Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Straight from "Recipe Heaven" SPINACH & BACON QUICHE with a Twist





Have you ever taken a very first bite of something and immediately just closed your eyes, sat back, and everything suddenly was in slow motion?

You started chewing slow, as you savored every single bite.  Not wanting it to end.

That's how I feel about my Spinach & Bacon Quiche.

If there is such a thing as "Recipe Heaven", then this glorious thing is the Archangel.

This quiche recipe has been in my recipe binder for about 20 years, and I guard it with my life.

Several times over the years when I've served this, people have uttered (in slow motion of course) "Oh you should sell this".

Need I say more?



1 Frozen Deep Dish Pie Crust
1/2 lb Bacon (about 10 strips), fried and crumbled
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 c. Grated Fresh Parmesan Cheese
1 c. Shredded Swiss Cheese
1/2 of a 10 ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed thoroughly
3 ounces cream cheese (a little less than half of an 8 ounce cube), cut into little cubes

CLICK HERE FOR PRINTABLE RECIPE

Preheat oven to 350.

NOTE:  Keep your Cream Cheese in refrigerator until ready to use!  I'll tell ya why later.

Start by frying up your 10 slices of bacon.   I normally fry them 5 strips at a time.

When finished, let them sit on paper towel while you fry up the other 5 pieces.

Bacon......Ahhhh......Have you ever seen anything more beautiful in your life?



When bacon is finished, let the strips just sit and hang out while you get the spinach ready.

The next step is pretty IMPORTANT that's why I made the word important in all Caps.

If you have worked with frozen chopped spinach before, you know it's loaded with water.  That's what makes this next step pretty darn important.

Makes sure your 10 ounce box of frozen spinach is totally thawed.  Over the sink or over a bowl, take out the spinach, and literally use your hands and squeeeeeeze.  Just like you are squeezing out a sponge.

Trust me, you DO NOT want all that yucky liquid messing up your beautiful Quiche.




After you have squeezed all the water out, you will have some clumps of spinach that looks like this.



Ok, now you are ready to mix everything all up.

In your Kitchen Aid mixer or in a large bowl, put in your 3 eggs, heavy whipping cream, shredded Swiss cheese,the crumbled bacon, and grated Parmesan cheese. 

Oh my!  I love bacon.


Mix together until all is incorporated.  Don't over mix.

Now gently take your spinach, and separate it from the clumps that you squeezed them into, and place into the liquid mixture.  Carefully stir with a spoon to incorporate.



Ok, now comes the twist.  Now comes the extra little step that makes this Quiche go from a good recipe to I think I see angels recipe.

Take your Cream Cheese out of the refrigerator.  It needs to be cool because it's much much much easier to cut into cubes if it's cold.  Room temperature cream cheese is a no no if you want cute little cubes.

Make them about the size of a mini crouton.  If you don't know what that size is, then make them smaller than a dice.  If you don't know how big a dice is, then make them a bit smaller than a bouillon cube.

If you fail to comprehend, then see if this helps.



Once you have cut up about 3 ounces of cream cheese into cute little cubes, very very very gently, fold them into your mixture.

You DO NOT want to mash them up into the batter.

What we want is wonderful little pillows of cream cheese, throughout the quiche.  Like little surprise bites, that make you sit back, close your eyes, and go "oh my goodness".



Pour the mixture into the waiting frozen Deep Dish pie shell.

Oh lookie lookie.



 Bake in a 350 preheated oven for 45 minutes.

NOTE:  Sometimes it's a little tricky to tell when a quiche is done.  I like to set my timer for 40 minutes and keep checking every couple minutes or so, but 45 minutes should be good.

The key is to make sure, when you start to pull it out of the oven, that  the middle is not moving or shaking.

It should look something like this wonderment.


Again I post another important NOTE:  Let your Recipe from Heaven sit for AT LEAST 25 minutes before cutting into.  Otherwise it will be all liquidy and not look pretty and not taste as good.

Feel free to just sit and stare at her, and think about what it will be when you take your first bite.

Time will stop, you will close your eyes, and I do believe the Archangel of Quiche's will float above you.


See the wonderful little pillows of cream cheese?


Now excuse me while I sit back and close my eyes.  I can't very well type when my eyes are closed.  Plus I don't want to be rude to the Archangel.





8 comments:

  1. Oh my, does that ever sound (and look) good! I love quiche, and I foresee this recipe being made very soon in my kitchen!

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  2. Amazing. This is SO GOOD. My picky toddler even ate some. :)

    I'm not a huge quiche fan but this just looked too good to pass up ( I think it had something to do with the pockets of cream cheese, that just seemed like such a great idea).

    I realized at the last minute that I had forgotten to buy parmesan cheese, so I added a extra generous helping of swiss instead.

    I think because of this, I had too much filling for one pie crust, so I divided it up between two crusts and it worked out perfectly.

    I wasn't sure at first how the flavor would be with no seasoning, but I made it as directed and it really doesn't need anything else, it is so flavorful just as it is. Perfection.

    Oh and one last thing, thank you for all the important tips on how to bake it. I haven't made quiche before and they really helped. :)

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  3. Ali - Yippie!
    I'm so glad you liked it. This quiche is honestly one of my all time favorite things. I almost didn't post it cause I was being selfish and didn't want to share my recipe. But It's too good to not share!
    Thanks for checking my blog out and thanks even more for letting me know how everything turned out! I love that you stopped by! Sally

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  4. HI Sally!
    I'm very amazed how this just popped up. I just made a quiche last week and found that we had similar recipe! The ingredients are almost the same, just some improvision. I had a lot of leftover cheese and parmesan. so i whipped up the batch with eggs and just a tbsp of milk. I used salami, and i prefer fresh veg, so i used Broccoli. Thank you so much for sharing... It's a gift.

    Carmen

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  5. I'm making this quiche today for, I think, the 3rd time since you first posted the recipe. haha, I am addicted. :)

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  6. Oh my, that looks soooo good!! Found you on a link from Mom Spark. I am now following you and subscribing to your blog. Love it. Stop by for a visit some time.

    blessings,
    Jacqui
    http://www.homesteadbountyblessings.com

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  7. Hello Sally, discovered your recipe earlier today on pinterest for spinach quiche and although I didn't use it (didn't have everything in my fridge and didn't want to go to the store) I really want to make it, it looks delicious. Really appreciated your visual tips for the frozen spinach thing. I did use that and the tip for letting it sit. I really look forward to discovering more recipes on your beautiful blog and reading your blog. Sending you a very sunny, spring like greeting from Switzerland,

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