{Leftover} Ham & Spinach Quiche!

So I had a whole bunch of leftover ham (like the country "we eat only on Easter and/or Christmas" type of ham.  Funny, it had that honey glaze stuff on it- so I just rinsed the ham and then froze it- now it is coming time to clean out the freezer and I had to find a recipe to make with this ham. 

It took a while (like over an hour!) to cook though- but seconds to whip together.  So if you want a quick make ahead recipe to tell your significant other to just pop in the oven then will be ready to eat when you get home- this is it.

Quiche is awesome because you can throw in basically anything and everything. (A fridge/freezer cleaner).  I was even surprised when Brendan said it was really good- lol.  I didn't think he would like it as much- but I guess you really can't go wrong with cheese and eggs.

Measurements aren't exactly on point, since I kind of just eyeballed everything.  When you pour it in the baking dish and it looks like it would be a good omelet- you did it right. Hehe.

Ingredients

• 5-6 eggs
• 1 cup of cooked ham- diced
• 1-2 cups of broccoli, diced
• big handful of baby spinach, chopped
• 3 scallions, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese
• 1/4-1/2 cup of another cheese (Like cheddar, pecorina, parm, - I had some feta I needed to use up)
• about 1/2 tbsp of salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 1 tsp of red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp of fresh (or dry) rosemary, thyme and parsley
• phyllo dough*
• cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
2. Whip the eggs in a big bowl. 
3. Add everything else into the bowl except the phyllo dough and cooking spray. Mix until combined.
4. Spray a baking dish (I think my dish was an 8x8) with cooking spray and layer in your phyllo dough sheets (I used about 10-15 sheets).  Spray each layer as you go with the spray.
5. Pour in your egg mixture.
6. Bake for an hour to and hour and a half until it is set.  Depending on the size of your dish it could be less time.  If the phyllo dough starts to get too brown (mine even burnt a bit but was still good) just lower the heat a bit.
7. You know it's set by jiggling the dish- if it doesn't look like the eggs are raw you're good to go.
8. Then just slice and serve!  (I served with sliced Italian bread)

*If you've never used phyllo dough before you could even omit it from the dish entirely or use a pie crust recipe instead.  Phyllo dough comes in the frozen section (next to the pie crusts) and is delicate sheets of dough that you can use for all sorts of things (mainly seen in desserts though- think baklava).  See my bite sized phyllo cup dessert recipe- healthy and easy!

Eggcellent Meatloaf

Oh meatloaf, you are so misunderstood.  Long gone are the days of you being overcooked, boring and masked in so much ketchup you aren't even recognizable.  Meatloaf is so easy to make and provides a base for so much variety and creativity.  This recipe is somewhat original but the idea of hard boiled egg stuffed meatloaf is not.  Every recipe I saw similar to this- the meatloaf was wrapped in bacon as well.  That sounds delicious but I felt it was a bit much so I just threw some bacon bits in the mix instead.

I used half pork and half beef, but you can certainly use the meatloaf mix (beef, pork, veal) or use turkey or any combo of meats you like.  Just make sure you at least 2 lbs of meat.  Another note being that this takes about an hour to cook, so if you have hungry tummies try a quicker recipe.

Another easy classic that people can be wary about- hard boiled eggs.  If you follow this recipe you will have perfect eggs every time- with no gross grey yokes.

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs: in a small pot cover the eggs completely in cold water.  Set on the stove and bring to a boil.  Once it comes to a boil shut off the heat, cover and let sit for ten minutes.  After ten minutes you can gently crack and peel.  If you have a hard time removing the shells- try cracking them, then soaking in cold water for 5 minutes and the water will get in between the shell and egg and make it easier for shell removal without tearing the actual egg.

(Again I must apologize for the horrible pictures- Cyber Monday is just around the corner and that means new camera!)

Ingredients

• 1 lb of ground beef (80%)
• 1 lb of ground pork
• 1/3 cup of blue cheese dressing (or ranch would be good too)
• 4 hard boiled eggs (see directions above)
• 1/2 cup of bread crumbs
• couple splashes of milk (about 1/4 cup)
• handful of bacon bits (homemade or from the jar)
• 3 scallions (or any small onion), sliced thin
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• salt & pepper
• 2 tablespoons of adobo seasoning
• oil

Directions

1. Combine everything in bowl, except for the hard boiled eggs.  Mix just until everything comes together.
2. Split the meat into two sections.  Form the bottom layer on a greased baking sheet (with sides because there will be a lot of grease and oil after it's done).  Lay the eggs gently down the middle of the meat.  Then gently form the rest of the meat around the eggs and form to make it look like a meatloaf. 
3. Cover the whole thing in a little oil and bake at 375 degrees for about an hour.  (At the very end I put the oven to 400 to speed up the process a bit-we were hungry!) Cook until the internal temp is at 155 degrees. 
4. Slice and serve.