the poverty luxe kitchen vol. 26: leftover fried rice.

here in the meyers house we eat a lot of white rice. partially because its cheap as heck and goes great with things like salmon, curry lentils, and cajun red beans, and partially because im asian and freaking love white rice (no, im not making this up, my dad is literally filipino). the thing with rice though is that its really hard to correctly guess how much of it were actually going to eat. since rice takes a long time to cook i always end up making extra just in case and then we end up with way too much rice. 
and well... leftover rice is  kind of a difficult thing to deal with when you dont have a microwave or rice cooker for reheating it. for a long time all our leftover rice used to languish in the back of the fridge getting drier and drier until either i cleaned out the fridge or needed the container it was in and threw it away. 
recently i remembered my mom saying that cold, leftover rice was the perfect start for making fried rice. on that particular day we happened to have some leftover rice, so i threw some things together to try it out, and... it was great! not only was it a quick, tasty, and reasonably healthy lunch, but it totally helped us up all kinds of bits of leftovers. once i perfected the right recipe, i made a habit of always making extra, extra rice so i can make this for lunch the next day. 
leftover fried rice.  (serves two)
heres what you need: 
2 cups cold, leftover rice 1 carrot 1 rib of celery 1/4 of an onion 1 cup shredded cabbage 2-3 cloves garlic 1 egg 2 tablespoons soy/tamari sauce olive oil
heres what you do: 
finely chop all of the vegetables and heat a small amount of olive oil in a very large pan. 
sauté veggies in over high heat until fully cooked (approx 7-10 minutes). 
add rice and continue to cook, stirring constantly (making sure to break up any large chunks of rice) until all of the rice is hot. 
scoot the rice away from the center of the pan toward the edges, forming a "well" in the center of the pan. 
crack the egg into that well, scrambling it well and quickly stirring it into the rice and veggies as it cooks. 
continue to stir until eggs are completely cooked and toss with soy/tamari sauce. 
*note: one REALLY great thing about this recipe is that its SO easy to scale up! if you have more rice, just add another egg and some more veggies and make as much as you want
this fried rice is a super tasty way to use up leftovers that would otherwise be thrown away, whats your favorite way to repurpose leftovers? 

the poverty luxe kitchen vol. 25: merengue cookies.

i believe ive talked about my fondness for hollandaise sauce (yes, yes i have), and let me reiterate: i freaking LOVE hollandaise sauce. i literally named my son benedict because of how much i love hollandaise sauce (benedict, like the eggs. i seriously dont understand how i am allowed to adult). 
the thing about hollandaise sauce though is that it only uses the egg yolks. so what the heck do we do with all those whites? obviously we dont just throw them away (actually once upon a time we had a dog and i would feed them to the dog). what we do is we make merengue cookies. 
merengue cookies are amazing little things: theyre naturally fat and gluten free and taste like lucky charms marshmallows. also, theyre really easy to make, AND (if youre already using the yields for something else) practically free! the only caveat is that you do kind of need an electric mixer of some sort (thank you, my dear kitchenaid) and they take kind of a long time to bake (for cookies). but still. theyre awesome. 
merengue cookies.  (makes 1 cookie sheet full, approximately 30-35 1.5 inch cookies)
heres what you need:  3 egg whites, at room temperature (this is very, VERY important!) 1/4 tsp cream of tartar 1 cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract
heres what you do: 
combine the egg whites, cream of tartar, and vanilla in a large bowl (or bowl of your stand mixer), and beat at a high speed until foamy. 
slowly ad in sugar and continue to beat until stiff, glossy peaks form. 
gently transfer merengue into a gallon ziplock bag and cut a small hole in one corner. 
pipe small (1.5 inch in diameter) dots onto a foil lined baking sheet. 
bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes, or until completely dry. 
let cool completely before removing from baking sheet.
store in an airtight container for up to a week. 
that was easy, wasnt it? whats your favorite easy dessert to make? 

the poverty luxe kitchen vol. 24: not boring oatmeal.

