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

Coffee Cake Cookies with The Healthy Little Foodie

When we look back at this time 10 years from now, I’m hoping that amongst the virus and the illness and the loved ones we may have seen suffered, I hope we also remember all the games we played, walks we went on, loaves of bread we baked and cookies we ate. I love how more and more people are getting in their kitchen more, baking and cooking up a storm.

While I’m pretty used to working from home already, this new stay at home order isn’t too far from my normal. I’ve been busier which I’m so thankful for, but still working in the time to be in the kitchen. Quarantine brought a baking bug, and I’ve caught it. The baking bug has also come with a new push of creativity and confidence honestly. I started doing regular Sunday afternoon Instagram Live baking videos the first Sunday of self-quarantine and it was well, really fun.

My friend Elyse has also been bit by the baking bug and coming up with all kinds of treats in her kitchen. Elyse bakes completely gluten-free and her recipes are typically made with no refined sugars and dairy-free. You can always count on Elyse for a healthier treat recipe. With all these Live videos and people “going live”" together on Instagram, I pinged Elyse if we should bake together and we jumped on the idea.

So we would LOVE if you joined us this Sunday, April 19th at 1pm CST on Instagram! We came up with this recipe for Coffee Cake Cookies which is just really hitting all the trigger points for me right now. Crumb topping, fluffy cinnamon cookie. They taste like a buttery snickerdoodle with a crumb topping. Hi, hello, yum! The recipe can easily be made gluten-free and we give options if you want to use the OG flour and sugar or cleaner ingredients - ha!

The Healthy Little Foodie + Take A Bite Coffee Cake Cookies 
Yields 20-22 (or 10-12) cookies
disclaimer: we developed this recipe during self-quarantine and assumed people didn’t need 20 cookies lying around, so we included the measurements to easily half this recipe.

Ingredients:

Crumb topping:
6 tbsp. (3) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
1/4 cup (2 tbsp.) packed brown sugar (sub for coconut sugar)
1/4 cup (2 tbsp.) granulated sugar (sub for monk fruit sugar or coconut sugar)*
1 (1/2) cup all-purpose or gluten-free flour
1 1/2 (¾) tsp. cinnamon
1/4 (a pinch) tsp. Salt

Cookies:
1 (½ cup or 1 stick) cup of unsalted butter, softened (we prefer Kerrygold or Vital Farms)
1 (½) cup packed brown sugar (sub for coconut sugar)
1/2 (¼) cup granulated sugar (sub for monk fruit sugar or coconut sugar)*
2 (1) eggs
2 (1) tsp. vanilla extract
3 (1½) cups all-purpose or gluten-free flour
2 (1) tsp. baking powder
1 (½) tsp. salt
1 (½) tsp. cinnamon
Powdered sugar or monk fruit powder for dusting 

*if you are using coconut sugar for both the brown and granulated sugar, use ½ (¼)  cup for the crumb topping and 1½ (¾) cup for the cookies. 

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a small bowl, using your hands, a fork or a pastry cutter, combine all of the crumb topping ingredients. Work the butter into the dry ingredients until coarse crumbs are formed. Set aside.  

With an electric mixer, cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until well combined. On low, add in the vanilla extract.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In batches, gradually add the dry ingredients into the mixer with the wet ingredients, until the dough comes together. 

Using a cookie scoop or spoon, form golf ball size balls of dough and place on prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart. Make an indention in the center of each cookie with the back of a teaspoon or your finger and fill with 2 teaspoons of crumb topping (be generous with your topping). Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan. Then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Once completely cooled, dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!

We hope you have most of these ingredients already in your kitchen, if not, see if you can get all of the groceries delivered by Sunday so you can bake with us!

Don’t forget! Come watch us on Instagram Live Sunday, April 19th, 2020 at 1PM CST! And if you are reading this post after our Live baking date I’ll be sure to link to the video we record.

Annie + Elyse

Easter Recipe Roundup

When all of this Coronavirus began, I think we can all agree we’d be in the clear by Easter. I already had a couple of dresses hearted on Rent the Runway I planned to wear to church, and was starting to brainstorm what dessert I’d make for Easter brunch. The past few years, my family and my sister’s in-laws (our friends too!!) have gotten together and had brunch at my parent’s house. Ham, cheese grits, deviled eggs, Sue’s strawberry salad, Ingrid’s butterfly rolls and a rotating dessert have always been on the menu. It’s a nice little tradition we had going on.

This year we are putting traditions aside for obvious reasons. I’m still quarantining at my parents, so we ordered an Easter meal for the three of us from a local restaurant, will watch church online and plan to drive by to watch my nieces hunt eggs in their front yard…we’ll be watching from inside our car. It’s going to be weird, no other way to say it, but I think it’s important to still focus on why we celebrate Easter and still treat it like a holiday.

I know I’m very lucky to be with my parents right now, especially over a holiday. However, I know it’s going to be extra tough for those who can’t be with loved ones this weekend. But, like I said I think it’s still important to treat it like a holiday. Make a festive breakfast, put on a dress or just something nicer than leggings and a t-shirt, find an Easter service to watch online, and maybe schedule a Facetime date with family or friends to cook or bake a recipe together! I rounded up 25 Easter recipes from Take A Bite and some trusted sites. Baking has been therapeutic for so many during quarantine, and this weekend is the perfect time to try a new recipe!

Banana Bread
Banana Sheet Cake
Best Breakfast Casserole
Blueberry Banana Streusel Muffins
Creamy Lemon Vegan Bars

Four Layer Coconut Cake

Funfetti Cake
Homemade Oreos (with pastel-colored cream)
Key Lime Pie
Lavender Cupcakes
Lemon Loaf
Orange and Olive Oil Coffee Cake
Signature Sugar Cookies (cut into bunny and egg and cross shapes)

And now a few recipes I’ve made or recommend from sites I trust!

NYT Cooking Almond Cake (this came highly recommended by my sister Claire, only 5 ingredients!)
Cook’s Illustrated Banana Cream Pie
Half Baked Harvest’s Bunny Cookies
Bon Appetit’s Cardamon-Pistachio Carrot Cake
The Pioneer Woman’s Carrot Cake

Half Baked Harvest’s Coconut Carrot Cake Cheesecake (need us not forget the year when two of these cheesecakes showed up at Easter brunch)

The Baker Mama’s Easter Snack Mix
NYTCooking’s Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake
Fiveandspice’s Orange Scented Olive Oil Sticky Buns (this video will make you want to make them!)
Bon Appetit’s Sour Cream and Onion Biscuits
Elisabeth & Butter’s Strawberry Cream Scones
Hummingbird High’s Small Batch Easter Egg Cookies (perfect if it’s just you and a roommate or a small family)

Though it may be different this year, it can still be special. Happy Easter!

Annie

How to Make Water

Today’s recipe post couldn’t be easier! With shelter in place and everyone social distancing I know the shelves at the stores have become a little bare on the essentials such as toilet paper, canned goods and water bottles. Well good news, with this recipe you can make your own water at home so you don’t need to worry about going to germ-infested store after store looking for water bottles!

Water
yields 2, 16 oz servings

Ingredients:
32 oz tap water
2 cups of ice
2 lemon slices
2 drinking glasses
pitcher

Directions:
Fill a pitcher with 32 oz of tap water. Add the ice directly to the pitcher. Pour the water ice mixture into two glasses. Garnish each glass with a slice of lemon and enjoy!

If you make this recipe be sure to share a picture and tag me on instagram @_annietucker.

oh and April Fools ;)

Annie

If this wasn’t enough, make sure to read about my favorite April Fool’s Day post to date.