Vegetable Quiche for a Weeknight Dinner: Webisode #29

 

What's Going on Today: 6am wake-up call (wha?!) from daughter, out and about eeeaaaarly. Errands around town, trip to playground, picnic lunch.

Naptime Goals: Make Vegetable Quiche for dinner tonight, catch up on things around the house and maybe take a quick nap before daughter wakes up!

Tonight's Menu: Slice of vegetable quiche, white wine, strawberry-mint ice-cream for dessert.

Parenting Lesson of the Day: When decorating a nursery always install black-out shades.

When my daughter wakes up early and my husband tells me he'll be at the office late I know I'm in for a long day. I don't blame either one of them, sometimes my daughter wakes up early when the sun is especially bright, and my husband works hard at his job which often requires long hours. The only person kind of stuck in the middle of this equation is me. I want to give my daughter my full attention during the day, but I'm also responsible for the entire household and any errands or chores that need to get done.

When days like this happen I know I need to keep dinner simple and healthy. I like to Naptime Chef dishes that are delicious and fun, but not overly fussy. I also choose dishes that don't require hours to cook since I still want some time during naptime to put my feet up. Some may wonder why it is worth cooking at all. But I know good food will keep me going well into the evening, plus cooking during naptime helps me relax in the middle of a hectic day.

When this scenario played out earlier this week I decided to make my favorite simple Vegetable Quiche. As you'll see above, I had a lot of leftovers from my farmer's market wares last week and didn't want anything to go to waste. I love this recipe because it is adaptable. In this case I added some onions, fresh baby spinach, toasted pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. There have been many instances when I've added different greens, additional cheese and finely chopped vegetables. There are nearly endless different possibilities and I encourage you to get used to the recipe and play with the ingredients a bit to see what works best for you. Enjoy!

Vegetable Quiche with Spinach, Onions and Pine Nuts

For the crust:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

Pinch of Kosher salt

1/4 c. ice-water

1. Add all four ingredients to a food processor and give it a quick blitz until a dough forms. Remove from processor and roll it out on a lightly floured surface. Roll it out to 9" in diameter and press it into a pie plate. Set aside. *If you are not going to use it immediately, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and leave it in the fridge.

For the filling:

3 eggs

1 c. whole milk

1 c. Parmesan cheese

2 handfuls fresh baby spinach

1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped

1/2 c. pine nuts, toasted

Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Whisk together the eggs, milk and cheese in a bowl, set aside.

2. In a skillet over medium heat add the onion and spinach. Cook until the onion is soft and spinach is wilted. Add to egg mixture.

3. Toast the pine nuts in dry skillet, when they are lightly golden add to the egg mixture. Add a pinch of Kosher salt and crank of good fresh cracked pepper to taste.

4. Pour egg mixture into prepared crust and bake for 40-45 minutes or until top is lightly golden and quiche is totally set.

Naptime Notes:

Naptime Recipe Ideas and Variations: This recipe is adaptable, almost any kind of dark leafy green tastes great, as well as vegetables like shallots, garlic, peppers, potatoes and carrots. Also, some tangy goat cheese crumbled into the quiche tastes amazing as well.

Naptime Stopwatch: Make the crust takes about 5 minutes and the filling an additional 10 minutes. Baked time is close to 40-45 minutes.

Naptime Reviews: My daughter is reluctant to eat eggs and has been since birth. However, she gamely tried a bite of this which is all I can ask for - she'll learn to love them someday!