I pulled out a steak to defrost today and checked it around 4:30pm and it was still frozen. Plan B - search the fridge and find eggs, cheese, cream... crackers in the pantry... hmmm... crustless quiche!
I discovered a way to make crustless quiche on the internet last Summer when I had oodles of frozen spinach (note to self, *never* buy frozen spinach again - it is not the same as fresh!) and have been making a million variations since. I usually do it without a crust but tonight I didn't have much to add to the quiche so I decided to make a cracker/butter crust on the bottom, and added rosemary, cayenne, chedder cheese, and cream.
Basics
1 greased (or spam sprayed) pie pan
7-9 eggs
1/2-1 cup cheese (I like sharp chedder but you can use almost any kind)
1/2 cup Cream or Milk
Add-ins (pick 1-3 of anything below)
1/2-1 cup Cooked and finely chopped broccoli
1/21 cup Cooked and finely chopped asperugus
1/2-1 cup Fresh spinach (or frozen but fresh tastes better)
1/2-1 cup small cubes of bread (wheat, potatoe, white, french - whatever)
1/2-1 cup diced tomatoes or salsa
1/2 - 1 cup cooked bacon, ham or sausage (leftovers work great for this)
1/4-1/2 cup cooked mushrooms, cooked cubed potatoes or cooked onions
Spices - Cayenne, pepper, thyme, rosemary, or whatever else you can think of...
... the list is really endless.
Steps
1. Preheat the oven to 350 and butter or grease your pie pan
2. Crack your eggs into a bowl and beat well
3. Add cream/milk and 1/2 of cheese you are using - beat well
4. Add whatever other ingredients you want and mix into the egg mixture
5.
a. - if you want a cracker crust.... crush crackers by hand and mix with 1-2 Tablespoons butter, put on bottom of pie pan.
b. - if you want it "frittata style" put leftover cooked potatoes (best if they are mixed with cooked onions) in the pie pan.
c. - or just leave it alone
6. Pour egg mixture into pie pan and cover with remaining cheese.
Put in oven at 350 and cook for 20 minutes and check to see if done ( you can check by inserting a fork in the middle and seeing if it comes out clean or by wiggling the pan and seeing if the middle moves)..
btw my favorite sides to this are either a salad or broiled vegetables. You can cut up carrots and asperigus and drizzle olive oil on top and add some salt and pepper and cook it at the same time as the quiche for about 10-20 minutes (stir it after 10 minutes).
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this, Charity. I like that the baking time is shorter than your typical quiche, too.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I buy frozen spinach fairly regularly and we like it just as a vegetable side. I microwave it, put a little cheese on top, and it's good. I agree that fresh would be better in a dish like this or in soup, but if you're just cooking it plain then frozen is much cheaper. Fresh always cooks down to nothing!
~Anna
Hmm... I will have to try frozen spinach that way with cheese. When I made frozen spinach as a side dish I tried to stir fry it with garlic and it just fell apart.
ReplyDeleteFrozen spinach actually works quite well in this dish though as long as you defrost and drain it first.:-)