Tuna Mint Quiche

There's a restaurant in LA that makes the best damn tuna mint quiche in town. I know this sounds odd but stay with me: tuna, mint, peas, parmesan cheese, and a big flaky crust. It was the only thing I ordered whenever I went there for brunch. And I would keep ordering it if I hadn't seen a giant, flying cockroach near their kitchen last time I was there. Needless to say, I haven't eaten there since but I've been craving this quiche. So after some Googling, I found this recipe that was closest I could find. I gave it a shot and it was so freakin' close, I had to share (with a few tips!) -

Here's what you'll need to make this delicious quiche -


1. 1 pie crust (homemade would be better but store-bought will do)
2. 5 oz. of peas (if you're using a frozen bag of peas, just defrost them)
3. 1 1/2 cups of milk
4. 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
5. 1/4 cup of chopped mint
6. 1 Tablespoon of Dijon mustard
7. 6 oz. of tuna, drained (and no, there are no cans for 6oz. for some reason)
8. 3 eggs



Start by lining the bottom of your pan (I used a cake pan) with parchment paper.

Place your pie crust on top and try to have all the sides covered. I didn't and it ended up collapsing on itself and making a big mess when it came to pouring in the filling. Poke holes in the bottom with a fork. Then in a 375 degree oven, place the pan for about 15 minutes, or until it's just starting to turn golden brown.

Meanwhile, chop up your mint as fine as you can.

Combine the milk and eggs in a bowl and whisk together. Add your parmesean cheese, your chopped mint, your drained tuna, and your soft peas (if they're not soft, put them in a pot of boiling water until they're soft). Now the recipe doesn't call for salt, but a pinch or two definitely wouldn't hurt!

Mix together thoroughly and while it may not look appetizing, I assure you it will taste amazing.

Pour the filling into your pan - this is why it's good to have the crust completely covering the sides!

Place in the oven for 30-45 minutes, or until the top has solidified.

Wait 10-15 minutes for it to cool before slicing and enjoy!

TOTAL COSTS: About $20 (prices from Vons)
$.89 for peas
$2.69 for Dijon mustard
$2.78 for 2 4oz. cans of tuna
$1.99 for mint
$2.69 for eggs
$2.29 for milk
$2.79 for pie crust
$3.50 for parmesan cheese

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: About an hour and a half
30 minutes to make while crust in oven
40 minutes to bake
15 minutes to cool

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 2 out of 5
This really isn't difficult at all. If something had to be "hard", maybe it's chopping up the mint or maybe it's getting the timing right on how long the quiche should be in the oven, but other than that, it's a piece 'o quiche!

Disney's Veggie Mickey Mouse and Fruity Kermit the Frog

It's the new year and many people are turning to healthier eating for themselves and their families. I don't know about you but eating fruits and veggies... not exactly my strong suit. However, if they're shaped like friendly Disney characters, how can you NOT want to eat them?? These posts come to us from Spoonful.com and would be perfect for Disney-themed parties or just a healthy afternoon snack!

#1 - Mickey Mouse Tuna Tomatoes

Here's what you'll need:

* Tomatoes
I bought really big ones, but I recommend getting smaller tomatoes on the vine because
1. they'll be easier to eat and
2. the recipe filled up both tomatoes!

* Tuna

* Celery

* Mayonnaise

* Dill (that one spice on your spice rack you've probably never used... or maybe that's just me!)

* Black Olives

* Scallions (otherwise known as green onions)


Step 1: Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and mix them up

Step 2: Cut off the top of the tomato and scoop out the insides. I found it easiest to cut around and then cut the insides into quarters before scooping out the rest.

Step 3: Scoop the tuna mixture into the tomatoes and add sliced olives onto the sides to act as Mickey's "ears". And voila! Eat and enjoy!

TOTAL COSTS: About $12
$2.44 for the tomatoes
$  .99 for green onions/scallions
$1.49 for celery
$  .99 for 1 can of tuna
$1.99 for black olives
$3.99 for mayonnaise
Dill already on hand in my spice rack

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: About 25 minutes

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 1 out of 5
This is really easy but I wouldn't recommend kids help, as there's a lot of cutting/slicing involved!


#2 - Kermit's Green Apples

Here's another that requires a lot of slicing and dicing but it's very easy to put together (and even easier to devour!). All you need is:

*A red apple

*A green apple

*A marshmallow

*An edible marker (or, if you don't have one like me, you can use a regular marker and then remove the marshmallows when it comes time to eating it, since they're not very healthy anyway!)

Step 1: Cut your apple in half and put one half away until the end

Step 2: Cut into the apple on either side at an angle, so as to form the face of Kermit

Step 3: Next, you can either eyeball it or draw a smile on the apple and cut around it. Then scoop out some of apple to make the mouth.

Step 4: Take the red apple, cut a slice out, and then use the green smile as a template to cut down the size of the red smile. Make sure most of the white of the apple is cut off the smile, so it's easier to put inside the green apple.

  

Step 5: Cut a marshmallow in half and draw on the pupils. The original post says to cut into 4 quarters but that makes the eyes very small in relation to the size of the apple. By cutting them in half, the sticky part of the marshmallow will act like a glue when you stick them on. I found the older the marshmallows, the flatter the "eyeballs" were, which wasn't a good thing.

Step 6: Take the other apple half and cut small triangular pieces. I found it was best to cut off half of the white apple piece, otherwise they were too big (see photo below - the two slices on the left were cut in half and the two on the right were not).

Step 7: Put on a plate, grab some peanut butter, and you're all set!

TOTAL COSTS: About $5
$2.33 for apples
$2.98 for marshmallows

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: About 25 minutes

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 1 out of 5
There's nothin' to it - just cut, cut again, cut some more, and you're done!