Fabulous Find

Before I get to my fabulous find - a gripe, if you will. Normally whence I listen to someone kvetch about winter, I just smile and nod. Winter has never bothered me all that much. Sure it's cold and SOME people get sick - but the cold has never bothered me all that much and I NEVER get sick. Well it's official - I HATE winter. More correctly - I hate THIS winter. The frigid cold has been relentless, I actually got the flu and Shiloh is now battling her second bout with the flu in less than two weeks. So I had to leave work early yesterday (and the CEO was visiting) AND I have to stay home today and am taking a vacation day Friday. With all these days NOT going to work, it sounds like a reason for one to do the happy dance... However I detest unscheduled occurrences - and a plethora of winter-flu-child-sick-snow-days have been hurled at me. My rigid psyche has been coping poorly. 

Ahhhhhhh.... Thank you!

On to the Fabulous Find.

This Saturday past, like so many others, was filled with cleaning and cooking. My goal was to make a few dinners over the weekend that could extend throughout the week, and hot delicious food would be in front of my always-grateful-and-never-picky cherubs in a matter for minutes. Plus, I was on a mission use up some of the two pounds of broccoli in a manner different than my usual (Farfalle with Broccoli). I wanted to do something different. As I scanned my refrigerator's offerings, a brick of cheddar caught my eye. Then the angels chorused "Ahhhhhh!" and another fountain moment was bestowed. Broccoli and cheddar quiche!

My spirits deflated only temporarily at the realization that I didn't have a pie crust. But, silly me! I had a deconstructed pie crust (flour, butter, etc..) I just needed to put them together. So I Googled a few pie crust recipes and saved the pages. Then I Googled broccoli and cheddar quiche which brought me to the Fabulous Find, a nifty blog: Clean Eats, Fast Feets. You'll never guess the blog owner's name.... (Well if you followed the link you probably know) but it's Meghan! And yes, she spells it correctly. Ahem. I must conduct an more in-depth exploration of her site.

Aside from the fact that I had all the other ingredients necessary, her recipe included a so-easy-it's-easy quiche crust! This recipe is so simple that even someone who burns a pot of boiling water can't mess it up. The most beautious part - no rolling. Mix the ingredients then press into the pie pan. To ensure a  crispity-crustity, poke the crust dough with a for a few times and bake it for five minutes before slathering in the quichey goodness. I, of course, forgot to do this but shan't the next time! Oh, my favorite part about quiche - it's perfect for ANY meal. Provided you like quiche, of course.

BROCCOLI AND CHEDDAR QUICHE

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

1 quiche crust (click for recipe) or premade
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bunches of broccoli - about 4 cups (I used thawed frozen broccoli florets)
3/4 cup of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
3 jumbo or 4 large eggs (or what I did - 2 large eggs and 4 egg whites)
1 cup of milk (Almond, Soy, regular)
3/4 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp nutmeg

WHAT TO DO:

Preheat oven to 350.

Make the quiche crust (follow link above) or use premade. Whichever your pleasure!

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Toss in the onions and garlic when it's hot. Saute until onions are soft and nearly translucent - about five minutes. Then add the broccoli. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. When the chlorophyll is shamrock green, turn off the heat. (About another five minutes). Combine your eggs (and whites if using), milk salt pepper, garlic powder, paprika, dry mustard, red pepper flakes and nutmeg in a vessel large enough for you to whisk them all together. Scoop cooled broccoli mixture into the pie crust, top with shredded cheese and pour the egg mixture over it all. I was assured on the website that it's completely okay if the egg mixture doesn't completely cover everything - and she was right! Bake until it's golden and bubbly - roughly 40 minutes.

Now she says this serves four.... I managed to eek out six servings. I guess it all depends on what one considers a serving from a pie plate! I can't wait to make this again.