Once upon a time, the girl in Girl Meets Oven found the Best Chicken Quiche recipe from Allrecipes. It looked like one of those fairy tale recipes. You know the ones. They seem too good to be true. This recipe looked like it would be incredibly easy to make, yet still impress family and friends. Was it just a fairy tale?
The Rest of the Story
Each time the girl wanted to make the recipe, she was missing an ingredient. One time she had no chicken, but she did have left over steak. Another time, she had neither chicken nor steak, but she did have some ham. Yet another time, she didn’t have Gruyere cheese, but she had shredded mozzarella.
Instead of making a trip through the woods and to the store, she went with the flow, using what she had on hand. Each time it turned out beautifully, and her Prince Charming went back for seconds. With this quiche recipe in hand, the girl and her prince lived happily every after.
The end.
The Moral of the Story
Don’t be afraid to experiment with a recipe. Go with the flow, and you may be pleasantly surprised. Fairy tales can come true.
The Cast of Characters
Ham and cheese play the lead role in this variation. You can use just about any combination of meats or cheeses you like. Skip ahead to the end of this post to see the rest of the ensemble.
The Play-by-Play
Before you begin, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Roll your pie crust into a 10 inch quiche pan.
Spread one cup chopped ham over the pie crust.
Add four slices of crumbled bacon pieces on top of the ham.
Sprinkle one cup of shredded Gouda on top of the bacon and ham.
In a separate bowl, whisk together four eggs, two cups milk, one package of onion soup mix and one cup Parmesan cheese.
Pour the egg mixture over the ham, bacon and shredded cheese, and into the crust.
Sprinkle one teaspoon paprika over the top of the quiche.
Place the quiche on a baking sheet, and bake in the oven at 425 for 15 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 350, and bake for another 30 minutes.
This is what it looks like after the first 15 minutes of baking at 425.
Remove the quiche from the oven, and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before slicing.
The Footnotes
- For the pie crust, give my Best of Both Worlds Pie Crust recipe a try. For a large 10-inch quiche, make the full two crust version of the recipe.
- Cheeses that melt well work best. If you want to experiment with different types of cheeses, try ones that melt well. I prefer creamy white cheeses, like Gruyere, Gouda, Mozzarella, Swiss or Havarti.
- Let it cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing. This is important so that it will set up. Slice it too soon, and you will end up with a runny mess instead of your dream quiche. The longer you let it cool, the better it sets. But don’t wait too long. Nobody likes cold quiche.
- This quiche freezes well. After it is cool and sliced, place the slices individually into separate freezer bags. Then anytime you want a slice of quiche, just warm it in the oven at 350 for about 20 to 30 minutes.
The Recipe: Ham and Cheese Quiche Recipe
Adapted from Best Chicken Quiche recipe, Allrecipes
Baking Time:
45 minutes
Servings:
1 ten-inch quiche
Ingredients:
1 pie crust
1 cup chopped ham
4 slice of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup shredded Gouda cheese (or any other white cheese you have on hand)
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups milk
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 package of dry onion soup mix
1 teaspoon of paprika
Instructions:
- Roll the pie crust into a 10 inch quiche pan, spread chopped ham over the pie crust, add crumbled bacon pieces on top of the ham, and sprinkle shredded Gouda on top of the bacon and ham.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together your eggs, milk, soup mix and Parmesan cheese.
- Pour the egg mixture over the ham, bacon and shredded cheese, and into the crust.
- Sprinkle paprika over the top of the quiche, and place the quiche on a baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake at 425 for 15 minutes.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350, and bake for another 30 minutes.
- Remove the quiche from the oven, and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before slicing.