Quiche Lorraine

We've tried lots of different quiche recipes, but this one is by far the best! The crust was absolutely amazing! And there were a lot of helpful tips with the recipe too!

This recipe is from Julia Childs book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

This is a super easy meal, and is great with garden

salad or fruit and some french bread.

Crust

1 cup flour

3/4 stick butter

2 Tb vegetable oil

3-4 Tb ice water

6-8 Slices bacon (I used some cut-up ham)

3 eggs

1 1/2 cup cream or half and half

1/2 tsp salt

pinch of pepper

pinch of nutmeg

2 Tb. butter

Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter and oil into the flour. Add the water and stir till it comes together. Roll out on floured surface until it is the size that will fit your pie pan. Use your rolling pin to pick up the crust and place in pan. Prick the bottom with a fork, or lay foil over your crust and pour in some dry beans to keep your crust from bubbling. Cook in 400• oven for 8-9 minutes, and remove foil and beans.

Brown your ham or bacon in 1 Tb butter, and lay in bottom of partially cooked pie shell. (I also added a little bit of shredded parmesan cheese over the ham.) Beat eggs and cream or half and half with seasonings. Pour over ham or bacon, and cook for 25- 30 minutes in upper third of your oven, until the quiche has puffed and browned. Important step: After you pull your quiche out of the oven, carefully slide it out of your pan onto a hot platter and serve. It's important to un-mold your quiche . The circulation of air will help prevent your crust from getting soggy. And voila! A tasty, easy french dish. Bon appetit!

Super Easy, No-Fear Pie Crust and Quiche

Spinach, Mushroom and Bacon Quiche
No-fear Pie Crust
makes 1 9-inch pie platePie crust:

1 1/4 C all-purpose flour
2 T sugar
1/4 t salt
8 T butter, softened but still cool
2 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened but still cool

1. Lightly coat a 9-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt.
2. With your electric mixer at medium-high, beat butter and cream together until combined, scraping down the sides when needed. Add flour mixture and combine on medium-low until dough resembles coarse cornmeal. Scrape down the sides of the bowl (and if using a kitchen aid mixer, change to the paddle attatchment) and set speed to medium-high and beat until dough begins to form a ball, about 30 seconds. Reserve 3 T of the dough and turn the remaining dough onto a lightly floured surface, flatten into a 6-inch disk. Place the disk to the middle of the pie plate.
3. Press the dough evenly with the heel of your hand, and when needed with your fingers, until the dough is translucent through the bottom of the pie plate (not opaque). Work the dough up the sides of the plate as well.
4. Roll the remaining 3 T of douhg into a 12-inch rope. Cut into 3 and make each other those about 8 inches in length. Add the rope pieces onto the edge of the pie plate and press into the dough. Make a fluted adge. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Quiche:

1 pie crust
4-6 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch wide pieces across the width of the bacon
2/3 C half-and-half
1/2 C low-fat milk
4 eggs
1/4 C chopped fresh parsley
1/4 C spinach, cut into wide strips
5-6 white button mushrooms, washed and sliced
1 C cheese (I used a combination of Parmesan, Mozzarella, and Colby Jack)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Cook bacon in a small frying pan until crispy. Remove and let drain on a paper towel. Discard some of the grease and add mushroom and sautée until softened slightly. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine eggs, half-and-half, milk, and salt and pepper. Once combined, add cheese, parsley, and spinach.
3. Pull pie crust out of the fridge and place cooled bacon and mushrooms evenly across the bottom. Pour egg mixture over the top. Bake for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown and the eggs are set.

*You might need to put foil along the edge of the crust to avoid burning.