Easy-Peasy Cheesy Quiche

I've now made these 2 mornings in a row! They are SO simple and quick...and cheap!

With 2 kids not able to eat eggs, I crave quiche so much but can't really spend the time making it anymore...so this is a GREAT alternative!

I love the crispiness of the shells!

Ingredients:
15 phyllo-dough shells (bought premade)
1 egg
1 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp green onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp pre-cooked bacon
dash salt
dash pepper
1 slice cheese (I used muenster, but you could use cheddar, monterey jack, etc).

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk together egg and milk. Add green onion, bacon, salt, pepper, and cheese.
3. Fill each cup with about 1-2 tsp of egg mixture.
4. Bake about 10 minutes or until egg is fully set.

Freezing a Quiche

I was so excited to read that you can actually freeze homemade quiche! Now I make about 8 at a time (the first time I did this I made 8 quiche - 4 spinach and 4 jalapeno, and including making the pie dough, and all the insides, and assembling them, AND cleaning up the kitchen, it only took about 2 hours, plus the extra hour in the oven, but I wasn't doing anything then!)

To freeze quiche BEFORE baking:
Tray-freeze until firm; then wrap with aluminum foil, or slide it into a freezer bag. Seal, label and freeze up to one month. Do not thaw before baking. Unwrap and bake as usual, allowing 10 to 20 minutes additional time.

To freeze quiche AFTER baking:
Tray-freeze; then wrap with aluminum foil, or slide it into a freezer bag. Seal, label and freeze up to two months. Do not thaw before reheating. Unwrap and bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until heated through.

The Universal Quiche

This was also from the Frugal book...and I love it just as much!
The complete Tightwad gazette : promoting thrift as a viable alternative lifestyle
by: Amy Dacyczyn.

The Universal Quiche

Crust – use a standard pastry crust. Some recipes suggest prebaking this before filling to prevent sogginess. I don’t. instead, I prepare the crust, then prepare the various components of quiche, and then assemble the quiche all at once just before putting it on a lower shelf in my preheated oven. You can also make a rice crust using 2 cups of cooked rice, 1 ½ oz of grated cheese, and one egg. Combine the ingredients, pat into a pam-sprayed pie tin, and prebake at 425 for 15 minutes or until just firm.

Eggs – Use 3 or 4

Cheese – Most recipes call for 1 to 2 cups (4-8 oz) of a grated hard cheese. I use about 1 cup. You can use swiss, cheddar, Monterey jack. Or use from 2 Tbsp to ½ cup of parmesan or romano. Or use a combination of these. Some softer cheeses, such as mozzarella will not set up well.

Milk or Cream – use 1 to 2 cups of milk, half and half, cream, evaporated milk, or powdered milk made with half the usual water. You may also use part sour cream, cottage cheese, or yogurt.

Filling – Use 1 to 2 cups of a combination of meats and/or vegetables. Meat possibilities include crisply fried and crumbled bacon, or pieces of crab, lobster, shrimp, tuna, chicken, or ham. Use virtually any cooked or steamed vegetables, but squeeze out excess liquid. Don’t be afraid to take risks. Once I made a sauerkraut quiche that was very tasty.

Seasoning- for a basic quiche, use up to 1 tsp of salt, bearing in mind the saltiness of other ingredients, ¼ tsp pepper, and a dash of nutmeg. If you’re a bit more adventurous, experiment with other seasonings such as chives, Tabasco, tarragon, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper, sherry, parsley, paprika, dill, garlic, onion powder, lemon juice, basil, and/or oregano.

To make the quiche – Prepare the crust in a 9-inch pie plate. Grate cheese and prepare the filling ingredients (sauté, cook, chop, crumble, etc). beat eggs, milk, and seasonings together until just combined. Spread filling ingredients in crust, top this with grated cheese, and cover with egg/milk mixture. (If you’ve made too little egg/milk mixture, mix up slightly more. If you’ve made too much, toss the surplus in tomorrow morning’s universal muffin recipe). Bake for 10 minutes in an oven preheated to 425 degrees. Then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 45 minutes, or until it’s done. The quiche is done when it’s golden brown and slightly puffed, and when a knife inserted comes out clean.

