What's for dinner? Quiche!

 Quiche

Since Bob broke his leg I have been cooking in his kitchen with his pans, utensils, and stove and having to learn how to do without some of my favorite recipes and equipment.  We had some leftover ham and decided to try a quiche for dinner so I looked one up on Foodnetwork.com and made some adjustments to come up with something closer to what I would make at home.  It turned out well enough that the two of us ate ½ of the rather large pan full.  

Pastry*

1 to 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup (1 stick) butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg
2 Tablespoons water
1/8 teaspoon salt

Blend flour, salt and butter in medium sized bowl until crumbly.  Mix egg and water in a cup and add to the flour mix.  Stir and work with hands until the dough makes a very soft ball.  Add extra flour if necessary (if the dough is too sticky or gooey).  Let rest for about 5 min.

Filling:

3 slices of cooked ham, cubed
1 cup Swiss cheese, grated
2 Tablespoons diced onion
½ green pepper, diced
1 large mushroom, halved & sliced
3 eggs
2 cups half & half
Salt & pepper to taste**

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Butter a 9” pie pan.  Spread the pastry dough in the pan covering the bottom and coming up to just above the lip.  Crimp the edge if there is enough dough.  Bake for about 5 min.  The crust should still be soft and pliable.  If the dough has pulled away from the sides of the pan, push it back into place.   Gently mix the half & half & eggs together in a small bowl with a wire whip or fork.  Put the ham, cheese, peppers, onions, mushrooms, and cheese in the pan.  Pour in the egg mixture over it all.  Bake for 1 hour or until the top is nicely browned and a knife comes clean when stuck in the center of the quiche.  Let sit for 10 minutes, eat while hot or warm.  Serve with fruit and/or green salad.

Leftovers

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Notes:

*For the really lazy I think a tube of extra flaky biscuit dough could be used instead of making pastry from scratch.  Just press it into the pie pan and bake for a few minutes before adding the filling.

** Both the ham and the cheese can be salty so it may not need additional salt.


Omit the ham and add another vegetable in its place such as chopped broccoli, chopped spinach, or sliced zucchini to make a vegetarian dish.

For the original recipe check out http://www.foodnetwork.com  (Quiche Lorraine)