California Quiche

Quiche Lorraine is delicious with its French Gruyère, bacon, cream, and caramelized onions. At our house, I like to make it “California Style” with sharp cheddar cheese, mozzarella and ham! It’s one of those easy French Influence comfort foods, along with crêpes, Madeleines, Boeuf Bourguignon, or lentils & smoked sausage.

The kids love my quiche, and as a bonus, it comes in many healthy variations: low-fat, veggie- style with broccoli or spinach, Black Forest ham, bacon, or just plain ham chunks!

Use your imagination, and it will come out tasty every time!

I am not a chef or great cook ( I love to just throw things in the oven and let the flavors develop with the spices, and I also get a thrill out of good, fast cooking and getting it done under 15 minutes! ). This California Quiche is such a hit with my two kids, and it is so simple to make! I have a confession to make… I don’t really measure, I just wing it or eye it! It takes me about 5 minutes, and we can enjoy a simple family brunch on the weekend without any fuss! Add a salad and presto, voilà!

I can’t make just one, it goes too fast in our household, so here are the main ingredients for 2 “California Quiche.”

1 prepackaged frozen pie crusts (2) (Pillsbury or other – flat or deep dish
1/2 lb of shredded sharp cheddar or Mozzarella
1/2 lb of ham
caramelized onions (optional)
6 eggs
2 cups of low-fat milk
salt & pepper
dash of garlic powder
dash of nutmeg

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and fill them into the pie crust!

For a crunchy dry crust, bottom / bake your crust in the oven for 5-6 minutes.

Let it cook at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes!

To make a veggie-style variation of California Quiche, just brown your onions in a skillet with olive oil and add thawed frozen spinach, fully seasoned, or broccoli cut in little chunks to add to the mix.

Let cool thoroughly! ( if your kids let you! It’s even tastier the next day when it’s had a chance to settle…) and serve!

yummy! or miam! miam!