Groovy Recipe: Cheesy Quinoa Quiche

Do you ever experiment with recipes?  I do.  I often look at a new recipe and think "Hmmm.  I should add this, or take out that, or substitute this for that."  Sometimes, these experiments do not work in my favor.  Then, we order pizza.

Sometimes, though, the experiment turns out so well that I proclaim "Holy balls!  That shit was GOOD."  Last night, I riffed on a recipe I found via Pinterest.  My sister-in-law (who had a baby today, by the way!) pinned this yummy looking thing, with the caption "quinoa quiche."  That sounded right up my alley, so I repinned it, then clicked for the recipe.  Turns out the recipe, from Iowa Girl Eats' blog, is actually more of a frittata...of sorts.  So that got me thinking...what if I made a quiche, a true quiche, but added some quinoa to it?

Sunday supper, consider yourself conquered.

Cheesy Quinoa Quiche

* serves 4

Ingredients

2 cups cooked quinoa

3 eggs

1 egg white (save the yolk)

1 medium zucchini, grated

1/2 cup grated carrot

1 small onion, grated

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1/2 cup shredded parmesan

1 cup shredded cheddar

3/4 cup whole milk (or heavy cream)

1 teaspoon all-purpose seasoning (I use Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute)

Dash of nutmeg

Pinch of salt

Crust of your choice (I usually make a pat-in-pan butter crust for quiche, but I used a pre-made deep-dish pie shell that I had in the freezer for this dish)

Preheat the oven to 350; place crust in a quiche pan or pie pan (or whatever you have...I keep it loose in the Groovy Cucina), then place on a cookie sheet, and bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and brush the inside of the crust with the egg yolk.  Sprinkle the parmesan evenly inside the crust.  Set aside.

Whisk together eggs and egg white with the milk, then fold in the veggies, spices, quinoa, and cheddar.  The mixture will be "lumpy" because of the quinoa.  Fret not.  Pour the filling into the crust (Note: you will have extra filling.  I'll tell you what to do with it in a minute.).  Don't overfill it - remember that quiche rises a bit when baking.  Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes, or until it's set in the middle.  Remove from oven, let sit for a few minutes, then slice and serve.

Extra filling: my friend Angie (mama to Babydoll's BFF) mentioned that she makes extra quiche in muffins cups, to have for breakfast, lunch, or whatever.  I always have extra filling when I make quiche, so this idea is brilliant.  I sprayed 6 muffin cups with cooking spray, then filled with the extra mixture and baked them alongside the big guy for about 20 minutes.  I let cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then used a butter knife to loosen and remove the babies from the tin.  No crust needed!

This is, to me, a self-contained meal.  Veggies, lean protein, whole grains, all in one package.  It was SO good.  If I'd had salad fixin's, I would have served it with a small salad on the side.  But honestly, we were so satisfied with just the quiche.  Babydoll's Daddy got down like James Brown on it, only coming up for air when he went for seconds.