Belly of the Beest

Mini-Quiche, Mini- Pop Tarts, Mini-Banana Muffins and fruit!

About a month ago our friends Kristi, Chris, Kathy and Martin came over to help us paint the baby’s room! We painted it “Miami Green” It really was a lot of helpers for not that much painting, but it was a lot of fun and after we finished painting the room we sat down to a delicious mini-food themed brunch. I didn’t help much the day we painted, but the night before I was in the kitchen for about 5-6 hours making mini-Pop Tarts, mini-quiches and mini-banana muffins for the brunch!

The food was so cute and the pop tarts were a lot of fun to make. The quiche recipe is easy and freezes well so you can make it a couple days before you will need it if you don’t want to bake the day of the brunch!

Now without further ado, the recipes!

Pop Tarts with their raspberry filling

Mini Pop Tarts on or off the Stick (I did off for the brunch, but put sticks in the ones I took to my niece’s birthday party the next day)

I found the recipe for these here. I know some people would make the dough from scratch, but come on, they are Pop Tarts and are therefore unhealthy, no matter how natural your ingredients are. And I used frozen raspberries this time because I had them on hand.

Mini Raspberry Pop Tarts

FOR THE TWO-BITE POPTARTS
1 c. fresh cherries, pitted and diced
3 T. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
2 T. water
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 pkg. prepared pie crusts

FOR THE POPS
wooden popscicle sticks

FOR THE GLAZE
1 c. powdered sugar
1-2 T. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
food coloring and sprinkles (optional)

In a small saucepan, combine cherries, sugar, cornstarch and almond extract. Heat on stove over medium heat until mixture has thickened. Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool. Unroll pie crusts and using a pizza cutter to slice them into 1 1/2?x 2? rectangles (I used a ruler to measure mine into equal sizes.  Just use a butter knife to score your pie crust before cutting).

Place a wooden popscicle stick on top of one of the cut rectangles, then spoon a small amount (about 1 1/2 tsp.) of cooled cherry filling into the center of the pie square, taking care not to get it near the edges.   Gently lay a second rectangle over the top of the cherry filling.  Press the edges of the rectangles together with a fork.  Transfer to a baking sheet.  Bake poptart pops in an oven preheated to 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes, or just until the edges begin to brown.

In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla to make glaze.  Tint with food coloring, if desired.  Spoon over cooled poptart pops, sprinkle with colored sugar, and allow to the glaze to harden slightly before serving. Enjoy!

For the mini-quiches I searched around and found this recipe here.

Crustless Zucchini and Basil Mini-Quiches
makes 48 pieces; adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine

1/4 c. cornstarch
1 1/4 c. whole milk
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 c. heavy cream
3/4 t. kosher salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
oil for the pan

1 T. olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
2 zucchini, grated
1/4 cup gruyere or parmesan, grated
fresh basil, finely chopped

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Prepare Batter: Put the cornstarch in a medium bowl. Whisking steadily, slowly pour in 1/2 cup of the milk, mixing until quite smooth. Whisk in the whole eggs and egg yolks, mixing again until smooth, then gradually whisk in the rest of the milk, the cream, salt, and nutmeg. Use immediately or refrigerate, covered, for up to one day. If using the next day, be sure to re-whisk.

Prepare Zucchini Mixture: In a nonstick pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and shallots and stir until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add grated zucchini, and stir until just softened, another 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat.

Oil mini muffin tins well. Put a pinch grated cheese into each muffin cup, a teaspoon of zucchini mixture, and pinch of chopped fresh basil. Pour 1 tablespoon of the batter into each muffin cup.

Bake until the quiches puff and start to turn golden, 15-18 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes and then carefully run a paring knife around the rim of each muffin cup. Carefully lift each quiche out of its cup.

Mini quiches freeze very well. Let cool, then freeze in a single layer in a covered container. Reheat on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for about 5-10 minutes.

And the mini banana muffins are just the banana bread recipe I posted previously, but in tiny muffin shape instead of a loaf. I baked them for about 10 minutes and then checked them. You should poke them with a toothpick to see if they are finished though. If the toothpick comes out clean, you are set!

Thanks to Kathy, Martin, Chris and Kristi for coming over to make our baby’s room a brighter, happier place to grow! The pozor thanks you as well.

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