Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Eggs and Pie Crusts

When you have a lot of these...


You make a lot of quiche.  When you make a lot of quiche, you need a lot of these...


I've only been making my own pie crust for about a year and a half.  I don't know what I was waiting for.  It's not as hard as I thought it would be.  This is a good thing because we go through a lot of pie crust.  The majority of the pie crusts are filled with eggs, veggies and a variety of cheeses.


The recipe for my pie crust can be found here.  I've found that using using 1 cup shortening and 1 1/2 cup butter works just as well in place of all shortening (in the recipe link above).

 

Quiche is, hands down, a family favorite in our house.  We make it at least once a week.  The recipe I use is very versatile.  It can be adapted to suit whatever I have on hand.  Here is the basic (adaptable) recipe...

Our Favorite Quiche
Tomatoes or red bell peppers pair nicely with the feta cheese.  Broccoli or asparagus with cheddar.  Once baked and cooled, this quiche freezes beautifully.


1 tbsp. olive oil or butter
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 cups veggies (chopped fresh or roasted tomatoes, broccoli, fresh or roasted red bell peppers or asparagus)
2 tbsp. flour
6 eggs
1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar or Monterrey jack work well) OR 1/2 cup feta
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

In a skillet, melt butter or heat oil.  Saute onion and garlic until onion is tender.  Add veggies and cook until just tender.  Add flour and saute for another minute, stirring constantly.  In a large bowl, combine eggs, cheeses, salt and pepper.  When the veggies are done, add them to the egg mixture.  Pour into a 9-inch pie crust and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until lightly brown on top and set in in the center.  Let sit 10 minutes before serving.


 

How do you like to fill your quiche? Pin It

14 comments:

  1. Those crust are PERFECT! I throw mine in the pan and don't even crimp the edges.
    I will try this recipe this week...we love quiche too.

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  2. Your edges look so professional. I have no problem making crust, but when it comes to the edges mine always look wonky. Any pointers? Thanks!

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  3. I'm going to give this a try! Beautiful pictures. Can you freeze a quiche?

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  4. Once again, you totally inspire me to get on the ball and do this! But you must tell me more - how did you do the edges so perfectly? Do you do it by hand or a little tool? Also, tell me how you wrap these to go in the freezer?
    I love, love, LOVE quiche, so I must do this soon!

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  5. Love a good quiche! Our favorite is broccoli-tomato-cheddar...oh to have fresh eggs from your own chickens!! I've been begging my husband to let us get some chicks!

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  6. Your eggs are absolutely beautiful....you must have very happy hens:)

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  7. Oh how I love quiche...but I never make it becuase Chris only tolerates it and the boys don't like it at all. What are they thinking?! When I DO make it...I love green chile and jack cheese...spinach and bacon and jack cheese...ham and swiss....the possibilities really are endless.

    Your pie crusts are so beautiful and uniform! You make me think I could do it!

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  8. Once you have frozen them and you get them out to serve. How long and at what temperature do you cook them?? Thanks

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  9. How do you get the edges on your crust so uniform? Mine just end up looking mangled. I have to admit I dislike making pie crust. But, I'll have to try your recipe.

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  10. Lovely folks, to answer your questions...

    I crimp the edges of my crusts by hand- no special trick. I use the index finger on my left hand (I'm right-handed) and my index and thumb on my right hand. The left index finger presses out (away from the center of the pie plate) and in between the index and thumb of the right hand which are pressing toward the center of the pie plate. Could I have given a more confusing explanation? Probably not.

    Quiche freezes very well. If I am planning on freezing one, I under-bake it by about 10 minutes, let it cool completely, wrap tightly and freeze. The day I want it, I thaw it completely and bake it at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or so until it's heated through and set in the center.

    I usually pull a frozen crust from my freezer before I start making the filling for the quiche. It's not completely thawed when I'm ready to fill it and bake it, but I fill it and bake it anyway and it works just fine.

    As to how I freeze my crusts...I stack them about 5 or 6 high with a piece of wax paper between each crust/pie plate. Then, I slide the stacks into large plastic bags that I close with a twisty tie.

    Now, get busy and make yourselves some pie crusts! I love you guys.

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  11. You inspired my dinner for this evening. Thanks!

    Another good crust is the potato crust.
    Meat Potato Quiche in More With Less p 158.
    Uses up those scads of eggs as well as the scads of potatoes in the bin from last year's garden. Fill it with anything you like. Don't bother to peel the potatoes if you're going to bake it right away. Haven't tried freezing it.

    Aunt V.

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  12. I love quiche, I can't wait until my Parmesan cheese comes in from Azure so I can make one again (Parmesan just makes the quiche!) here is a post I wrote recently about my favorite quiche. http://rejoicingevermore.blogspot.com/2010/02/best-quiche-ever.html

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  13. I just discovered your blog yesterday and you are one busy lady! Truly an inspiration. Making this tonight. Thanks!

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  14. We LOVE quiche. Broccoli, mushrooms, chard, kale, spinach, potato (usually a leftover baked one, diced) ham, and bacon have all appeared in them. I also like to add lightly sauteed chopped onion or (leeks if I have them - yum!). Mostly I use sharp cheddar as I don't need as much of it to give the "cheesy" flavor; unhappily I am the only family member who likes Swiss and feta. I do cook the greens and chop them thoroughly before including them. I pre-bake my crusts halfway before filling them as I find it helps to keep the crust from getting soggy in the middle of the quiche. There is a bag of pinto beans in my pantry that have been used for years as "pie weights" to keep the crust from ballooning up while it bakes unfilled (called "baking blind"). Line the crust lightly with foil before pouring in the beans. Be sure to let the crust cool a bit before trying to remove the hot foil! For the four of us (including two boys ages 14 and 17) I will make two quiches and we have NOTHING left over. Leftover quiche is great for breakfast if you do have any uneaten. I suppose I could make three quiches...Pamela

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Just a friendly reminder, if you know me personally please try to refrain from using my name. There are those who may try to locate me, break into my pantry and steal my pickled beets. Thanks:-).

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