Kitschy Kool: Volume 3: Quiche

Yes, Quiche. lol. A little old-school, packed with calories and utterly delicious! My mother-in-law made us a bacon and egg quiche while we were home for Christmas and it rekindled my love for these savory pies/tarts.

I also follow a blog called Artsy-Foodie and today she posted a recipe for crustless quiche (that has to make it a little healthier, right?)...doesn't that sound and look divine? It sounds so simple, yet so scrumptious and perfect for a New Year's brunch.

Potato Spinach Crustless Quiche (serves 6-8)
1 1/2 cups sauteed chopped spinach
1 1/2 cups roasted potatoes, diced size
16 oz lowfat cottage cheese
1/2 cup egg whites
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup shredded cheese (mild cheddar or italian mix)
3 tablespoons GF breadcrumbs

Preheat oven 375F
Oil a ceramic lasagna dish

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Transfer to the baking dish. Bake for 1 hour. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

I think I may try it this weekend!

And if you are looking to start off this New Year with a clean kitchen and prefer to eat out instead, one of my favorite places to order quiche in the Saint Louis area is at the The Blue Owl, in historic Kimswick, MO. This place may be more quaint than kitschy, with all the ladies serving you in big blue frilly aprons, but any way you slice it they have delicious quiche and pies. They always have a quiche (or 3) of the day and they are totally yummy.

Lastly, in effort to forcefully theme "Kitchy Kool" with "Quiche" for this posting, I googled "kitschy quiche" and wouldn't you know it, came up with a blog featuring a recipe for "kitsch quiche", lol. Sounds good, if you want to try it...mmmm Gruyere cheese.

So as we round out 2008, I hope to kick off my New Year with a quiche or two and maybe I have inspired you to do the same!

Little Stephie Homemaker

So Christmas has come and gone; in fact, it flew by so fast I did not even snap any photos (so unlike me!). But I did have fun wrapping, giving and receiving gifts. And the gifts that I got this year were extra heart-felt and fun for my new life as a wife. We had just gotten so many new things off of our wedding registry, that I didn't have anything I really NEEDED. But I have been really excited about learning to use all of my new kitchen gadgets, so most of my gifts I got seemed to revolve around that theme.

First of all, after reading Kristal's post about aprons, I was so excited to see an apron in the very same wonderful print in which I bought a Shabby Apple dress for our little niece this summer. 

When I saw it, I simply showed my husband the apron over my shoulder on the laptop and that was that. Actually he told me not to buy it because the price seemed high for an apron "Can't you find a cheaper one at Wal-Mart?", he said. So I was VERY surprised (and impressed) to see this under the tree on Christmas!:

Yes, ladies, he managed to not only create an Etsy account all on his own, but ALSO searched page after page until he found THE apron that I had pointed out. I know this may sound very stereotypical 50’s housewife to get this from my brand new hubby, but it is my fave gift!

Second, he also gave me a gift certificate for us to attend a class at The Chopping Block, a cooking school here in Chicago. I love getting gifts like these that we can enjoy together. This will make for a fun, yet useful date night for us. Check out the schedule of January classes and help me choose!

My mother-in-law also got me Martha Stewart's Cooking School Cookbook. I can't wait to break into this and learn all the basics! Like how to cut correctly with our new Wustof knives :-)

And lastly, there is still one related thing on my "wish-list"... good thing my birthday is in a few weeks (hint, hint, wink, wink). 

It's the newly released Iron Chef America Supreme Cuisine Wii game:

I love this show and I figure with this gift, I could practice "virtually" as well.

Coincidence? I think not!

After being a called a "nag" for the first time in our 5 week marriage, and probably with good reason, I find it to be no coincidence, that this article just popped up on my iGoogle "How To" section a few moments ago: "5 Ways to Compromise with Your Spouse" .

As I browsed for last minute holiday gifts online, this lovely little article on wikiHow brought to my attention that the best gifts I can give my new hubby this holiday season are not the great French cuff shirts that are sitting in the Macy's bag in our bedroom waiting to be wrapped. Instead, I need to give the gift of being a more active listener. Primarily, the part about removing all other distractions.

