Spinach-Mushroom-Feta Crustless Quiche

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/11/spinach-mushroom-feta-crustless-quiche/


spinach,mushroom & feta crustless quiche

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour

Total Cost: $6.19

Cost Per Serving: $1.03

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 8 oz. fresh mushrooms $1.99
• ½ tsp minced garlic $0.06
• as needed non-stick spray $0.02
• 1 (10 oz.) box frozen spinach $1.09
• 4 large eggs $0.83
• 1 cup milk $0.39
• 2 oz. feta cheese $0.87
• ¼ cup grated parmesan $0.39
• ½ cup shredded mozzarella $0.50
• to taste salt & pepper $0.05

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. If your frozen spinach is not already thawed, thaw it in the microwave. Empty the box into a colander and let it drain while you begin to prepare the rest.
2. Quickly rinse the mushrooms and slice them thinly. Place the sliced mushrooms in a skillet coated with non-stick spray, add the minced garlic, and sprinkle a little salt and pepper. Turn the heat on to medium-high and saute the mushrooms until they release all of their moisture and no more water remains on the bottom of the skillet (5-7 minutes).
3. Spray a pie dish with non-stick spray. Squeeze the rest of the water out of the spinach and spread it out on the bottom of the pie dish. Next add the cooked mushrooms and crumbled feta.
4. In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs until fairly smooth. Add the milk, parmesan, and another small sprinkle of pepper. Whisk to combine. (This step can be completed while the mushrooms are cooking) Pour this mixture into the pie dish over the spinach, mushrooms, and feta.
5. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese over top. Place the pie dish on a baking sheet for easy transfer into the oven. Place the quiche into the preheated oven and bake until it is golden brown on top and the center is solid. Every oven is different but this should take between 45 minutes and an hour. Slice and serve!

Step By Step Photos

The key to preventing a soggy quiche is to reduce the moisture in your vegetables. This is why the spinach is squeezed dry and the mushrooms get cooked before adding to the quiche. I start by draining the spinach in a colander and then squeeze the rest of the moisture out before adding it to the dish.

Next, move onto the mushrooms. Sometimes pre-sliced mushrooms are the same price as whole, but not this time around…

So I washed and sliced my own. I usually cut them in half first (to get a flat surface) and then slice them.

Mushrooms are like sponges that are secretly holding a lot of water, so you need to saute them before adding them to your quiche. I just placed them in a skillet coated with non-stick spray (and a little garlic for flavor) and then sprinkled them with salt and pepper. Just a touch. The salt will help draw out the moisture.

Turn the heat onto medium or medium high and saute them (cook while occasionally stirring) until the water cooks out. This picture is about half way through the process. You’ll notice that the bottom of the skillet is covered with water that has seeped out of the mushrooms. Just keep cooking past this point until most of that water has evaporated off and the bottom of the skillet is relatively dry. This should take about 5-7 minutes, depending on how hot your skillet is. You can prepare the custard (egg and milk mixture) while you’re waiting for the mushrooms to finish.

Coat the inside of a 9 inch pie dish with non-stick spray. Squeeze the rest of the water out of the spinach and place it in the bottom of the dish along with the cooked mushrooms and feta cheese… in no particular order.

To make the custard, begin by whisking together four eggs until they are fairly smooth and uniform in texture.

Next whisk in the milk and parmesan cheese… and a little more pepper or any other herbs that you might like.

Pour the custard mixture over the vegetables in the pie dish. Oh, and the quiche is much easier to get in and out of the oven if it’s on a baking dish, so I put it on there before pouring in the liquidy custard mixture.

Sprinkle on more cheese (mozzarella in this case) if you want… again, I probably went overboard on the cheese but boy, was it tasty 

Bake the quiche in a preheated 350 degree oven until it is golden brown on top and the center is no longer liquid. This will take anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour depending on your oven. Just start checking it at 45 minutes. You’ll notice as it cooks that it begins to puff up a bit. It will deflate once it comes out of the oven but the “puff” is a good way to tell which areas are cooked and which are still liquid.