Quick and Easy Quiche

When I think of quiche, I would hardly think to describe it as “quick and easy”. Mainly because the only times that I’ve ever made quiche, it’s taken me most of the day. I make the crust from scratch and use a million ingredients that need to be prepared different ways and end up with a final product somewhere around the mid-afternoon and a sink full of more dirty dishes than should be necessary.

Hence why I don’t make quiche very often.

However, today Matt and I had the day off so in addition to sleeping in and lazing around the house all day, I wanted to make something nice for breakfast. Pancakes were out of the question (for obvious reasons) and I didn’t have bread to make French toast. I wanted something a little fancier than plain old scrambled/fried/poached eggs and when I absent-mindedly suggested quiche, Matt got very excited. Not wanting to disappoint him, I quickly searched for a “quick and easy quiche recipe”.

Apparently, they aren’t as rare as I thought…

I had lots of broccoli and a fair variety of different cheeses in my fridge so I figured broccoli cheese was the way to go.

As for the crust…I rarely buy frozen pie crust and my usual pie crust is a bit of a lengthy process so I found a quick 4-ingredient quiche crust, however I wasn’t entirely satisfied with how it turned out. The flavor and texture of it was fine however it stuck pretty badly to the bottom of the pie plate so it’s probably best to just use your favorite pie crust recipe or a frozen crust instead.

But enough yacking, on to the recipe!

Broccoli and Cheese Quiche
(Recipe adapted from Cajun Chef Ryan’s recipe)
I still can’t get over how well this quiche turned out. It’s amazingly delicious and now one of my new staples. Plus, Matt almost ate the entire thing himself…and he’s a tough critic.

Ingredients:

1 9-inch pie shell
6 large eggs, cracked (I only had 5 eggs and it still turned out fine)
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (or any combination of cheeses you want)
2 cups broccoli florets, steamed and cooled
salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F. Using a fork, prick the shell dough a few times to prevent air bubbles from forming. Brown the pie shell in the oven for about 10 minutes.

While the pie shell crust is browning, beat the eggs then add the milk and about half of the cheese in a medium bowl.


Fold in the broccoli florets and then add the spices to the egg mixture.

When the pie shell has browned, removed from the oven. Pour the egg, cheese and broccoli filling into the browned pie shell and then sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.


Return the filled pie shell to the oven. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until the quiche is puffed up and set. (You may want to put it on a cookies sheet as it apparently prevents burning. I didn’t however, and it was fine.)


Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes, then slice into portions.

Garlic Dill Cheese Biscuits

I’m a firm believer in the theory that dill makes everything better. Now, I may have made that theory up…but I still stand behind it.

And the combo of dill, garlic and cheese? THE BEST.

The other night, we had leftover chili for dinner. However, I decided to spice it up a bit with homemade biscuits. I had bought a huge bunch of dill, so I chopped some up and added it, along with some garlic, to my favorite biscuit recipe.

And it was good…Matt and I polished off nearly the entire batch between the 2 of us. There’s your warning.

Garlic Dill Cheese Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon sugar
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup cold butter
1 cup plus one tablespoon buttermilk
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp fresh chopped dill

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Oil a baking sheet. (This is important, as these suckers like to stick.)

Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar & garlic powder. Slice the cold butter into the flour mixture. Use a pastry blender (or two kitchen knives, or your hands) to cut the butter into the flour mixture until you have a coarse, grainy mixture

Stir in grated cheese and dill. Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture and pour the buttermilk into it. Stir just until moistened. The dough should be of a consistency like drop cookie dough or just a bit stiffer. If it is not moist enough, add another tablespoon of buttermilk.

Spoon the dough into rounded mounds on the baking sheet, leaving room for expansion.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until the biscuits just begin to brown. I actually ended up turning my oven down to in between 400 and 425 as my first batch nearly burned at 425, so watch them carefully. Remove the biscuits from the baking sheet and place them on a wire rack to cool.

Cheddar Parmesan Buttermilk Biscuits

I have always had a deep love for biscuits. I remember when I was little, I used to ask to go to Red Lobster every year for my birthday solely so that I could eat dozens of those garlic cheese biscuits they have there. I also remember biscuits being one of the first things I EVER baked, back in a baking class I took when I was in elementary school. I’ve been making, eating and loving them for years.

My sister hosted our weekly Sunday family dinner last night, and usually I get conned into making dessert (which I never object to) but when I phoned her yesterday afternoon, she asked for biscuits (as we were having soup for dinner) – preferably with cheddar in them. So I played around with one of my favorite biscuit recipes, grated up some cheddar and parmesan cheese I had in my fridge, and created some friggen amazing biscuits. I actually had to stop my boyfriend from eating them, as I almost didn’t even have any left to bring to dinner.

Cheddar Parmesan Buttermilk Biscuits
(Adapted from the Prepared Pantry’s Easy Buttermilk Biscuits)

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup cold butter
1 cup plus one tablespoon buttermilk
1 heaping cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Oil a baking sheet. (This is important, as these suckers like to stick.)

Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Slice the cold butter into the flour mixture. Use a pastry blender (or two kitchen knives) to cut the butter into the flour mixture until you have a coarse, grainy mixture.

Stir in grated cheese. Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture and pour the buttermilk into it. Stir just until moistened. The dough should be of a consistency like drop cookie dough or just a bit stiffer. If it is not moist enough, add another tablespoon of buttermilk.


Spoon the dough into rounded mounds on the baking sheet, leaving room for expansion.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until the biscuits just begin to brown. I actually ended up turning my oven down to in between 400 and 425 as my first batch nearly burned at 425, so watch them carefully. Remove the biscuits from the baking sheet and place them on a wire rack to cool.