Pizza Quiche

FOUND IT: I more or less invented this, although I used the egg/milk/salt combination and crust baking time from this recipe.

I was eating a quiche on Saturday morning and, though I'm not sure why, I ended up thinking about the possibility of a pizza quiche. My initial experiment was pretty simple, but I think the concept would work with pretty much anything you'd put on a pizza (provided it's chopped small enough and pre-cooked if necessary).

Ingredients:

• 1 premade pie crust
• 3/4 cup milk
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 tsp salt
• black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tbsp pizza seasoning (I use Penzey's)
• Roughly 10 small slices of pepperoni, chopped
• 1/2-3/4 cup pizza sauce (I eyeballed this, so I don't have an exact measurement)
• 1 cup shredded cheese (I mixed Havarti and Mozzarella)

Roll out the pie crust into a pie plate, poke a lot of holes in the bottom with a fork, and bake it at 400 for 10 minutes. Reset the oven to 350 once it's out.

While the crust is baking, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, pepper and pizza seasoning. Once the crust is out of the oven sprinkle the pepperoni (or whatever toppings you're using) onto the crust, then pour the egg mixture over that. Your pepperoni or other toppings may float to the top, just do the best you can to keep them spread out.

Bake this at 350 for 25 minutes. At that point, take it out and carefully spoon and spread the pizza sauce on top. Cover the sauce with the shredded cheese and bake for 20 more minutes. Let it cool for five minutes or so before serving.

Buffalo Chicken Quiche

FOUND IT: At Ehow.com.

MODIFIED IT: A lot.

I liked the concept of the original recipe, but none of the execution. The original called for boiled chicken, which I replaced with a leftover grilled chicken breast from dinner the night before. It also called for celery, which I skipped. I had half a can of black beans left from a dinner earlier in the week, so I tossed them in. And the original recipe's cooking time is way off.

Ingredients:

• 1 premade pie crust
• 1/2 can black beans, drained and rinsed (can be skipped)
• 1 large or 2 small cooked boneless chicken breasts, chopped
• 3/4 cup milk
• 4 eggs
• 1 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp buffalo wing sauce
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 oz blue cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

Press pie crust into a pie pan, poke holes in the bottom with a fork and bake at 400 for ten minutes. Remove from the oven and reset the temp at 350.

Toss the chicken and black beans with the wing sauce and flour, and pour that mixture over the pie crust.

Combine the eggs, milk and salt, and pour over the chicken.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. After that time has passed, sprinkle the bread crumbs on top, then sprinkle the cheese on top of that. Return to oven and bake 15 more minutes, or until quiche is set in the middle.

Asparagus Quiche

FOUND IT: At Cooks.com

MODIFIED IT: A fair amount.

I'm on a quiche kick lately and had some asparagus to use up. This must have been ok: Four of us ate all but one slice in one sitting.

Ingredients:

Six eggs

1/2 lb fresh asparagus cut in 1 inch pieces (I used closer to 3/4 lb.)

1 cup shredded cheese, divided (recipe called for Swiss, I used cheddar jack)

1 unbaked premade pie crust*

1 cup milk

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tbsp onion powder (I substituted Penzey's Fox Point Seasoning)

1/2 tsp salt

Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

* - I've tried several recipes for making my own pie crust. Homemade pie crust is fine but in the end I've decided it's one of those things that's just not worth the time. A premade pie crust is quick, easy and the difference isn't huge.

Preheat oven to 375, with a cookie sheet in it.

Cook asparagus via your preferred method. (Original recipe called for boiling, but I steamed instead.) Arrange asparagus and half the cheese in the bottom of the pie crust. Combine eggs, milk, sour cream, onion powder, salt and pepper in a large bowl, then pour over asparagus and cheese.

Put the quiche on the cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes. Then, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and continue baking until quiche is set in the middle, roughly 5-10 minutes more.