels off and store them until ready for final assembly.

The easy way is to simply get the Chipotle White Corn can and drain.  Then add in the Lime Juice and mix well.  Store this in a container until ready for final assembly.

The Rest

To prepare the rest, the only thing that you need to properly prepare the Mushrooms.  Assuming you’ve picked up these dried you’ll need to re-hydrate them.  Put them in salted water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove and drain them.  If you’ve got fresh ones, start with this next step.  In a skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, cook the mushrooms for 2 -3 minutes per side over medium high heat.  Throwing a dash of salt on as your stirring them.  When done, remove from heat and allow to cool enough to chop into 1/4 – 1/2 inch chunks and place into a container.  In another container, place the loosely chopped Sun Dried Tomatoes.  Refrigerate these until ready for final assembly.

Final Assembly and Cooking

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Take the Corned Beef, Spicy Corn, Shiitakes and Sun Dried Tomatoes and thoroughly mix them together in a large mixing bowl.  Taking care to fully mix all the ingredients together evenly,  split these evenly into each of your pie crusts.  Prepare the usual base quiche mix and add the Chile Lime Seasoning, Pepper and Salt into the egg mixture.  When fully mixed pour over the ingredients in the pie crusts.  Top with the shredded Pepper Jack Cheese and place in the oven for 30 – 40 minutes.  When the cheese starts to get golden brown it’s ready to go.  Remove from the oven and either serve or pack it up to take to the rink.

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South African BBQ Quiche

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South African BBQ with Monkey Gland Sauce
South African BBQ with Monkey Gland Sauce

For some reason, I became fascinated with South African style cooking for a while.  I reached out to some friends from Joburg, and they suggested this for the first try.  And why not, this South African BBQ, or “Braai”, even includes Monkey Gland Sauce!  Everyone liked it and it’s been a repeat offender in the locker room.  Even the Monkey Gland Sauce!  Oh, and it’s not really a gland from a monkey.  It’s just a BBQ sauce.  Sorry for including a Spanish cheese, but I like combining the Monkey Gland with a Winey Goat.

Ingredients

Braai or BBQ

  • 1 – 2 lbs. Rump or Sirloin cut Beef (should be 4 pieces no thicker than 1/2 inch)
  • 1 – 6 oz. can of Pineapple Juice
  • 6 oz. of Balsamic Vinegar
  • 1 tspn. Salt
  • 2 tspn. Ground Black Pepper
  • 1 tspn. Coriander
  • 4 tspn. Brown Sugar
  • 4 tspn. Olive Oil

Monkey Gland Sauce

  • 1/2 large Onion, finely chopped
  • 2 Garlic Cloves, chopped and crushed
  • 1 tspn Fresh Ginger, grated
  • 1 – 3 tblspn Cooking Oil
  • 4 tblspn Chutney
  • 4 tblspn Tomato Paste
  • 1 tspn Soy Sauce
  • 1 tblspn mild English Mustard
  • 1 tblspn Worcestershire sauce
  • 3 tspn Ketchup
  • 4 tblspn Red Wine
  • 1/4 cup Chicken Stock
  • 1/2 tspn Salt
  • 1/2 tspn Pepper

The Rest

  • 1/2 cup chopped Tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup chopped Red Bell Peppers
  • 1/2 cup chopped White Onion
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh Chives
  • 2 regular pie crusts
  • 1 cup shredded Winey Goat Cheese

Preparation

Braai or BBQ

Set up your grill with two areas, one that hot (400 deg) and another that is a little cooler (300 deg).  In a shallow bowl or a deep plate, lay out the steaks and poke holes in them with a fork.  Then dribble 6 to 10 drops of the Pineapple Juice over each steaks and poke again with a fork to work the Pineapple Juice in.  Let that sit undisturbed for about 15 minutes.  Then flip the steak over and repeat the whole process on the other side.  Once the pineapple juice has set for 15 minutes, repeat the whole process using the Balsamic Vinegar.  When the Balsamic Vinegar is finished setting, sprinkle on the remaining spices evenly on both sides.  If you want you should also rub these in a little bit.  Check to see that your grill is ready and if so, sprinkle about 6 to 10 drops of Olive Oil on the side of the steak that is going on the grill.  Flip the steaks onto the hot part of the grill being careful as there may be a flare up of flames.  Wait about a minute and sprinkle some more Olive Oil on the top side of the steaks.  Let that cook for about 4 – 5 minutes, then flip once and repeat staying on the hotter side of your grill.  After another 4 – 5 minutes, flip the steaks again, but put them on the cooler part of the grill.  Keep an eye on them for another 5 – 7 minutes and flip once more.  They should be done to a medium or medium well at the end of another 5 – 7 minutes.  Remove from the grill and allow them to sit around and cool down for at least 30 minutes.  When that step is done, cube the steaks into 1/2 inch or so cubes and refrigerate until final assembly.

