I am sorry for my absence the last few days. I have been a little under the weather all week. Nothing exciting was cooked unfortunately, and my children have had to survive on pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches and baked potatoes. My husband is a great help when I am sick and quite capable of whipping up dinner for them but as luck would have it, his schedule was terrible and he worked late. As I write this, I am still not quite mobile. The weather here has been its usual erratic self and the damp, cold days are responsible for my breakdown. I am really hoping to get moving today because I have so much to do the next few weeks.
Pain or not, one thing I had to do was make breakfast for my daughter’s teacher appreciation breakfast. I had already committed and volunteered to make a couple of breakfast quiches. I couldn’t let them down just because I was feeling poorly. So, I sucked it up and made the quiches. I did help myself by taking a few short cuts I don’t usually take but seeing as I could barely stand, I had to make it easier on myself. They still smelled heavenly coming out of the oven and my husband was greatly disappointed that he couldn’t delve into one.
I took pictures as I was making them but I don’t have one of the quiche
slices. The quiches were for school so I didn’t want to cut them up to take a picture. I don’t know if y’all have tried a quiche before or if you even like them but I think they are delicious. They are incredibly versatile and fairly easy to make. They smell wonderful baking and are great as leftovers. They can be made for breakfast, brunch or lunch. A breakfast quiche may include sausage or in my case potatoes, whereas a brunch and lunch quiche could contain chicken or seafood. You can pretty much make a quiche with any filling: meat and vegetable, just meat or vegetarian. My favourites are usually vegetarian ones but a chicken and mushroom quiche can be quite exceptional. I usually make my own pie crust but since I was not feeling so hot, the first short cut I took was to buy frozen pie crusts. One thing to note about frozen pie crusts, many brands, especially Pillsbury, are made with hydrogenated lard. This is a problem for most Muslims. Please read the list of ingredients before you purchase any pie crusts. If I want to save time and not make my own crust, I usually buy my pie crusts from Whole Foods. They have great preservative and hydrogenated oil free, organic, whole wheat pie crusts.
One of our favourite quiches for breakfast, lunch or dinner is my potato and pea quiche. It’s ridiculously easy to make and incredibly tasty to devour. I think I made it a touch easier this time by baking the potatoes in the microwave! I popped the potatoes in the microwave and baked for 5 minutes and then turned over and baked for another 5. They were perfectly cooked and I just peeled off the skin and cut them up into a bowl. I never shy away from a bit of slicing and dicing but the other day, I felt awful and just wanted to get it done.
Six servings.
Potato and Pea Quiche
1 9″/23cm deep dish pie crust, frozen or home made
1 large potato, boiled or baked and cut into chunks
1/2 cup frozen peas or more if desired
3 eggs, organic or free range
1 cup/236ml milk or half and half
1 teaspoon/5ml garlic powder
1 teaspoon/5ml paprika
1 teaspoon/5ml dried thyme or any dried herb of choice
salt and pepper
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded*
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded*
*NOTE: I use about half a cup of cheese, but you can use more or less. The mozzarella goes on the bottom of the crust and usually just enough to cover. Again, if you love cheese, you can put a thick layer of cheese at the bottom. The cheddar is sprinkled on top.
The peas and the crusts do not have to be defrosted. I assemble the quiche in frozen crusts and they bake up perfectly.
Preheat the oven to 350 deg F/ 180 deg C
In a bowl, beat the eggs and milk together.
Add the garlic, paprika, dried thyme and salt and pepper.
Blend well and put aside.
Place the frozen pie crust on to a baking sheet to catch any leaks.
Layer the mozzarella cheese on the bottom of the pie crust.
Next, place the boiled/baked potatoes on top of the cheese.
Scatter the frozen peas over the potatoes.
Sprinkle the cheddar cheese over the potato and pea mixture.
Pour the egg-milk mixture into the pie crust carefully.
The egg-milk mixture should completely fill the pie crust.
Bake in the oven for 45 minutes.
Check to see if golden brown and firm to the touch.
If the quiche jiggles, then it is not done and leave in
the oven for another 10/15 minutes.
Let the quiche cool for about 20 minutes before serving.
The quiche is good at room temperature.
Cut into slices and serve with a fruit or green salad.
Hope you all have great week. I certainly hope I feel better soon.
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