Quiche is Quick for Dinner

It's not just for lunch anymore and besides being fun to say its name, quiche is one of the recipes which gives you the chance to be inventive with its ingredients of vegetables and dairy products. Sure, like with other popular recipes, there's lots of variations with or without assorted vegetables – and with only Cheddar or a mixture of cheeses, like Monterrey Jack or Colby. This is the one made for tonight's dinner and the leftovers will be delicious too!

Some recipes recommend using a 9-inch glass pie pan, but I use a 9-½ deep dish glass pan that lets me add extra veggies and cheese. Of course, you will have to stretch the crust a bit more to fit the larger dish, especially when using a frozen crust. And, you can always make your own crust instead of using a premade, refrigerated one. There's always a couple of Pillsbury® refrigerated crusts in our freezer and they come in handy.

Cheddar-Vegetable Quiche

 

9 to 9-½ (deep dish) glass pie dish
1 refrigerated pie crust, thawed
1 -2 tbsp butter
1 C fresh broccoli florets or 2 C broccoli frozen cuts (thawed & drained)
½ C sliced green onions
½ C fresh mushrooms (drain canned ones if using)
2 C shredded Cheddar cheese or other cheese of your choice
1 ½ tbsp of flour
1 ½ C milk or half milk and half & half or light cream
3 eggs
1 tbsp fresh herbs (marjoram, oregano, parsley) or ½ tsp dried herbs
½ salt
¼ tsp black pepper (to taste)

1. Heat oven to 375°. Bake pie crust as directed on package.
   Note: Prebaking the unfilled crust is recommended and some recipes recommend fully baking crusts before filling. Strange as it seems, baked shells do not burn when baked a second time after filling, though the edge does darken. Some recipes advise you cover the crust edge with strips of foil during the last 15-20 minutes of baking to avoid excessive browning. I avoid doing so and prefer a crust that's a little browned.
2. Melt butter in pan over medium-high heat. Add broccoli and other vegetables and cook until crisp-tender.
3. Combine cheese and flour in bowl and toss to coat cheese with flour.
4. Sprinkle half of cheese in bottom of baked shell. Spread broccoli mixture over cheese, then add rest of cheese.
5. Whisk eggs, milk, spices until well blended; pour over vegetables and cheese.
6. Bake 40-45 minutes until filling is browned and set or knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool before cutting.

Special Thanks to friends Barbara & John (you know who you are) for the cheeses. Wish you could have joined us for dinner!