Monkey Gland Sauce

In a sauce pan, add the oil and heat over medium high heat.  Once the oil is hot, add in the Onion, Garlic and Ginger and cook until the onion becomes translucent.  Then add in all the rest of the ingredients and continue cooking while stirring frequently for another 8 – 10 minutes.  This should make about 1/2 cup of sauce.  Allow to cool and refrigerate until ready for final assembly.

The Rest

The rest is pretty simply, just chop up these and either store them for until your ready to fill the pies.  Or if you want some more flavor, roast the chopped tomatoes, peppers and onion in a little aluminum foil tray on the grill for about 20 minutes, with a light coating of olive oil.  Put these away until your ready for final assembly.

Final Assembly and Cooking

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Gather up all the meat, tomato, peppers and onion and mix well together and place evenly in the bottom of each pie crust.  Prepare the usual base quiche mix, but only use 1/4 cup of half and half.  Add to the base quiche mix the Monkey Gland Sauce and continue to mix for a couple more minutes.  Pour evenly over the other ingredients in the pie crusts and top equally with the Winey Goat Cheese, then sprinkle on the chopped Chives.  The oven should be ready, so in the pies go for 30 – 40 minutes or until the cheese is turning a golden brown.  Remove and your quiche is ready to serve or pack up for the rink.

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Chipotle Steak Fajitas w/ Pinto Beans Quiche

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Chipotle Steak Fajitas with Pinto Beans
Chipotle Steak Fajitas with Pinto Beans

Being in the southwest, we get some good choices for Steak Fajitas.  This recipe takes the basic ingredients of a good Fajita and Bean Burrito and turns it into quiche.  This particular one also has some green chile and other extra ingredients that you won’t get at your local Chipotle burrito shop.

Serves: 16 – 22 (2 quiches)

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Flank or Skirt Steak (about 4 pieces)
  • 2 tspn Salt
  • 4 tspn Pepper
  • 6 tspn Ancho Chile Pepper Spice (McCormick is what I’ve used)
  • 1 can of Trappey’s Pinto Beans with Jalapenos (Walmart might have them)
  • 1 Green Bell Pepper
  • 2 Anaheim Chile Peppers
  • 1/2 Red Onion, chopped
  • 4 tblspn Olive Oil
  • 1/2 jar of Colorado Green Chile (hot is best, and a good substitute is Sadies Roasted Green Chile Salsa)
  • 2 cups shredded Mexican Cheese (best is to mix Asadero and Monterey Jack Cheese equally)
  • 1/4 cup fine chopped black olives (optional)
  • 2 pie crusts

Preparation

Combine the salt, pepper and chile pepper spices in a large zip lock bag.  Place the meat into the bag and shake up so that the spices coat all sides of the meat like a good rub.  Put in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

In a pot over medium heat cook down the can of beans until the liquid has reduced by half.  This should take about 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and drain the beans and juices into separate containers and refrigerate until ready for final assembly.

Get your grill heated up to at least 350 degrees for grilling the meat.  Chop the red onion and brush with olive oil.  Brush the other peppers with olive oil as well.   Take the steaks, peppers and onion and place them all on the grill.  The meat will cook in about 15 minutes, flipping once.  When done remove from heat and allow to cool.  The peppers and onion will cook in about 25 minutes, flipping as needed to get some char marks on all sides.  Take everything and chop it up into about 1/2 inch chunks, but keep the meat separate from the rest for now.  Also discard stem ends and the seeds from the peppers.  Once you’ve got this all chopped up, store properly until ready for final assembly.

Final Assembly and Cooking

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, add the meat, peppers, onion and beans together and mix thoroughly.  Place evenly into your prepared pie crusts  making sure that the mixture is loose.  Prepare the usual base quiche mix, with only 1/4 cup of half and half, and add to it the liquid reserved from cooking the beans and the salsa.  Mix this thoroughly.  Pour this equally over the ingredients in the pie pans and top with the shredded cheese mixture.  If you’re going to include the olives, sprinkle them on top and pop the pies into the oven for 30 – 40 minutes, or until the cheese starts to get golden brown.  Remove and serve or pack it up for the rink.

