30th Birthday

 I'm 30!  My birthday was very low key and an enjoyable time spend with my little family.  Yesterday, we celebrated again, with friends here at the house.  I decorated a bit with yellow, as tribute to my younger self, who was color coded such to keep my things separate from my brothers and sister (who were green, red, and blue).

 When thinking of what to make, my sister recommended an egg bake, or quiche, or something of the sort.  My mom has given us a terrific crust recipe that go along with her tarts, but it worked great as a whole pie too.

 They were simple to make, and delicious.  I'll put the recipe at the bottom if you're interested.

My egg bake helper.

We had some close friends over who we've come to depend a great deal on, in one way or another.  Harper was excited to have other kids to play with, as was evident by the running and gleeful screaming that punctuated many of the conversations.  (At one point - and this is why I love my friends - there was a needed discussion that running in the house isn't ok.  I paraphrase here:  "Do you see all these beer bottles?  We don't want any of these to be knocked over, ok.  You need to slow down."  Just telling it like it is :)

There was cooking decorating!  There was a choice of A, !, or ninja cookies to frosting.  Jessica was a great help in getting some naked cookies dressed up.

Dan, Greg, and Nikki

Meryl, Crissy, Trish, Kristy, and Mike

Ryan, Greg, Audrey, Jonathan, and Meryl

These little munchkins were so much fun.  Oscar, Farrah, and Harper are all piled up on the chair in Harper's room for this shot (courtesy of Meryl!)

Mike and the kids - notice Farrah in action mode

I had to change my plans for the photos I collected from my dad's house.  Since we didn't do helium balloons, I make a "30" poster out of them instead.  People had fun looking at them and commenting on the various glimpses of life.

Crissy and Trish came up from Springfield!  Woot!

There were some others that came a bit later so they aren't pictured, but we all had a great time!  Thanks everyone from coming to celebrate the beginning of my next 30 years!  

Other food items that were served:

Pasta salad
white chocolate dipped pretzels
popcorn with chocolate chips
cheese and crackers
my dad's dried apples
my dad's deer jerky
strawberries

The egg bake recipe: 

Crust (makes two 9 inch pie pans)

• 6 oz cream cheese
• 1 stick unsalted butter - softened
• 4 Tbl spoons of vegetable shorting (or a second stick of butter)
• 2 cups flour 

Combine with pastry cutter or fork.  Kneed gently into a ball -  your body temp will melt the butter, helping it come together.  Divide in half, one for each pan.  Roll out dough between two sheets of wax paper (which is way easier than trying to keep it from sticking to your rolling pin) then put in baking pans.  Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes before baking.  While chilling, combine filling.

Filling (for two)

• 9 eggs
• 1/8 cup half & half
• 1/2 red pepper, small chop
• 1/2 green pepper, small chop
• 1/2 yellow pepper, small chop
• 1/4 medium red onion, fine to small chop
• 1 potato, peeled and cubed (*NOTE - I baked my potato the day before to insure it would be tender in the egg bake.  I cooked in my small toaster oven for 1 hr at 350 degrees, covered in aluminum foil.)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 strips bacon, cooked (I only put bacon on one pie, double if you want it on both)
• 1 tsp thyme (rosemary would be good, too)
• salt and pepper to taste
• Ramano cheese for top

Combine all ingredients, except bacon and cheese.  Pour in to chilled baking pans.  Rough Chop the bacon and put on top of one of the pies.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes.  Place pie pans on cooking sheets to make it easier on yourself to get them in and out of the oven.  To test done-ness, give the pans a little jiggle, if there are any parts that still wobble, keep them in.  Double check with a toothpick.  While they are still warm, use a vegetable peeler to make large shavings of cheese for the top.

Let sit for at least 10 minutes before serving.  Can be served at room temperature.