Country Style Ham And Cheese Quiche

When you have chickens, you get a lot of eggs, well at least we do here on the TAP homestead. In addition to eating a lot of boiled eggs and egg salad, we eat quiche on a pretty regular basis. The great thing about quiche is that it is easy to make, although you have to wait about an hour for that cheesy, bacon-any goodness.

I know we have all heard the saying “real men don't eat quiche” right? So what it a quiche anyway? It is breakfast pie made with eggs, cheese, meat, milk, and optional greens. Pretty much the same thing that thousands of Americans sit down and eat at the breakfast table every morning. Anyway, on to the recipe.

The Recipe

Generally a quiche is made with the addition of heavy cream or half-in-half, but most of us do not keep either of those in the refrigerator on a regular basis, so this recipe has been modified so that it is more everyday friendly. After some experimentation here is my version of a traditional Quiche Lorraine modified to make it somewhat easier for the avergae American to make. I call it 'Country Quiche' as just about anyone has the ingredients in their fridge and or garden to make it.

1 deep dish pie shell

4 eggs

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

4 slices of bacon

¾ cup whole milk

spinach, kale, swiss chard or other greens of your liking (optional)

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

Remove your deep dish frozen pie shell from the freezer about 10 minutes before you want to make the quiche. After ten minutes, take a fork and push the tines (the pointy ends) all around the bottom of the crust to perforate it. This keeps the crust from bubbling up.

Place eggs in a bowl and beat until scrambled, then add the milk, salt and pepper and mix throughly, then set aside. Next, layer the cheese, meat, and greens then pour in the egg and milk mixture.

Chef's Note: When I made this quiche, we were out of bacon (say it isn't so right?). So I took two slices of Oscar Mayer cooked ham (lunch meat) and cut it into to small pieces and used it instead of the bacon. The greens I used for this quiche was kale taken from my parents garden.

Place the quiche in the preheated 375 degree oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Once it has cooked completely, remove form the oven and allow to cool for 3 to 5 minutes before cutting and serving. Eat it plain, or top it with the salsa of your choice.

Conclusion

This is one of those dishes that I prepare, throw in the oven and then go outside and feed and water the rabbits and chickens and check on the garden. By the time I am done the quiche is usally ready. And if I am not done, then my wife simply hollers out the back door at me to come eat. This recipe is quick, easy, and delicious and it is one way in which I sneak extra greens into my diet.

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