Sunday Morning Refrigerator Pie...aka Easy Quiche

I would have always referred to this egg conconction in a pie crust as quiche if I hadn't seen Alton Brown of Food Network Good Eats fame whip it up and call it "Refrigerator Pie." Er...okay...

So now I'll call it Refrigerator Pie. Whatever. Alton just made it so darn easy. The usual science and history lesson...refrigerated pie crusts, some miscellaneous fillings, egg and cream mixture referred to as a royale, pour it in, bake it. Easy Sunday morning breakfast. Count me in! (When you follow the link make sure to read the ratings and reviews. Some people are so creative. One guy even used shredded hash browns as the crust. I'll do that next time.)

For this recipe I used half and half, not cream. A girl's gotta cut a little fat somewhere.

Refrigerator Pie
1 cup heavy cream or half and half
2 eggs
2 pinches kosher salt
Freshly grated nutmet

For 1 refrigerator pie
1 frozen 9 inch pie crust

Any one of the following combinations suggested by Alton, or make up your own
Cooked spinach, cheddar cheese, cubed cooked ham
Bacon, sauteed leeks, and gruyere cheese
Cooked spinach, canned artichoke hearts, and parmesan cheese
Roasted chicken, goat cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes
Blanched asparagus and smoked salmon
Port Salut and Spam

(I used chopped ham, green onions, chopped prosciutto, roasted garlic, cheddar cheese and a dash of red pepper flakes.)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Combine cream or half and half and eggs in a bowl. Whisk until combined thoroughly. Add the salt and the nutmeg (I did not use nutmeg). Whisk to combine.

Evenly distribute the pie fillings in the pie crust. Do not overfill the crust with the filling ingredients as the eggs will expand upon cooking.

 Bake the pie until it is firm to the touch like set Jell-O, about 45 minutes. Cool the pie for at least 15 minutes before slicing. This allows it time to set up and become firmer.

That's it.

I normally make my own pie crust, but in the interest of experimentation, I did buy frozen pie crust. Pillsbury Ready Crust would work, too.

Other Ideas: Just in time for the Super Bowl you could make your own little quiche tarts. Just press the pie crust into little tart pans, toss in your fave fillings, pour in that royale, bake and voila! If my kids were still little it would be fun to do those little mini pie pans and let them pick the fillings from an assortment. Oh, and wouldn't that be a fun brunch idea when you have house guests. Just set everything out in bowls, let them design their own, pour in the base royale and bake. How fun! Okay, I'll stop now...

Have fun!
Cathy