Mini Quiches

Mini Quiches

These tiny quiches pack a lot of flavor. I served them for a recent dinner with friends, but these quiches are perfect for breakfast, brunch or lunch, too. I was making the spinach and bacon version, but accidentally grabbed collard greens out the freezer instead of spinach. I think they were even better made with collards. That is one of the things I like most about this recipe. You can tweak it easily to suit your tastes or just based  on the ingredients you have.

Since you can eat them hot or cold, they make a nice food for road trips, too. The quiche recipe is made up of three parts- the crust, the filling and the custard. They are baked in muffins tins and each recipe makes a dozen. I have two crust recipes- including a gluten free crust that is made from rice and zucchini. There are three filling choices, but you can get creative and make a number of different variations. The custard is pretty straightforward- half and half, eggs and seasonings. I make a couple of batches at a time and then freeze some for later.

Mini Quiches

 Crust options

Rice Zucchini Crust (Gluten free)

1½ c. shredded zucchini

1¼ c. cooked rice (white or brown)

1 egg

¼ c. Parmesan cheese

Crouton Crust

3½ c. garlic-cheese croutons, about 5 oz., ground- I used cracker crumbs

1/3 c. melted butter

Fillings:

 Mushroom and Onion

1 medium onion, chopped

Oil

8 oz. mushrooms, cleaned and chopped

3-4 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded or cubed fine

In skillet cook onion in oil until lightly browned. Add mushroom and cook until mushrooms are golden. Cool and combine with cheese before using.

Spinach and Bacon

12 oz. bacon, cooked and crumbled

10 oz. package of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

4 oz. Swiss cheese, shredded

Combine all ingredients. Set aside until ready to use.

Confetti

1 ear corn, cooked and kernel cut off the cob- about ½ cup

½ c. mined fresh sweet pepper

¼ c. chopped green onion

4 oz. shredded cheese- I like a sharp cheddar in this filling

 Custard:

1 c. half and half

3 eggs

½ t. each basil and salt

1/8 t. each garlic powder, pepper and paprika

Directions

Grease 12 muffin cups (3 inch). Prepare crust of your choice by mixing crust ingredients together. Pat 2 tablespoons of the crust mixture into each muffin cup. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Cool before filling. While baking and cooling crusts, prepare filling of your choice and make the custard.

Spoon 2 tablespoons of filling over each cooled crust. Spoon about 3-4 tablespoons of the custard over the filling. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. Cool on wire racks, chill completely before packing for your picnic.