Quiche is just about my favorite quick-fix dinner. More than likely, I always have everything I need in my fridge and pantry to throw together a delicious meal in under an hour! My mom has a great recipe for quiche made with frozen hashbrowns as the crust, which was my inspiration for this. I sliced potatoes super thin and made a nice, crispy crust- something I think I’ll be doing a lot more in the future, this was delicious! The great news is, we felt great about eating it because it was so packed with vegetables and not sitting in a butter-loaded pastry crust (not that I really mind butter-loaded pastry…)! I used an unusual cheese in this quiche – a delicious Mexican Marigold Mint Caciotta that my sweet husband put in my stocking this Christmas. It comes from a local cheese factory in Dallas called the Mozzarella Company. Deeeeeeelish!!! However, this quiche would be great with goat cheese, feta or even plain ‘ol cheddar. Whatever cheese you have on hand and want to use would be just fine- that’s the beauty of quiche!
I just love how colorful it is!
Spinach and Tomato Quiche with Potato Crust
-my recipe
2 medium Russet potatoes, scrubbed and sliced into very thin disks (less than 1/8 inch)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed and drained of all liquid
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (canned works fine)
5 or 6 cherry tomatoes, cut into halves
1/2 cup cheese (any cheese you have on hand- cheddar is always great)
7 eggs
3/4 cup milk
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Layer the sliced potatoes in an even layer in the bottom of a pie plate or quiche pan, overlapping the edges a bit. Brush with the olive oil then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through and slightly crisp. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine the red pepper, spinach, mushrooms and cheese. Spread mixture in an even layer into the potato crust, then place the tomatoes cut side down on top of the vegetables.
In another large bowl, combine the eggs, milk and salt and pepper. Whisk until totally combined. Pour over the the vegetables. Top with additional black pepper, if desired. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
Serves 4
Speaking of quick, easy meals you can throw together on a moment’s notice… Quiche is always a perfect solution for a busy weeknight. Not only that, but it’s down-right delicious and satisfying! I think the thing I love most about quiche is its versatility- you can throw in almost any kinds of vegetables, cheeses or seasonings you want! I mean, anything you’ve got in your pantry, freezer or crisper drawer can be baked into a quiche- amazing!
Here’s some good news: I’m getting a new car!! WOAH! That IS good news, eh? 😉 So that means, instead of meal planning and focusing on what kinds of things I should cook for dinner each night, I’m thinking about what color I’d like my new SUV to be, what kinds of music should I listen to while I’m cruising around town, and most importantly, what kind of outfits go best with my new car. Yeah, that’s right. I went “new car clothes shopping” yesterday. If I’m going to have a spanking fresh, new car, I’m going to need a couple of new outfits…DUH. 😉 So, obviously, that didn’t leave a lot of time for meal planning. That’s why this quiche is perfect- I had no idea what I was going to make for dinner, and somehow, at the last minute, I ended up with a beautiful meal! TA-DAH!! And so far, I think this is my favorite combination of vegetables in a quiche- they all went really well together and we ate like pigs, it was so good! Give it a try!
Spinach, Zucchini and Mushroom Quiche
1 9-inch pie crust, unbaked (store-bought works just fine here!)
7 large eggs
3/4 cup half and half
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1 medium zucchini, cut in half and sliced into pieces
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 small box frozen spinach, thawed and drained of all water
1 small can mushrooms (fresh would be even better)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Press the pie crust into a quiche pan or a pie plate. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the half and half; stir in the salt, black pepper, white pepper and cheese. Add in the vegetables and stir to combine. Pour into the prepared pie crust and bake for 35-55 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted comes out clean (*My oven cooks a little faster, so it only took 35 minutes, but it could take longer in different ovens. Just keep an eye on it after about 30 minutes). It shouldn’t be too jiggly when you pull it out. Let sit for 5 minutes before cutting.
In the town where hubby and I grew up, there is a small little restaurant called The Purple Turnip that serves really good “chick food”. If you were to go for lunch on a weekday, you’d see 90% women – teachers, old ladies, business women and “ladies-who-lunch”…of course there will be the occasional male, but chances are he was dragged there by his wife. Their biggest seller? Quiche. It’s SO good. It’s different every day. Sometimes it has broccoli, sometimes spinach, sometimes asparagus…but it’s always totally delicious. Naturally, everytime we’re visting home, I always want to go to Purple Turnip. Quiche, followed by out-of-this-world tiramisu. Perfect.
Recently, I had a major hankering for quiche, and since an hour’s drive to Purple Turnip wasn’t in our near future, I decided to just make my own awesome quiche. And boy was it good! I was really pleased with the way it turned out – light and fluffy and filled with tons of asparagus, mushrooms and bacon…YUM! I will most definitely be making this one again!
Quiche with Asparagus, Mushrooms and Bacon
1 9-inch pie crust
7 large eggs
3/4 cup half and half
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and chopped
1 small can sliced mushrooms, drained (you can use fresh, I just happened to have canned on hand)
4-6 slices bacon, cooked and diced
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Press pie crust into a pie plate and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, half and half and salt and pepper. Add the chopped asparagus, mushrooms, bacon and cheddar cheese and stir to combine. Pour into pie plate and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until quiche is set (the center might still be slightly jiggly- that’s ok). If it starts browning too soon, cover it with a foil tent. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
*I like my asparagus slightly crisp, so I don’t cook it before putting it in the quiche; but if you like it really tender, you can blanch it in some boiling water for about 5 minutes before adding it to the egg mixture.
