Quiche ranks toward the top of my list of favorite breakfast dishes. Over the years, I’ve experimented with different fillings and crusts, sharing my creations with family and friends at potlucks, holidays, or weekend breakfasts. Two of my favorite quiches are Spinach Herb Quiche and Bacon Green Chile Quiche.

The Spinach Herb Quiche is one I accidentally discovered last summer when I was asked to prepare a breakfast for a weekend in the mountains with a group of writer friends. One of the ladies in the group was vegetarian, and so rather than preparing my standard filling (Bacon Green Chile Quiche), I experimented with a variety of vegetables. And voilá, to my surprise and delight, I discovered a new favorite quiche.

Now when I make quiche, I usually sprinkle the shredded cheese on the bottom of the pie crust. This is something I’ve done for years, mostly because I’m not fond of browned cheese on top of my quiche. And with the cheese on the bottom, the other fillings—like the vibrant-colored bell pepper, chunks of bacon, and the greens from the spinach and herbs—rise to the top and showcase a much prettier quiche. I also tend to drop dollops of cream cheese into my fillings. The cream cheese adds a rich, creamy surprise with each bite.  Yum!!

Okay, it’s confession time…Over the last year or so, I’ve used store-bought crusts for my quiches. I’d convinced myself that the store-bought crust was close to being as good as homemade. Oh my, I discovered this last week what a fallacy that was.

For some time, I’d tried to use a family pie crust recipe. But I’ve always struggled to keep the crust intact. I’d followed directions of using ice cold water and refrigerating the dough before rolling it out. Yet, more times than not, the crust fell apart on me and didn’t look all that pretty in the pie pan. So I gave up on it and depended upon store-bought crusts to patch me through.

Last summer, I finally gained courage to once again try to make a homemade pie crust.  And where did I find a recipe worthy of trying? Why, on my Martha Stewart pumpkin pie pan. Yep, right there on the pan was a recipe. (By the way, I found this recipe online, and I’ve included a link below.) With this recipe, I blended the butter and flour mixture using my food processor. Oh, the dough looked gorgeous as I formed it into a disk. And when I rolled it out, it didn’t fall apart. It was truly bliss working with this dough.

And how did it compare to the store-bought crust when baked. Flaky, buttery, and a beautiful golden brown, this homemade crust clearly beats out the store-bought one. So unless you’re short on time, I’d recommend making homemade pie crust for these quiches.

Spinach Herb Quiche

• 1 ~ 9″ pie crust (click HERE for my favorite homemade pie crust)
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 small red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 5 eggs
• 1 cup half & half
• ¼ tsp salt
• ⅛ tsp pepper
• ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¾ cup sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded
• ¾ cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
• 4 oz. cream cheese, cubed
• ½ cup baby spinach, packed
• 1 TBSP fresh basil, chopped
• 1 TBSP fresh thyme leaves
• 1 TBSP fresh parsley, chopped

♦♦ A few notes . . . You can use orange or yellow bell peppers instead of red or you can use a mixture of all three to add more color to your quiche. Also, if you don’t have Gruyere cheese, you can replace it with sharp white cheddar (for 1½ cups of white cheddar in the recipe).

Directions:

(1) Preheat oven to 350° F.

(2) In a large skillet, heat olive oil at medium-high. Add bell pepper and onions and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes; set aside.

(3) In a small bowl, mix together fresh basil, thyme, and parsley; set aside.

(4) In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, half & half, salt, pepper, and nutmeg; set aside.

(5) To assemble quiche: Layer shredded white cheddar and Gruyere cheeses on bottom of prepared pie crust. Next, evenly distribute cream cheese cubes on top of shredded cheeses. Then add layer of spinach, followed by layer of bell pepper-onion mixture. Sprinkle the fresh herb mixture on top of the bell peppers and onions. Pour egg mixture into crust.

(6) Bake quiche on middle rack in oven for 15 minutes. Cover crust with pie crust shield or aluminum foil (~click here for instructions on how to make aluminum foil tent~). Return to oven and bake for another 40 to 45 minutes, or until egg mixture is set. Let quiche stand for 15 minutes before serving. Makes 6 servings.

Bacon Green Chile Quiche

• 1 ~ 9″ pie crust (click HERE for my favorite homemade pie crust)
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 5-6 slices bacon, cut into ¾” pieces
• 5 eggs
• 1 cup half & half
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ¼ tsp salt
• ⅛ tsp pepper
• ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¾ cup sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded
• ¾ cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
• 4 oz. cream cheese, cubed
• 1 – 4 oz. can diced green chiles

Directions:

(1) Preheat oven to 350° F.

(2) In a large skillet, heat olive oil at medium-high. Add onions and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes; set aside.

(3) In same skillet, cook bacon until browned, about 10 minutes. (Be careful to not overcook bacon.) Remove bacon pieces and place onto paper towel to drain.

(4) In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, half & half, salt, pepper, and nutmeg; set aside.

(5) To assemble quiche: Layer shredded white cheddar and Gruyere cheeses on bottom of prepared pie crust. Next, evenly distribute cream cheese cubes on top of shredded cheeses. Then add layer of onions, followed by layer of diced green chiles, and finally a layer of bacon pieces. Pour egg mixture into crust.

(6) Bake quiche on middle rack in oven for 15 minutes. Cover crust with pie crust shield or aluminum foil (~click here for instructions on how to make aluminum foil tent~). Return to oven and bake for another 40 to 45 minutes, or until egg mixture is set. Let quiche stand for 15 minutes before serving. Makes 6 servings.