Quiche

Quiche is a simple dish, great for any meal.

Our favorite is green chilies and cheddar.

Growing up, my mom usually made broccoli and jack cheese quiche. But there are so many combinations possible.

This quiche here, is the first one I made with meat. I used breakfast sausage and jalapenos.

Preheat the oven 425 degrees.

First make a pie crust:

1- 1/2 cups flour
pinch of salt
1/2 cup of shortening (or butter)
2-4 Tbl water.

Cut the flour and butter together. Be careful not to over work it with your fingers. If it is a hot day, freeze the flour and butter a little while at this point to chill it. Add 2 Tbl of cold water and stir to pull the mixture together. Add more water if it doesn't form a powdery ball.

Roll out the crust between two pieces of wax paper until it is a large circle. (I use a silicone baking mat in the image) Remove the top piece, slide your hand under the bottom and invert onto a pie plate. Cut the edge which hangs over. Put it into the freezer while you work on the filling.

First chop about 1/4-1/2 cup of onion and place into the bottom of the pie crust. Then add up to a cup of your favorite cheese or cheese blend. Then your main filling: sausage, canned chillies, asparagus, etc.

In a blender place 5 eggs, a little garlic, paprika, salt and pepper and 2 cups of cream. Since I rarely have heavy cream on hand, I often substitute yogurt or sour cream (or a mixture) for the heavy cream. They both give a unique twist. Yogurt makes a very light quiche. Blend, pour over the filling.

Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Reduce the oven to 300 degrees and bake about 45 minutes longer or until the egg puffs a little and is browned. Watch the last 20 minutes as you may need to cover it with foil to prevent burning.