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Greek Gyro Quiche

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Lamb and Beef Greek Gyro Quiche
Lamb and Beef Greek Gyro Quiche

While this one is similar to the one in the Real Me DO Eat Quiche cookbook it is a more authentic Greek Gyro Quiche primarily because it uses a different cut of lamb and adds in some beef and falafel as well.  This one also can be done with either the pizza crust or a regular crust.  I just haven’t figured out how to make a pita bread crust yet, but I’m still working on it.  Also, this falafel recipe is really good, but as with most things good, it takes time.  What I usually do is pick up 5 falafel from Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill just to cut down on the work.

Ingredients

Meats

  • 1/2 lb. ground lamb
  • 1/2 lb. ground hamburger
  • 1 cup shredded onion
  • 2-3 minced garlic cloves
  • 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground marjoram
  • 1 teaspoon ground rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon ground thyme
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Falafel

  • 1/2 cup canned chickpeas, drained and dried for 30 minutes
  • 1 tbsp. fine-grain bulgur
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion –  finely chopped
  • 1 minced garlic clove
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley leaves
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • Pinch freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste
  • Pinch cayenne pepper, or more to taste
  • Pinch turmeric, or more to taste (optional)
  • Pinch cardamom seeds (optional)
  • Vegetable oil to cook with

Extras

  • 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
  • 1 small shredded cucumber
  • 2 minced garlic cloves
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 cup loose chopped lettuce
  • 1 cup diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup feta cheese
  • 2 teaspoon sumac

 

 

Preparation

Meats

Either in a food processor or a mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients listed above and mix thoroughly.  Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to chill.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and prepare a baking tray by lining it with foil and putting a grill on top of the foil.  Remove the meat from the refrigerator and with damp hands either roll this into a long 1-1/2 inch tube or into 1-1/2 meat balls.  I like the tube approach as the meat seems to loose less moisture when cooking.  Put the meat on the grill in the baking tray and place in the oven for 30 -40 minutes.  You want this to just start to get some crispness developing on outside.  Another way to do this would be to cook this on your flame grill and that would be quicker.  When done remove and allow to cool until you can chop this meat up into small chunks no larger than 1/2 inch.  Refrigerate until ready for final assembly.

Falafel

Put the chickpeas in a food processor and grind them up until they are all like small enough that they are almost a powder.  You should also be able to squeeze this together and it stick together.  If it’s too wet let it dry some more.  Put all of the other dry Falafel ingredients into a large mixing bowl and thoroughly mix.  Then mix in the ground chickpeas until everything is completely mixed together.  Then add 1 – 2 teaspoons of water and stir well.  Cover and set aside, while you prepare a large skillet with about 2 inches of vegetable oil.  Heat to at least 325 degrees.  Taking enough of the falafel mixture from the bowl with damp hands, and form into a 1 – 1/2 to 2 inch ball.  There should be enough to make about 6 – 8 balls.  Then slowly add them to the oil and cook for about 3 – 4 minutes each.  They should be brown and crispy when they are ready.  Remove them and place on a paper towel to drain and cool down.  When they are cool enough to chop, cut each ball into 4 pieces and refrigerate till ready for the final preparation.

Extras

To make the Tzatziki, skin and shred and de-seed the cucumber and place this on a paper towel to dry for a few minutes.  In a bowl, mix the yogurt, olive oil and 1 minced garlic clove together.  Then add the shredded cucumber and mix thoroughly.  Refrigerate till assembly.

Chop up the lettuce and tomatoes and mix them together with a pinch of salt.  Refrigerate this separately until ready for final assembly.  You should also have 1 minced garlic clove left that you’ll want to refrigerate till assembly.

Final Assembly and Cooking

Preheat oven to 375.  Prepare the base quiche mix and instead of the 1/2 cup of milk, fold in the Tzatziki yogurt and mix thoroughly.  Get the other ingredients from the refrigerator and  mix them loosely into the pie crusts.  Pour the modified base quiche mix over that.  Then top with some chunks of feta cheese, the remaining minced garlic cloves and a light sprinkling of sumac.  Bake for 30 – 40 minutes until the top starts to turn golden brown.  Remove from the oven and either serve right away or pack it up for the rink.