Bacon and Cheese Quiche

After mulling over what I wanted to post about first, I decided to go with the most recent thing I've fixed. A lot of times, my meal decisions come from simply what I have on hand. Keeping things in stock for when I need them is something that saves me a good bit of money. For instance, if I buy pie shells (which keep for a long time) right before Thanksgiving season gets underway, I'm going to find them super on sale and I have them for holiday baking and some to keep for throughout the year.

So the other night, when I needed something more substantial to add to the broccoli and cheddar soup I made for dinner, quiche seemed to be the perfect fit. Especially since I had some leftover turkey bacon from dinner the night before!

Quiche has always been a personal favorite of mine because it was one of the first things I ever learned how to cook properly. As a teenager, I'd been charged with the assignment to pick a French dish and prepare it to bring in for a food day. I chose quiche because the concept sounded a lot yummier than some of my other options, and because I thought it was simple enough to make. Ever since, it's become one of my staples. The thing I make in a pinch when I don't know what to bring for potluck, or something I make the night before Christmas so David and I will have something to eat before rushing out the door to spend the holiday with our loved ones. I love quiche, I love its versatility, and I love how simple it is to make. Here's my recipe:


Quiche with Turkey Bacon and Colby Jack Cheese

Ingredients:
3 large eggs
4-6 slices of fully cooked bacon
1 can of evaporated milk
2 cups (about one bag) of shredded cheddar or colby cheese
1 dash nutmeg (just a little)
1/4 tsp of pepper
1/4 tsp of salt
1 deep dish 9" pie crust

Bake at 350 degrees. Cook time: 45-60 minutes.

If you don't already have some prepared, cook some bacon. (It doesn't really matter how you prefer to cook it. You can fry, microwave, bake, etc. Just make sure it is fully cooked.) Cover the bottom of the pie crust in shredded cheese. Keep only about 1/4 of a cup of the cheese to put on top. Crumble the bacon and put on top of the cheese. In a large bowl, combine eggs, evaporated milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Whisk together.  Pour on top of the cheese and bacon in the pie crust. Cover with the remaining cheese. CAREFULLY, transfer the quiche into the oven. I mean be really careful. This is full on liquid in a pie shell and you will spill it into your oven if you're not careful. Cook for about 45mins to an hour, until fork comes out clean. 

 
I'm not going to lie to you here. Quiche is something that takes a little while to cook. Plenty of recipes out there will tell you that theirs takes 30 mins. I'm here to tell you that I've been making quiche for a long time, and I've never had one not take an hour. Yes, it depends on ovens and yes, it can be related to a hundred other factors. But you're putting a deep dish, pie sized bowl of eggs and milk and cheese in an oven. It's gonna take time for that to become a solid. Just a fact. If you love quiche like I do though, it's totally worth it. This has got to be one of my favorite dishes to make just because. It can serve as breakfast, lunch or dinner depending on what you serve it with.


Also if you want to make it healthier, simply use fat free cheese and fat free evaporated milk. Also, I like to use turkey bacon, and I did for this recipe. We can't tell the difference and it's definitely a lighter choice than regular bacon. Quiche is something you can make however you want. Think of it as omelet pie and put whatever you want in it - ham, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, spinach, etc. Enjoy!