Hash brown Quiche

This recipe is a tried and true Tucker recipe. We’ve been making it for years and it’s one of all of our favorites. When you hear quiche you probably think breakfast or brunch, but we always ate this for dinner (and a leftover slice for breakfast the next day). I’m not sure the thought behind that, but point be that it is good any time of day! Mom and I made this together while I was in Oklahoma City quarantining, and it’s a recipe that honestly takes me back to being 10 years old. Make with your momma for Mother’s Day brunch this weekend and I know it will be a hit.

Hash Brown Quiche
serves 4-6 people

Ingredients:
24 oz frozen, uncooked, shredded hash browns, thawed
5 tbsps. unsalted butter, melted
3 eggs
3/4 cup half and half
3/4 tsp. seasoned salt (we use Lawry’s, if you don’t have Lawry’s this copycat recipe uses lots of pantry staples)
1 cup (4 oz) pepper jack cheese, shredded
1 cup (4 oz) gruyère or swiss cheese, shredded
1 cup diced ham*

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Press the hash browns into a quiche or pie pan. Blot with a paper towel to remove all the moisture. Brush the hash browns with the melted butter. Bake for 25 minutes until lightly golden.

Remove the hash browns from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, half and half, seasoned salt, and set aside. Sprinkle both cheeses and ham over the hash brown shell. Then pour the egg mixture over the top. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned. Garnish with fresh parsley and enjoy.

*We grew up making Hash Brown Quiche after Thanksgiving or Easter knowing we will have leftover ham from the holiday. If you are stuck with leftover ham, dice up a cup of ham and freeze it until you want to make quiche. If you don’t have a stockpile of ham in your freezer like my family does (ha), go to the deli counter and ask for 2 slices of ham cut about 1/4 inch thick. Once you get home, dice up the slices and you are good to go.

Annie

Grapefruit + Rosemary Tequila Spritz

Trigger warning!! I hate margaritas. It’s not something I’m proud of, but I just cannot. I have tried and tried, but there is something about margaritas I don’t like, and I truly can’t put my finger on it. However, now that I’m a Texas girl I have fully bought into the Ranch Water (or as my dad calls them, Texas Trash Water) craze. Which in hand introduced me to Casamigos tequila, and now it is all I drink.

I started making these Grapefruit + Rosemary Tequila Spritzes while quarantining with my parents. They are super simple and refreshing and honestly we couldn’t get enough of them. They aren’t a margarita, but the perfect drink to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with!

Grapefruit + Rosemary Tequila Spritz
yields 1 cocktail

Ingredients:
1 ounce Casamigos tequila
1 ounce lemon or lime juice (I buy this brand so I don’t have to squeeze it myself)
2 ounces freshly squeezed grapefruit juice (again, I let Whole Foods squeeze it for me)
Grapefruit-flavored sparkling water (La Croix, Pellegrino, Topo Chico, Waterloo etc.)
small sprig of fresh rosemary
ice

Directions:
Fill your glass with ice. Place your sprig of rosemary in the palm of one hand, and slap it with your other hand. Almost like you are clapping with the rosemary between your hands. This helps release more of the essence from the fresh herb without having to muddle it. Place the rosemary in the glass. Pour the tequila, lemon juice, and grapefruit juice into your glass. Fill to the top with sparkling water. Garnish with a lemon wheel and sprig of rosemary. Cheers!

Annie

Bites of My Life

Hi from Texas! Made it back to Dallas yesterday after 7 weeks in Oklahoma City. Being home was so nice honestly. From a mental state I’m so glad I chose to quarantine with my parents. From a work perspective, it was necessary in my opinion. As things are starting to open back up in Oklahoma and Texas, I felt confident it was time to get back to my life in Dallas. I’m working out of my apartment this morning, trying to adapt the great little routine I had in OKC, here.

-Ina Garten’s cast-iron skillet salmon method is the best. Crispy sear in the pan and then finished in the oven. Been working on my sauce game in quarantine and did a basil vinaigrette sitch loosely based on this recipe.
-Attempted homemade corn tortillas for taco Tuesday! Not bad for my first go. Used this recipe.
-I was on dinner duty a lot last week to soak up the last few days of having to people to cook for. Half Baked Harvest’s Lebanese Chicken was crazy good.
-My quarantine lewk on repeat: cute sweatshirt, tennis skirt or athletic dress, this primer and coffee.
-Cookie baking with this little chef! Used the best sugar cookie recipe of course!
-Friday at 5 pm called for a Clover Club. Recipe thanks to The Jones Assembly.
-Tomato tarts are next-level side dishes (especially next to a steak).
-Celebrated Taylor’s bday with a backyard brunch, I brought The Defined Dish’s Sausage Balls. Grain-free, dairy-free and still quite delicious.
-The girl gang of aunts (minus aunt taire) and godmother’s celebrating little Hallie’s 1st birthday. So glad I go to be home for it! And the white dress I’m obsessed with is from H&M!

