Christina's Bridal Shower

One of my favorite things to do is to feed a lot of people, and come up with new and creative ways to entertain with food. Since one of my dear friends and a huge supporter of my dreams, Christina, decided to happily get married, I threw her a bridal shower on July 7th and worked hard to impress her:) And I forget that my husband Blake, helped out a lot! I can't take full credit for all of it. Blake actually made the salsa and chicken for the taco salads himself.

Mini Quiche2 refrigerated store-bought pie crusts (to save a LOT of time! And I promise, they are almost as good as home made)
4 ounces or so of bacon (I used turkey bacon)
2/3 C Heavy Cream
1/2 C whole milk
3 L or XL eggs
1/4~1/2 C chopped fresh parsley
salt & pepper to taste
2/3 C finely grated Pecorino Romano or Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese
1/4 C grated Cheddar Cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF
2. Roll out pie crusts to about half of it's original thickness. cut pie crusts into small circles, about 2 in. in diameter. Press into mini muffin pans. (TIP: Don't worry about making the edges smooth, I think it looks more rustic when they're a little crinkly, and they're a lot easier to get out once they are cooked)
3. Cook bacon until crisp. (TIP: My sister taught me to microwave the bacon on a paper plate and paper towel. This way you get all the grease out and you don't have to wash any more pans, and they cook up just great) Break up into little pieces.
4. Beat cream, milk, eggs together until smooth, but don't over beat. Add parsley, salt & pepper in medium bowl.
5. Put a little bit of bacon & the 2 cheeses into each little pie crust. Pour in egg mixture. Remember to leave a little space on top, as the mixture will puff up.
6. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool, take out of pans and serve.

Mini Taco Salad5-6 fresh tortillas
tomatoes (the sweetest ones you can find)
cilantro
1-1/2 limes
4 avocados
1/2 a vidalia onion (if you can't find vidalias, get a normal onion and soak it in water for a little while)
1/2 a rotisserie chicken
taco seasoning
salt to taste

1. Cut tortillas into small circles, about 2 in. in diameter. Place in mini muffin pans in a similar way to the pie crusts for the quiche. Bake in 350ºF oven for 5-7 minutes until they puff up a little. Take out of oven and let cool. (The puffiness will get down a lot. If it doesn't, you can push it down so it still has a little well for the food)
   
2. Dice tomatoes & onion as small as you can and place in a bowl. Chop up cilantro as finely as you can without turning it into a paste. Add to tomatoes and onion. Add the juice of 1 lime and salt. Set aside.
3. Dice avocados really small and place in a small bowl. Add the juice of 1/2 a lime and salt. set aside.
4. Shred the rotisserie chicken into little pieces. Place in a pan and cook with taco seasoning as directed.
5. Place all the topping in the tortilla cups in the following order: Chicken, avocados, salsa.

p.s. For the salsa, you can make the tomato to onion ratio as you like it. But don't omit onions just because you think you don't like them! The flavor and texture is SO important. Just soak them in water for at least half an hour or rinse them for a couple minutes, and the strong, pungent flavor will go down.