Spinach Bacon Quiche

This quiche was just plain good. I'm bummed because this picture doesn't really do it justice. The whole house smelled wonderful while this quiche baked and my mouth waters just typing about it. I love that I just dumped the ingredients together, poured the mixture into a pie shell and played in the back yard with the kids for 45 minutes while it baked.

That's right, I used a pre-made pie shell straight from my freezer.


I covered it with a double layer of foil and popped it into a 450 degree oven for 8 minutes. Then, following the recipe, I uncovered the pie shell and baked it for 4 more minutes.


The recipe said to cook 1/2 of a chopped onion with the bacon and then drain. I'd already cooked and blotted my bacon yesterday when I made BLT's, so I started cooking the onion first in a skillet with a little nonstick cooking spray. Then I chopped the cooked bacon and tossed it in when the onions started to get tender. I cooked it a few minutes longer to crisp up my bacon and my onions started to caramelize a little. I'm thinking that I shaved off a little fat this way, since the onion didn't actually cook in bacon grease.


Time to take the pie shell outta the oven. Shoot. It got a little "done". And it cracked too. Oh well. I'm a card carrying member of the "It'll be fine" club. It's how I deal with all minor kitchen disasters and come to think of it...it's how I take on life. Most days. I just shrug my shoulders and say, "It'll be fine." And usually "it" is. Don't sweat the small stuff, right? Don't ask my husband to vouch for me on this one, though. I can get worked up with the best of em'. But stuff like cracked pie crust, spilled milk, flat tires...it'll be fine.


Now that our crust is ready, we need to fill it. I cracked 8 eggs into a bowl, then added lowfat sour cream and skim milk. Whisk it all together. I'm shaving some fat and calories here. The recipe called for regular sour cream and cream or half and half. Truthfully, the finished product was so tasty, I didn't regret cutting back the fat.


Chop up a couple of cups of nice, healthy spinach.


Stir in the mozzarella, Swiss, spinach, salt, pepper, and a dash of nutmeg.


And don't forget to add in the bacon and onion.


Now pour the mixture into the pie shell. Pop your quiche into a 325 degree oven for 45-50 minutes. It's done when the center is set and a knife stuck into the middle comes out clean. Mine seemed to take a little longer...like 55-60 minutes, which is surprising because my oven bakes hot. If any of you try this, please let me know how long yours baked.


There she is, fresh from the oven. Only, don't dig in just yet. Let her sit there for another 10 minutes before slicing. I know, it smells so good and it's difficult to exercise restraint. Just a little longer...


There. Now you can eat.

You may notice where the egg ran down under the crust, through those cracks that I said would "be fine". It pushed the crust up into the center of the quiche. Guess what? It was fine. Actually, better than fine. Completely and totally, deliciously, better than fine.

Spinach Bacon Quiche adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients

1 recipe Pastry for Single-Crust Pie
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
6 slices bacon, chopped
8 beaten eggs
1/2 cup reduced fat dairy sour cream
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
Dash ground nutmeg (optional)
2 cups tightly packed chopped fresh spinach
2/3 cup shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese (about 3 ounces)
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese (2 ounces)
Cherry tomatoes, cut up (optional)
Directions
1. Prepare and roll out Pastry for Single-Crust Pie. Line a 9-inch pie plate with the pastry. Trim; crimp edges as desired. Line the unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of foil. Bake in a 450 degree F oven for 8 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for 4 to 5 minutes more or until pastry is set and dry. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook onion and bacon until onion is tender and bacon is crisp. Drain on paper towels.

3. In a bowl stir together eggs, sour cream, milk, salt, pepper, and, if desired, nutmeg. Stir in onion mixture, spinach, and cheeses.

4. Pour egg mixture into the hot, baked pastry shell. Bake in the 325 degree F oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. If necessary, cover edge of crust with foil to prevent overbrowning. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. If desired, garnish with cherry tomatoes.

5. Makes 6 to 8 servings