Ham is often the centerpiece of an Easter meal. But even if you're not hosting a huge Easter dinner this year, a quiche featuring ham still gives you the holiday flavor you crave. And, if you plan a big ham meal with all the trimmings for after church on Sunday, there will likely be leftovers. This quiche is a delicious way to use up leftover ham in a way that doesn't say "re-run."
However, this quiche doesn't have to wait for a special occasion or holiday. It's tasty at any meal. I'm a big believer in breakfast for supper. Or breakfast for dinner. This quiche made its first appearance for dinner, which, at our house, is 12 noon. My house, my rules, though my kids and grandkids don't see eye-to-eye with me on the terminology.
Anyway, I served the quiche for our noon meal. And then Randy ate leftovers for breakfast the next day. And we still had enough for a supper serving for him as well. Bonus! (And, thankfully, my husband doesn't turn up his nose to leftovers.)
I used homemade pie crust, but you can just as easily use pie dough you find in the refrigerated case at the grocery store. For one of my parents' Christmas gifts, I make homemade pies for their freezer. (This year, they got three blueberry, three cherry, two apple and one peach). My sister's never-fail pie dough recipe makes three crusts. And when all was done from my marathon baking day, I had enough pie crust "leftovers" to roll a couple of extra crusts and stick them in the freezer for another day.
I labeled them for home use, since they'd been rolled out twice and had more flour incorporated. But one of those crusts came in handy for this quiche.
Enjoy!
Cheesy Ham and Veggie Quiche
1 unbaked pie shell1 cup diced fully-cooked ham
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
2 large eggs
1 cup half-and-half
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
Chopped broccoli, onion and colored sweet peppers to equal 1 cup
Put vegetables in a microwave-safe bowl or mixing cup, cover tightly with plastic wrap and microwave until tender, about 4 minutes. No extra water is needed. Cool.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put unbaked pie crust in pie plate; do not prick. Line pastry shell with foil. Fill with pie weights, dried beans or uncooked rice. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove foil and weights. Bake 3 to 5 minutes longer or until bottom is golden brown. Cool on wire rack.
Beat eggs and add half-and-half, mixing well. Add salt and pepper. Stir in cooled vegetables.
Put ham and cheese in the bottom of the pie crust. Pour egg mixture over the ham and cheese. Cover pie crust edges with foil or pie shields. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before cutting to serve. Makes 6 servings. That day, I served it with Apple Almond Crunch Salad.
Other Easter Treats
Lemon Buddies (Add Easter M&Ms to make it full of holiday fun and color.)
.
Use Easter M & Ms for an easy-to-do-with-the-kids treat
