Quiche

[HollyElise]

My housemate and i made a great quiche last night out of things we "just had around." Quiches are a great way of making something nice out of tired looking vegetables. This one though, came out particularly nice so i wanted to write it down.

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortning
enough cold water to make dough

wilted spinach* (about 6 cups unwilted)
sliced mushrooms (about a cup)
4 green onions, chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

4 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup grated smoked cheddar
1 tsp or so thyme
freshly ground black pepper to taste
salt to taste (we used about a tsp)
enough milk to bring liquid mixture to about 3 1/2 cups**

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make crust:
We made a crust in the usual fashion... cut shortning into the flour and salt with a pastry knife, forks or two knives. Add cold water gradually to make a dough. Roll it out (I roll dough between two sheets of wax paper to make clean up easier. Optionally, toast the crust in the oven a few minutes to firm up before adding the wet ingredients.

*Wilt spinach by steaming until compact but not looking cooked. Place with mushrooms, onions, zucchini, and bell pepper into the pie shell.

**Combine eggs, shredded cheddar (the smoked flavor made it especially nice!), thyme, pepper, salt, and enough milk in a bowl to make about 3 1/2 cups (i used my four cup measuring cup that pours well), and pour over quiche, readjusting the cheddar evenly as needed. Do NOT over-fill shell, as the contents will expand during cooking and you can have an oven mess! Leave about a centimeter or half inch clearance.

Quiches usually take close to an hour to bake and i'm sorry i didn't time this, but it should "set up" and be lightly brown on top. What i do is lightly jar the oven rack to see if the quiche jiggles. As the eggs set it won't jiggle and look liquid, and then i double check by insterting a knife or toothpick to see if it comes out clean.

Let your quiche cool thoroughly before cutting it or it will be harder to get the slices out.