Friday, June 5, 2009

South Beach

Follow me along as I South Beach my life, won't you?
Most of the recipes in these books are fantastic (except the desserts - don't go there) and even when I'm not "following" the diet, I tend to grab a lot of inspiration from them.
As I struggle through Phase 1 there are some definite misses. Again, with the desserts - don't bother with those ricotta things. They are so gritty and weird. I mean if you absolutely have to have something sweet and that's what you think you need to do, okay, but don't say I didn't warn you.
I made these little quiche cups the other night to take into work with me for breakfast and to keep in the freezer for quick and easy reheatable breakfasts at home. They're good, though I modified the standard recipe a bit, but the problem is they stick to the paper like the two have become one. To eat them, you fold them back in the middle and scrape your teeth all over the paper like a sea turtle scraping algae off rocks. Not surprisingly, I'd prefer not to do that next time, though I still have 8 mini quiches to get through before there is a next time.
I can't decide if I'd rather just spray the hell out of the muffin tins with Pam, or bake them in one large dish and cut them up into smaller pieces. In any case, if this is a recipe you're trying, that's my suggestion.

This makes 12 mini quiches, which is 6 servings.

1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach
4 eggs
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat cheese
1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup diced onion (I probably used more than 1/4 cup, I used half of a small onion)
Sriracha to taste preference, I used a couple of teaspoons and can't really taste it or feel the heat

Microwave the spinach for 2 1/2 minutes on high to thaw it. Drain the excess liquid.

Line a 12-cup muffin pan with foil baking cups (NOT PAPER!) and spray the cups with cooking spray. You can also try cooking this in one large dish. I hear
that a loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray should take 30-35 minutes at 350, and then the loaf can be sliced into 8 slices. Each slice is the equivalent of 2 1/2 of the little guys (rather than the serving size of 2), so keep that in mind.

Combine the eggs, cheese, peppers, onions,spinach & Sriracha in a bowl. I set some of the cheese aside to sprinkle on top.
Mix well. Divide evenly among the muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Quiche cups can be frozen and reheated in the microwave. Any combination of appropriate vegetables and reduced-fat cheeses may be used.

2 comments:

jon-paul, jessica, justin and della stefani said...

OHMIGOD!! I was crying I was laughing so hard about this post. I have gone the South Beach route in the past thus why I totally understand. The way you described both the ricotta desserts and the egg "cups" that you are scrapping off with your teeth like a sea turtle and algae just cracked me up!! Hope the diet is still going well. Hugs!

Shannon said...

yeah, I almost peed my pants at the Turtle comment. *snort*
I might have to get the SBD book to get some good for me inspiration.
I love how you write. Miss you!