Quiche: The Most Versatile Dish In The World

Quiche is my go to dish for picky eaters, especially young ones.  Quiche is my ace in the pocket for last minute breakfast, lunch, or dinner guests.  Quiche conserves water because it's a one dish meal.  Quiche is comfort food and quite possibly an anti-depressant.  It releases dopamine in the pleasure receptors of the brain, causing instant happiness and in some cases, euphoria.  Quiche does my laundry, washes my dog, and mows my lawn...

Okay, maybe quiche doesn't do ALL of that, but it does qualify as a delicious and easy to prepare crowd-pleaser.  There have been many occasions when I've made quiche by simply cleaning out my vegetable crisper and or utilizing leftovers.  Quiche can be made from ingredients such as asparagus, mushrooms, broccoli, zucchini, artichokes, ham, bacon or smoked salmon.  However, there are no hard and fast rules for making a quiche.  Vegetables and or meat can be combined with any type of cheese, or none at all.  The process is as easy as throwing the chosen ingredients raw or in some instances cooked, in to a prepared pie crust, pouring beaten eggs over the top and baking it for about 25 minutes.  Please find my recipe for Bacon, Arugula Cheddar Quiche below.

Bacon, Arugula & Cheddar Quiche  

Ingredients
6 large eggs, beaten
2 cups washed, dried arugula
1 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3  strips bacon, chopped
2 tablespoons minced shallot
Sea salt & fresh cracked pepper to taste
1 homemade or store bought pie crust

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400.  Brown and drain the bacon reserving one tablespoon of bacon grease.  Saute the shallots until golden in one tablespoon of reserved bacon drippings.  Combine the golden shallots with the beaten eggs.  Season the egg mixture with salt and pepper to taste.  Line a 9" pie pan with the pie crust.  Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese over the bottom.  Add the Arugula and sprinkle half the bacon over the arugula.  Add the remaining cheese over the arugula and add the the remaining bacon over the cheese.  Pour the egg shallot mixture over the top.   Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until the filling is set, slightly puffed and golden brown.  Enjoy warm, or allow to cool to room temperature.  It can be made a day in advance or may be frozen and re-warmed.