Fat Reduction Strategies:

1. for filling, use vegetables and little or no meat
2. reduce the total amount of eggs and cheese and increase the amount of filling. For instance, one weight watchers recipe uses just 2 eggs, 1 ½ oz of cheese, 1 cup of cooked spinach, and ¾ cup of onion.
3. choose the nonfat milk options
4. eat just one-eighth slice of quiche and serve it with low-fat foods such as soup, raw vegetables, and/or unbuttered bread.
5. choose the rice crust. Or use a pastry recipe that uses oil instead of shortening. Use bulk purchased olive oil so that you at least use the right kind of fat.

Homemade Quiche

One of my new favorites to cook and experiment with...Homemade Quiche!

As soon as I found the perfect pie crust recipe, it sparked my addiction! Quiche is simple to make and CHEAP! It's versatile and can be made by adding just about anything to eggs in a pie crust!

I'm not sure if it makes a difference, but I only use stoneware in my kitchen (pampered chef stoneware to be exact). I never use metal or glass when baking...so I don't know if it makes my pie crusts turn out better or not, but I think they turn out pretty perfect in stones!

I made two quiches for dinner tonight. One was a Cheddar Zucchini Quiche and the other was a Jalapeno Quiche (I know it sounds gross, but trust me, it's amazing!)
I'm including my recipe for Spinach Quiche (I found this one at cooks.com) but we didn't have any spinach tonight, so I couldn't make this one.

They both tasted delicious, but the pictures don't look that great. I'll have to just make them again sometime and take new pictures...darn! :-)

Jalapeno Quiche



Ingredients:
1 Pie crust
6 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1 medium zucchini
1/4 cup scallions, diced
4-5 jalapenos, chopped (remove seeds)
3 pieces of bacon, cooked and chopped
1/2 cup monterey jack cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Roll out pie crust to fit inside mini baker (small round stoneware) or pie plate.
3. Whisk together eggs and milk. Add zucchini, scallions, jalapenos, bacon, and cheese.
4. Pour egg mixture into unbaked pie crust.
5. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.
6. Turn back temperature on oven to 350 degrees and bake for additional 45 minutes or until the eggs are set (all the way through) and not runny. If you put a knife into it and you see lots of yellowish juice, it's NOT done yet. Also, if the edges of the crust start to darken, cover them with aluminum foil so they don't burn.


Cheddar Zucchini Quiche




Ingredients:
1 Pie crust
1 medium zucchini, chopped
6 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
4 slices bacon, chopped
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1 tsp minced fresh garlic
dash of ground black pepper


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Roll out pie crust to fit inside mini baker (small round stoneware) or pie plate.
3. Whisk together eggs and milk. Add zucchini, scallions, bacon, garlic, pepper, and cheese.
4. Pour egg mixture into unbaked pie crust.
5. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.
6. Turn back temperature on oven to 350 degrees and bake for additional 45 minutes or until the eggs are set (all the way through) and not runny. If you put a knife into it and you see lots of yellowish juice, it's NOT done yet. Also, if the edges of the crust start to darken, cover them with aluminum foil so they don't burn.


Spinach Quiche

Ingredients:
1 pie crust
8 oz cream cheese, softened
6 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
10 oz frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 cup diced ham
1/2 cup diced vidalia onion

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Roll out pie crust to fit inside mini baker (small round stoneware) or pie plate.
3. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer until creamy. Beat in eggs, milk and red pepper.
4. Squeeze excess moisture out of spinach. Add spinach, ham, and onion to egg mixture.
5. Pour egg mixture into unbaked pie crust.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 65 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.