Western Quiche Recipes

Steps:

• Place a rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place a sheet pan on the bottom rack to heat up.
• Lightly spray a 9-inch standard pie pan with nonstick spray. Line the pan with the crust, turn under any excess crust and then crimp the edges. Take a large square of parchment paper and crumple and unfold it twice to make it more flexible. Lay the parchment over the dough, pressing it into place, then fill the parchment with pie weights, dried beans or rice so that the pan is filled completely. If using a homemade pie crust, freeze the pie shell for 10 minutes.
• Place the pie shell in the oven on the preheated sheet pan and bake until the edges are golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove the parchment lining and weights and bake until the center no longer looks raw, 3 to 4 minutes longer.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bell pepper and a pinch of salt and cook just until the pepper develops some color, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the peppers to a bowl. Add the ham to the skillet and cook until it begins to develop some color, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the scallion whites (reserve the greens for garnish) and remove the pan from the heat. Set aside.
• Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl until smooth. Whisk in the half-and-half, 3/4 teaspoon salt, onion powder and black pepper to taste. Whisk until smooth and then whisk in half the cheese. Place the peppers and ham over the crust and then pour over the egg mixture. Top with the remaining cheese.
• Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake the quiche until the outer half is set and the center just wobbles slightly, 40 to 45 minutes. The internal temperature of the quiche will be about 160 degrees F.
• Cool the quiche for at least 30 minutes before garnishing with scallion greens. Serve warm or room temperature, or wrap well and refrigerate to serve chilled.

Steps:

• For the crust: Put the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse to combine. Add about a third of the chilled butter cubes and process until the butter is absorbed. Add the remaining butter and pulse until the butter is the size of peas, 5 or 6 pulses. Add the vinegar. Then, while pulsing quickly a few times, add the ice water through the tube. Squeeze some dough between your fingers; it should just hold its shape without feeling wet. If it is crumbly, add more ice water a tablespoon at a time. Pulse quickly; do not overwork the dough or the crust will be tough. Wrap the dough loosely in a large piece of plastic wrap, then firmly press and flatten the dough into a thin round. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Then roll the dough on the floured surface into an 11- to 12-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Center the dough in a 9-inch pie plate, with an even overhang all around. Fold the edges and flute or crimp. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Press a piece of foil over the chilled crust, then fill with pie weights, raw beans or rice. Bake to set the crust, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake until the crust is light brown, 5 to 10 minutes more. Let cool slightly before adding the filling.
• For the filling: Sprinkle the scallions evenly into the crust. Combine the pepper jack, bacon and chopped green chiles in a medium bowl and sprinkle in an even layer over the scallions.
• For the custard: Whisk together the half-and-half, eggs, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a bowl. Stir in the cilantro and chile powder.
• Pour the custard over the filling. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake until set, 35 to 50 minutes. Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place pie crust in a 9-inch glass pie plate.
• Cook ham in a skillet over medium heat until it no longer looks moist, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
• Combine Cheddar cheese, milk, eggs, bell pepper, onion, garlic, black pepper, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Stir in ham. Pour into the prepared pie crust.
• Bake in the preheated oven until crust is golden, top is starting to color, and filling is set, about 1 hour.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Coat a pie pan with cooking spray.
• Heat a medium nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat.
• Cook the scallions, bell pepper, and bacon for 3 minutes, or until softened.
• Spoon into the prepared pie pan.
• Top with the Cheddar.
• In a large bowl combine the milk, egg substitute, mustard, and nutmeg.
• Pour into the pie pan.
• Sprinkle with the Parmesan.
• Bake for 35 minutes, or until golden and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.