Let Them Eat Quiche - Bacon, Spinach and Swiss

I was in a quiche mood the other day... Eggy, custard canvas just waiting to be filled.

I made two this day, one a bit of a classic... this one filled with spinach and bacon and flavored with a classic nutty Swiss cheese.  I also made the crust from hash browns with a bit of my garden peppers tossed in.

I also made a bit of a spectacular experiment...

Spicy Salami, sharp provolone cheese and sweet banana peppers to balance out the flavors..

I am not sure what happened, as I baked each an equal amount of time and basically used the same process.  But in the bacon, spinach and Swiss version, the "fixins" rose to the top and the spinach caramelized (fancy name for that dark color, not quite burnt, but a bit crispy.  In the spicier version, the top was more a golden brown... But you will have to check out today's post on my sister blog, Inspired by eRecipeCards.com to see the details of that quiche.

So, let's talk about this tasty treat... very easy to make and delicious.

The crust comes together easy with a food processor using the shredding blade.  For each I shredded

3 medium sized russet potatoes,
1 medium yellow onion and
1 green pepper (picked fresh from my garden!!!

Once everything is shredded, squeeze as much of the liquid out as you can.  There is plenty, well over a cup.  If you skip this step you will get very soggy potato crust.

Preheat your oven to 375.
spray a pie plate with non stick canola oil
line the bottom and sides of the pan with an even amount of the potato mix... about 1/2 an inch.
Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes.

This gets the potatoes crispy and firm.  Again, if you skip this step you will have soggy potato crust.

While this is baking, dice up about 1/3 of a pound of bacon into pieces about the size of a dime.  Saute these until they are just cooked and most of the fat has rendered out.

Shred about 4 ounces of Swiss Cheese

Whisk together
4 eggs
1 cup Half and Half (can use whole milk)

Cut your spinach into thin strips.

When the crust has finished it's par-baking time, line the bottom with half of the cheese.  Again, this prevents the eggy liquid from making the potatoes soggy and losing their crispness that the par-baking session does.

add the bacon and spinach and fill to the rim with the eggy mixture.

Top with the remaining cheese.

Return to the 375 degree oven for about 45-50 minutes until the center egg mixture does not jiggle.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Add a dollop of sour cream, a few sliced green onions and salt and pepper (I used my Sodom and Gomorrah Low Salt Substitute mixture of Salt, Garlic Flakes and equal parts Black and White Sesame Seeds).

Breakfast lunch or in this case DELICIOUS Dinner!