Quiches

I've been sitting here for about 15 minutes debating over whether or not to put pictures on this post.  They are horrible so I decided against it, also because all the folks that asked me for the recipes saw them all in person.  Seriously, very un-appetizing photos.

I prepared 6 different quiches for my daughter's baby shower and they all turned out great!  I will give you here the basis for the quiches and the list of ingredients I used.  You can change of the ingredients to your liking.  I used two different crusts.  A hash brown crust that I was afraid was going to permanently adhere to the quiche dish.  Thankfully it did not, and came out like a dream and tasted great!  The other was a plain pastry crust, I cheated and picked up the store bought variety.  Unroll it and toss it in the dish.  Normally I would prepare the crust from scratch, however I had 6 of these facing me so I took the short cut.

Hash Brown Crust

The Chef In My Head

3 cups, shredded frozen hash browns, thawed and drained

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Gently press the drained hash browns between paper towels to dry them as best as possible. In a 9-inch pie plate, toss the hash browns with the melted butter into the plate. Press them into the bottom and up the sides to form a crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and starting to crisp.

Store Bought Pie Crust Preparations

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Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Gently press pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate and prick with fork multiple times.  Line pie crust with parchment paper or foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans.  Bake for 12 minutes.  remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before adding filling.

Fillings

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Cheese/Cream/Egg Ratios:

3 Eggs

1-1/4 Cup Heavy Cream or Half-n-half  (I love heavy cream, but if you want to save on calories you can use milk)

1 to 1-1/2 Cups shredded cheese (Gruyere is my favorite, but you can use Swiss or Cheddar or any combination)

Salt/pepper/herbs of your choice

Beat eggs, cream and seasonings together.  Add shredded cheese to this mixture.  Set aside.

Flavorings/Seasonings/Meats/Vegetables Options:

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Here, just pick your favorites and toss them in!  I usually will serve a vegetarian option as well.

Fresh thyme

Fresh cilantro

Fresh basil

6 oz bacon sliced in lardoons (love jalapeno bacon and peppered bacon), saute until crisp and drain well

6 oz ham, cubed or sliced (I will quickly saute just to eliminate some of the water from the ham)

1 medium zucchini, diced, sauteed before adding to pie dish

1/2 pound mushrooms, diced (experiment with different mushrooms, shitake, button, cremini etc), sauteed before adding to pie dish

1 medium yellow onion, cut in half and thinly sliced, sauteed before adding to pie dish

1/2 cup sliced green onion, do not precook

2-3 cups fresh spinach, diced, do not precook

2-3 cups kale, diced and sauteed before adding to pie dish

1 poblano pepper, roasted and skin removed, finely diced

Red and/or yellow pepper, diced, sauteed before adding to pie dish

Avocado, peeled and sliced (a favorite of mine, spiral slices in pie dish, very rich and delicious!)

Optional Toppings

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3 oz goat cheese, crumbled on top

Poblano pepper strips (as prepared above)

Pimento strips

Fresh parsley

Layering and Baking

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Baked, cooled pie crust

meat/vegetable fillings

Pour cream/egg/cheese mixture over fillings

Bake in 375 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes.  Watch your crust for over-browning.  Cover with ring of foil if necessary.

Allow quiche to cool about 10 minutes and serve.

The point here is to be creative and use the ingredients and seasonings you love!

Just drop me a line if you have any questions!

Bon Appetite!

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