Real Men DO Eat Quiche

      Despite it being winter, my flock of about twenty-five chickens and ducks are keeping us in fresh eggs. They thrive on a diet  lay ration, corn, and leftovers from the kitchen. Winter, because of less sunshine, tends to lessen egg production, so I'm grateful my flock is steady laying. Right now, I've got a bucket full of hen and duck eggs. I've grown to love the richness and creaminess of duck eggs. I use them like chicken eggs, but you can use less, as they are much larger. Today, for this recipe, I used all chicken eggs. They range between standard large and medium sizes.

      We love quiche here. It's a great way to use not only surplus eggs, but those odds and ends you have sitting in your fridge. Got a few tomatoes leftover from making tacos? Throw them in. That end of a chunk of cheese, shred it up. Use up those straggler pieces of ham you have. There's no right or wrong ingredient to add in your quiche. If you make your egg and milk base, the possibilities are only limited to what you have in stock and your own taste buds.

Today I used:

9 fresh eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup non fat plain yogurt
1/2 cup Swiss cheese
1/2 cup sharp white cheddar
1/3 cup a.p. flour
1/4 cup real bacon bits
1 handful of raw kale, I chopped.
1 tbsp green onion
1 heaping tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
dash nutmeg, dash mustard powder
6 grape tomatoes, sliced longways and drained on a paper towel
1 Pillsbury pie crust, room temp.

Prep all your ingredients first. Always bring eggs to room temp. before baking anything. Chop veggies, shred cheeses, and prepare your pie plate. My tip on not having a soggy crust is to add a tbsp or so of ap flour to the bottom of your pie crust. 

Into a deep bowl, crack your eggs. Cracking them on a flat surface makes for a more even crack and less mess if you do it on a paper towel. Add your milk and yogurt. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg, and mustard powder. Mix well.

Add your bacon, kale, onions, and cheeses. My tip for your cheese, so it doesn't sink, is to toss it in flour before adding to your egg mixture. You can do this right on your prep board or in a bowl.

Pour into pie crust. Arange tomatoes on top.

Place in a 425 degree oven, uncovered for 15 minutes. At the 15 minute mark, cover loosely with foil, and lower oven temp to 350, bake for 30 minutes covered. Remove foil and let brown for about 10-20 minutes, depending on your oven. The center will be set, and continue to cook once its removed to a cooling rack. If you over bake, it will be like rubber. Don't do that.  Its similar to baking  pumpkin pie. you can water bath it, if you'd like, but I don't because I'm too lazy to take that step.

Here's your finished product. Let stand about 10 minutes before serving. You can make this breakfast, brunch, lunch, or supper. Add fruit as a side for breakfast or a salad and crusty bread for supper. 

I hope you enjoy this! I only used yogurt today because I didn't have any heavy cream. If you use cream, use 1/4 to 1/2 cup.  It's all about your own personal taste and in stock supplies.