Welcome to May(hem!!!!)

It snowed in Winnipeg yesterday. This kind of stupidity is why people who live north of North Dakota rarely plant anything in their gardens before the May long weekend.

Oh, but that's just the beginning...

Taneasha has sold nearly all of her worldly posessions in preparation for a 2000 mile eastward cross country move and I'm planning on spending the next 2 weeks 2000 miles south of home and as naked as possible.

I've already been here for two days and I've made pork kebabs, tabouli, pita breads (holy crap they worked!), refried beans, dewberry muffins with fresh off the vine dewberries (I have the scratches on my arms to prove it), and there's currently a sweet potato pie in the oven.

I haven't taken a single freaking picture. Yes, I brought my camera. I've just been a little... distracted.

Hey, I'm somewhere warm, there's a fabulous herb and veggie garden out front, horseys in the pasture out back, and a Viking (aka Recipe Guy) in my bed. Well, actually, I'm in his, but still. I think it's a pretty freaking good excuse for not taking pictures. No, you can't have pictures of Recipe Guy in bed.

What you can have pics of is something we made together when he was visiting me in the frozen wasteland that I unfortunately call home (yes, a Viking who lives somewhere warm and visits me in the north, irony, I know). You've already seen part of that meal...

Tex Mex Rice

What you need:

• 1/2 onion
• 1 jalapeno
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1-2 tsp bacon fat
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1 cup stewed, diced tomatoes
• 1 cup leftover rice

What you gotta do:

Finely dice the onion and jalapeno. Mince the garlic.

Heat the bacon fat in a small pot or deep frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, jalapeno, and spices. Stir a lot. You don't want the spices to burn, but you do want to get that onion softening.

Drop in a cup of tomatoes. Yes, I know the tins are never exactly a cup. You can always use a small tin (I think they're usually around a cup and a half) and scale up the rest of the recipe, but I had a big tin so I used a cup and froze the rest in a container.

Give the tomatoes a few minutes to warm up and combine with the other flavours.

Dump in a cup of leftover rice.

If you want to eat right away, all you really need to do is heat it through. But it can definitely tolerate up to about 20 minutes (long enough to heat a pan, get a small steak to medium, and let it rest a bit before you slice it thinly)

All right, there you go. That's the first post of the month of May(hem!!!!). Stick around, things are going to get a little wacky. Taneasha will be eating road food and I'll be showing you how to impress a Southern boy. ;)

Update on Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at 7:33PM by Taneasha

What Seeley actually meant, was that she was posting this lovely Mexican side dish in anticipation of Cinco de Mayo.  We are totally on top of the holidays here. 

Easy Peasy Quiche...y?

Because quiche is served at fancy restaurants and has a foreign name, a lot of people think it must be difficult to make.  Well, that couldn’t be further from the truth.  Quiche is, in fact, one of the simplest meals you can cook, and it’s also a great way to use some of the leftovers from your Easter ham.

Here’s what you’ll need: 

1 pie crust (Oops… it’s missing)
3 eggs
⅔ cup shredded cheese

½ cup each of the following, diced:
Ham
Zucchini
Mushrooms
Broccoli

You can certainly make your own pie crust, but this is usually one of my ‘lazy’ meals, and a frozen one works great here. 

To get started, dice your ham, zucchini, mushrooms, and broccoli, fairly small. 

Melt a tablespoon of butter in a pan over medium heat and throw the chopped stuff in. 

Sprinkle it with a little bit of salt and stir it around.

We don’t want to cook the vegetables completely, just enough to get rid of some of the water.  They should be in the pan for only about five minutes.  While they’re cooking, measure 1 cup of milk and crack in 3 eggs. 

Add a pinch of salt and pepper and whisk.  Don’t forget to stir the vegetables on the stove.  Oh, and preheat your oven to 425°.  Pour about ⅓ of the egg mixture into the bottom of your pie crust.

Sprinkle on about ⅓ of the cheese.

Dump in your vegetable and ham mixture and spread it evenly.

Sprinkle with another ⅓ of the cheese.

Pour in the rest of the egg mixture. 

Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and pop it into the oven.  Bake it at 425° for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325° and bake for an additional 20 – 25 minutes.  It’ll be nice and golden brown on top and the center will be wet, but not runny. 

Allow it to set for 10 – 15 minutes before slicing and then cut it into wedges.  If you’re like me, you’ll want to eat it with sliced avocado and fresh tomatoes.  I just used halved grape tomatoes here. 

If you’re like my husband, you’ll prefer to eat it with salsa.  Either way, it’s a fabulous meal that even most kids like.  And best of all, there’s hardly any clean up!  

Share with us some of your favorite go to, Wednesday night, meals.  Who knows, if we like it, we might even showcase it here on our blog!