the one thing about living (somewhat) near the ocean is that its always freezing in the morning (and by freezing i mean below 60 degrees, yes, i know). doesnt matter what time of year it is or how hot its going to be later, mornings = freezing. and cold mornings are just begging for a hot breakfast. unfortunately, i am very much not a morning person and no matter how much i want a hot breakfast, im just not all that into putting that much effort into making that hot breakfast. 
thankfully theres oatmeal. oatmeal is super easy and takes like two minutes. except, oatmeal is kind of boring, and (for my bottomless pit of a stomach, anyway) not all that satisfying. so in the interest of getting the hot breakfast that i so wanted on cold mornings, i came up with a few super simple additions to make my morning oatmeal a little less boring.   oh, and fast too. none of this twenty-minute oatmeal business...
not boring oatmeal.  makes one serving. 
heres what you need:  1/2 cup rolled oats 1 tsp chia seeds 1 tsp flax seeds 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 tsp cinnamon  1 cup water brown sugar (optional, for topping)
heres what you do: 
combine all of the ingredients except for the brown sugar in a small pot and bring to a boil. 
reduce heat to medium/low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the oats soften and reach your desired consistency (i like mine really thick so this takes about five minutes, so if you like yours thin, they should be even faster). 
top with brown sugar (and/or any other desired toppings) and serve immediately. 
and thats how you make the exact same thing ive had for breakfast every day for at least seven or eight months maybe even longer I MEAN oatmeal thats super fast and totally not boring. 
whats your go-to breakfast? do you eat the same thing every day or prefer to mix it up? 

the poverty luxe kitchen vol. 23: flourless peanut butter cookies.

every now and then theres a recipe thats just EVERYWHERE on the internet claiming to be the best thing ever. like, remember those "banana pancakes"? those had their moment right when i got my celiac diagnoses, so i tried them out and the were awful. i tried them again and again and eventually came to the conclusion that there is just no way to make eggs and bananas not disgusting. obviously since then I've been a little wary about internet food trends for some time, especially the minimal ingredient ones. 
BUT then i kept seeing these "flourless peanut butter cookies" or "three ingredient cookies" on pinterest and food blogs. at first i brushed them off as something not worth trying, until, of course, i REALLY needed some cookies (breastfeeding has a habit of doing that to a lady) and we were almost out out of gluten free flour. so i gave them a shot and... they were totally legit cookies. like, better than the peanut butter cookies i made from a normal recipe with the the gluten free flour i love (yes i do buy it in five pound bags, but sprouts has it a bit cheaper than that). the first batch i made got a little burnt but i figured out that was actually because of my terrible cookie pan, so i tried again and the second batch was PERFECT. 
now were making these a lot more often than id like to admit...
flourless peanut butter cookies.  (makes 12-16 cookies)
heres what you need: 
1 cup peanut butter (creamy or chunky, this does NOT work with "natural" type peanut butters) 1 cup sugar 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla extract
heres what you do: 
preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
blend peanut butter and sugar together until completely blended (i use my kitchenaid but a hand mixer will work also). 
add egg and vanilla and continue to blend, scraping bowl occasionally to ensure the dough is completely mixed.
scoop golf-ball sized balls of dough onto a foil-lined cookie sheet, and press down with a fork to make a "criss cross" pattern. 
bake for approximately 10 minutes, until edges start to brown. 
let cookies cool completely before removing from cookie sheet. 
so yeah, theres an internet fad recipe that totally works. like, i bring these to potlucks and not-gluten free people love them. 
have you had any luck with internet fad recipes? id love to hear your stories in the comments! 

the poverty luxe kitchen vol. 22: spinach + chèvre salad.

fun fact about me: im not a huge fan of salads, and i never have been (even while i was vegan, i never ate salads). james could eat a huge salad with every meal if i made one (actually, he frequently makes his own to accompany whatever it was i made), but for the most part, salads just dont do it for me. partly because they tend to be a lot of work, partly because most salads have some kind of thing i dont like in them, partly because i dont like my foods all mixed up and touching, and mostly because every single time i eat a salad (unless its like, tuna salad) i end up even hungrier than i was before i started eating salad. 

so i just never made salads. 

but then last semester i had a bit of a sticky situation for lunch: i had an awesome 20 minute break between my classes to eat a real lunch, BUT my school doesnt really have any gluten free options to buy, and there arent any microwaves available so bringing leftovers (which is what i usually eat for lunch at home) was out of the question. at first i tried to load up on snacks (fruit, cheese, crackers, granola bars, etc.) but that took a lot of prep and frankly, wasnt a real lunch. 

so then i gave in and decided to bring a salad, which was probably just a big container of spring mix with some balsamic vinegar on it because thats basically the only "salad" i ever made. and that wasnt really a real lunch either (especially considering last semester was basically the entire second half of my pregnancy). after that i decided i would figure out a salad that would keep me full at least till the end of class, and that i would actually like. oh, and it had to be easy to make, because no way was i getting up extra early to chop veggies OR adorable layering a weeks worth of salads in mason jars. 

heres what i came up with: spinach (heartier and more nutritious than the salad mix i was used to using), goat cheese (my favorite), and some simple toppings (no peeling or chopping at all!), and the simplest dressing ever. overall, its very satisfying. for a salad, i mean. 

spinach and chevre salad. 

