Part of the fun of chicken-keeping is sharing your eggs with others. Another is enjoying the color and flavor of them yourself. This recipe really showcases their beauty and flavor. This quiche can be made in a pie pan with a crust, or in mini muffin tins, crustless.

With the exception of the eggs and liquid, ALL ingredients are OPTIONAL and INTERCHANGEABLE with a similar ingredient. Personally, I find that the onions are critical to the flavor, but that’s just me.

QUICHE

INGREDIENTS

8-9 fresh eggs
1 cup half & half or cream
1/4 cup sauteed onions (*or 2 onion cubes, see below for prep shortcut)
1-2 cups shredded cheese(s): cheddar, Swiss, provolone, Parmesan, jack- the more types, the better
Choice of chopped meats: bacon, breakfast sausage, Italian sausage, salami, ham, etc.
1/3 cup frozen, uncooked spinach drained, or fresh swiss chard
salt & pepper 
1 pie crust (I used a store-bought, refrigerated crust because I’m lazy and they’re good!)
Cooking spray

LET’S MAKE IT!

Hand-gather your farm-freshies. Don’t have any?! Bummer. Get some backyard chickens STAT!

Preheat oven to 375°F

Crack your lovingly laid gems into a bowl. Marvel at their spectacular color and size. Apologize to them for what you are about to do to them (smashing shells, beating vigorously, that is). 

Add liquid to eggs (light cream or half and half) and beat until mixed well.

Line pie pan with crust. Cover edges of pine pan with a pie crust shield or aluminum foil. (this will protect the edges of the crust from burning). If using mini muffin tin, lightly grease tins with cooking spray or olive oil.

Place pie pan on a sturdy cookie sheet (which makes handling the quiche easier and safer). Cover the crust with aluminum foil.

Add pie weights or uncooked rice or beans on top of foil (keeps crust from bubbling).

Bake pie crust in oven for 10-11 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

When cool, remove pie weights and foil liner (rice and/or beans cannot be eaten but can be reused as pie weights).

Reapply pie shield/foil to crust edges.

In egg bowl, add remaining ingredients and stir to combine.

Pour egg mixture into par-baked pie crust or mini muffin cups. Bake until eggs are set and top is golden brown. (pie pan quiche should take approx. 45-55 minutes, mini muffin pan should take approx 20 minutes).

Baked quiche can be served immediately or cooled and refrigerated (covered) for re-heating later OR served room temperature.

PRO TIP: FROZEN ONION CUBES
(It sounds bizarre but please try not to panic, you’ll thank me later)

I have found that most of my savory recipes begin with sauteed onions. Chopping & cooking them takes a fair chunk of time. I figured if I had them ready in advance, I could shave a good 10-12 minutes off of each recipe. So, here’s how I do it: (this trick also works for peppers!)

FROZEN ONION CUBES

LET’S MAKE IT!

Use as many sweet onions as you like. I usually make 6-8 at a time. 

In a heavy-bottomed pot, add 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil.

Dice up 6 sweet onions (I prefer Vidalia when they’re in season) and sautee on medium heat until translucent.  

Remove from heat and allow to cool. When cool, portion onions into ice cube trays and cover with plastic wrap.

Place in freezer until hardened.

Pop out into a zip top bag and store until ready to use. 

When ready to use onions, place in a microwave safe dish and zap on high for about one minute.

Voila! Instant onions. And no, they won’t make your freezer or ice cube trays stinky.