Sunday Brunch

We're a week away from Mother's Day and my thoughts have turned toward brunch. Brunch is one of my specialities. Quiches and pastries and fresh fruit and always...bacon. I just love bacon! A fellow cooking blogette, Carole, said it best in response to my BLT post: "You, like me, must believe in the following motto: Bacon is Meat Candy." Meat Candy. Ha! Love it! You can find the link to Carole's blog, "Hey Mom What's for Dinner Tonight" in my sidebar.

So back to brunch. I've been craving this romaine and mandarin orange salad with homemade poppyseed dressing that I haven't tasted since last summer. Also, I was dying to try an onion pie recipe I found in Light and Tasty magazine. What a better excuse to make these recipes than brunch? Like I've ever needed an excuse to cook. Excited to plan a Sunday brunch, my eyes rested on the over-ripe bananas in our fruit basket. Perfect. Banana Muffins. Every brunch needs baked goods! This meal came together so beautifully that I could sing. (But I'm pretty sure if I did, I'd be eating alone. I've got a lotta soul, but that's were my talent in the singing department ends.) Everything turned out perfectly and was just plain delicious!



Onion Pie



Orange Romaine Salad with Homemade Poppyseed Dressing (pictured here on the side)



Banana Streusel Muffins with Caramel Glaze


If you're hosting the Mother's Day Brunch at your house, these are winners. You can find the recipes in the following posts. Me, on the other hand...I won't be cooking at all next Sunday. I get to pick where we will eat. Whatever I want. You wanna hear something crazy? I can't stop thinking about IHOP. I haven't set foot in an IHOP since we moved from Georgia almost 10 months ago. IHOP was one my favorite after-church routines. And they've got great coupons! We'll see. It's a whole week away. But right now, I'm leaning away from a prime rib buffet or steak with lobster and I'm thinkin' Mother's Day at IHOP. So what are your Mother's Day plans? I'd love to hear them.

Onion Pie

I've been stumbling across this Onion Pie recipe for over a year. I love that it's low in fat and calories and...well, I just love onions. It seemed just perfect for a Sunday brunch and I couldn't wait to finally try it out.

You'll want to start by halving then slicing 2 sweet onions. Vidalia is the most widely available sweet onion, originating in Georgia. California grows a variety known as the Sweet Imperial. Other types include Walla Walla, Texas Sweet, Carzalia Sweet, Oso Sweet, Arizona, Granex, and Maui. Choose onions with tightly closed necks that are absolutely dry, avoiding onions with a thick, woody center in the neck. The skin should be bright and shiny. If you notice dark, powdery patches under the skin, forget it, as this is an indication of a common mold which will eventually spoil the flesh.



Sweet onions have a shorter shelf life than common varieties due to a higher water and sugar content. It's best to use the onions for this recipe soon after purchase. The high water content of sweet onions means that you'll need to cook these onions down for a bit. Nobody likes a watery quiche. In a large nonstick skillet, cook onions in butter over medium-low heat for 30 minutes or until very tender and the water has evaporated.



While the onions cook, prepare your pastry. You can make your own if you've got the time and a wonderful pie crust recipe. I like to use pie pastry sheets. They still allow you to put your own homemade touch on the pastry, when you flute the edges, yet it's still a quick and easy approach to executing the recipe. Put your pastry into the pie dish.



Line the unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil.
Bake at 450° for 6 minutes. Remove foil; cool on a wire rack. Reduce heat to 425° degrees while the pastry cools.



Back to the filling. Use 1 cup of non-fat evaporated milk and...



1 cup of egg substitute.



Mix the filling ingredients with salt and pepper. If you're not concerned about calories, you could use a cup of cream or half and half and 4 eggs for the filling. Honestly, this dish was so delicious that I really didn't miss the fat.



Spoon the cooked onions into the pastry shell.



Pour the egg/evaporated milk mixture over the onions.



Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Wait about 5-10 minutes before slicing this up so that it has a chance to "set up". Man, this was good!


Sweet Onion Pie from Taste of Home's Light and Tasty Magazine


2 sweet onions, halved and sliced
1 tablespoon butter
1 unbaked pastry shell (9 inches)
1 cup egg substitute
1 cup fat-free evaporated milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

In a large nonstick skillet, cook onions in butter over medium-low heat for 30
minutes or until very tender. Meanwhile, line unpricked pastry shell with a
double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 450° for 6 minutes. Remove
foil; cool on a wire rack. Reduce heat to 425°. Spoon onions into pastry
shell. In a small bowl, whisk the egg substitute, milk, salt and pepper; pour
over onions. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center
comes out clean. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before cutting.

Yield: 8 servings.

Nutrition Facts
One serving: 1 piece Calories: 187 Fat: 9 g Saturated Fat: 4 g Cholesterol: 10 mg Sodium: 510 mg Carbohydrate: 20 g Fiber: 1 g Protein: 7 g Diabetic Exchange: 1-1/2 fat, 1 starch, 1 very lean meat.

Weight Watcher's Points per serving: just 4!