Ground Beef & Spinach Quiche

1 pound ground beef

1 small onion

1 package frozen chopped spinach or 9 oz. fresh spinach

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup milk

4 eggs

2 Tablespoons self rising flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

pepper to taste

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
pie crust

Cook and drain the spinach. Use a spatula to press it against the sides of a colander and squeeze out most of the water.  Brown the ground beef and onion in a skillet. Drain any fat.  Stir in spinach.  In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, milk, eggs, flour, salt and pepper.  Stir in the cheese, spinach, beef and onions. Pour into two greased pie plates with or without crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until the center is set.

Comments:  This recipe called for 2 pie shells, making 2 pies.  I had one deep dish pie plate and used one roll-out shell making it a deeper dish.  With it being thicker I did have to cook it for about 45 minutes but boy was it worth it.  Just a bit of crust and a lot of the delicious filling.  This is a must try dish.

Spinach & Bacon Quiche

(10-oz) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups half and half
1 pkg. (1.8-oz.) leek soup mix
1/4 tsp. pepper
10 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup (2 oz.) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup (2 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 unbaked (9") frozen deep-dish pastry shell to be prepared according to package directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Drain spinach well, pressing between layers of paper towels.  Whisk together eggs and next 3 ingredients. Stir in spinach, bacon, and cheeses. Pour mixture into frozen pastry shell; place on a baking sheet.  Bake for 40 to 45 minutes.

Comments:  This dish was a really big hit with my food testers as well as myself.  The combination of the spinach and bacon with the leek soup made a combination that was perfect.  The only change I really made was to use an Italian blend of cheeses and I also used 2 shallow pie shells instead of 1 deep.

The Anything Frittata

8  eggs

1/2  cup milk

1  teaspoon dried herb (such as basil, oregano, or Italian seasoning), crushed, or 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary or dried thyme, crushed

1/2  teaspoon salt

1/4  teaspoon black pepper

2  tablespoons butter, margarine, or vegetable oil

3/4  cup cut up vegetables (such as chopped sweet pepper, chopped onion, chopped carrot, sliced mushrooms, chopped zucchini or yellow summer squash, chopped potato, corn, cut green beans, broccoli florets, and/or chopped, seeded tomato)

3/4  cup chopped cooked meat (such as ham, chicken, beef, pork, or turkey) or crumbled, crisp-cooked bacon or turkey bacon

Salt

Black pepper

1/2  cup shredded cheese (such as cheddar, Swiss, Monterey Jack, Parmesan, mozzarella, or Havarti)

Step 1

Preheat broiler. In a bowl whisk together eggs, milk, herb, the 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the 1/4 teaspoon black pepper; set aside.

Step 2

In a large broiler proof skillet, heat butter over medium heat. Add vegetables; cook and stir for about 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Stir in cooked meat; cook and stir for another 1 to 2 minutes or until heated through. Season mixture with additional salt and black pepper.

Step 3

Pour egg mixture over the vegetable-meat mixture in the skillet. Cook over medium heat. As the egg mixture sets, run a spatula around edge of skillet, lifting egg mixture so uncooked portion flows underneath. Continue cooking and lifting edges until egg mixture is almost set (surface with be moist). Reduce heat as necessary to prevent overcooking. Sprinkle with cheese.

Step 4

Broil 4 to 5 inches from the heat for 1 to 3 minutes or until top is set and cheese is melted.

Comments:  This is actually a recipe from a Diabetic site called Fit2Me.  I followed this recipe almost to the letter.  For my veggies I used a frozen package of spinach that I thawed and drained, 1/2 cup of onions and for my meat I used pre-cooked bacon.  The only think I did different was my method of cooking.  I put my pan in a 350 degree oven and let the eggs set, removed the pan and sprinkled it with cheese.  Placed it back into the hot oven and turned the heat off.  The oven was hot enough to melt the cheese.  The cooking time will depend on the size of the pan you're using.  This dish, to me, ended up more like a Quiche which was just fine.  My food testers all loved it and were sorry they didn't have more!  It's not only a healthy diet for diabetics but one of the most tasty I've had in a long time.

Cauliflower Quiche - Crustless

1 head of cauliflower
8 eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cups milk
3/4 tsp. salt
1 leek, chopped
2 cups cheddar, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut cauliflower tops off stalk, place in a sauce pan, cover with water and cook until barely soft.  Drain and pour into a large bowl.  With a knife, cut into small bite size pieces. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Pour into a 3 quart or 9 x 13 casserole dish or 2 deep dish pie pans sprayed with non-stick spray.  Bake about 1 hour or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Serves 8-10.