(note: im not using any specific quantities so that way you can decide exactly how much salad you want to make. see also: i have no idea how to write a recipe for salad)

heres what you need: 

spinach

goat cheese (plain or herb flavor)

roasted pumpkin seeds (very inexpensive from the bulk bins at sprouts)

dried cranberries (preferrably unsweetened)

toasted pumpkin seed oil (from bluff cove olive oil co.)

balsamic vinegar

black pepper

heres what you do: 

place desired amount of spinach in a large bowl, topping with goat cheese, pumpkin seeds, and dried cranberries. 

drizzle with pumpkin seed oil and balsamic vinegar, adding black pepper if desired. 

normally i eat this salad by itself when i pack it for school or an outing where ill need my own lunch, but it also makes a great side dish, especially with salmon or mac and cheese). 

im curious, what are your favorite kinds of salads? 

the poverty luxe kitchen vol. 22: red beans + rice.

one of my big personal goals for this year was to try out more recipes and to get more comfortable and creative in the kitchen. the main reason i made this goal is because i have a bad habit of settling into a routine and just making the same four or five dinners over and over again, which makes me really sad because everyone here is actually pretty adventurous with food and i feel like were missing out on SO many great new things because i just make the same recipes over and over again. another lame side effect of this habit is that sometimes a meal slips off the rotation, gets forgotten for months and months, before i remember how great it is and start making it again. 

this is one of those recipes. 

i used to make red beans and rice pretty frequently, and there was ALWAYS a jar (or three) of them in the freezer for when we needed a super fast and easy dinner. i guess its simplicity is what made me forget how great it is, but with the last few months being so crazy with work (for james), school (for me) and having a new baby, red beans and rice are officially back on the rotation. why? because its a dinner thats not only super healthy and dirt cheap, but also takes zero effort in the crock pot. 

you know those crock pot recipes that are so complicated you might as well actually cook them? this is not one of those recipes. theres some chopping, some putting things in the crock pot, some button pushing, and then you get to do whatever for a few hours. all you have to do at dinner time is make rice. actually typing this reminds me that i need to go get some kidney beans...

red beans and rice. 

(makes 8 servings)

heres what you need: 

1 lb dried kidney beans, soaked overnight. 

2-3 cloves of garlic

1 onion

3 ribs of celery

1 green bell pepper

2 tablespoons creole seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

heres what you do: 

place soaked beans in crock pot and cover with 1 inch of water. 

finely chop garlic, onion, celery, and bell pepper and add to beans. 

add creole seasoning and season with salt and pepper to taste (i add lots of pepper but no salt because the creole seasoning i use already has salt)

cook on low for 4-6 hours. serve over steamed white rice. 

to be completely honest, i dont use my crock pot a whole lot, what are your favorite crock pot recipes?

the poverty luxe kitchen vol. 21: gluten free mac and cheese.

