Vegetable Quiche

I know Mother's Day was ages ago but I'm just now getting around to posting about it. When I'm home I'm usually outside weeding or watering or taking care of something in the yard. I love the extra daylight hours. I always feel like I'm getting gypped out of time when I come home from work during the fall and winter. Spring and summer make me feel like I'm gaining that time back. Makes me happy.

I made a lovely brunch for my Mom for Mother’s Day. I hadn’t done a brunch before. Usually I'd make dinner or just recently over the past few years we went out, but I was feeling the breakfast vibe and wanted to test out a few recipes so brunch it was!

Let me just tell you I am in love with this quiche recipe. I followed basic foolproof quiche instructions from The Kitchn and then tweaked it to my likings.

It was everything a quiche should be. The ratio of veggies to custard egg mixture was perfect. I doubles the recipe and made two. We loved it so much I'm thinking that I might make Sunday's quiche day. Cook one up and use it for breakfasts through the week.

The beauty of this recipe is that you can use whatever veggies (or meat) that you like. I used leeks, mushroom and julienned zucchini. I have a nifty julienne tool so my zucchini was like thin string of  spaghetti. It cooked really quickly too! I topped it off with some grape tomato slices and a few sprigs of fresh thyme just so it looked pretty too. It was Mother's Day after all.

Just make sure to cook your veggies before they go into the quiche. You don't want watery mushroom or spinach to ruin it.

I used a combination of mozzarella and cheddar in my quiche too cause it's what I had on hand but a nice Gruyere or Swiss would do nicely too.



Vegetable Quiche
Printable recipe
1- 9 inch pie crust
2 cups filling ingredients (whatever you like, i.e,  bacon, mushrooms, onions, spinach, etc)
1-2 cups (3 oz - 6 oz) grated cheese, like Gruyere, Swiss, or Cheddar
3 large eggs
¾ cup milk
½ cup half and half or heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
teaspoon Italian seasonings
½ teaspoon fresh thyme

9-inch cake or pie pan - straight-sided is traditional, but a pan with sloped sides works fine.

Blind-Bake the Crust: Line a 9-inch pie plate with parchment and spray the sides with non-stick spray. Roll out the pie crust and fit it into the tin. Heat the oven to 375°F. Line the pie crust with parchment and fill with pie weights or beans. Make sure the weights are snug against the sides of the pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or just until lightly brown. Remove the weights and parchment. Let cool.

While the crust is baking, prepare your quiche filling. Make sure all ingredients are cooked through and are fairly dry. (i.e., make sure spinach has wilted and that cooked mushrooms have released all their moisture.)

Sprinkle half the cheese over the bottom of the pie crust and top with the fillings. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over top.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, salt, pepper Italian seasonings and thyme until frothy. Pour the custard into the pie crust.

Bake the quiche at 350°F for 30 to 40 minutes, until the edges are set but the quiche still jiggles just a little in the center. Cool for at least 20 minutes. Quiche can be served cold, room temperature, or warmed. If serving warm, heat in a 300°F oven until just warm to the touch.

Grandma Virginia’s Light Lemon Cake

Who doesn't love a recipe that has the word Grandma in the title? You know it's going to be good.

This recipe was made by a real Grandma. Mindi at Home Grown Beets got this recipe from her hubby's Grandma one 4th of July and Mindi has been making it ever since and I can see why.

There was a time when you could not get me to eat anything with lemon in it. I was a lemon hater. I don't know what happened. I guess my tastes have changes cause now I'm a freakin lemon lover.

I saw this on Pinterest. I see everything on Pinterest, I just don't get around to making 98% of what I pin! This lemon cake was calling my name.

Yes, it uses a boxed lemon cake. Get over it. Boxed cake mixes happen (and instant pudding too!). This cake is super light and delicious. It's not overly lemony or artificial tasting. The texture is almost like a sponge cake and that topping is so light and fluffy, I could have eaten it with a spoon!

This is the perfect refreshing summer dessert! I'm already planning on serving it for my 4th of July party.




