Spinach Quiche

BEST OF THE TASTY CHEAPSKATE

This past week, I went to my friend's house and had her delicious quiche. It reminded me how very much I love quiche. And, as my friend stated, it's the perfect food. You can eat it warm or cold, for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It's a vegetarian meal, but with lots of yummy proteins. And at this time of year when hens start laying more (and eating more vitamin-rich bugs and plants if they're free range), it's the perfect time for a perfect quiche. We just adopted a couple of our friends chickens and so we've been rolling in eggs (not quite literally). But I've definitely been looking for egg heavy recipes lately.

Even better: This meal can be made in 45-60 minutes even if you make your own crust. If you use a store-bought crust, it's a solid 30-minute meal (okay, maybe 35 if you don't want to burn your mouth on the quiche).

And it's cheap. If you make your own crust each serving (1/6 of the quiche) is about $.50. Even a bowl of cereal struggles to beat that people (and it cannot even begin to compare in taste or nutrition). A store-bought crust adds an extra $.20 to each serving. Still a deal and a half.

The cream cheese (and other cheeses) in this recipe rescue it from being too spinach-y or too eggy. Enjoy!

Spinach Quiche
adapted from smittenkitchen
Serves 8 
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes plus a few minutes to cool/set
Cost: $2.25 with crust: $2.90 (This breaks down to about $50/serving--1/6 of the quiche)
(spinach: .70, cream cheese: .40, milk: .10, eggs: .30, Cheeses: .75)

Note on spinach: The original recipe calls for 10 oz. We made several times with about half that and loved it (meaning that I loved it and Kip liked it). This last time I decided to live dangerously and used about 8 oz. spinach. It did not go over as well, which is what I get for living dangerously. I liked it, and Kip ate it, but didn't eat the whole serving--which was large, but still--and hasn't had any leftovers.) So use more spinach at your own risk.

3 oz cream cheese, room temperature (if you happen to think about it; otherwise throw it in the microwave for 20 seconds)
1/3 C half and half or milk
3 eggs
4-5 oz spinach, frozen (thawed and drained) or fresh (chopped)
1/2 C shredded cheddar
1/4 C shredded Parmesan
1/4 tsp onion powder (or a few sliced green onions if you and yourn like to live dangerously)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Heat oven to 425. 

Beat cream cheese. Beat in half and half, then eggs. Add seaonings, cheese, and spinach. 

Pour into a pie crust.

Bake for about 25 minutes or until you can stick a fork in it and come out clean (between 160 and 180 on an instant read thermometer). Cool a few minutes before serving so it sets up.

Crust:
Cost: $.64
(flour--combo white and whole wheat: .14, butter: .50)
(Yeah, you can buy one, but if you have a food processor this takes only about 10 minutes and it tastes so so much better. And of course, even with that real butter, it's cheaper too.)

1 1/4 C flour (I use half whole wheat and half all-purpose)
1/2 C butter, cut into tablespoons
1/4-1/2 C cold water

Stick flour and butter in the food processor and process until you've got pea-sized chunks of butter (if you accidentally make them smaller, it's okay). Add water, starting with 1/4 C. If it comes together in a ball, proceed to roll it out. If not, add more water by the tablespoon until it does. (Alternately, you can cut the butter in with 2 knives or with a pastry cutter if you don't have a food processor or if you are a purist when it comes to pie crusts.)

Take dough out  and roll it to 1/8 inch thickness. Put in ungreased pie pan and shave off overhanging sides. Or, if you're me, cut and patch because your roll-out job wasn't perfectly round or even close and you have places that need more and places with too much overhang.

PRINTABLE RECIPE