Reader’s Question: Freezing & Thawing Crustless Quiche

Dear Frugal Upstate,

I am hosting a brunch for 60+ at my church and I saw your recipe for crustless quiche that can be frozen.  If I make these in disposable pie tins, freeze for about 10 days, then how long do I heat to serve?  Thaw first?  Your help is greatly appreciated!

Theresa

Theresa,

Quiche for brunch should be lovely!  I should think that you could make the quiche in 9X13 disposable pans instead of pie plates and then cut into squares or rectangles to serve. You would just have to keep an eye on them while cooking and adjust the time to make sure that the center was completely set/cooked.  I’d say from perusing some other recipes for “quiche for a crowd” about 45-50 minutes at 350.

As for the freezing and thawing, I’ve always cooked the quiche, let cool completely and frozen it. I put it in the oven frozen and baked for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees (check it as you go!).

I did some research for you and saw folks who preferred the taste and quality if you froze the quiche raw (careful not to spill!) and then popped it straight into the oven to bake at 400 for about 45 min for a 9″ pie.

Good luck-I hope you have a lovely brunch!

Quick Tip: Paint Touchup Kit

Here is a quick and easy tip.  Make yourself a paint touchup kit for your house.  Save up some glass jars with tight fitting lids, then head down to the basement or out to the garage where you keep all your paint cans.

Fill a jar for each color paint you have in your house (make sure you mix super well so that the pigment is evenly distributed and everything will match). Label with the name of the room it goes in.  Viola! When you have a chip or a mark in your paint:

instead of wrestling with a large can full of paint you have to find, pry open, stir forever, lug around, reseal you have an easier way. Just grab your little jar:

shake or stir well

touch up and go.

Keep the jars together in a box with a couple of kids paintbrushes and you are always ready for a quick touch up.  And don’t forget, next time you paint a room, make a paint touch up jar before you seal up the paint can.

Reader’s Question: Is Freezer Burn Safe?

I mentioned in this week’s Menu Plan that I would be cooking some frozen hamburger patties in gravy to hide a little bit of freezer burn.  This prompted the following comment from Alice:

You mentioned that you would use some hamburger patties that are a little freezer burned.

How do you know when something is too freezer burned to eat? I tend to error on the “better throw it out” side, but then feel terrible for wasting something. I try not to let things get lost in the freezer, but we all know that happens to everyone.

I know the “experts” say to keep meat in the freezer no longer than about 90 days or so — I’m not sure who made up that rule and whether it’s really valid or not.

Well Alice, my gut instinct tells me that freezer burn effects the quality of the food, but not the actual safety.  However I by no means am an authority figure on food safety so I went searching for a little more factual backup!

Who could be more authoritative on food safety than the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)?   According to the USDA my gut was right.  They state that freezer burn does not make items unsafe, just dry in spots.

As for the 90 day thing I know I’ve eaten vacuum sealed & frozen Venison that is a full year old with no ill effects.   At the same link quoted above the USDA  states that food stored constantly at 0 °F will “always” be safe.  Freezing to 0 °F inactivates, but does not kill, the microbes in food, so once you defrost it, the microbes become active again.  And if your freezer doesn’t get to 0°F then all bets are off! (yes, they do sell freezer thermometers if you want to be sure)

So there you have it!  Do you have a question for Frugal Upstate? Feel free to ask either her or by using my Contact Form

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