Making a Happy Holiday Quiche

Nothing screams holiday more than the red and green colors of the season. This easy-to-make quiche features a premade refrigerated crust (store-bought or homemade)  and can be served at breakfast, lunch, or dinnertime, and even grace your table as part of your holiday meal.

Holiday Quiche

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 refrigerated pie crust
• 6 large free-range eggs
• ¾ cup cream
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1/3 cup diced red peppers
• 1/3 cup diced green peppers
• 1/3 cup diced ham*
• 1 ½ cups shredded cheese (divided)
• 3 Tablespoons of thinly sliced green onions (divided)
• 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Unroll pie crust and press into a 9” pie plate. Crimp edges if desired. In a big bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, salt, and pepper until well combined. Onto the pie crust, sprinkle the red and green diced peppers, the ham, 1 cup of cheese, 1 ½ Tablespoon of green onions, and Italian seasoning. Pour egg mixture over the top. Then, sprinkle on the remaining ½ cup cheese. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes until the center is completely set. (After baking time is up, you can test the center with a toothpick if desired – when it comes out clean, it’s done.) Let the quiche cool for 10 minutes. Before serving, garnish with the remaining 1 ½ Tablespoons of green onions.

*To make this recipe meatless, omit the diced ham and increase red and green peppers to ½ cup each.

Fun facts about quiche:

Though quiche is a classic French dish, the word is of German origin and, in fact, is derived from the  German word ‘Kuchen,’ which means cake. Quiche originated in Germany, in the medieval kingdom of Lothringen, under German rule, which the French later renamed Lorraine. The original ‘Quiche Lorraine’ featured an open pie with an egg and cream custard filling and smoked bacon. Over time, the recipe expanded into many varieties that you see today!

Freezing and reheating tips:

Per Golden Valley, quiche can be made ahead and frozen for up to a month prior to - or after - baking. After is the preferred method as a cooked quiche is much easier to maneuver. To freeze a cooked and cooled quiche, it must be well wrapped with freezer paper or heavy-duty foil of double thickness or placed into a sealed freezer bag. Label it, freeze it, and use it within one months’ time. Insanely Good Recipes suggests that the oven is the best way to reheat a frozen quiche. Place frozen cooked quiche on a baking sheet. Cover quiche with foil. Place in a preheated oven set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat for 30 to 45 minutes until the inside registers 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove quiche from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes with the foil cover on. When time is up, remove foil and serve.