Healthier Spinach Onion Quiche

So I've taken a lot of time off from blogging... I've been busy at work and we adopted a wonderful puppy from a local shelter.  Kirby's been taking up a lot of our time so even though I've been cooking, I haven't had time to write anything down. Since he's passed out next to me, he's not trying to lick my computer while I type.  

Since it's Superbowl Sunday, I'm making a big pot of turkey chili tonight.  But first, we needed to eat breakfast.  We didn't have any bread around so in searching for what to make for breakfast I decided to go with a quiche. (We had pancakes yesterday morning so I figured we didn't need those 2 days in a row.)

This isn't a cup-and-a-half-of-heavy-cream quiche.  The texture isn't quite as silky so it's probably a cross between a quiche and a fritata.  Not that I mind that. I'm very happy that this was a healthier breakfast, even if it did still involve a pie crust. :)

I cut this quiche into 6 slices and ate 1 1/2.  Jeremy had 2 1/2.  Not bad since that's all we had for breakfast.

Pie crusts and I have a love-hate relationship.  I love to eat them, but I hate making them, mostly because I'm pretty bad at it.  I've found a recipe for a oil crust that is much more forgiving.  It's not as tender and flaky as a traditional crust (which I don't think I'll ever be able to make as well as my mother-in-law does...) but it gets the job done.  And more importantly, you can roll this crust out right after you make it, no waiting time needed.  Which means this crust is perfect when I decide that I want to make a pie crust immediately before I start cooking.

I always feel slightly better when we eat some veggies for breakfast.  I had a bunch of spinach in the fridge so I decided to chop and wilt it down as part of the filling.  Delicious!  You could certainly substitute your favorite veggies or meat to make this according to your own taste.

Recipe:
1 pie crust (see below)
5 eggs
1/4 c. skim milk
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese (freshly grated is best)
1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg (freshly grated again)
3 c. fresh spinach leaves, chopped
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
1 tbs. balsamic vinegar
2 tbs. margarine
salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Heat a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add margarine.  Once melted, add the sliced onion and saute until soft.  Add spinach leaves and vinegar and saute until wilted and most of the vinegar has evaporated.  Remove from heat.
2. Beat eggs, milk, parmesan, nutmeg, and salt and pepper until well-incorporated.
3. Put the spinach-onion mixture in the crust.  Top with egg mixture.  Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
4. Let quiche rest for about 5 minutes.  Cut into slices and serve.

Crust:
2/3 c. white whole wheat flour
2/3 c. AP flour
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. skim milk (approximately, you might need a tablespoon more)
1/4 tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Combine the crust ingredients and mix together with a fork (it will look crumbly).  Press the dough together into a ball.  On a lightly floured surface, press the dough ball into a disc. Roll out so it will fit in a 9" pie plate.  (Just press back together any places where the dough cracks.)  Place the pie dough into the pie plate and prick with a fork.  Put 2 layers of foil on the dough. Bake for 8 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5-7 minutes until slightly golden.  Remove from the oven.