Quiche Lorraine

Ah, the wonders of Quiche. A recipe that uses ingredients that most people have readily available to them. A bit of this, a bit of that, and you've got yourself a delicious breakfast or brunch entree. We had some refrigerated pie crusts that we had bought extras for some Christmas baking that we didn't use.

Classic Quiche Lorraine traditionally is made with bacon, but Julia Child says that it has NO CHEESE. Well where's the fun in that? I grabbed some leftover bacon from the morning's breakfast, some shredded swiss, and some frozen chopped spinach and got to work.

For those that like to take the easy route, grab your thawed pre-packaged pie crust and place it into a high sided pie pan. Press it lightly around the edges, making sure not to tear. Take a piece of foil, press it into the pie crust, and bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the foil, and check for bubbles in the crust. Press down any bubbles, and put the crust back into the oven for 3 minutes. Remove pan from oven and set to the side.

The egg base of the quiche is the following:

• 5 large eggs
• 2 cups of heavy whipping cream (you could also use half and half)
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• I also added 1/4 tsp of dried mustard, 1/2 tsp garlic powder to my mix for extra flavor!

Crack your eggs into a bowl and whisk until they are all combined, then add all other ingredients. Once you have this egg mixture, the possibilities of your own quiche are endless. My quiche had 7 slices of bacon that I finely chopped, 1 1/2 cups of shredded swiss cheese, 1 chopped green onion and a half a package of frozen chopped spinach that I had thawed and squeezed out all the moisture.

Take your filling ingredients and place them into the baked pie crust. I like to mix mine up for even coverage throughout the quiche. I even save a little of the cheese to sprinkle on top before baking. Pour your egg mixture over the filling, then bake at 325 degrees for 45-50 minutes. When it's done, it should not be jiggly, it should be firm. Let stand for 10 minutes before eating. This is also a dish that's served well at room temperature or even cold. One of my favorite lunches is a slice of this paired with a small salad!

Some other ingredients that are wonderful in quiche are :

• leftover ham, chopped
• sliced mushrooms
• sharp cheddar
• cooked leeks
• blanched and chopped asparagus
• cooked and crumbled sausage
• crab

As I said before, there are endless possibilities in the world of quiche.... just take whatever is leftover in your fridge and go wild!