Someday, I’d love to have my own vegetable garden. Sure, my current flowerbed full of herbs and tomatoes is great, but I want to branch out and include spinach, zucchini, squash and green beans. It may never become as elaborate as that of my late, green-thumbed grandfather, but I long to revisit the days of browsing the rows of his crops for ready-to-pick vegetables.
May and June are ideal times to pick spinach that was planted in early spring. And though for now I have to settle on spinach leaves from the grocery store, I get excited this time of year about cooking colorful, vegetable-filled meals like my spinach, mushroom and chicken quiche.
This creamy, egg-based entrée is so delicious – and I’m not ashamed to admit – that my husband Tim and I can polish off an entire quiche in one sitting. Yep, it’s THAT good! The flavor of the thyme meshes so well with the chicken and vegetables. And the golden brown pie crust is just as enticing. Just try to resist going back for seconds, thirds, etc.
Tips: Use a deep-dish pie crust to hold all of the tasty filling. On my first attempt, I used a regular pie crust and the contents spilled over while baking. If you’re a vegetarian, just leave the chicken out and up the amounts of the veggies.
Spinach, Mushroom & Chicken Quiche
- ½ cup shredded chicken
- ½ cup spinach (fresh if you can, frozen if you have to)
- ½ cup mushrooms (fresh or canned)
- 3 Tbl. butter
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- ¼ tsp. ground thyme
- 1 deep-dish pie crust
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil a small chicken breast until tender and shred; or buy a rotisserie chicken and shred ½ cup of the meat.
Sautee spinach and mushrooms in the butter until thoroughly cooked. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
Combine eggs, milk, salt, pepper and thyme. Add cheese, shredded chicken, spinach and mushrooms. Mix thoroughly.
Pour into pie crust. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and quiche is set. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
