Quiche Me Quick

I first found this quiche in my reliable red Betty Crocker Cookbook back in the 1980's and have used it ever since. Now don't be a snob--Betty has great recipes! A girlfriend gave me the cookbook when I was 18 and I've used it ever since! Except I had to replace it after I burned it on the stove....

This quiche is quick, easy, economical and delicious. It's a traditional, French-style Quiche Lorraine: creamy, more like a custard than a frittata. I have used it for numerous brunches. And someone always asks me for the recipe. Go figure! So, if you're making brunch for Mom on Mother's Day, or for a bridal or baby shower, this is just the thing!

Ingredients:

1 pastry shell for a pie --9"(see bottom of page for an excellent homemade crust)
8 slices bacon (1/3 C crumbled bacon)
1 C shredded Swiss cheese ( I use Jarlsberg when it's for company)
1/3 C chopped onion (sauteed in butter till limp in 1 t butter)
4 large eggs
2 C heavy cream or half and half
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/8 t ground red pepper (cayenne)

--Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prick the bottom of the pie crust with a fork a few times and cover the crimped edges of the crust with a 2 "foil "ribbon" to keep it from over-browning. It just makes SENSE--to avoid a sunburn, cover up! If you are using a homemade crust, use pie weights to avoid bubbles. You CAN use dried beans instead of pie weights, but you sometimes have to dig them out a little after the crust is cooled. Some people use uncooked rice for this but...well, just don't. Put prepared homemade pie crust in the oven for 15 minutes. Put a frozen pie crust in for just 10 minutes. Remove shell from oven to cool...keep foil on.

Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees while mixing together cream, salt, pepper and cayenne. Sprinkle onion, bacon, Swiss cheese in cooled pastry shell. Pour liquid mixture over it. Bake in oven for 45-50 minutes until puffy and brown on top. Cool till luke-warm and serve.

Sweet Buttery Crust (this is slightly sweet--eliminate the sugar if you don't like sweet crust Note: This recipe is adapted from Gingerbread Bagels.com

Ingredients:

4C flour
1 T sugar
2 t salt
1 1/2 C shortening, very cold and diced
1/4 C butter
1/2 C very cold water
1 large egg (cold)

Directions:

Combine flour, sugar, and salt in large bowl. Place bowl in freezer 5 min. Cut (put it in the freezer ahead of time) shortening and cold butter into pieces. Add the shortening/butter to the flour, using a fork or two knives, or throw it into the food processor for a couple of seconds until the mixture is crumbly. Combine 1/2 cold water with an egg and add it to the bowl. Process or mix with a fork until dough comes together into a ball.  Press down ball to form a disc. Wrap it in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before rolling out. Roll out on a floured and clean surface like any pie crust. If you don't know how to shape a pie crust in a pan --see Being Ermas's  "Mom's Apple Pie" for pictures.