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Monday, July 30, 2012

Zucchini Quiche

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I'm cutting myself some slack lately. In an ideal world, I would never buy beans in cans, opting instead to start with dried beans. Any ice cream in our house would be homemade. I'd try things like infusing olive oil with herbs and vodka with fruit. At this point in life, however, that ideal world just isn't realistic. I can't do all of those things and work a full time job, manage this blog, finish up my Master's degree, and spend time with friends and family. The overachiever in me wants to do it all, but I'm learning to take shortcuts, and to take them guilt-free.

The shortcut in this recipe? The pie crust. Yes, I can make pie crust from scratch. I've done it before, and even though it doesn't take more than fifteen minutes, it was fifteen minutes I could spend doing something else, something more important. Store-bought pie crust it was!

I doubled the below recipe, making one quiche for our friends who just had a baby, and saving the other for us. Both went in the freezer after I baked them, meaning they, and we, could pull it out on a busy day. For us, that was a Monday evening after Happy Hour...if taking shortcuts means more Happy Hours, I am more than okay with that!

The quiche was fairly healthy, as far as quiche goes. Milk instead of cream or half and half, and I significantly reduced the amount of shredded cheese that went into it. This lightened the richness and heaviness without sacrificing any flavor. Although zucchini was a great filling given the overabundance of it this time of year, you could just as easily swap in other vegetables or even add some bacon or sausage. We got our bacon fix in the collard greens we ate it with...the secret to getting vegetable haters to at least try greens!

One Year Ago: Buffalo Blue Cheese Dip
Two Years Ago: Mexican Couscous Dinner

Zucchini Quiche
adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients:
-1 pound zucchini, thinly sliced (I used the slicing disc on my food processor)
-2 tbsp butter
-1 pie shell (9 inches), baked
-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (could also use mozzarella)
-1 cup ricotta cheese
-1/2 cup milk
-3 eggs, lightly beaten
-3/4 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp dried oregano
-1/2 tsp dried basil
-1/4 tsp garlic powder
-dash pepper
-paprika

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375F. In a small skillet, saute the zucchini in the butter until tender. Place  half of the zucchini in the cooked crust and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.
2. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, milk, eggs, salt, oregano, basil, garlic powder, and pepper. Whisk to combine well. Pour mixture into the crust. Arrange remaining zucchini slices on top and sprinkle with paprika.
3. Bake quiche for 40-45 minutes, until center of quiche is just set. If freezing, allow to cool to room temperature before wrapping in plastic wrap and foil. When ready to cook, allow to thaw in fridge overnight. Reheat at 400F for 20-25 minutes.