At work, I have two flat screen computer monitors on my "desk" (a table) and am usually typing as I am also dialing and also speaking into the headset attached to my ear (no I am not a telemarketer, I'm a recruiter). I also sit in an "open" floor environment where I am within an arms reach of one other person, within whispering distance of at least four other people and just one loud laugh away from about 15 others. So needless to say, in order to be successful in my professional life, I need to be a strong multi-tasker and must be able to thrive amongst multiple distractions.

What I am beginning to realize though very early in my married life is that what works in the office does not necessarily work at home. I know that to be a better partner that I must set aside the laptop (yes, every once in a while), maybe even turn off the TV and LISTEN. Don't get me wrong, I know multitasking is a great skill set, but communication can also suffer while doing so. 

And I'm thinking after reading this article that all of those times he tells me that "he doesn't care", may be because he THINKS his opinions won't matter anyway. But by all means it does though or I would not ask. Maybe it's also because he knows of my nasty little addiction too, I always have to win; yet, in compromise there should not be a winner and a loser. Maybe just two losers...lol. And since I'm in a confessing mood, I also admit that I need to do more asking, instead of just telling.

So, here it goes...

Dear Dave:

I promise to be a better listener; thus, we'll better at compromising.

Enjoy your gift & Merry Christmas!

Steph :-)

Kitschy Kool: Volume 2: Nativity Sets

So I realized this week what our tree was missing, a Nativity Scene! I'm not really sure I want a traditional carved or ceramic one, so I went on the search for a kitschy-cool nativity set... what? Jesus, Mary & Joseph can be "kool" too :-)

So here are my finds so far:

Option #1: Children's Felt Nativity

I mean, what's not to love here! You all know my feelings on felt this season, so what a great addition:

Option #2: Little People: Christmas Story Nativity

Ok, maybe I just love toys, but isn't this cute...err, I mean kitschy kool:

Option #3: Vintage Christmas Manger

Of course, last but not least, I could not leave out my favorite site Etsy ! And look what I found in their vintage listings, a 1950's cardboard nativity set:

Ok, so time to vote, which of these kitschy kool nativity sets belong under my tree?

Our New Bed: Delivery Saturday!!

While home in St. Louis the day after Thanksgiving, my mom and I went to Crate & Barrel for a few things. I showed her the bed that Dave and I were thinking of eventually getting with our 10% registry completion, and low & behold she pulls out a 15% off coupon...good on anything! So I called Dave and he said, "Go For It!" and I put in our order.

Today I got the call that our bed will be delivered first thing Saturday morning! Woo Hoo!

Check it out, it's their Archer bed! And I promise to post real pics after it's in our posession, but for now the stock photo will have to do:

I used to think leather was too "manly", but even my mom agreed it looked very nice, even better than the fabric version so I was sold.

My Wedding Photos: Jon Koch's Blog

The time is finally here! Jon Koch posted a "sneak peak" of our wedding photos on his blog tonight, and I love them. He did such a great job. And if the 700+ photos to come are anything like these 30 photos I will be a very happy bride (can I call myself that anymore?).

I'll post a few below, but be sure to click on the link above to see all of them.

Hope you all like them!

One Month Anniversary & Fun Mail

Today is our one month wedding anniversary. I know, it's not THAT long and in some ways it seems like just yesterday and in other ways it feels like forever. But either way it feels great... I love you hubby!

To top it off both the bank AND the Social Security office decided to send us a gift today... my new debit cards and my new SS card with my new name! I was torn about this name change as I had mentioned before the wedding, but now that we are married I am actually really excited about changing it. It feels official now. At work I kept my name Stephanie Maiden Married so that I can slowly transition and my clients can get used to it, but at home I am now happy as a clam being Stephanie C instead of L.

Now I just need to battle the IL DMV before mid-January when my MO license expires, but this requires a written IL drivers test to transfer states AND names, so it will not be as fun :-(