Very Veggie Quiche

This year we had Christmas brunch and it was delightful. I brought a veggie quiche. I always love Smitten Kitchen, so I started with her recipe, but I wanted to include more veggies. And I wanted to use a pre-made crust. When I'm making food that is somewhat labor intensive, I typically make two so I can enjoy leftovers. I cut these pieces into serving sizes and froze them. They reheated really well.

Pre-made pie crust

Nonstick spray oil, for coating pan

3/4 cup (6 ounces) cream cheese, soft at room temperature

2/3 cup half-and-half

6 large eggs

10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed

diced bell pepper

diced zucchini

diced broccoli (I used frozen)

1 small bundle (2 to 3 ounces or about 8 thin green onions) thinly sliced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup grated cheddar or gruyere

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan

Heat oven to 425˚F. Coat a pie pan and piece of foil lightly with spray oil. Once crust is placed, prick it all over with a fork and press foil, oiled side down, tightly against dough. Bake for 20 minutes then gently, carefully remove foil and weights (if you used them) and bake for 5 more minutes, unfilled.

Heat up your spinach so that the ice is gone. Dice bell peppers (I used yellow, red and green) and zucchini and add to frying pan. I made sure my pieces were fairly small since that's my preference.

While crust par-bakes, make filling: Use an electric mixer or your best whisking skills to beat cream cheese in the bottom of a large bowl until smooth and fluffy. Gradually drizzle in half-and-half, whisking the whole time so that the mixture incorporates smoothly. Whisk in eggs, two at a time, until combined.

Squeeze out spinach in handfuls, removing as much extra moisture as possible. Add spinach, scallions, salt and pepper to zucchini, pepper, broccoli mixture on the stove.

When crust has finished parbaking, leave oven on. Inspect crust for cracks or holes and use reserved dough to patch them if necessary. Pour in half of the veggies, top with half of the grated cheese, repeat. Pour egg mixture over the top just to the top of the crust.

Bake quiche until crust is golden brown and filling is set, about 25 minutes. Cool at least 10 minutes before serving. Quiche keeps in fridge for 4 to 5 days.