Hash Brown Quiche



I haven’t had quiche in a long time. Actually, before I made this I’m not even sure the last time I had quiche. In any case, this dish was super simple, super cheap and super good.

Did I mention I’m a fan of breakfast? I mean a big fan. I’m fully on the “breakfast for dinner” train. Or for any meal really. The idea for this actually came out of a last minute email from the GF at work saying nothing but “So what are you making me for dinner tonight? How about breakfast? :-)".

When I found this Paula Deen recipe I was hesitant to make it because most of her dishes tend to be over-indulgent. But this one wasn't too bad and I found a few ways to make it even healthier which I noted in the ingredients list. My only issue was that I didn't defrost the bag of hash browns long enough - ideally you should move the potatoes from the freezer into the fridge the day before you make this so they cook faster, brown properly and crisp up. 

The GF showed the picture we’d taken to my parents of the cross section of the quiche with half gone. They said how amazing it looked and asked how many people we’d had over that night. .Uh, just us but thanks for judging. Oops. And by the way, we finished off the other half in the morning for breakfast. What can we say, it was good, and really not too bad for you if you follow the modifications suggested below. 

INGREDIENTS:
- 3 cups, shredded frozen hash browns, thawed and drained
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
- 3 large eggs, beaten ( I used 3 eggs and 2 egg whites to help thicken but not add more yolk)
- 1 cup half-and-half (For a healthy alternative, I swapped for skim milk)
- 3/4 cup diced cooked ham (I bought a 1/4 lb sliced honey ham from the deli counter)
- 1/2 cup diced green onions
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar (Again, in an attempt to be healthy, used low-fat/part-skim Cheddar)

- Salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Gently press the drained hash browns between paper towels to dry them as best as possible. In a 9-inch pie plate, toss the hash browns with the melted butter into the plate. Press them into the bottom and up the sides to form a crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and starting to crisp.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. When the hash brown crust is ready pour the egg mixture over it and return to the oven.

Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for about 30 minutes until the quiche is light golden brown on top and puffed.

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