Grandma Virginia's Light Lemon Cake
recipe from Home Grown Beets
Printable Recipe
For the Cake
1 box (18.25oz) Lemon Cake Mix
1 box (3.4oz) Instant Lemon Pudding Mix
1 ¾ Cups Water
3 Egg Whites

For the Topping:
3/4 Cup Milk
1/2 tsp. Lemon Extract (optional, I omitted)
1 box (3.4oz) Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix
1 Carton (8 oz.) Frozen Whipped Topping

Combine the lemon cake mix, the pudding mix, water and egg whites. Beat on low speed for 1 minute. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 x 2 in. baking pan. Bake at 350 for 23-28 minutes or until cake test done. Cool.

Combine all the topping ingredients in a mixing bowl. Beat on low for 2 minutes. Fold in whipped topping. Spread over cake. Keep refrigerated.

Mandarin Chicken Salad

I know I've been a bit laxed with posting lately, but it's spring and my yard is alive and I have lots of stuff to do! There is a garden to be planted and flowers to tend to and a yard that is finally sprung to life after a long hard winter. I have to admit, I haven't been in the kitchen a whole lot. I usually drag myself in and have to spend 20 minutes cleaning the dirt out from under my nails before I can even begin to think about dinner.

We've had more than a few salads lately. Quick and easy dinners are what's happening at the moment. This salad is my new favorite.

I could eat it by the boatload, I swear. I'm a little obsessed with it right now.

Sometimes I add the chicken in, sometimes I don't. I think this would work well with cooked shrimp too. Yeah. Now I'm going to have to try that.

I love the tang of the mandarin orange and the crunch of the noodles.

I substituted broccoli slaw from the original coleslaw mix that was in the original recipe. We just like it a lot more, but if coleslaw is your thing, go right ahead and use it.



Mandarin Chicken Salad
Adapted from Betty Crocker Cookbook
Printable recipe

2 tablespoons butter
1 package (3 oz) chicken-flavored ramen
2 tablespoons of sesame seeds
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 Tablespoon of sesame oil (or vegetable oil if you don’t have sesame)
2 cups cooked chicken, diced
1/4 cup dry-roasted peanuts
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1 bag (14-16 oz) broccoli slaw
1 can (14 oz) mandarin orange segments, drained

Melt butter in 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Stir in ramen noodle seasoning packet. Break up the noodles into bite-sized pieces and add them into the butter mixture. Cook for 2 minutes stirring a few times. Add in the sesame seeds. Cook until noodles are golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the dressing
Combine the sugar, vinegar and oil. Whisk until combined.

In a large bowl, combine the broccoli mix, mandarin oranges, green onions, peanuts and chicken.
When you are ready to serve the salad, add the dressing and the noodles to the salad mixture and toss.

ScentSational Spring Giveaway!

Sorry I've been away so long. Spring has sprung and we've been out working in the yard and getting some projects done. No time to blog until now!

I'm kicking off spring with this wonderful giveaway from ScentSationals!

I’m a candle lovin’ fool. If you walked into my house you’d swear I owned stock in Yankee Candle. I love the jarred candles. I even have a primitive cupboard in my living room that is filled with nothing but candles and candle accessories. That’s how obsessed I am.

Now I found something new and I want to share it with you all.

ScentSationals Wickless Candles. You can read more about them here. I love this product!

I love that there are dozens and dozens of warmers to choose from. I mean there is a style for every person you’d want to buy for. I scrolled through and wanted like....oh 15 of them!

I love that some of them use an Edison bulb to melt the wax. That Edison bulb is so cool looking!

Another thing I love about them is, you’re not just getting a wax melter, you’re getting a light for your room. My nautical warmer casts a soft, warm light across half of my living room!

I can’t gush enough over the fantastic way it makes my house smell. Once that wax melts, the whole room is bathed in a beautiful scent. I’ve had lots of tart warmers over the course of my life and none have smelled so good for so long. Plus, you don’t have to worry about leaving a candle burning.

