I'm Baaaccck!!!

Did you miss me? I missed you! Don't you hate it when life gets in the way of living? I won't go into details but I feel as if I'm in the middle of a cyclone where things are calm but chaos is looming around me.

My youngest son suggested I get back into my blogging and I think that is the best advice I've had in a long time.  So here I am. Still "playing with my food" and loving it! I just got back from a trip to the Northwest, and did not have time to get to the store today, so I checked out the contents in my pantry, freezer and fridge to see what I could concoct for dinner tonight.

Working with what is on hand can be challenging, but I find it to be more on the exciting side of challenging than the daunting side. I get a great sense of accomplishment making something out of nothing.

Here is what I came up with tonight:

Individual Tuna Pie for Two

Ingredients:
1, 7 oz. can tuna, drained thoroughly
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
2 T. red onion, finely chopped
3 oz. Jarlsberg cheese, divided
2 Jumbo eggs + 1 egg yolk
1 T. flour
1 c. fat-free 1/2-&-1/2
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 stalk green (spring) onion, chopped finely - divided
1 refrigerated pie crust, bring to room temp.

Preheat oven to 350-degree F.

Instructions:
Spray two individual casserole dishes with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl combine drained tuna, chopped onion and chopped celery, salt & pepper to taste. Set aside.

Divide pie crust dough in half. Roll each half into a ball and flatten into an approximately 7-inch circles. Place each half into prepared casseroles. Pat together any tears & mold all the way up the sides of each dish.

Divide tuna mixture into quarters and place a quarter of the mixture in the bottom of each casserole. Place one quarter of the grated cheese atop the tuna mixture, repeat with the last two quarters of tuna mixture and grated cheese.

In a medium bowl whisk together both eggs and one yolk. Add 1 T. flour and whisk thoroughly. Pour in the half-n-half and whisk until thoroughly combined. Pour half of mixture over contents of each casserole.

Place casseroles in preheated oven, leaving even distances between each other and the sides of the oven. Meanwhile, spray a sheet of foil with non-stick cooking spray. After cassseroles have baked 30 minutes, loosely lay foil, sprayed side down, atop both casseroles. Continue to bake for another 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 5 minutes or until each casserole is puffed and golden in color.

Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Top each with fresh cracked pepper and half each of the chopped green onion. Serve and enjoy!

Variations: The type of quiche pies you can make are limited only by your imagination. Keep the egg/cream/flour measurements the same, as well as the amount of cheese, but feel free to change up the ingredients to suit your mood or taste. One of my favorite substitutions is crab in place of the tuna, with diced red pepper in place of the celery. Another is with salmon and capers, replacing the Jarlsburg with crumbled goat cheese. Or for those who aren't fond of seafood, try ham and cheddar cheese, great with chopped asparagus - I like to add 1 T. of Dijon mustard to the egg mixture when using ham. I am serious when I say the possibilities are endless. I have even made these little quiches using leftover pizza that I chopped up and used as the filling! Deeeelissshhhh! Here is a picture of an omelet I made for my hubby using leftover pizza...he loved that I combined two of his favorite foods and thinks a pizza omelet should be a staple on all restaurant menus. Funny guy...it was mighty good eating though!

The "Mark Special" - Pizza Omelet