Cheesy Egg Custard

My friends served this at a get together at their home, and I had to have the recipe, and attempt to make it! :)  Since I was wide awake this morning hours earlier then necessary, I figured I could try it out! 


Cheesy Egg Custard
Ingredients:

 1 cup coarsely grated Gruyère cheese (Swiss is a good substitute)

1/4 cup chopped chives (I used dried)

 5 large eggs

3/4  cup whole milk ( I used about half heavy cream and half water)

2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 tsp. onion salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter a 2-quart shallow baking dish (2 inches deep).
2. Sprinkle Gruyère and chives evenly in dish.
3. Blend eggs, milk, and cream cheese  in a blender with 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt until smooth. (I used a hand blender)
4. Pour egg mixture over Gruyère and chives in dish and bake until puffed, set, and golden, 35 to 45 minutes. (It took about 50 minutes for mine to cook completely.)Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 4. 303.5 calories, protein 17g,  Carbs 1.4g , fiber .2  = 1.2 net carbs

We enjoyed it, but I baked it in a Pyrex bowl, and next time I will bake it in something more shallow because it took longer to cook this way (I think). Anyhow, it tasted great and was a nice variation of "eggs" for breakfast! :)

Products mentioned in this recipe:

Chives, Freeze-Dried, Chopped - 0.13 oz,(Spicer Hunter)

Home Made Yogurt

I found a homemade yogurt recipe here, and made a few changes. In Dana Carpenter's cookbook she says that homemade yogurt is 4 net carbs per 1 cup. (Due to the fact that the bacteria breaks down and uses the lactose and changes it into lactic acid). And to have control over what goes into my yogurt is priceless!

Crock Pot Yogurt.

• Turn your crock pot to low and pour in 1 half gallon of milk. (can use half and half too, it comes out REALLY creamy)
• Heat on low for 2 hours and 45 minutes.
• Once 2 hours and 45 minutes have elapsed turn your crock pot off and unplug it. Let the half and half cool in the crock with the lid on for 3 hours. ( I have found that after 3 hours my milk is too cool, so I have decided to cut back to 2 1/2 or so... I will keep you posted)
• After 3 hours remove 1-2 cups of the warmed milk and place in a bowl. To that add 1/2 cup of yogurt with live active cultures and mix very well. (I used Dannon Greek Yogurt- Plain, and in a pinch I used a carb controlled one from Dannon (Strawberry) and it worked just fine)
• Pour the yogurt-half and half mixture back into the milk and whisk thoroughly.
• Place the cover back on the crock and wrap the entire crock pot in a thick bath towel or two.
• Let it culture overnight, 8-12 hours.
• In the morning stir yogurt (if desired) and store in glass quart jars or a container of your choice.
• For optimum texture, refrigerate for at least 8 hours before using.

Add-ins:

• 2 tablespoons splenda + 1 tsp vanilla extract (or any kind of extract, lemon is yummy)
• 2 tablespoons splenda + fresh berries of choice
• probably you could use stevia too, but I am not a huge fan of the taste
• I tried xylitol, but it did not dissolve well enough

Other ideas:

• If it's too runny, use a coffee filter in a colander and strain it for a bit. Then put it in the blender if it's too thick, and presto-- it's creamy!
• If you strain it, it can be thick enough to use in the place of sour cream
• I really like it with the half and half, it's closer to be the thickness that I am used to eating.... but even if you use milk it too is good, if a bit runny (but the runny-ness can be fixed by straining it).