Mid-Week Minute: It's a Quiche!

So, like I said last week, I'm on a total new recipe kick. I've always been a pretty picky eater but over the last several years I've branched out a lot with what I order at restaurants, thanks mostly to Paul's teasing encouragement. Now I've decided I need to branch out at home as well. I've had quiche before (I think) but definitely never made one. But I found this delicious-looking recipe for a spinach and bacon quiche in my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook and thought it was worth a try. I have to say I did pretty good for my first time. I judge this by the fact that Paul ate it for three meals in a row, which never happens, and was visibly upset when there was finally none left. I'll definitely be making more quiches in the future.

Oh, and the recipe called for "crispy" bacon so since mine always turns out not so crispy I googled "how to make crispy bacon" and came up with this technique. Some of you probably already make it this way but I thought I'd share anyway because it was way easier than using a skillet and it really did make it super crispy... Cover a baking sheet with foil and lay the bacon strips on it. Put it in the oven first and then turn it on to preheat to 400 degrees. Let it sit in there while it's preheating and afterwards for a total of about 20 minutes (depending on how fast your oven warms up). The foil makes the cleanup really easy and the bacon turns out sooo good! I've cooked bacon in the oven before but I guess for some reason it makes a difference that it's in there while the oven is preheating instead of already at 400. 

Also, I wanted to show you Paul's hard work from this past weekend. He worked all day on Saturday cleaning out the garage to make room for a home studio and it looks awesome! We're going on Friday to pick up a new desktop computer to put out there for him that he'll use for his thesis work coming up. 

Before

(I got in there a little too late to take a proper

"before" picture. Those boxes on the floor were in 

stacks instead of all over the floor but it still looked

almost as awful as this anyway.)

After

(He got rid of a bunch of stuff and rearranged

the back area so that all the boxes could be moved

back there and easily accessed, then cleaned off

the countertop so he can work on it and added

shelves over it and hooks to hold all his supplies.)

Hooray for productive weekends! Alright, see you back here on Friday for Wilder's 18-week update where we get visited by the tooth monster, not fairy. 


OK, well, I've had a few people ask me to post the quiche recipe so here it is guys! Enjoy!

Spinach Quiche

1 frozen pie crust

1/2 cup chopped onion

6 slices crispy bacon, chopped

8 beaten eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup half and half, light cream, or milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

Dash ground nutmeg (optional)

3 cups lightly packed chopped fresh spinach

2/3 cup mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese (I couldn't find this at the grocery but Sargento makes an Artisan blend of shredded mozzarella and provolone and I thought the smoky provolone would go great with the bacon so that's what I used)

Cherry tomatoes (optional)

Directions: Cook bacon as directed above then crumble. In a skillet cook onion until tender. In a bowl stir together eggs, sour cream, half and half, salt, pepper, and, if desired, nutmeg. Stir in onion, bacon, spinach, and cheeses. Pour egg mixture into frozen pie crust. Bake in a 325 degree oven 45-50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean (mine took more like an hour or so because it was overfilled a bit). If necessary, cover edge of crust with foil to prevent overbrowning. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with cherry tomatoes, if desired.