Quiche

A filling breakfast pie made with eggs, bacon, and cheese.  This delicious, typically, breakfast or brunch item also makes a fine dinner.

I am so tired of seeing commercials that trash quiche.  It's always a 'manly' commercial that makes it seem like quiche is not filling and not fit for the consumption of 'real men'.  This makes me so mad.  Quiche typically contains eggs, cheese, and bacon (or some other meat).  What is so 'unmanly' about that? They are all protein.  Yes, you can make quiche without meat, but you can do that with lots of other dishes (like pizza) and they don't get the same kind of bad press as quiche.  I make quiche pretty often, usually it contains 1/2 to 1 pound of bacon, at least 1 cup of cheese (usually 2 or more) and about 5 eggs.  I will also put some kind of vegetable in it, usually spinach, but it gets pretty well hidden by all of the other goodies and there is nothing wrong with being a little health conscious.  I like quiche, it is a great way to clean out the refrigerator and you can use it to use up many leftovers.  My husband also enjoys quiche, and he is a man.  So what is the problem?  Maybe the people who these commercials are geared towards have not actually had or made quiche.  I'm not even going to get started on the sexism of 'manliness'.

Anyway, with my rant over I will give you my simple recipe for quiche.  With just the basic recipe you can add any cheese, meat and vegetable of your liking.

Ingredients:

1 recipe pie crust (I use an easy pie crust recipe)*
5 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup cheese (I usually prefer more cheese, but this was all I had)
1/2 pound bacon, chopped and cooked
1-2 cups frozen spinach
salt and pepper, to taste
1/8 tsp habanero flakes
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 cup chopped green onions

*Easy Pie Crust

1 cup self-rising flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup oil
(I used 1 cup of whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup flax seed meal, 1/2 Tbsp baking powder with 1 stick of butter--melted, and the 1/4 cup water)
To make self-rising flour:  4 cups flour + 2 tsp salt + 2 Tbsp baking powder.


First make the pie crust.  Bring the water and oil (or butter) to a boil in a small saucepan.  Once boiling take off the heat and add the flour (or flour mixture).  Stir until all of the flour is hydrated and it forms a ball.  Dump this into your pie pan, or I use an 8 inch cast iron skillet. When dough has cooled enough to touch press out into a pie crust shape, filling the pan.  Then line the crust with a double thickness of foil and bake at 450 for 8 minutes.  Uncover and bake for 3-5 minutes more or until the crust is dried out.  Lower oven temperature to 325.

Mix up the eggs with the milk, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and habanero flakes or hot sauce (if using).  Then add the frozen spinach, bacon, cheese, and onions.  Stir until thoroughly mixed and pour into pie crust.   Bake, uncovered, at 325 for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until set and browned on top.  Serves 6 depending on how you slice it.


Quiche is an easy and tasty meal and there are many variations you can make of it. This is just 1 recipe.  Be creative and use up any leftovers you might have.

Some quiche variation ideas:

Cheese Steak Quiche--use sliced steak, peppers and onions, and provolone cheese
Taco Quiche--use leftover taco meat or ground beef, salsa, and colby jack cheese
Sausage and Pepper Quiche--use Italian sausage, bell peppers, and mozzarella cheese

The variations are endless.  Make it as 'manly' or 'unmanly' as you like.  What are your favorite quiche recipes?

Enjoy.