Here’s mine. I choose the nautical warmer because I liked how you could see the bulb really well.



I love them so much that I asked the nice folks at ScentSationals if I could get one to host a giveaway and they said “yes”. So I’m giving away this beauty and some tarts to go with it!



I might have to pick this one up for myself! It's got that shabby chic look that I love.

Wouldn't you love to have that in your home? Well here's how to enter:

1 lucky winner will be chosen. Contest only open to folks in the USA.

Answer this question:

What's your favorite scent?

If you don't have a blog, please leave me an email address to contact you (no email and I'll move on to the next name).

There are three ways to enter: (1) leave a comment on the blog (2) If you haven't already, go “like” The Cutting Edge of Ordinary on Facebook or (3) Already a fan? Just leave a comment here or on Facebook to let me know! Facebook comments will count as entries.

Giveaway ends on midnight Wednesday, May 14th eastern standard time.

One lucky winner will receive this warmer plus a variety of tarts!

Lemon Almond Ricotta Cake

I can tell you the amount of times I have had dessert since January. Twice.

Once was at my 50th birthday party and the second time was a Ted's Montana Grill on the day of my actual 50th birthday when we went out to dinner.

I had a piece of luscious Strawberry Short cake from a local dairy farm (Wright's Dairy Farm) at my party, and I split a decadent brownie covered in hot fudge and whipped cream with one of my son's and my husband, so I really only had a 1/3 of that.

I kind of save desserts for special occasions and holidays now. That's not to say that I haven't had a bite or two of something I've made. I have. I still need to taste what I'm making and see if it's good, but I'm not sitting down with a piece of whatever it is and eating a whole piece. It's sad and depressing sometimes but I just keep thinking ahead and looking forward to the days I know I can splurge.

Easter was a splurge day and I picked this dessert to splurge on.



It was the Sicilian in me that saw the words LEMON - ALMOND - RICOTTA.

I love all those flavors. Now put them in a cake.....I'm in heaven.

This cake was so good. The flavors were incredible. I'm so glad I chose this as the dessert to splurge on! It was so worth it. It looked so elegant too. Perfect dessert to bring to a party.

Since you use almond meal in this recipe, I believe it gluten free.



Lemon Almond Ricotta Cake
Printable recipe
By Honey & Figs
120 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
240 grams (2 cups) powdered sugar
2 vanilla beans (I used vanilla bean paste)
zest from 1 lemon
4 eggs (separated and at room temperature)
240 grams (2 1/2 cups) almond meal
300 grams (10 1/2 oz) ricotta
Freeze your beaters and a mixing bowl.

Heat oven to 400F (200ºC). Line a 20 cm round pan (9 inch) with parchment paper and set aside.

Beat softened butter, half of the sugar, vanilla seeds and lemon zest with an electrical mixer until pale and creamy, which should take about 5-6 minutes. Add egg yolks, one at time, and mix after each addition. Add almond meal and beat to combine. Fold in ricotta.

Take your mixing bowl and beaters out of the freezer. Beat egg whites and the remaining sugar until stiff. Gently, fold them into the cake batter.

Pour mixture into prepared pan and decorate with almond flakes if desired. Bake for 40-45 minutes (cover it with tinfoil after 25 minutes or so) until cooked. Let it cool for a couple of hours, or better yet, overnight!

Pina Colada Cookies

I’m getting spring fever.

Although I love winter and the snow I’m ready for a change of season and that comes late for Rhode Island. We’ve had a few nice days but for the most part it’s been chilly out. I’m waiting for a nice warm day so we can clean up the yard, and start prepping the garden for this year. I’ve got a few design changes for the yard this year too. We moved a big raised bed which contained my garlic and basil. I planted the garlic last fall so that’s all set but we have to make another raised bed for the basil. I plant a lot of basil.

I’m also re-designing an area in the front of the house. I have the plans all drawn up in my head and they include a picket fence. My only worry is that I think I have to move my Japanese maple and I’m a bit worried about that.

