Sausage Quiche

Imagine that you have just woken on a Saturday morning. The weather is warming, and the sun is out. Sure, there's still a ton of ice and snow covering the ground, but it will be gone soon. Your stomach rumbles, reminding you just how hungry you are. But what to eat? You open your refrigerator to discover lots of food that doesn't necessarily go together, what to do?

This very situation is why I've begun referring to quiches as the garbage disposals of breakfast foods. You want breakfast, and your fridge needs some deep cleaning. A quiche is a great way to load up your breakfast with veggies and good stuff, but keep delicious flavor and filling breakfast. Plus who doesn't love pie, especially a savory breakfast pie?

Making a quiche is almost impossible to mess up. Substitutes and imagination are rewarded with this breakfast food (something you can't say about scones, trust me!). My recipe details the dish we made this last weekend, but you can feel free to adjust and change the ingredient list to suit your own taste and availability.

Sausage Quiche
Serves 4-6
What You'll Need:
a small mixing bowl
a wire whisk
a cheese grater

Ingredients:
1 frozen deep dish pie crust and pan
4 eggs
1/2 cup freshly grated Jarlsberg (or other Swiss) cheese, divided
1/2 cup half and half
1 spicy sausage, chopped *
4 stalks asparagus, chopped
1 small handful spinach, chopped into ribbons
1/4 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 small handful fresh Italian parsley (optional), chopped
2 cloves garlic
Black pepper and salt to taste

* A spicy Italian sausage would really kick this up. Any other leftover meat would be fabulous, especially if well spiced.

What You'll Do:
Preheat oven to 375°.

Remove pie crust from freezer and allow to thaw for 10 minutes. Into bottom of crust, evenly spread chopped sausage, asparagus and spinach.

In a small mixing bowl, combine eggs, cream, spices, garlic, parsley and 1/4 cup of cheese. Beat until well combined. Pour egg mixture over the top of prepared crust and filling. Top with remaining cheese, spreading evenly.

Bake for 30-35 minutes. When the filling is set and the cheesy top is a golden brown, it's time to remove from the oven.

Let cool for 5 minutes, then serve while warm.