A few days ago, there was a breakfast-baking extravaganza at our house. My mother had an important meeting and was providing breakfast for everyone at her workplace, so the whole family helped her prepare. I was put in charge of quiches, and I thought, what a great opportunity to photograph and post this great recipe that we've been making for years!
These aren't truly quiches, since they don't have a pastry crust, but they are very similar and a lot easier to make. We love to make them in the evening, so in the morning, a few minutes of warming up are all that stand between us and a yummy, protein-rich breakfast.
These are so quick and simple to make that they'll soon become your new favorite breakfast food. Cut into slices like pie and popped in the toaster or microwave, one quiche can feed a whole family for two or maybe even three mornings. Take a few minutes to make one tonight, and you'll be happy when breakfast rolls around!
The first step is to take the crusts off of four or five pieces of bread. Thinner bread is better, but you can use whatever you have on hand.
Don't throw away those crusts... throw them out in your yard or garden for the birds, of course!
Then arrange the bread in a 9 inch pie pan with fairly deep sides. Try to fill most of the holes if you can, by tearing pieces off of an extra slice and fitting them in like a puzzle.
Crack 9 eggs into a large bowl and whisk them up well with a fork.
Sometimes I think it's strange that I spend all day out in the aviary fretting over the fate of junco eggs, and then come home and make quiches with chicken eggs... life is strange like that.
Pour in a quarter cup of milk...
...and some pepper, to taste.
Now for the interesting ingredients. We made three different quiches - cheese & chive, sausage & mushroom, and squash & bacon. Feel free to experiment with your personal favorites, though. I think a spinach, red pepper, and feta quiche would be delicious. Or maybe bacon, apple, and brie. Be creative! That's why baking is so much fun - you get to use your imagination.
Here's the cheese and chive mixture, with a half cup of shredded sharp cheddar and four freshly snipped chives.
Or how about this one: a third of a pound of cooked breakfast sausage, and a half pint of sauteed baby portabella mushrooms.
And this beauty has a large zucchini (this one is clearly yellow, but a green zucchini would be great, too), sliced and sauteed, and four crumbled strips of bacon.
Carefully pour the egg mixture over the bread in your pie pan. Make sure that it gets spread out evenly, and that, if the bread floats up a bit, you push it back to the bottom again.
Bake that baby at 325 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until it's almost cooked through. If you're not sure, stick a blunt knife in the center, and if it is not too runny, you're good.
Then put some delicious cheese on top. About a half cup of some kind that melts well - cheddar is usually my choice.
Just for the record, I love cheese. I really, really love cheese.
Bake it for 5-10 more minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. That's it!
Now that's a complete breakfast. If you're a mom or dad with lots of hungry mouths to feed (and I know how you feel, although my hungry mouths belong to baby birds), this is an easy way to give your kids a good, healthy breakfast. If you're a college student (which I also understand, considering I am a college student), you really need to eat breakfast, and this is a simple way to do it. And if you're entertaining, this quiche takes less than ten minutes to put together and is great for breakfast or lunch.
Baking for breakfast. It's a great idea!
Easy Breakfast Quiche
4-5 pieces of bread, decrusted
9 eggs
1/4 cup milk
Pepper, to taste
1/2 cup cheese, such as cheddar
Arrange the bread on the bottom of a greased 9-inch pie pan. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and pepper. Add any of the following ingredient pairs, or other additional ingredients as desired:
Cheese & Chive
1/2 cup cheese
4 fresh chives, snipped
Sausage & Mushroom
1/3 lb. sausage, cooked and crumbled
1/2 pint mushrooms, chopped and sauteed
Squash & Bacon
1 medium zucchini, sliced and sauteed
4 pieces cooked bacon, crumbled
Pour the egg mixture over the bread and bake at 325 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until cooked through. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese over top and bake for another 5-10 minutes.
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