Cooking N Crafting

Note: This post was prepared on approx 10/14, but was scheduled to publish after the predicted storm

Spinach & Feta Cheese Quiche

Preheat oven to 375*

Bag of fresh spinach
Onion, chopped
4 eggs
1-1/2 cups whole milk
2 TBSP lemon juice
1/4 lb feta cheese
Salt & Pepper
Pie shell

Saute' the spinach and onions in butter till spinach is wilted.

Mix the eggs and milk together.  Add the lemon juice and mix.  Stir in the spinach & onions, feta cheese, salt and pepper and mix well.

Pour into pie shell and bake for an hour or till knife comes out of the center clean.

Glitter:  A way of life.  Just tried this new technique from The Ornament Girl of swirling around Pledge floor cleaner inside the ornament then pouring the glitter in.  I also used a straw that I cut into a little scoop shape so that I could get the glitter at the top.  I also added some red crystals to the top silver part and around the center.

Then I did one in blue glitter

And purple.

Did a little bit more leaf stamping.  Better results this time.

I thought I was pretty much done for the day, cooking-wise, till my friend Averie posted a link for Baked Cheddar Broccoli Rice Cups, at Fountain Avenue Kitchen.  I'd just cooked up some fresh broccoli and was surprised to find I had the rest of the ingredients in the house!  Just had to try them!

Preheat oven to 350*.  Grease a muffin tin.  This recipe will fill 8 of the 12 cups.

1 cup quick cooking rice
1 cup chicken broth/stock (can also use vegetable broth or just plain water)
Cooked broccoli crowns (or a 10 oz. package of frozen, thawed & then drained)
1 cup cheddar cheese, divided in half
1/4 cup ranch dressing
2 eggs lightly beaten
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper.

Prep the rice according to the directions, substituting broth for water.  Place cooked rice in a bowl to cool off.  Add remaining ingredients but using only 1/2 cup of the cheese.  Stir until combined.  Scoop into the muffin tin cups and then sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.  Bake 25 minutes until tops brown a little and edges get crispy.  

Natural Crafties

I kinda helped myself to a couple of leaves from that super bright tree that I posted pics of a few days ago and made a Canadian flag with one of them.  It should be noted that I first attempted to preserve the leaves using a glycerin & water technique with poor results, so I went with the old standby:  Clear contact paper.  Used double stick tape to adhere it to the cardstock.

Acorn caps and beads.  Drilled a hole thru the cap and used some glue to keep them in place, then put the head pin through and added a seed bead on the bottom to make the point of the acorn bead.  Last, I painted the caps with clear nail polish.

It is surprisingly hard to find beads to fit the caps...or hard to find caps to fit my beads, whichever.

Here's another attempt at leaf stamping with paints.  

And here are some gorgeous maple leaves I sealed in clear contact paper.

This one tree had several leaves with a red spot on them.