eggs everywhere

this picture does not begin to portray the number of eggs we have around here lately. I have at least 3 of these baskets full of eggs. it's ridiculous.

The egg situation has really been getting out of hand here lately, and since I've been feeling a little more energetic the last few days (thank God for that!) I decided I better try to use up some of the ridiculous egg surplus we've got going on. (I'm also trying to get a mini-CSA in the works, so if anybody wants some eggs delivered to K-town, let me know.) Last night I made my first quiche, and it turned out pretty dang good. So good, in fact, that I thought I'd even share the recipe. I use the term 'recipe' loosely, since I don't tend to measure accurately, if at all. This will fill one regular 9-inch pie pan (I'd double the recipe for more than 4 adults). I'm not fancy enough to own one of those pretty quiche pans with the scalloped edges.. ah.. maybe one day...

Spinach, Bacon, and Feta Quiche -

Crust: 1 1/4 cups flour

1/3 cup shortening

1/4 tsp salt

1 or 2 tbsp water (if the dough seems dry)

combine with a fork or pastry blender until it resembles a coarse meal. If the dough is too short (feels too greasy) add some more flour, but just a little at a time. You can always add, but you can't take away! If you want it to look nice and pretty, you could roll the dough out on a floured surface, but I'm lazy, so I just pressed the dough into the pan. It still tastes good. Coincidentally, this is the same crust I use for pies, just cut in half. Sort of. Again, I don't measure very well.

Filling:

6 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/2 block feta cheese, grated

1/4 cup green onion

3/4 cup bacon (about 4-5 pieces) fried til crispy, chopped into bits

1 tsp basil or other spice

2 cloves garlic, crushed

salt and pepper to taste

fresh or frozen spinach leaves

1 tbsp minced cherry peppers, just to spice things up. Any kind of pepper would work.

Beat the eggs, add milk, cheese, onions, garlic, bacon, basil, peppers and s & p, mix well. If you are using frozen spinach, drain it, and add to the eggs. I used fresh spinach, so I just put it straight into the pie pan and poured the egg mixture on top. Bake at 375 degrees for about an hour, or until it puffs up all nice and pretty and no liquid runs out when you cut it (inserting a knife and having it come out clean does NOT mean that it's done. Learned that the hard way.)

It might not be the prettiest thing in the world, but it was YUMMY!

And, voila! Dinner is done, and it's yummy, and it used half a dozen eggs. Score!

It was so good that I'm making another one tonight to share with the grandparents. Also I love the fact that there are so many variations to this.. you can pretty much add anything you want in the way of fresh veggies. And it uses at least six eggs. Did I mention that part? I also discovered last night that if you add nine whipped eggwhites to a regular cake mix, it will come out super fluffy and moist. I also learned that I don't know jack about making custards (I was trying to find a use for 9 egg yolks). I'm not even entirely sure I like custard. I may need to start making massive quantities of homemade noodles or something. That makes me so sad (not really).