Food Advetures: Spinach Mushroom Quiche

I love the versatility of quiche. Eggs, cheese, and milk can be embellished with so many different combinations of meats and vegetables that you can make dozens of different varieties of quiche with the basic recipe.

This recipe makes two pies, which is another plus because they freeze so beautifully and warm up so quickly that they are perfect for a quick meal on nights you don't want to cook, or easily pack up by the slice for taking to work.

Tonight I made spinach and mushroom quiche, thanks to the beautiful Shiitake mushrooms shared by my neighbor, Dory Franklin.

Below the quiche is the recipe for a wonderful chickpea salad. This dish is high carb—but the good kind (brown rice)—and it's also gluten-free.

Spinach Mushroom Quiche

Ingredients

2 deep dish Marie Calender's pie crusts (tastes like homemade!)

6 eggs

3 cups half and half

1/2 cup onion sauteed in margarine until tender

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

1 teaspoon chopped thyme

2 cups fresh spinach leaves

3 or 4 Shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, sliced into triangles

1 cup sliced small tomatoes  (I usedlemon cherry tomatoes shared by a friend, Dennis Terry)

3 cups grated cheese (any variety you prefer, but I used extra sharp cheddar)

1 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Process

Stir together eggs and milk, herbs, salt, pepper, onions.

Layer spinach leaves over 1 cup of grated cheese at the bottom of a thawed pie crust.  Ladle egg mixture over the spinach and cheese. Arrange mushrooms on the top.

Bake at 450 for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 325 and cook for 20 - 25 minutes until quiche is firm in the center. Remove from oven and slice small tomatoes on top, then add 1/2 cup grated cheese allowing the hot quiche to melt the cheese over the tomatoes.

Let cool before slicing.

I served this cold rice salad dish with the quiche, and making a huge bowl of it was great because we snacked on it over two days. It just tastes better each day!

Chick Pea Salad

2 cups cooked and cooled brown rice

1 cup chick peas drained and rinsed

1 cup black beans drained and rinsed

2 medium-sized carrots sliced and cooked with the rice so they are tender

1/2 cup diced sweet onion

1 cup diced fresh tomato

1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup raisins

Dressing:

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (I used Pear infused balsamic)

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon black ground pepper

Mix it all up and serve!