Annie

p.s. don’t miss last week’s post on How to Stock Your Kitchen.

How to Stock Your Kitchen

I had someone message me last week on Instagram asking for a quick list of pantry baking essentials they could pick up to easily bake a majority of my recipes. I haven’t felt the need to post a list like that on the blog, for it felt a little redundant for what you could find on Google (fun fact: I Google everything). However, after opening up the idea to y’all for writing this style of post, I got an overwhelming, YES, do it, please!! (thank you). So, here we are.

I expanded from just the pantry to my top kitchen essentials. I broke it up into three categories, listing out 10 staples when it comes to baking, cooking, and kitchen gadgets. Writing this post was actually really fun, so I hope you enjoy!

photo by KGC photography

Baking:

1. All-Purpose Flour. However, if you are Gluten-Free, this is my favorite brand!

2. Granulated Sugar

3. Brown Sugar. Please do not buy at Trader Joe’s. While I love TJ’s, their organic brown sugar isn’t great for my recipes. I prefer C&H. This goes for granulated sugar as well.

4. Vanilla Extract

5. Baking Powder

6. Baking Soda

7. Cinnamon

8. Chocolate Chips

9. Morton Salt

10. Maldon Salt. A must for Perfect CCC’s and how I finish almost every dish I bake. You can buy on Amazon, but I’ve also found it at Whole Foods, Sprouts and Central Market.

Cooking:

1. Olive Oil. I don’t worry about anything too fancy, I love Trader Joe’s selection of well-priced oils.

2. Coconut Oil

3. Liquid or Coconut Aminos

4. Peppercorns with a grinder. Please grind your own pepper, it makes all the difference.

5. Red Pepper Flakes

6. Ground Turmeric

7. Quinoa or Brown Rice

8. Dried Pasta. I like red lentil or chickpea pasta.

9. Chickpeas

10. Marinara Sauce

BONUS!! Gadgets and appliances:
(shop the items below)

1. Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer. The holy grail. And NO, you don’t have to wait to get engaged and put this on your register to buy one :) I bought mine in honor of my grandmother after she passed back in 2013. And no, you don’t have to get a gender-neutral color. Think pink folks!

2. Cookie Scoop. I like 1.5-2 tablespoon size, and prefer one with a rubber grip.

3. 10-Set Glass Mixing Bowls. If someone has this on their wedding registry, it is my go-to gift to buy. I use these bowls on the daily and they are so well priced.

4. Wooden Spoon. Mine are so old, but I’m thinking I need to get this one while it’s on sale for $2!

5. Spoonula. Scrape and spoon! This set allows you to buy a whole spatula set or the spoonula on its own.

6. Mini Spatula. These are used on a daily basis in my kitchen. Perfect for scraping smoothies out of the blender, making eggs or stirring around fried rice!

7. Saute pans. I use this 8” and 10” non-toxic set. A 12” size is good to have if serving more than 1-2 people.

8. Nonstick Cookie Sheet. What I bake all cookies on. This 3-piece set that includes a cooling rack is on sale right now!

9. Nonstick Sheet Pan. Also known as a rating pan or jelly roll pan. This style is used for my Banana Sheet Cake and all roasted veggies. quick tip: never use this style of pan for cookies, the raised sides will alter the baking.

10. Parchment Paper. Love this for lining baking sheets compared to using cooking spray.

I could go on and on with this list of pantry staples and favorite gadgets! We didn’t even get to the fridge or freezer. Although, these were the first 10 that came to mind in each section, which means they must be my go-tos. Of course, if you have any questions or want to know my extended list feel free to DM me on Instagram or email me at annie@takeabiteblog.com!

Annie

Bites of My Life

Week 7. How are we doing? Enjoying small things like gorgeous weather over the weekend and the sense that things are their way to getting better.

-I kind of love barbecue sauce. This makeshift BBQ chicken salad made a lunch appearance a few times last week. Shredded chicken, bbq sauce, a little dijon mustard, chopped celery, carrots, relish, salt and pepper!
-Got to help deliver meals to healthcare workers with work last week. Our cases are down in Oklahoma but our nurses and doctors are still overwhelmed and they mentioned the food helped lift their spirits!
-Mojito o’clock!
-This last week should have been the Oklahoma City Art’s Festival. Due to Covid-19 it was canceled, but an Indian Taco at home made it feel like I was there.
-Sweet and salty toast is the easiest go-to breakfast or lunch.
-Coffee walks have been a new part of my morning routine a few days a week. Coffee mug yeti, favorite leggings and sneaks are also included.
-This easy cocktail that is on repeat: grapefruit juice, tequila, a splash of lemon juice, rosemary and filled to the top with sparkling water.
-Did you catch my Flow + Glow with my friend and yoga instructor Addie yesterday? We did a 30 minute guided flow followed by a demo of My Perfect Green Smoothie!
-Sunday bike ride with mom!

Annie