Laptop Lunches #62

I'm proud of this one. Not as proud as I might be had I had cherry tomatoes on hand (because they're easier and more attractive, I think, than tomato wedges, and I could have put them in amongst the quiches to fill the blank spaces and then had a container full of carrot sticks, too), but still, pleased. It is a theme I will perfect in time. Anyway, homemade mini quiches Lorraine, a mini shaker with salt and pepper mix, a peanut butter chubby in a silicone cup, tomato wedges with yogurt-ranch dressing, and pineapple tidbits with chunks of pink orange.

I am proud of the mini quiches. I've been wanting to try this for some time (making my own), but even with the idea of using pre-made pie crusts, I balked at cutting out circles and fussing over individual muffin cups and baking the crust blind in a muffin tin. And while I could do a crustless quiche, I don't think they have as much appeal. Turns out, one can make a very servicable pat-in-the-pan quiche crust with Bisquick, as my research revealed. As an added bonus, you don't have to cook the crust first--everything cooks up together. So we start there. And then I adapted a recipe for Quiche Lorraine from America's Test Kitchen Cooking for Two 2010 based on what I had on hand (Swiss instead of Gruyere). Here is the recipe:

1 recipe Bisquick Quiche Crust
Vegetable shortening
2 slices bacon
1/4 cup minced onion (about 1/2 a small onion)
2/3 cup half-and-half
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 chives leaves, minced
Salt and pepper to taste (about 1/8 teaspoon each in my case)
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese

Grease pans with vegetable shortening. Prepare crust according to directions, then form into small balls (about 1 inch) and pat into pans. (I had enough to make one mini muffin tin (for a dozen) and one tartlet pan. It will look like this:

I used a demitasse spoon and a small spreader to get into the crevices.

Cut the bacon into 1/4 inch squares (scissors are the easiest tool to use here) and cook in an 8-inch skillet over medium-low heat until crisp. Remove bacon to a paper-towel lined plate. Pour off the fat, except 1 tablespoon. (I save the extra fat in a small jar in the fridge for later recipes, but you can do what you want.) Add the onion to the skillet and cook over medium heat until soft and lightly browned. In a large (I suggest 4-cup) measuring pitcher, whisk half-and-half, eggs, chives, and salt and pepper. Stir in cheese, bacon, and onion until well mixed. Pour mixture into prepared tins/tart pan. You may have a little extra; if so, pour into silicone baking cups for a crustless quiche to bake alongside the rest. (I did this, with good success. You'll see that later.) Be careful not to overfill--leave a tiny rim for each quiche. Bake at 375 degrees until no longer jiggly (the muffin tins will come out first, ahead of the tart). Allow to cool for 15-30 minutes before trying to remove from the pan.

A gentle nudge with a spreader or butter knife should allow you to pop the quiches right out of the pans.

This costs a fraction of what it would cost to buy the ones from the freezer section, and I honestly like mine a lot better!

This post is shared on: