Brunch, Part II

Quiche is my favorite brunch food. I love vegetables and cheese, and it's the best way to enjoy them at breakfast. A Quiche is so easy to make (Liv....), anyone can whip one up flawlessly. It's another 'method' not recipe, you can add any veggie and cheese combo, or meat/veggie/cheese combo. I asked JJ what vegetables his parents liked, and he said spinach. When choosing a cheese to pair with the spinach, I landed on the wedge of gouda I got at Trader Joe's last weekend.
I made my pie crust in the food processor, and rolled it into the pan on Friday night, so on Saturday I just poured in the quiche mixture and baked it off. You can use a premade pie crust, though.

Spinach and Gouda Quiche

1 pie crust (recipe follows)

6 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup skim milk

2 cups frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1 cup gouda, shredded

1 tsp. hot sauce

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay pie crust in pie plate. Crumble spinach into the pie crust, sprinkle half the cheese on top. In a bowl, mix the eggs, milk, hot sauce, and spices. Pour evenly over the spinach and cheese. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over top.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown and puffy. Serve right away, or at room temperature (the puff will deflate as it sits, but it's ok!)

Pie Crust - makes 2 - 10" rounds

3 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 sticks frozen butter, very cold, diced

1/2 cup shortening, in 1/2 cup ice water

Add flour, salt and sugar to food processor. Pulse in diced butter until it's in pea size crumbles. pinch in shortening and pulse until fat is in tiny pieces, pulse in water a few tbsp. at a time, until dough comes together. Shape into a ball, and put in the fridge for at least an hour, or freeze. Divide in half and roll on a silicone mat dusted in flour.