We wanted to go hiking in the morning, which means we better make some breakfast ahead of time. We always have eggs in the morning. What's a good egg dish to make in advance?
There is no better choice than Quiche!
What makes the quiche great for breakfast before hiking, is you can pack in lots of good nutrients! For instance, our family loves vegetables, so we've made a spinach-mushroom-cheddar quiche. Since this is a"crustless" version, it's even healthier as it's low fat and low carb!
So the night before, after dinner, we set about preparing the following:
Ingredients (make two 9 inch pie dishes, or one 9 x 13 inch deep casserole dish)
Olive oil, 2 tablespoons
Spinach, 2 bunches fresh, ~ 1 pound total; or 1 package frozen, ~10 ounce
Onion, 1 large
Garlic, 2 cloves
Mushroom, 5~6, any variety is fine (white button, or brown cremini)
Cheddar cheese, 4 cups shredded, any variety is fine (we used two types: Irish white, and Wisconsin sharp)
Eggs, 8 large
Salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons
Ground black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon
Optional: parmesan cheese, 3 tablespoon grated
Steps:
Preheat the oven to 350 degree F.
If you are using fresh spinach, heat up a large pot of water. When water is boiling, carefully toss in all the spinach and let it blanch for a minute. Meanwhile, prepare a large bowl with ice water filled half way. Use tongs to transfer the spinach from hot boiling water to the ice water. When it's cooled down, squeeze out water from the spinach, and chop up all the spinach into 1/4~1/2 inch length. You can save all this work by using frozen chopped spinach instead.
Chop the onion, mince the garlic, and chop the mushrooms.
In a large skillet or frying pan, heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil at medium high heat, add the chopped onion and minced garlic, stir fry until it's translucent; add the chopped mushrooms and cook for another minute or two; add spinach and continue to stir and cook for two to three minutes; add half of the salt and pepper and stir to mix. Transfer the cooked veggie to a large container to cool down.
In a large mixing bowl, beat all the eggs, and add the shredded cheese, and remaining salt and pepper.
Mix the cooked veggie with the egg and cheese mixture, mix well, add the mixture to the baking dish. Bake at 350 degree F for 30 minutes.
Optional: spread the grated parmesan cheese on top of the quiche, and broil at 450 degree F for 2~3 minutes.
The next morning, simply reheat the quiche in individual plates in the microwave oven for about 30 seconds to one minute each. Or reheat the quiche in its baking dish in the oven, at 350 degree F for 15 to 20 minutes.
Enjoy the yummy and healthy breakfast, and have fun hiking!
