Wednesday, December 5, 2012

An Anytime Feast

Dear Readers,

Recently the weather has been chilly and my mornings, and nights, are dark.  Muffin has decided that the ideal time to awaken is somewhere between 4 and 5am.  He's a great sleeper, going to bed without fail around 7pm every night with no fuss.  Unfortunately, Mommy and Daddy do not go to sleep at 7pm too.  Alas.  But trying to fit in Muffin time, work and meals without wanting to give up and eat takeout every night requires some doing.  My "lazy week" solution is quiche.

Quiche is an "anytime" food, but with its francophile roots feels more Continental than a "casserole."  And it lasts for days and is glorious right out of the fridge, zotted for a minute in the micro.  Breakfast?  Yes, please.  Lunch?  Perfect.  Dinner?  Ah....  It's also a clever way to use up those veggies you meant to make a few days ago and tastes wonderful when paired with a simple salad (See?  It's a health food).

So, you have options.  You can go crustless if you're doing the "no bread diet" still, but seriously, that's so 2007.  My favorite option is to buy two pie crusts in the frozen section, bake them and fill them with whatever I have - spinach, asparagus, ham, bacon, squash, cheese, whatever.  That way we have multiple meals for multiple days or a second quiche to give a friend (quiche is a great new baby meal because it keeps and can be eaten any time of day or, more likely, night).

Here's a basic recipe I adapted.  Get creative with your fillings!

2 pie crusts
2 cups of swiss cheese
Fillings of your choice: enough to cover the bottom of the pie crust
4-6 eggs and 4-6 egg yokes (depending on the depth of your pie crust)
3 cups of milk (classic recipes call for half and half...use what you want)
pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper

Bake pie crusts per directions (failure to do this results in soggy crust - not terrible, but not ideal)

Preheat oven to 375

Place quiche fillings in the bottom of the baked pie crusts (my favorite is bacon and spinach).  Layer cheese over the top, putting approximately one cup in each pie crust.

Beat eggs, milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl.  Pour evenly over each pie crust.  Use spoon to push fillings down and to even out the egg mixture.

Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Enjoy!


2 comments:

  1. Try a hash brown crust...its amazing! Either shred a few potatoes (I do 3-4), or buy Trader Joes Hash Browns (the shredded kind). If youre doing the Trader Joes version, remember they are forzen so you need to let them defrost. Anyway, add salt and peper, press them against a buttered springform pan, bake for 15-20 mins. Remove from oven, pour in your egg mixture and bake according the the recipe. So delish!

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