Vegetarian Spinach Quiche

Chef #1242666's Note:

This is a simple, delicious, and healthy vegetarian dish! Quiche is basically a pie filled with egg custard, and sometimes vegetables, meat or cheese. I used my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook as reference for this recipe, but I changed a few things. I wish I could include a picture, but we ate it all too fast! Enjoy (: *Quiches can be filled will all kinds of things, including peppers, broccoli, and ham. Just be sure to keep the 4 eggs to 1 1/2 c. milk ratio for the custard.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 45 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 4-6

Yield: 1.0 pie

• 1 frozen pre-rolled, 9-inch pastry dough
• 4 eggs
• ¾ cup whole milk
• ¾ cup skim milk
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 7 slices morning star vegetarian bacon
• 1 medium onion , diced
• 5 ounces frozen chopped spinach , thawed
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 dash pepper
• 1 dash nutmeg

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Unroll the pastry dough and press it into a 9-inch pie pan. (You do not need to grease the pan.) Fold the edges of the pastry over and crimp.
2. Cover the pastry with a double layer of aluminum foil, and bake for 8 minutes. Then, remove the foil and bake for 4 more minutes. You do not need to prick the pastry - it's okay if it bubbles a little. Remove the pie crust from oven and reduce heat to 325 degrees.
3. Meanwhile, following the directions on the package, fry the bacon in a skillet. Remove bacon from skillet, break into bite-size pieces, and set aside. Heat up the diced onions in the excess oil from the bacon, or add oil if needed. The onions don't need to be fully sauteed, just cook them over medium heat for a couple minutes to soften them up a bit.
4. Next, drain the spinach, squeezing all of the excess water out. Beat the eggs in a large bowl, and add milk, bacon pieces, onion, spinach, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, mix together cheese and flour, then add this to the egg mixture.
5. Line the crimped outer edges of the pie crust with foil. Pour the egg mixture into the warm crust. Bake for 45 minutes, or until egg mixture feels firm and set, crust is golden brown, and toothpick comes out clean.