Bacon & Cheese Quiche
Years ago, I used to skip breakfast. I’d either grab something terrible unhealthy (like a cookie) or I’d starve myself until lunch because I just didn’t have time to prepare or eat breakfast. I didn’t care for it enough to put energy into it.
Fast forward a few years and now breakfast is my favorite meal of the day.
Well, most of the time. Unless Eggplant and Roasted Red Pepper Pizza is involved. Or Ginger Mahi Mahi. Or French Onion Soup.
Then it’s debatable 🙂
Quiche is one of those foods I could eat all day long. Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. Desse…kidding! But seriously, I don’t know what it is about it. I love it.
A closer look at the bacon.
I love it in any form and with any ingredient – bacon, spinach, broccoli, mushrooms, extra cheesy (yummm), onions, etc etc
And it always seems to impress guests, even guests who don’t enjoy breakfast.
So what’s your favorite meal of the day?
And are you a quiche lover?
PS If you are wondering whether or not you’re losing your mind for thinking this last picture looks like it has broccoli in it and is missing the all-important bacon, don’t worry. You aren’t imagining things. The first time I photographed the quiche, I actually forgot to get a picture of the finished product. Pitiful, right?
And so I made it a second time – with broccoli (and sadly without bacon).
RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS
*adapted from this recipe
CRUST
1 1/2 c flour
7 T butter (chilled and cut in small pieces)
5-6 T chilled water
1/2 tsp salt
Place flour in a bowl. Cut in butter using hands until mixture is coarse. Gradually add water until dough comes together, using fingers to roughly blend mixture together (do not overwork). Shape into ball and cover. Allow to rest for 15 minutes. Roll out to fit a 9.5″ pie dish. Crinkle edges. Use a fork to pierce the bottom in several places (this allows air to escape while cooking so the crust does not puff up on the bottom). Freeze for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425F and place a sheet of foil inside plate, adding beans or weights to the bottom and forming the foil to cover the bottom and sides of the dish. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes.
QUICHE
4 strips of bacon, cooked
2 small onions, sliced
6 eggs, beaten
2/3 c heavy cream
1 c milk
4-8oz shredded cheese ( I use a mixture of cheese which includes mozzarella, asiago, parmesan and cheddar. I gave a range depending on how cheesy you like your quiche. Also use more cheese if you do not have other ingredients. Use less if you use vegetables as filling.)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
While crust is baking, cook bacon in pan. Remove bacon slices and reserve about 1 T of bacon fat. (I usually remove most of the bacon fat and just add the onions to the same pan). Add sliced onions to pan and reserved 1 T of bacon fat and cook on med-low until onions become tender and start to caramelize (about 13 minutes).
*Don’t skip this step – I know it’s not a healthy move by any means but the bacon fat gives the onions and consequently, whole dish, a nice flavor.
Remove from heat.
In a bowl, mix eggs, cream, and milk together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add shredded cheese and bacon/onion mixture.
Carefully transfer mixture to pre-baked crust, making sure that bacon, onions, and cheese are all evenly interspersed. Sprinkle top with nutmeg. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes. *I always place a baking pan on the bottom shelf to catch any possible drips.
Quiche is done when knife is clean when inserted into the center.
*Quiche can be easily frozen for later use. I just slice it into pieces; wait until it cools; and then freeze each piece individually. Take out when you want to eat and place in the toaster oven until heated through.
