Crustless Broccoli Cheese Quiches

I have a confession to make.  You know how most kids think broccoli is the worst vegetable in the world, and kids cartoons always make giant broccoli out to be the enemy of all children, something evil that deserves to be hated...?  Well, I was the kid who ATE those kids share of broccoli.  I LOVE BROCCOLI!  I always have.  I always will.  I could never understand why so many kids hated it so much.  It's one of my favourite vegetables.  Nothing better than fresh steamed broccoli, perhaps with a bit of grated cheese on top that's melted from the heat... om nom nom. 

So when I fell upon a recipe for crustless (aka easy!) broccoli cheddar quiches, after having had a massive delivery from some kind friends of eggs straight off their farm, I was very excited.  The recipe used up 6 of the eggs, which was good (meant the sudden excess of eggs wouldn't go to waste!), and Mum had got broccoli from the supermarket on the weekend (2 big heads of broccoli for $3!  Cheap as!) so we had lots of that to use too.

I made it as a side dish for dinner, and my parents ate the left overs for breakfast.   I love that you can make them in muffin trays, perfect portion control, perfect serving size, and they cooked up lovely.  Although the original instructions said to make it into 4 ramekins, I actually liked the muffin tray idea... plus we didn't have any ramekins haha!

Made 11 quiche cupcakes (normal muffin size)

INGREDIENTS

6 eggs

10oz broccoli "florets", cut as big/small as you want (10oz = about 1 & 1/4 cup)

1/2 cup milk

2.5 teaspoons melted butter

Salt and pepper - to taste (optional)

Pinch of chilli powder (optional)

3/4 cup grated cheese (original recipe says sharp cheddar, but I just used Edam)

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 180 deg C
• Microwave broccoli for 1 minute with a little water, drain, and pat dry with paper towels
• Whisk eggs, milk, melted butter, 1/2 tsp salt, pepper and chilli together until mixed
• Stir in broccoli and cheese
• Divide mixture evenly between the muffin tray cups, filling 3/4 of the way up the cup
• Poke any bits of broccoli sticking up back down (you don't want it to burn in the oven)
• Bake until golden (about 15 or 20 mins, depending on your oven)

They DO rise when they are in the oven, and get all puffy, but then they deflate as they cool down, into dense little eggy cheesy bites of delicious.  Serve immediately, or eat cold, or eat as left overs - they're good any way!!

I think I will experiment with some other fillings at some point... tomatoes, or ham, or red onion, or normal onion might be a nice addition.  I'll let you know if I do.  :)  I personally didn't really enjoy all the egg, but I'm not big on egg anyway (it takes a very special egg for me to eat it haha).  Mum and Dad loved them though, so we'll go with "they are delicious".  I mostly liked them for the broccoli, if I'm being honest.  :D

Recipe inspiration: http://www.marthastewart.com/318409/crustless-broccoli-cheddar-quiches

Cooked Weekend Brunch

Not very often, but from time to time, my family partakes of a traditional cooked breakfast... however, some people kind of go overboard on the greasyness and the piling of the plate very high when they have a cooked breakfast.  We had a lovely little brunch, didn't over stuff ourselves, and were well set up for the day.  I just wanted to share the pictures, because it looked so lovely on the plate :)

Clockwise from top left:

• Scrambled eggs on toast (egg, milk, a dash of onion salt, microwave and whisk - yum!)
• Hash browns (grilled in a George Foreman, to get rid of excess oil = super crunchy!)
• Bacon bits (off cuts from the butcher, so cheap, so tasty, cooked in a frypan with a bit of oil)
• Baked beans on toast (out of a can haha)

So delicious!

Pancakes

Ever since I can remember, my dad has made pancakes for breakfast at least once a month on a weekend.  He is world famous amongst our family and friends for his pancake recipe.  It's easy, quick, and simple - nothing fancy - but for some reason, he just makes the best. 

We had pancakes this morning for breakfast, so I wrote down the recipe (for my own recipe book mostly) but decided I would share it, and some of our favourite toppings with you! :)

The quantities in this recipe makes enough for us to have about 6 small-medium pancakes.  For a more substantial amount, double the quantities.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp sugar

1 egg

pinch of salt

1 and 1/4 cup milk

1 tsp oil

METHOD

Surface bubbles

• Whisk all the dry ingredients together (or sieve)
• Add the egg, oil, and then the milk slowly.
• Whisk until smooth, adding more milk until you are happy with the batter consistency.
• Heat up a pan (low-medium heat) with a little oil in it, and ladle in some batter
• Wait until bubbles appear on the surface (a minute or two - see the picture - bubbles like that, but a few more)
• Flip and cook for a minute or two on the other side (until golden!)
• Serve and cover with your fave toppings and enjoy!

My personal favourite topping is simply maple syrup.  My dad likes to add banana to his maple syrup, and today he tried maple syrup + blueberries.  Delish! :)  My mums favourite is lemon juice and a sprinkling of white sugar - tangy!

Maple Syrup

Maple Syrup & Banana

Blueberries and Maple Syrup