Kitchy-Kitchy, Quiche
Quiche like this is a perfect dinner for a weeknight. Making this with a quinoa crust and no cream or butter turns a high fat dinner into a delicious and lighter alternative. I don’t think you’ll miss a bit of what’s left out. You’ll just be able to enjoy what’s in it! It’s full of delicious veggies, a little salty bit of goat cheese and you can put it together in almost no time! Then, sit back and relax for 40 minutes while it bakes. I bet you can think of something relaxing to do with that time, right? Have a glass of wine, take a bubble bath, give the dog a bath, then, wha-lah, dinner is done.
My Chickens 🐔 🥚🥚🥚 Love Quiche
When my first chickens started laying eggs I was in heaven! I love nothing more than when the garden’s hopping and the chickens are laying. That means I can just walk outside and literally, pick up everything I need to make a meal from my yard! (Aside from a few extra staples). It’ super rewarding for this girl who grew up in the big city. Even if you don’t have a garden and your chickens aren’t laying, you can use up all the extra stuff you thought you’d eat but didn’t get a chance too. All in this one perfect dish. Oh, and it keeps well too. You can wrap it up and take it for lunch the next day or, even eat it for breakfast! See, PERFECT!
The basics of this recipe can be used to make almost any version you can imagine. It’s a great, and I mean a great way to use up all the extra produce that’s lurking in your fridge. Remember when you went shopping and everything looked so good. You bought more than you could use and the guilt is driving you up a wall??? Don’t let it get you down! Don’t let it go to waste, make a Quiche. On a side note, can you think of another recipe with the Q’s?
With Quiche, Crust Is A Must For Me
If you have left over quinoa or even rice, use it for the crust. If not, you’ll need about 1 1/2 cups rice or quinoa. Add a beaten egg or egg substitute, a 1/2 teaspoon salt and some fresh ground pepper and mix it well. Then add to a 9 inch pie pan that you’ve sprayed with a bit of non-stick spray. Then, with the back of a large spoon, spread the mix evenly along the bottom of the pie plate and up the sides. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes, while you make the filling.
Veggies In!
I chopped about 8 scallions and a handful of flat leaf parsley.
I roasted a bell pepper and removed the charred top layer of the skin and chopped it up.
Roasting Peppers
An easy and fast way to roast a pepper is to just put it right over a low flame and let it char. When it’s completely black all around, put it in a bowl and top with plastic wrap to steam off the outer layer of charred skin. Then slice in half, remove the seeds and with the back of a knife, rub the skin off. Then discard the skin and seeds. This sweetens up the pepper. It’s like candy pepper 🙂
You can do that or just add raw bell pepper. It’s delicious either way.
A Quick Tomato Jam
Then I crushed and chopped 3 cloves of garlic. Into a small sauce pan, I added about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and added about 20 cherry tomatoes with some thyme and a pinch of sugar and salt. I let them cook until they started to pop. You can skip the cooking if you prefer and just cut the tomatoes in half and add them uncooked.
I make this tomato jam often. Mostly because my husband does not like raw tomatoes. You can alternately just slice them in half and let them cook right in the quiche. I also use the cooked jam on top of the finished quiche which is delicious!
In a medium bowl, crack about 7-8 eggs (You can also use egg whites and just a yolk or two and lighten it up even more!) and mix them with 1/4 cup milk. Add a pinch of salt and a grind or two of fresh black pepper.
Take the crust out of the oven and add all the ingredients, except the eggs. Spread evenly on top of the crust, then top with about 4 ounces of goat cheese. Add the eggs on top and bake for 40 minutes at 375°
Serve with a small salad or just as is. I added a little extra of the cooked cherry tomatoes on top.
Think of the various options that would be delicious – asparagus, broccoli, mushrooms, zucchini. Seriously, whatever veggies you want to use use up would work great!
Quiche with Veggies and Goat Cheese In A Quinoa Crust
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1 1/2 cups cooked and cooled quinoa or rice
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
For the Quiche
- 8 eggs (or 8 egg whites and 2 egg yolks)
- 1/4 cup milk
- 15-20 cherry tomatoes
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup parsley chopped
- 1 bunch scallions, chopped
- 1 bell pepper roasted, cleaned and char removed, sliced
- 4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
- 1 pinch sugar
- salt/pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425
- Make quinoa or rice according to package directions or used left over cold quinoa or rice. Add 1 egg and 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Mix to combine.
- Spray a 9 inch glass pie pan with non stick spray. Add the quinoa or rice and press evenly into the pie pan and up the sides. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees
For the Filling
- In a small sauce pan, add olive oil and garlic, thyme, pinch of sugar and salt and the whole cherry tomatoes. Cook on medium high until the tomatoes have blistered and started to burst.
- Into the crust, add the cooked tomatoes, chopped scallion, bell pepper, parsley.
- In a separate bowl, mix the eggs with the milk, a 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Add on top of the vegetables in the pan. Top with the goat cheese.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes until puffed and set on top.
