do not fear the bacon grease

Holy potatoes! I made the most delicious dinner tonight.  {Not potatoes.}

I forgot to take something out of the freezer this morning to defrost for dinner, so I found myself at the office wondering what I could whip up.  As I putzed around on Twitter worked diligently, I was reminded that today is Bastille Day. Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but I could not for the life of me remember what the hell Bastille Day is all about.  Wikipedia to the rescue!  Yeah, I still have no idea.  But that's beside the point.

Bastille Day got me thinking about French food. And the first French dish that popped into my head was quiche.  {Thank goodness it wasn't coq au vin. That's a butt-load of work.} Quiche was the perfect solution.  One, I had most of the ingredients on hand and two, it's one of the few French dishes I thought The Mister wouldn't dismiss as "too fancy."

I didn't have a recipe in mind, so I googled around for a bit and put together a list of ingredients. From there, I just winged it and hoped it would work out.  And boy did it!  I'm going to toot my own horn here, but I think this is one of the tastiest, simplest things to come out of my kitchen in a long time! I'm pretty sure The Mister agrees because he ate three pieces and didn't try to put ketchup on it.  High praise around these parts!

A word of warning for the healthy eaters among you: If you're not in the mood for an indulgence, pass this one by. The words "saute in bacon grease" are ahead.  And, if Julia Child is reading from the beyond: I'm sure I've disappointed you greatly by using store-bought crust. Please forgive me. I know making pie crust is easy-peasy but I didn't have time to make a crust and allow it to chill and still get dinner on the table before 9pm.

Bacon, Mushroom and Spinach Quiche

9 in. store-bought pie crust

1/2 lb. thick cut bacon

1/2 med. white onion, diced

1 c. sliced baby portobello mushrooms

2 c. fresh spinach, roughly chopped

2 c. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

6 eggs

1/2 c. fat free half & half

salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Press pie crust into a tart or pie pan.  Place a piece of parchment paper over the crust and fill with dry beans or pie weights. Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove the beans/pie weights and paper and return the crust to the oven to cook uncovered for 5 more minutes.  Remove from oven. 

Cook bacon; crumble and set aside. Reserve enough bacon grease in the pan to saute the onions and mushrooms.  Saute onions and mushrooms in bacon grease {I know, I know. But please don't skip this step. It makes the dish} on low-medium heat until soft, about 3-5 minutes.  Drain any excess grease and set aside.  Add spinach, bacon, mushrooms, onions and cheese to the pie crust.  In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, half & half, salt and pepper.  Pour mixture into the pie crust, over the filling.  Bake for approximately 35-45 minutes until the center of the quiche is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.   (The deeper your pan, the longer it will take. I baked in a shallow tart pan and it took approx. 35 minutes.)

This quiche made a fantastic dinner served with a spinach salad, but it would also be great for brunch.

Sorry for the crummy food pictures. A fancy food blogger I am not.  Don't let it discourage you from trying the quiche!

Oh, and just for fun, here's a picture of a major kitchen fail I had this week:

These coffee cake muffins were a bust. Just thought you all should know that not everything that comes out of my oven is a success.