today im bringing back another recipe from the old days of poverty luxe: good old gluten free mac and cheese. well, not exactly an old recipe because while i have posted about mac and cheese before ive had quite a long time to perfect the recipe even further. also, now that im a lot more experienced with this gluten free thing and its gotten much easier to find decent gluten free products, my (already pretty awesome) mac and cheese recipe is now somehow even better than before (not that i thought that was possible at all). 
generally speaking, i make this mac and cheese on a weekly basis. even though its not exactly a quick dinner and it does get an absurd number of dishes dirty, its the perfect real-food version of comfort food and everybody loves it. i mean, how can you not love mac and cheese? i am only a tiny bit embarrassed to admit that every time i make this, we eat the entire thing without a single morsel left over. but its just that good. we usually pair it with these honey glazed carrots, for what i like to call "everyones favorite dinner night". 
alright, ill stop rambling about the magical mac and cheese and get to the recipe now...
gluten free mac and cheese.  (serves 4)
heres what you need: 
1 12 oz package of gluten free noodles (i like the barilla GF noodles from target because theyre great and also $1.39 a box) 3 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons sweet rice flour (available here but i get mine at the local mexican grocery store for 99 cents a bag) 1 1/2 cups milk approximately 2 1/2 cups shredded cheese (i typically use cheddar, jack, or a blend of the two) salt, pepper, garlic powder, and italian seasoning to taste
heres what you do: 
preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
boil the noodles according to the package directions, drain and put them in a large casserole dish (note: watch your noodles VERY closely and drain them while theyre still a bit firm, gluten free noodles have a tendency to get mushy if you boil them too long). 
next, melt the butter in a small pot over medium/high heat, add the rice flour and stir until a smooth paste is formed (about one minute)
now slowly whisk in the milk, and stir in some salt, black pepper, and garlic powder to your preference.
stir the sauce until it thickens and starts to boil, then remove from heat and stir in about two cups of the shredded cheese. 
pour the sauce over the noodles and mix until everythings evenly coated. top with remaining cheese and italian seasoning. 
bake at 400 until the cheese on top browns (approximately 15 minutes). 
like i said earlier, i usually make this with cheddar and/or jack cheese, BUT this recipe is ALSO great with, well... any cheese that melts. ive made it with everything from smoked gouda to pepper jack to truffle cheddar and every time its been amazing. but, you know, i just really love cheese (i mean, it was the theme of my birthday party). 
what's your favorite kind of cheese? (its hard for me to pick just one, but im a big fan of dill havarti and goat cheese). 

the poverty luxe kitchen vol. 20: black bean chipotle hummus.

for the (wait for it...) twentieth edition of the poverty luxe kitchen, i have a very, very special recipe for you: the black bean chipotle hummus that i have been meaning to post on here for literally an entire year. yeah... obviously im really on top of things. but better late than never, right? 
right. 
because this hummus is awesome. i mean, not to toot my own horn or anything and we all know that hummus in general is awesome, but this goes beyond regular hummus into fancy-six-dollar-for-a-tiny-thing-at-the-farmers-market-why-cant-i-make-this-at-home hummus territory. except, that you can totally make it at home and a huge batch costs less than the little 8 ounce tub you buy at the farmers market. oh, and its totally easy. 
are you ready to get started with the recipe? here we go: 
black bean chipotle hummus.  (serves 6-8)
heres what you need: 
4-5 cloves garlic 1/4 cup olive oil 1 can (or two cups cooked) garbanzo beans 1 can (or two cups cooked) black beans 3 tablespoons lime juice 2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (save the rest to make chipotle aioli!) heres what you do: 
finely chop garlic and place in a small dish with the olive oil and let it sit for 15-20 minutes. 
in the bowl of your food processor, combine the oil and garlic with the remaining ingredients and pulse until smooth. if the hummus is too thick, add water one tablespoon at a time until it reaches your desired consistency.  transfer hummus from food processor to an airtight container and store for up to a week in the fridge. 
im a big fan of eating hummus with carrot sticks and cucumber slices, how do you like to eat it? 

