Bacon and Leek Quiche

I made this for the second time tonight and I'm now satisfied with my recipe. The original idea came from Food Network Magazine. A friend recommended the magazine and I've now bought two issues. I like it, so I think I'll subscribe. Anyway, the September issue had a section with 50 things to do with bacon. I liked the basic ingredients for their bacon quiche idea, but I thought the custard part of the quiche would be too rich for me, being made with cream and all. Here's my version:

6 slices applewood smoked bacon, chopped

2 leeks, sliced

0.4 lbs gruyere cheese, finely grated

1 cup milk

3 eggs

1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

freshly ground pepper

9-inch frozen pie crust

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook the bacon until crisp and slightly browned in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Drain the bacon over paper towels on a plate. Reserve the bacon drippings. Add 2 tablespoons bacon drippings back to the skillet. Saute the leeks in the bacon drippings over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Spread a small amount of the cheese on the bottom of the pie crust. Spread the leeks over the cheese. Add a small amount of cheese over the leeks. Add the bacon over the cheese. Add the remaining cheese over the bacon. Whisk the milk, eggs, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper together and pour evenly in the pie crust. Bake for 35-40 minutes until center is set. Let quiche cool and set for 10 minutes before serving. Makes 6 servings.

Broccoli Quiche

This is probably my recipe for dinner with the fastest prep time. It's a recipe that until now had scribbled on a piece of paper. The instructions probably make no sense to anyone but me. It's one of several recipes from my mother that I took down when I moved into my first apartment. My one change is the addition of a small amount of cayenne pepper.

As I mentioned in a previous quiche post, I barely made quiche because I was so hung up on making everything from scratch for the longest time. I do still think that my homemade crust is best, but the all-natural frozen crusts I've been buying are good enough for a quick dinner.

1 9-inch frozen pie crust

2 cups shredded colby jack (or cheddar or just monterey jack...) cheese

10 ounces frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained

1/2 cup slivered almonds

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together the eggs and mayonnaise. Whisk in the milk, black pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper. Sprinkle a little cheese on the bottom of the pie crust. Spread the broccoli over the cheese. Spread the rest of the cheese over the broccoli. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the cheese. Sprinkle the almonds over the top. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until center of quiche is set. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Makes 6 servings.

Green Chile and Red Onion Quiche

This is one of the quickest dinners I make as far as hands-on time goes. I think today I started it and then had it in the oven eight minutes later. That's pretty great when you have two young kids that need oh so much of my time for one thing or another. I got this recipe from a bon appetit issue shortly after Camille was born. I found the heavy cream in it a little too rich for my liking, so I first used half-and-half instead and now I just use whole milk.

For many years I was such a purist about cooking. I hated making anything from a mix or using anything that was already prepared, such as a pie crust. It will be hard to convince me that any purchased frozen pie crust is as good as my homemade pie crust, but by being so rigid I almost never made quiche, something I really like that is otherwise fast to make. I also found that my grocery store sells organic pie crusts and the organic aspect doesn't matter too much to me. What I like is that it doesn't have any lard in it. So now that I have relaxed about not making every bit of a dinner and I found a frozen pie crust I feel okay about, I get to enjoy quiche way more often.

The original recipe is online. Here's my version:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 red onion, chopped

3/4 cup whole milk

2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon tabasco sauce

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 7-ounce can diced mild green chiles

1 purchased frozen 9-inch diameter pie crust (do not thaw)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion. Saute for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until just tender. Cool briefly.

Whisk milk and next 4 ingredients in a bowl to blend. mix in cheese, chiles, and onions. Pour filling into frozen crust. Bake until golden brown and set in the center, about 40 minutes. Makes 6 servings.