Quiche Me Quick

Ever get tired of the same old breakfast egg dishes? Scrambled eggs can be so...blah. I did make them into breakfast burritos the other day...that was a little better. We eat a lot of eggs around here...more than we probably should. Yesterday I wanted to make a really nice brunch for my mom and step dad before they left to go to the airport for Florida. I stood in the kitchen; poised in front of the open refrigerator; staring into its depths. The shelves were loaded up with lots of containers of leftovers.

Now, let's just say I'm NOT a big leftover gal. Don't know why. But usually, when I bring home leftovers from restaurants (which is basically every time I eat at a restaurant), the poor leftovers get tossed into the cold, dark refrigerational abyss. They sit, neglected, and unless my hubby rescues them, they usually morph into moldy science experiments. I should just save myself time and when I put the white styrofoam boxes in the fridge, I should label them with scientificky names like: "Olivus Gardenae pastasporidium" or "Fudruckerous burgergenase transformatii".

Ok...suddenly I'm aware that I've strayed off topic in some sort of tangential plane.

Oh yeah...leftovers.

So...there I was...standing in front of the fridge staring at leftovers. These weren't restaurant leftovers. These were homemade leftovers. I started pulling stuff out and made a big pile on the counter. There was leftover steamed spinach from last night's meal, crumbled cooked breakfast sausage from the breakfast burritos I made 2 days before, sliced mushrooms that were beginning to wrinkle, half an onion, homemade caramel sauce from Christmas hiding way in the back behind the pickles. DANGIT, that stuff was Soooo GOOD, but my culinary safety chick chimed in and made me throw it out. DANGIT. There were also cooked mushed-up carrots (I actually ended up eating those for lunch).

I decided with these ingredients (plus eggs, half and half, cheese, pie crust and spices) I could make one heckuva quiche.

So, here it is:

Torrey's Must-Go* Quiche

*Must-Go is a term coined by my husband. It's stuff that needs to be used up before it becomes something Torrey could enter into a science fair.

Yield: 2 9-inch quiches

Ingredients:

2 prepared pie crust doughs (I had the store-bought kind that is rolled up in a box)
12-16 eggs (depends on how big your eggs are)
1 cup cooked spinach
1 cup cooked breakfast sausage (crumbled)
8 oz fresh raw mushrooms (sliced)
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup half and half
1 cup shredded cheese (I used Mozzarella, but you can use whatever you have)
2 Tbs butter
1 Tbs olive oil
herbal seasoning to taste (I used Northwood Seasoning by Penzeys--about 1/2-1 tsp)

Directions:

• Line bottoms of 2  9-inch pie plates with parchment paper (I didn't do this, but my crust stuck a bit so I will next time).
• Place 1 piecrust dough in each pan. Gently stretch to fit. Flute edges if you like. 
• Dock the crust dough. That means poke a lot of holes in the bottom with a fork.
• Bake at 400 degrees F (204 degrees C) for about 10 min until it's golden brown.
• Cool crusts until they're warm but not hot
• Place butter and olive oil in large skillet. Sautee onions and mushrooms until browned. I mean BROWN...not wimpy grey. Let cool until they're warm, not hot.
• In large bowl, beat eggs and half and half until blended. Dump remainder of ingredients in (including cooked mushrooms and onions) and fold to incorporate.
• Fill cooked pie shells with egg mixture.
• Fasten foil around edge of piecrust to prevent over browning.
• Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 40-50 minutes until eggs have puffed and center is set.
• Remove from oven and let sit for 10 min before serving.