Bacon & Cheddar Quiché

Bacon & Cheddar Quiche

In case you haven’t figured it out yet…I am obsessed with making the same foods over & over!!  Quiché would have to top that list too! I have made so many in the past few months that I have already lost count. I guess I just like how easy they can be & how many different varieties you can make of them. Plus I am still working at perfecting my quiché-making skills. And I’m kind of a perfectionist…so who knows how many more of these babies I’ll be making & blogging about!

To get you started on creating your own quiché recipes…I’ll share with you the basic ingredients necessary & then you can add in your own from there.

First, every quiché needs a crust. My Spinach Quiché has a very easy “healthy tasting” whole- wheat crust. If you are limited on time, feel free to use a pre-made crust from the grocery store. I’ve also included an additional recipe below on making your own buttery & flaky crust. You can also go “crust-less.”

Second, every quiché is composed of an egg & milk mixture. The standard ratio to use is 4 eggs for every 1 cup of milk. Limit fat & cholesterol by using 3 egg whites & 1 egg with 1 cup of low-fat or fat-free milk. But if you having guests over for brunch, just go all out & just use the whole darn egg! It is okay to splurge every once in a while :)

And the last part would include all the goodies you choose to put in it! You will want to use veggies, meats, or a combination of them both. And don’t forget about the cheese! The possibilities are endless. XOXO....little j Y

Bacon & Cheddar Quiché

Serves 8

6 oz bacon, chopped

2 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped

4 eggs

1 cup milk

2/3 cup cheddar cheese {+ more if desired}

pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium pan, cook the chopped bacon over medium heat until nicely browned. Remove any bacon fat. Reduce the heat to low & add in the spinach. Season with pepper, if desired. Stir until spinach is wilted & remove from heat. Set aside to cool or put in the freezer to speed up the cooling process.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs & milk together. Set aside.

Sprinkle 1/3 cup of the cheddar cheese onto the bottom of the crust. Add the bacon & spinach after it has cooled. Sprinkle remaining 1/3 cup of cheese on top of the bacon & spinach. Pour in the egg & milk mixture. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Cool before serving.

Quiché Dough for Crust

Recipe from: Williams-Sonoma

Makes 1 pie crust for a 9-inch pan

1 ½ cups flour

½ tsp salt

4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) butter, unsalted & chilled, cut into cubes

¼ cup shortening {or lard if you have it}, chilled & cut into cubes

3-4 Tbsp cold water

In a large bowl, stir together the flour & salt. Add in the butter & shortening. Use a pastry blender to cut butter/shortening into the mixture until becomes crumb-like. Sprinkle in water {1 Tbsp at a time} and use a fork to mix it in. Form the dough into a ball. Use immediately or wrap in plastic wrap & store in the fridge for up to two days.

When ready to roll out the dough, flour your hands & rolling pin. Roll out bigger than your 9-inch pie pan so there is extra dough hanging over the sides. Press dough into pan and cut off excess, but leave a little extra hanging over the edge. The dough tends to shrink after baking. You can see in my pictures how mine shrunk...that’s because I didn’t leave enough dough hanging over the edge of my pie pan. Use a fork to prick holes over the bottom of the dough. Cover & refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before baking. This will help set the dough.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove prepared crust from fridge. Cover with a sheet of foil & fill with dried beans or rice. This is to prevent the crust from puffing up while baking. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove foil with beans or rice. Place back into the oven for an additional 5 minutes until lightly browned.

*Note: If you do not have any shortening or lard on hand, just use all butter & it should come out just fine. I actually prefer a crust without shortening. Use this one from my French Apple Tart but omit the sugar.