A cozy little Christmas - Dairy Foods

{Photo credits: BHG Celebrate the Holidays iPad app}

I have awesome holiday plans this weekend; stress-free, quality time with family, food and champagne-filled and most importantly, relaxing.  My husband and I are staying in town (St. Paul, MN) and we only have to travel about 12 miles to get to my parent's house for Christmas Eve.

My husband's family lives in North Dakota and we usually make the 6 hour drive to spend the holidays there. A winter storm never fails to make an appearance to add a little stress to the drive. Once we arrive in North Dakota the time spent there includes comforting German food, lots of movies, lots of laying around. Holidays spent in North Dakota are great, too.

Since Erik and I are staying in town, we have Christmas Day wide open and we decided to create our own tradition. It will include sleeping in, opening stocking stuffers and indulging in a huge, delicious homemade brunch.

These lovely photos come from the Better Homes and Gardens iPad application. It's a great resource for party planning and includes tons of different party themes with decor ideas, menus and recipes.





How amazing do these mini quiches look?  Check out the recipe, looks quite easy.

Mini quiches (recipe from BHG)

Ingredients

1 15 oz package rolled refrigerated unbaked piecrust (2 crusts)
1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese blend (2 oz)
1/2 cup finely chopped red sweet pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped peppered or smoked cooked ham
1 Tbsp. thinly sliced green onion
1 1/2 tsp. all purpose flour
1/8 tsp. Italian seasoning, crushed
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup half and half, light cream or milk
Fresh herb sprigs, such as basil, oregano, or thyme (optional)

Preparation

Let piecrusts stand at room temperature according to package directions.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut each piecrust into four equal sections (eight sections total).  Press piecrust sections onto the bottoms and up the sides of eight 4-inch fluted individual tart pans with removable sides.  Trim excess dough from tops of pans.

Line each pastry shell with a double thickness of foil.  Place pans on a baking sheet.  Bake for 7 minutes.  Remove foil.  Bake for 2 to 3 minutes more until pastry is set and dry.  Remove from oven.  Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

In a medium bowl combine cheese, sweet pepper, ham, green onion, flour, Italian seasoning, saltk and black pepper.  Divide mixture evenly among pastry shells.

In the same bowl, beat together eggs and half and half.  Pour egg mixture over cheese mixture in each pastry shell.  Bake for 20 minutes or until filling is set.  Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.  If desired, top each quich with a fresh herb sprig.  Makes 8 servings.

I'll be taking off the rest of the week and returning with new posts on Monday.

I wish you all a wonderful holiday!