Quiche with Hash Brown Crust and my Honey-do List

Real men eat Quiche with a dollop of sour cream and garnish with green onions...


I had a very interesting meal planned for last night.  Something with eggs poached in a tomato sauce that I had seen on a friends blog recently.  I did my daily constitutional and made a hike to the grocery store (enjoying a beautiful crisp fall morning here in god's country... possibly the most beautiful walk since getting back from the Virgin Isles.  Get up early and take a walk around the park as the sun comes up... incredible... but I digress).


My point is, I had already made my trip to the store, already had the evening meal planned and alread had a plan.


Then, my wife sent me this email...

Thanks.  Would you please make either a spinach/cheese quiche tonight or soufflés??  I think we have enough eggs and spinach.  We need to use up what we have. 

About Halloween . . . . We can get some more Fritos, grate some cheese for the top and I think I will make a crock pot of baked apples.  I know you don’t like them, but I think it will be a nice night for it.  Also we could make some hot drinks or something.  What do you think? 

I want the kids bedroom painted and back in order before your party – do you think we could tape it tomorrow night and paint it right away?  It needs to dry before I can carry up all the crap from the basement and organize it again. 

If Kevin replaces the bad part of the railing first thing Saturday, I can begin priming it.  Takes 2 hours to dry and maybe with any luck, it will look decent for Halloween.  Have to get garage paint tonight –

Did you call the granite people?  Let me know what they say.

LOML

Nothing like late October, when you start looking at those outdoor  projects that need to be finished before it dips below freezing on a regular basis... AND, at the same time, plot out new indoor projects for my time.  It's going to be dark for Trick or Treeters Sunday night.  We are having two friends over that have been here a hundred times for dinner, but she wants to be sure the porch gets painted before Halloween... sigh.


The "kids" bedroom (yes, we have are empty nesters, but we have a bedroom set aside in the house just in case kids come to visit) gets used 10 nights a year.  But, since they have seen one color, we want them to enjoy a redecorating... sigh.


And the garage door... Our neighbor painted his.  According to my wife, "it changed the whole way their house looks".  So, we now have to paint ours.  Never mind that it's the same color as when we fell in love with the house.  Good enough then, good enough now in my opinion... sigh.


But worst of all is her plan to make "baked" apples in a crock pot.  A left over recipe from our Weight Watcher days.  If you try hard, you can pretend that the recipe tastes "just as good" as an apple pie.  But, no crust, no sugar, no butter and you can imagine my opinion... sigh.


Shaping up to be a fun weekend for me.


But the good news... Quiche!  


My point... Real men do the chores and projects that need to be done around the house without complaint (maybe a heavy sigh, but no complaints).  And real men do indeed make and eat Quiche!


Besides, as all happily married guys know, ain't nobody happy if she ain't happy...


So, last night I started my weekend "Honey-Do this, Honey-do that" list with a quiche.  But, I didn't have a pie crust, and my record right now is about 60/40.  40% of my pie doughs are spectacular, 60% are ... not.  One of the cooking projects I need to work on.  But fortunately, I did recall seeing Ms Paula Deen on an episode of her TV show do a hash brown crusted quiche... Now that sounds good...

And a word about hash browns.  Occasionally you will see a bag in the store on sale ridiculously cheap.  Like 39 cents cheap.  When you do, buy a few for the freezer.  But when they are not on sale, hash browns are about the easiest thing in the world to make.


3 large Russet Potatoes
1 sweet Onion
1 Red Pepper
Salt and Pepper to taste


And let the food processor do all the work.  Use that seldom used blade and just push the Veggies through.  I use potatoes unpeeled (healthy and lazy), making this even easier.  Took less than 5 minutes.


Squeeze the juices out of the taters/onion/pepper mix.  And then, just line a couple of pie pans with the fresh hash browns.  Of course, if you have the frozen ones, they work well also.


Bake the shells at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.  If you are starting with frozen potatoes, allow to cook for 30 minutes before adding the fillings.


While that is baking, time to make the egg goo and fillings...


(makes two pies)


8 LG Eggs
1 cup Half and half
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 pound Sausage, browned, drained
1 bunch green onions sliced thin divided (some for the quiche, some for garnish)
1 cup Provolone Cheese (could use Swiss Cheese), thinly sliced
1 cup sharp Cheddar Cheese, thinly sliced
3 TBS Sodom and Gomorrah Sesame/Salt/Garlic herb spice mix
(or this could read salt and pepper to taste... see note below) 



A word about the Sodom and Gomorrah Sesame/Salt/Garlic herb spice mix.  It is one of the easiest of the spice mixes that I make.  It is simply equal parts black and white sesame seeds (the Sodom and Gomorrah part), combined with equal amounts Garlic Flakes and Coarsely ground Sea Salt.  I use this often as a substitute for "regular" salt.  Adds deeper flavors, and has the health benefits of making your dishes "low salt".  Click the photo to see more tips on mixing your own spices.


OK, whisk together the eggs, 1/2 and 1/2 and cream.  When the potatoes have baked for just a bit, start layering...


Crumbled Sausage first


Slices of the cheese next


Egg goo next. It will ooze into the cracks and crannies of the potatoes and around the sausage and cheese nicely.


Spices and half of the onions.


Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until the top just starts to turn golden brown and delicious!


Garnish with a little sour cream and some sliced green onions!

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