Spinach and Bacon Quiche

Whether for a Mother’s Day breakfast in bed, a weekend brunch, or a ladies lunch, a quiche is a great and rather elegant egg option because it does not have to be served immediately and piping hot to be good. Best of all, it can be easy to make.

This quiche recipe has less than 250 calories per slice when using commercially frozen pie crusts for a total of 12 servings. It has less than two percent of the daily allowance for average adults of sodium and carbohydrates adult Plus, it has less than half of the daily allowance for cholesterol and fats. Note: I calculated these numbers using the specific ingredients I used, which included nitrate-free bacon, organic large eggs, and organic frozen pie crust.

You can use regular or deep dish pie crusts. I prefer the deep dish as I like having more filling, and I think it has a better texture. (I don’t know that there is any difference in the texture, but it is my perception). This recipe makes 2 commercially-frozen or smaller homemade or 1+ homemade deep-dish pie…depending on the size of you pie pan.

Recipe: Spinach and Bacon Quiche

Ingredients:

2 regular or commercially frozen deep dish pie crusts
10 oz. frozen spinach
1 shallot or sm. sweet onion
1 Tbsp. butter
6 eggs
1 1/2 c. heavy cream
2 c. sparkling apple cider
dashes of hot sauce, to taste (optional)
1/2 tsp. salt, to taste
2 c. +/- shredded Swiss cheese, to taste
6 slices of bacon, cooked and in pieces

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Thaw spinach by running it under hot water in a fine mesh strainer. Press against the strainer to get some of the water out. Wrap in layers of paper towels and squeeze more water out. Repeat with dry paper towels,,more than once if needed. Set aside in strainer over a bowl to get rid of as much moisture as possible.
Saute shallot or onion in butter until it is tender. Drain excess butter and set aside to cool.
Whip eggs until lightened in color and fluffy.
Add cream, apple cider, and hot sauce (if using), and salt to eggs and whip until well blended.
Stir in spinach, shallots or onion, 1 c. cheese, and bacon and pour the mixture into the crust(s).
OR, place them in pie crust(s), dividing evenly if using more than one crust, and pour egg mixture over.
Top each with 1/2 c. + of cheese, if desired.
If using aluminum or metal pie plates, place pies on a baking sheet. Place into the 400 degree F. oven for 10 minutes. Then, lower the temperature to 350 degrees and bake until the mixture is set and a sharp knife inserted in the middle come out clean, about 30 to 35 more minutes.