Quiche strata

Happy Pi Day Recipe!

It’s Pi(e) for lunch!

I’d been asked for a quiche recipe, ‘without all the fancy ingredients’ not too long ago, and today seemed the like the perfect day to share it with my readers.

Quiche ingredients
Everything but the kitchen sink (because that’s hard to swallow).

I was a little surprised when this was asked, because for me quiche has always been what I jokingly call a “garbage gut” meal. In other words, what goes into it is whatever I happen to have on hand. You can make a quiche with very little effort – you don’t even need to make a crust for one, crustless quiche recipes are easy to find, and for that matter, if you just bake the custard filling in a baking dish, you have one that’s gluten free and low-carb.

For this quiche, I had the crust leftover from making the Coconut Meringue Pie, so I used that. You do not need to pre-bake the pieshell.

Preheat the oven to 375 degF

Quiche recipe
All you really need is right here. 3 ingredients, but the variations after the decimal are endless…

In a mixing bowl, combine:

  • 4 eggs
  • 3/4 c milk
  • salt and pepper to taste

You could also add: garlic powder, paprika, a little nutmeg if you swing that way, or… pretty much anything. Pepper flakes would probably be fun. Onion flakes would work nicely.

Once the eggs and milk are beaten, add about 1-2 c shredded cheese. Some sort that melts will work best here. You could incorporate a non-melting cheese like Paneer or Queso Blanco, in chunks, but you’ll want the melty cheese too. I toss in some parmesan all the time, for flavor.

Ok, at this point you’re done. You can pour the contents of the bowl into the pieshell and bake for 40-50 minutes, until the center is no longer jiggly.

quiche ingredients
Ready to go in the oven
Fresh Quiche
Fresh hot quiche – let it cool just a bit, unless you like debriding your tastebuds.

But wait! This is a perfect opportunity to get rid of any odds and ends that are lurking in the fridge. Only use anything that oozes if it’s cheese. If it gets up and walks away from your hand, that shouldn’t go in here, either. You will want to keep your additions to no more than a cup or two, and if you choose to add something like frozen spinach (the First Reader made SUCH a face at me when I floated the idea of canned collard greens past him) you will want to squeeze most of the liquid out of it before mixing it in.

You could add:

  • chopped bacon
  • chopped ham
  • chopped any kind of cooked meat. I’ve used leftover taco meat and salsa for a ‘western quiche’
  • chopped cooked broccoli, or spinach, or, yeah, collard greens.
  • chopped fresh herbs
  • chopped onion or garlic
  • Olives
  • Anything you’d put on a pizza

The possibilities are endless. Also, you can prep this the night before and slide it in the oven in the morning if you want a lazy brunch. I usually wind up making it for lunch.

Pie for Lunch! and tomorrow, Cake for Breakfast!

Quiche strata
This was a cheese and Bacon Quiche, you can see that the cheese mostly floats (I’d mixed it in and then sprinkled some on top)
Lunchtime recipe
Simple, easy lunch