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.

Jarlsberg Omelet Delights!

This morning, we awoke to a further sprinkling of snow atop the already generous spread left by yesterday's weather system. Besides having to take the dog out, it's a wonderful view to wake to. As I let myself and the fluffy-monster back in, the smell of fresh coffee floated through the air. The boy was making breakfast. Most excellent.

Twenty minutes later, I was greeted with this lovely eggy creation. After a single bite, I decided this particular piece of breakfast history needed to be marked down for good. So here it is, in all of it's glory.

You'll want to try this omelet for yourself. I can assure you that it is just as delicious as it looks. Of course, like all omelet creations, a little improvisation doesn't hurt. Feel free to substitute as needed. The only necessary ingredients are the Jarlsberg cheese and spinach.

Jarlsberg Omelet
serves 2

What You'll Need:
A good nonstick skillet

Ingredients:
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
15-20 leaves fresh cilantro, shredded
1 handful spinach leaves, shredded
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and Pepper to taste
3+ tablespoons Jarlsberg cheese, finely shredded

Instructions:
In a medium sized mixing bowl, crack eggs and add in heavy cream. Beat vigorously until well combined. Add in garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper. Mix well. Stir in cilantro and spinach.

Into a greased, slightly pre-heated skillet, pour your mixed ingredients. Cook gently on medium heat. Make sure heat is high enough to cook eggs, but no so high that they overcook on the bottom or cook unevenly. If the eggs begin to get tough on the bottom, your heat is too high.

Continue to cook until eggs are nearly cooked through (about 5 minutes). Using a spatula, carefully flip eggs over to finish cooking on other side. Onto newly exposed cooked side, add shredded cheese in an even layer. Allow enough time to finish eggs on other side (about 1 minute). Turn off heat and carefully fold omelet in half, encasing the layer of cheese inside.

Serve and enjoy immediately!