Thursday, January 15, 2015

Lightened Up Bacon, Spinach and Mushroom Quiche

Yum
How did you spend your winter break?  I realized I never asked ya!
Hopefully there was lots of time for family and friends and maybe you even did something exciting!
One year we took the girlies skiing!  Didn't have to go far...just a couple of hours away.  But, here's the funny thing.  That was a mild winter with hardly any snow...hard to believe we even had those up here with the way winters have been going.  So, no snow, but when we drove up the mountain, well, a midwest styled "mountain," as soon as we reached the ski resort...snow!  They had made snow and it was a winter wonderland! Such fun!  But the past few years we have stayed closer to home with a few trips into the city.  Sometimes it is kind of nice to just hang close to home and have time to read a book or play a game with the family. Personally, I love to read books, especially cookbooks!  With some of my down time, I spent time searching for recipes that were a little more healthy and a little lighter.  I ran across a lightened quiche recipe from Cooking Light that I had to try!  Oh my gosh!
You would never ever in a million years guess that it was lighter!

Each wedge is filled with bacon, spinach and mushrooms!



Just needed a few changes to make it exactly the way I wanted it,
but Cooking Light is where I got the inspiration!
Start with a pre-made pie crust to make this an easy weeknight meal or Sunday brunch!

Ingredients:
1 deep dish frozen pie crust
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 8oz pkg fresh mushrooms
2 tsp thyme
2 cups fresh spinach
1 8oz pkg bacon bits
1 cup skim milk
1/3 cup half and half
3 large eggs
1 large egg white
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 oz Swiss cheese, shredded
Directions:
In a large saucepan over medium high heat, saute 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp unsalted butter and 1 tsp minced garlic for 1-2 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and thyme.  Turn the heat down to medium low and cook down the mushrooms, approximately 8-10 minutes.  Add the 2 cups of fresh spinach and stir just until the spinach wilts, approximately 1-2 minutes.  Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes.
Whisk together milk, half and half, 3 eggs, 1 egg white, salt and pepper.  Whisk until smooth.
In deep dish frozen pie crust, sprinkle half of the shredded Swiss cheese.  Top with the spinach mixture and remaining Swiss cheese.   Slowly pour the milk/egg mixture on top.  Sprinkle with the bacon.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.


This quiche is chock full of textures and flavors!
By subsituting an egg white for 1 egg, using skim milk and less cream as well as using a much smaller amount of cheese helps to lighten the quiche.  But trust me, you won't miss a thing!  There's so much going on with the bacon, spinach and mushrooms.  AND, it's even better the next day!  So save some from dinner and take a slice to work...your co-workers will be so jealous!


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Celebrate the little things that make life sweet,

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