Let’s Quiche!

Quiche is classy, tasty and economical. It can be eaten warm or at room temp, and it freezes very well either as an entire quiche or in individual serving sizes. And you can make it with pretty much whatever you have in your fridge. So what are you waiting for? Let’s Quiche!

I use the universal quiche recipe from “The Complete Tightwad Gazette” (borrow it from the library and read it-it is totally worth it).

Rice Crust
1 ½ ounces of a grated hard cheese (like cheddar, Swiss or Monterey Jack)
1 egg or 2 whites
2 cups of rice.

To Assemble:
Mix all together, pat into a 9-inch pie, and bake at 425 for 15 minutes.

The Quiche

Eggs
3 whole eggs or an equivalent mixture of yolks and whites.

Cheese
Use from ½ to 1 cup of hard grated cheeses. You can also use ¼ cup of Parmesean cheese.

Milk
For this recipe you need 1 cup of milk like substance. You can use any combination of milk, evaporated milk, watered down plain yogurt (ie half yogurt half milk or evap milk), a mix of cottage cheese and milk, or powdered milk with half the water.

Fillings
Approx 2 cups of a combination of veggies and cooked meats. If you only have 1 cup of “stuff” go ahead and make it anyway. It will be fine!

Note: This is a good time to clean out the fridge. The last quiche I made had cut up leftover chicken, cut up leftover Italian sausage that I rinsed the tomato sauce off of, and half a bag of baby spinach that was starting to look past it’s prime (I didn’t cook it, just chopped it up small and threw it in). Get creative with what you have on hand. Amy D in The Tightwad Gazette gives the example of a sauerkraut quiche that she made with leftovers once. I don’t think I’m quite that brave. . .

Seasonings
Usually everything benefits from some Seasoned Salt and a grind or two of pepper. Don’t add additional salt if you are using something already salty like bacon or ham. Do add a dash of nutmeg-that is what gives the classic “Quiche” flavor. Otherwise, just use what sounds good to you.

To Assemble:

Preheat oven to 425.

Prepare the crust in a 9-inch plate. (It is always a good idea to put the quiche on a cookie sheet, just in case it flows over)

Beat eggs, milk and seasonings together.

Spread filling ingredients on the crust, top with grated cheese, and cover with egg/milk mixture.

Bake for 10 minutes at 425 then turn down the oven to 350 and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Actually mine usually looks VERY brown before the center is cooked.

Some notes on the recipe:

#1-You can use any type of crust that you want. I like the rice crust because I don’t feel that my regular pie crust comes out well. Also, pie crust is pretty high in fat, rice crust is not. You can even make a “crustless” quiche by adding 1/4 cup of flour, or simply cooking the regular recipe without a crust.

#2-You can make “individual” quiches in either a regular muffin pan, or in one of those bigger “Texas” sized muffin pans. Just pat a layer of the rice crust mixture in the bottom, prebake it as directed, pour the mixture in, and bake for about 30 min, then start checking to see if it is done. The great thing about the Texas muffins is that they are large enough to be a single adult serving.

#3-Quiche can be eaten hot or at room temperature, and it freezes very well. I’ve also seen recipes for “Quiche in a bag”. Basically you make up the egg mixture and pour that plus the filling stuff into a gallon freezer bag. Label and freeze. Then when you need a quick dinner defrost, pour on top of the crust and bake. I don’t really see where that is much of a time saver, but if you have a bunch of eggs that you need to use up, or find eggs on some sort of incredible sale then it may be helpful. For an actual “freezer recipe” that makes it’s own crust check here.