Comments:  I had a head of cauliflower that needed to be used and since I had not made quiche in a while I decided to give it a try using the cauliflower.  When I made this I ended up using 2 deep dish pie pans which turned out perfect but you can make it in casserole dishes to.  You can also make this using a pie shell but brown the shell slightly before adding the quiche and watch the edges of the crust to make sure they don't burn while cooking.  If they start to brown too much, lay a piece of foil over the top but try to make sure it doesn't touch the filling.  It is actually easier to make this without the crust.  It did turn out delicious.  It needed just a bit more salt for my taste and maybe a little pepper but that is something that can be added when eating.  This is a really delicious dish that my food testers all loved.  It does make a lot but you can cut the recipe in half and make 1 deep dish or 1 8 x 8 x 2 baking dish.  One thing I want to add the next time is a little cooked, crumbled bacon.  That would be a great addition.

Spinach & Bacon Quiche

1 pkg. (9 oz.) fresh baby spinach (or 1 pkg. 10 oz. frozen chopped, thawed)
2 cups Kraft Shredded Colby (or Sharp Cheddar Cheese)
2 Tbsp. flour
2 eggs, beaten
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
salt & pepper to taste

1 9" Pillsbury pie shell

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Wash spinach, shake off water and place in a pan.  Cook on med. high using tongs to turn and toss spinach as it wilts.  When wilted drain, cut up with kitchen scissors and press water out.  (If using frozen, place in strainer and press water out.)  In a large bowl toss flour with cheese.  Add eggs, bacon, ricotta, salt and pepper.  Pour into pie shell.  Bake 1 hr. or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Serves 4-6.

Comments:  OH MY!  I could have eaten half this by myself.  I found the recipe on Kraft's site and did make a couple of adjustments.  The 1st was to use fresh baby spinach instead of the frozen.  Next I added 3 more slices of bacon.  I used colby cheese instead of cheddar.  And last I added the 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese. This turned out so good.  This couldn't get any better!  

Comment from Food Tester Carol:  This dish was so good that it will get me on the quiche-making bandwagon again!  It's a simple, quick way to prepare a main dish for a meal and a great way to enjoy how well the bacon and spinach complement each other.

Crab Meat Quiche

3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup shredded cheese (your choice of flavor)
1/2 lb. crab meat (or 1/2 lb. imitation crab meat chopped)
1 can (3 oz.) French fried onions
1 sheet Puff Pastry

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Combine eggs, sour cream, Worcestershire sauce and salt.  Stir in cheese, crab meat and onions.  Pour into a pie plate sprayed with non-stick spray.  Top with Puff Pastry sheet, trimming edges to fit.  Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Serves 6

Comments:  I found this recipe in a vintage cookbook and made a couple of changes.  I used a blend of cheese instead of the Swiss the original called for.  I changed from crab meat to imitation crab which turned out delicious and a lot cheaper.  I also topped mine with a sheet of puff pastry instead of using a pie shell.  The puff pastry turned out beautiful.  It was flaky and so much better than a shell would.

Breakfast Quiche Paprika

1 cup grated cheese
4 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
3 eggs
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg, optional
1 1/4 cups milk
1 tsp. dried minced onions
1/3 cup biscuit mix

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9" pie plate with non-stick spray. Sprinkle bottom and sides of pie plate lightly with paprika. Sprinkle cheese on bottom of pie plate. Sprinkle cheese with bacon. In a large bowl combine eggs, salt, nutmeg, milk, onion and biscuit mix. Beat with a mixer on med. speed about 1 minute thoroughly mixing. Pour over cheese and bacon in pie plate. Bake 30-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve hot. Makes 6 servings.

I have a Sunday morning coffee for some of my food testers. I always make a new dish to serve them. Sometimes it's a breakfast dish, sometimes it's some type of bread or cake. I never tell them what they are going to be eating and if I add a secret ingredient such as the nutmeg in this dish I don't tell them but wait on their response. When making this dish I doubled the recipe so there would be enough to go around. The nutmeg couldn't be detected so you may want to increase it to a little over 1/4 tsp. But I must say that this dish was a big hit. The biscuit mix I used was an inexpensive pouch but if you keep the box variety on hand that will work too. Now for changes. Use sausage or ham instead of bacon. As for cheese, change the flavor by using different blends and flavors of cheese such as pepper jack for spice and heat. This would also be good served topped with sour cream and a little salsa.