the poverty luxe kitchen vol. 19: homemade whipped cream

remember that thing about how i was bringing back old recipes from the dark ages of poverty luxe? well ive a good one for you today: homemade whipped cream. 
funny story time: when james and i first got married and i was FINALLY the household grown up in charge of buying groceries, one of my first executive decisions was to buy a can (or two, because it was almost always on sale buy one get one free) of whipped cream every single week because i was an adult, ok? obviously this didnt exactly last long as i realized that 1. even the "good" canned whipped cream is filled with gross chemicaley ingredients, 2. its super expensive and for the $5 i was spending on a topping i could buy the ingredients for an entire dinner, and 3. whipped cream really isnt that healthy and eating it (and whatever dessert it was on top of) every day was making me kind of fat. so the whipped cream habit kind of stopped, until my birthday came around and james got me the kitchenaid mixer that was the only thing on my wedding registry that i actually wanted and nobody got for us (that maybe i only asked him to buy for me every single day up until then). then it was homemade whipped cream all the time. ok well not all the time because heavy whipping cream is like, super expensive all the time and never goes on sale. 
but recently we started shopping mostly at costco than the regular grocery store (ill probably talk more about that later), and i found something particularly exciting in the dairy department: an entire quart of heavy whipping cream for $3.99. which means that now we have an option for whipped cream thats not only not chock full of chemicals and propellants, but also totally affordable (each batch costs just a tad over $1)! so now were back to homemade whipped cream all the time (also im nursing and not exactly rational in my dietary choices right now). 
a couple things though before we get into the recipe: 1. i make this in my kitchenaid stand mixer and its super easy, however, if you dont have one, you can also make it in a bowl with a hand mixer and that totally works too. 2. it is of the utmost importance that your tools AND your cream are thoroughly chilled before whipping (meaning, no you can not use those cute little 8 oz juice boxes of cream they sell at trader joes right when you get hime from the store) or you will end up with really weird butter (that actually isnt that bad on really sweet things like pancakes but since youre trying to make whipped cream its just disappointing). 
now with that out of the way, lets get to the recipe. 
whipped cream.  (serves approximately 4 as a topping)
heres what you need: 
1 cup heavy whipping cream (chilled) 3 tablespoons powdered sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (i highly recommend the bourbon vanilla from trader joes)
heres what you do: 
chill your mixing bowl and whisk (or beaters if youre using a hand mixer) in the freezer for at least ten minutes. 
next, combine all three ingredients and whip on your mixers highest setting, watching closely and stopping immediately once it looks like whipped cream (approximately 2-3 minutes).
serve immediately, you can not save this for later. 
our favorite way to eat this whipped cream is on top of fresh fruit (especially during the summer), but, obviously, homemade whipped cream is an excellent addition to basically any dessert recipe. 
question: im currently working on some big, exciting content changes starting in september, and i want to know what kind of recipes YOU want to see here in the poverty luxe kitchen? more dinners? desserts? snacks? let me know in the comments!

the poverty luxe kitchen vol. 18: gluten free pancakes.

im going to be completely honest here about two things: 1. ive never been all that into breakfast foods until fairly recently, and 2. despite being gluten-free for over two years, I've been terrified of venturing out into the realms of gluten-free baking beyond prepackaged mixes. fortunately, this second pregnancy spawned a deep appreciation for pancakes, and my newfound confidence in the kitchen encouraged me to ignore the fussy gluten free food bloggers (who tend to be very anti all purpose flours and very pro making things as complicated as possible) and try to make my own gluten free pancakes. 

i knew pancakes would be an easy recipe to de-gluten because frankly, the gluten really isnt important at all when it comes to pancakes. it seemed reasonable that i could just substitute the gluten free flour without making any sciencey adjustments. what i didnt realize is that because everyone likes their pancakes a little different, finding a recipe for a starting point would take a while. and finding a recipe that wasnt for approximately eight thousand pancakes would take even longer (seriously, WHYYYYY are pancake recipes so huge?). 

but, eventually, i did find a recipe that looked good. except it was WAY too salty and the pancakes came out a little too cakey. so i made some adjustments and then they werent quite cakey enough. and then by the third batch of pancakes i was finally able to figure out the right balance and now im ready to share the recipe with you. so now everyone can have a manageable amount of gluten free pancakes without buying a special (and expensive) mix. 

gluten free pancakes. 

serves 4

heres what you need: 

1 cup gluten free all purpose flour (ive made this with both cup 4 cup and king arthur gluten free flours with excellent results)

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

pinch salt

sprinkle cinnamon

1 egg 

1 cup + 2 tablespoons milk (or milk alternative)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

butter or oil for frying

heres what you do: 

in a large bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients, then whisk in wet ingredients. let batter rest for at least five minutes. 

heat a large skillet or griddle to medium-high heat, then generously coat with butter or oil. 

spoon batter onto hot pan or griddle 1/4 cup (or less) at a time, and let cook until batter bubbles. flip and let cook until batter is no longer liquid.

repeat with remaining batter, re-oiling pan as needed. 

serve with your favorite pancake toppings. 

i like my pancakes with nutella, strawberries, whipped cream, and powdered sugar. how do you like yours? 

