Asparagus Quiche

{Meatless Monday}

This is a recipe that I made up one night for my book club.  It turned out so yummy, I thought I would share it here.
I basically just threw together some vegetables that I had already...asparagus, mushrooms, onions, and artichoke hearts...with some eggs, milk, and salt and pepper.

The first step to a good quiche is a good CRUST!  I use the basic recipe in my Betty Crocker cookbook that is almost 20 years old...but I do have a few tricks that I think help it be flakier and therefore yummier! ; )

I use shortening for most of the fat, but then I add in about 2-3 T. COLD BUTTER sliced thinly.  Then cut it into the flour and salt using a pastry cutter.  Then I use ICE COLD water and only as much as you need to get it to just stick together.  And lastly, I roll it out between sheets of wax paper so I don't have to add any extra flour. 

I made my quiche by first sauteeing the vegetables to soften them up and give them a little flavor with some salt/pepper/garlic.

Then I cut them into small pieces for the quiche.

Mix together 6-8 (depending on the egg size and pie pan size) eggs with about 2 cups milk. If you happen to be using fresh eggs...like me...then reduce the milk down to about 1 1/2 cups.  Fresh eggs still have so much more moisture in them.  I have learned the hard way by having my quiches be a little too soft and watery.

Salt and pepper generously with your shakers.  Place veggies in the bottom of the uncooked pie crust (you can also precook the crust for just about 5 minutes to MAKE SURE it gets cooked well on the bottom, but I am often in too much of a hurry!)

 If you want, you can grate some cheese over the vegetables before you pour the eggs in.  Cheddar, mozzarella, or pepper jack would all work well.  I just used a little medium cheddar that I always have on hand.

Pour egg mixture over.  Bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes.  The baking time is pretty approximate.  It all depends on how many eggs vs. milk I throw in.  But it is never less than 40 minutes.  Just keep checking until it looks done and pretty much firm in the middle.  If your crust is getting too dark, you can always put foil strips around the edges.

We end up making quiche for dinner whenever we are getting stocked up on eggs from our little chicks!  ; )  You'll probably notice that whenever I make time consuming breakfast items (ie..anything other than cereal or oatmeal) I am making it for dinner.  I am just not that much of a breakfast baker...muffins every once in a while...but other than that, we have all of our pancakes/waffles/quiche etc. for dinner.  Most of the time when Dad is working late and the kids are ecstatic to eat breakfast for dinner...and it is super easy for Mom!