Bacon & Winter Squash Quiche
A quiche feels like the perfect solution to many questions in my life. What do I bring to that brunch gathering that has some protein to balance out all the treats, but still tastes good at room temperature? What’s for dinner when I don’t have any meat thawed out from the freezer? What can I pre-make for breakfast for the next couple of busy mornings? How do I use up all of these eggs in my fridge when my family is SO over scrambled eggs for breakfast? You get the idea. I keep frozen pie crust in my fridge for just these occasions and I never regret it.
Ingredients:
pie crust, homemade or store bought
(I usually use the sourdough pie crust recipe from Simple Sourdough)
1 and 1/2 cups heavy cream
8 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh ground pepper
8 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 small winter squash (like butternut or autumn frost)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Toss the bacon onto a parchment lined baking sheet and cook until crispy. Meanwhile, you can cube your winter squash and toss it with olive oil, salt and pepper and pop those in the oven. While those are cooking, roll out your pie crust to about 1/4 inch thick and line your pie dish. I like to use a 9 inch glass pie dish. Using a fork gently poke a few holes in the bottom of the crust and pop it in the oven for 10 minutes to pre-bake while you mix the filling together.
In a large bowl whisk the cream, eggs, salt, and pepper together. When the crust comes out of the oven, the winter squash and bacon should also be about done. Pour the egg mixture in the crust and sprinkle the bacon and winter squash over top (it will sink as it cooks). Pop it back in the oven for about 25 minutes. It should be slightly browned along the edges of the filling and still a tiny bit wobbly in the center. It will continue to cook a bit after it comes out. Take it out and let it cool for a bit before slicing in! If you notice your pie crust is browning more than you want around the edges you can wrap just the crust in tin foil.