the poverty luxe kitchen vol. 17: cheesy polenta + veggies

if i were to pick a new favorite food, it would definitely be polenta. now, polenta isnt exactly the most exciting thing on its own (as my mom put it, its just yellow grits), but its so versatile: you can bake it, fry it, mix things into it, or top it with almost anything and it always turns out delicious. 
unfortunately polenta has a reputation for being really fussy (some recipes involve forty minutes of stirring), so, being as easily intimidated as i am, i tended to consider it a "restaurant only" food. but, you know, sometimes you just NEED some polenta, and you dont have the time or money to go out to the fancy steakhouse with the $20 grilled polenta and veggies thats just SO amazing. so you start looking around at sprouts and find that the little log of pre-made polenta that barely makes one dinner is like $5. which, yeah is a lot less than it would cost at a restaurant, but still, its not cheap. 
except, sprouts sells dry polenta in the bulk section. and its super cheap. like, i got a HUGE bag (that lasted for months) for like $4. and after a little bit of research and experimentation, ive come to find out that polenta isnt actually all that fussy to make. so now polenta, which used to be reserved for birthdays and special occasions, has become a quick and easy weeknight dinner. is there anything better than that? no. no there is not. 
even though you technically can do all kinds of crazy things with polenta, my favorite way to eat it is warm and soft and freshly made, with some sautéed veggies on top. sometimes ill make this on its own for dinner, but its also a great side dish with say, some salmon. and thats what todays recipe is: 
cheesy polenta with veggies.  (serves 4 as a meal, more as a side dish)
heres what you need: 
1 cup dried polenta 4 cups water 1/2 cup shredded cheese (optional, if you omit the cheese this recipe is entirely vegan) olive oil 1 small/medium onion 4 cloves garlic salt, pepper, and herbs de provence to taste 1 bunch asparagus 1 package white mushrooms
heres what you do: 
in a medium/large pot, bring 4 cups salted water to a boil, add polenta, stir, and return to a boil. 
reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally (contrary to popular belief polenta does NOT need to be stirred constantly however it will stick if you dont stir it at all), until almost all of the water has absorbed and grains are cooked through (approximately 10-15 minutes) 
remove from heat, stir in cheese (entirely optional but i really think it improves the flavor and texture), and set aside. 
finely chop onions and garlic and sautee in olive oil until they begin to soften, seasoning with salt, pepper, and herbs de provence to your preference. 
cut the asparagus and mushrooms into small pieces, add to onion and garlic mixture, and continue to cook until the onions are caramelized and the vegetables are cooked through. 
serve the polenta in bowls with the vegetable mixture on top. 
do you have a favorite fancy restaurant food that you learned to make at home? id love to hear about it in the comments!

the poverty luxe kitchen vol. 16: crustless spinach quiche.

today im bringing back another recipe from the olden days of poverty luxe (ok, like, two years ago). im trying to do this a bit more consistently, since theres actually quite a bit of good stuff buried way back there in the days when nobody was reading this blog. also, some recipes have been GREATLY improved as ive now had time to fine-tune the recipes a bit more. take, for instance, this here spinach quiche. 
now, quiche is a pretty simple and straightforward recipe, doesnt involve any crazy or expensive ingredients, and works equally as well for breakfast or dinner. which is precisely why its been on our regular meal rotation for a LONG time. however, back when i first started making it, i used to make it with a gluten free crust. but the thing with gluten free pie crusts is that theyre really fussy, can be really expensive, dont always come out well, and are kind of just a bunch of processed starch and butter. also, the crust totally isnt even necessary here. why? because when you make quiche without a crust, the cheese forms a crust on the bottom and its absolutely amazing. 
so now i never make it with a crust, gluten free or otherwise. and i definitely like it better this way. so are you ready to make some crustless quiche? 
crustless spinach quiche.  (serves 4)
heres what you need: 

1 small onion (or half a large onion)

3 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon herbs de provence

salt and pepper to taste

5 eggs

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup milk

1/2 pound frozen spinach (or an entire ten ounce box), thawed. 

about 1 1/2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese

heres what you do: 

preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

finely chop the onions and garlic and saute in olive oil until they start to caramelize, seasoning with salt, pepper, and herbs de provence to your preference. 

in a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, mayonnaise, and 1 cup of cheese.

thoroughly drain the thawed spinach and put it in a piece of cheesecloth or a tea towel and squeeze out ALL of the liquid (this is VERY important unless you want to end up with a very watery quiche) before adding it to the egg mixture. 

add the onions/garlic to the egg mixture, mix thoroughly and pour into an oiled pie pan, topping with remaining cheese. 

bake for 45 minutes or until eggs are completely set.