So my head is full of spring plans and more cooking on the grill and the garden and getting out in the fresh air! Oh, longer days also mean that I can actually take photos after I come home from work, so that means more recipes for the blog.

With all this talk of spring and Easter right around the corner, I thought I’d bring you a springy type cookie.

I adapted this recipe a bit from the original that I found on Eat at Home Cooks. I added in some toasted coconut to the mix. I think it was a good decision.

These cookies are so moist and so light. They are almost cake-like melt-in-your-mouth. How's that for a description?



Pina Colada Cookies
Yields 30 cookies
adapted from a recipe at Eat at Home Cooks
Printable recipe
1 stick butter, softened
2 eggs
1 box white cake mix
2 tablespoons flour
8 oz crushed pineapple, drained well and reserve the juice
¾ cup coconut (toasted)

For the glaze
1 1/2 - 2 cups powdered sugar
Reserved pineapple juice
1/2 tsp. coconut extract

Heat the oven to 350.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and the eggs. Add in the cake mix and drained, crushed pineapple. Mix until just combined. Stir the coconut in by hand. Chill batter for a half hour, then drop by rounded tablespoon on a parchment lined baking sheet 2 inches apart. I returned the batter to the fridge in between each batch. Bake for 11 – 13 minutes of just until the tops turn slightly golden. Let cookies sit for 3 minutes on the baking sheet, remove to cooling rack to cool completely.

For the glaze:
Place the powdered sugar in a bowl. Add just enough of the reserved pineapple to get it to a dunkable consistency. Dunk the tops of each cookie into the glaze and place on cookie rack until glaze sets.

Cadbury Easter Egg Bark

The absolute hardest part of staying away from sugar for me has been these:



I knew they were coming. I saw them in the market around mid February. Then March rolled around and they were everywhere. I mean everywhere.

They are my most favorite candy on the plant. I just love them so much. I bought 2 bags of them. One to make this recipe and one for John and the boys to much on. I successfully managed to not eat a single one until March 15th. I knew I was going to allow myself to cheat a bit that day. Our wonderful friends Ken and Eva threw me 50th birthday party at their home. All my family and friends were there. I always bring something to a party, and it's usually a dessert, so that night I brought this bark.  It was such a great evening and since I was allowing myself to cheat, I got to eat a piece of it. It was so good. I'm kinda glad I held out and waited cause I think that made it taste even better.

The hardest part of making this recipe was chopping the mini eggs. I tried the mini food processor, it chopped them up too much, tried putting them in a bag and whacking them with a rolling pin, same result. I ended up very carefully putting them on a cutting board and cutting them in two with a  big knife, then cutting each half in pieces. If any of you figure out a better way, please let me know!

Just make sure to have your chopped mini eggs ready before you start melting the chocolate.




Cadbury Easter Egg Bark
Printable recipe
adapted from a recipe at Tutti Dolci
1- 8oz bag Cadbury Mini Eggs, chopped
1- 16oz package of vanilla Candi-Quick (or 1 pound white chocolate, chopped)
1/2 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 pound semisweet chocolate, chopped

Before you begin melting the chocolate, chop the mini eggs up! You need to have this ready when your chocolate is ready.

Line an 11 x 17-inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Melt the Candi-Quick in the microwave according to the manufacturers directions. Pour melted chocolate into prepared pan and spread with an offset spatula into an even layer. Chill in the refrigerator until set, about 20 minutes. Remove pan from refrigerator and leave at room temperature while melting remaining chocolate.

Place bittersweet and semisweet chocolate in the microwave and microwave on low power in 1 minute intervals and then 30 second intervals until melted. Let stand 5 mins. Pour melted chocolate over white chocolate layer; carefully spread with an offset spatula into an even layer. Sprinkle with chopped Cadbury eggs. Chill in the refrigerator until completely set, about 1 hour.

Carefully lift parchment paper and place bark on a cutting board; then use a sharp knife to cut the bark into pieces. Just chop away, no need to have look-alike pieces.  Pack in an airtight container with wax paper between layers; store at room temperature up to 1 week.