Cheddar Cheese and Bacon Popovers

I tried this recipe not only because I love bacon and I love cheese but also as an experiment.  I wanted to see if it was possible to make presentable popovers in a muffin tin instead of a popover tin.  My cabinets are already overflowing with kitchen crap and I really didn't want to have to purchase another item to add to the chaos.  

Popover tins are a bit deeper than muffin tins and there are a couple inches of space between each cup.   The space between the cups is what's important.  Popovers puff up into a large cloud over the top of the tin, requiring a lot of space.  So...I used a regular 12 cup muffin tin but only filled 6 of the cups leaving an empty cup between each one filled with batter.

Ingredients

4 large eggs

2 egg whites

1 3/4 cups whole milk

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

nonstick cooking spray

5 pieces cooked and chopped bacon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In your electric mixer, mix together eggs, egg whites, milk, flour, and salt.  Stir in cheddar cheese and cooked/chopped bacon.  Spray six muffin tins with cooking spray.  Remember to leave a space between each tin.  Bake until popovers have puffed over the rims, about 30 minutes.  Popovers should be a dark golden brown.  Pay attention to the color! If not baked long enough the popovers will deflate and flatten when taken out of the oven.  

Enjoy!

Fruit Tart

Fruit tarts remind me of summertime with their bright fruity colors.  I whipped up this beauty in honor of the beginning of summer!  They might look like a lot of work but are actually pretty simple.  

The greatest part about making this tart is obviously decorating it with the fruit of your liking in a pretty fashion.  I chose to use blackberries, strawberries, and kiwis.  Love these colors together, so pretty! 

Ingredients

Crust:  

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup cold unsalted butter

2 egg yolks

3 tablespoons ice water

Vanilla Cream Filling:

2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

4 egg yolks

1/4 cup cornstarch

Apricot Glaze:

3 tablespoons apricot jam

2 tablespoons water

Crust:

Combine flour and sugar in electric mixer. Cut butter into small chunks and mix into flour until mixture resembles a coarse meal.  In another bowl, beat together egg yolks and ice water.  Combine egg and flour mixture in electric mixer.  Mix until the dough holds together, it should not be too sticky.  Pat into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Put in refrigerator.  

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough until it is about 12 inches around and 1/4 inch thick.  Transfer rolled dough to your tart pan with removable bottom.  Press the dough into the edges and trim edges to be even with the rim of the pan.  Chill in refrigerator for about 25 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prick the dough bottom all over with a toothpick then place in oven for about 25-30 minutes, until edges are golden brown.  Take out of oven and let it cool completely.

Vanilla Cream: 

Bring milk and vanilla extract to a simmer over medium heat.  Remove from heat and let it sit covered for about 20 minutes.  Whisk egg yolks and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add corn starch and mix until completely combined.  With mixer on low add the milk mixture to your egg yolk mixture.  Put back on the stove and mix constantly over medium heat until it starts to thicken.  As soon as it starts to thicken into a custard like consistency remove from heat and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cold. 

Spoon vanilla cream into crust and smooth out evenly.  Arrange whatever kind of fruit you like on top. Make it pretty!  The apricot glaze is optional...

Glaze:

Heat jam and water over low heat until thin.  Pass through a seive then brush glaze over fruit with brush. 

All done, enjoy!

 Veggie/Fruit Juice

I finally purchased a juicer and I have to say it is one of the best investments I've made.  I can't tell you how much money I have spent buying juices at Whole Foods and Lazy Acres.  They are ridiculously priced, around 5 bucks for a small juice! Seriously?! Now I can make my own juices every morning for  a fraction of the price.  

I like to pack in as much variety of fruits and vegetables as possible but too much variety can sometimes  make a not so delicious juice.  So here is my go to juice combo...

4 whole carrots

1/2 orange

1/2 grapefruit

1/2 lemon

1 medium sized apple

1 tablespoon ginger

2 large handfuls of spinach

1/2 a large golden beet or two small regular beets

2 large leaves (including stem) of swish chard 

Cut your apple into pieces and your lemon, orange, and grapefruit in halves.  Make sure to take off the peels and remove any seeds.  Cut up all your veggies and the ginger.

I like to know what goodness I'm getting from everything in my juice so here ya go...

Beets and beet greens: 

-Vitamins A, C, chlorophyll, and B6

- Minerals calcium, potassium, choline and iron

Carrots:

- Vitamins A and C

- Minerals potassium, calcium, phosphorus and carotene

Spinach:

- Vitamins A, B complex, chlorophyll

- Minerals calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium

Apples:

- Vitamins A B1, B2, B6, biotin, folic acid and pantothenic acid

- Minerals choline, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium, silicon, sodium and sulfur

Grapefruit: 

- Vitamins B-complex, C, E, K, biotin and insitol

- Minerals calcium, iron, phosphorous, potassium, and enzymes

Lemons: 

- Vitamins C and citric acid 

Oranges: 

- Vitamins A, B-complex, B1, B2, B6, C, K, biotin, folic acid and niacin

Ginger:

- Vitamins A, C, E, K, B12, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, B6

- Minerals calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, zinc, copper, manganese

Swiss Chard:

- Vitamins A, C, E, K, Niacin, Riboflavin, Folates

- Minerals Calcium, Copper, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Phosphorous, Selenuim, Zinc

Looks gross but tastes delicious!