Crustless Spinach Quiche

Quiche for me has always been a sort of comfort food.  With its buttery crust and flavorful egg mixture, it's always a treat.  But why should it only be a treat?  Quiche is so versatile and easy to make.  You can make it low carb, low fat or both - depending on what you like.  You can whip it up in a matter of minutes and serve it with a salad and in an hour, you'll have a great meal on the table.  Quiche's are also a great way to hide vegetables from husbands children.  If you chop them small enough, they'll be so unrecognizable that they'll only add flavor and nothing else but gratitude for serving a very tasty dish.

This quiche came about because I was having a dear friend over for a birthday lunch.  I wanted to serve something special but obviously something that wouldn't cause us to regret it the next day.  Not to mention, that there is always dessert on a birthday.  I found this recipe going through my very full basket of recipes and decided to make some changes to it.  First, I made it crust-less to save some carbs.  I also thought it would be fun to make individual quiches.  I added some pancetta because bacon makes everything better.  I also added half-n-half instead of milk to make it a bit creamier.  Feel free to do what you like.

Crust-less Spinach Quiche 

6 oz diced Pancetta (or 1 package of Trader Joe's diced Pancetta)
1/4 cup butter
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
1 (10oz) package frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 (6 oz) package herb and garlic feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese, grated
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup half-n-half
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  In a medium skillet, add pancetta and cook over medium heat until starting to brown.  Add butter, garlic, onion and mushrooms.  Cook until just soft.  Add chopped spinach and turn heat down to low.  Make sure to season each layer with salt and pepper.  Add feta and 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese.  Stir to combine well.

In a mixing bowl, add eggs and half-n-half.  Season mixture with salt and pepper.  Mix well.

In a large muffin pan (makes 8 large size muffins - you can use a regular muffin pan or even a pie plate), add a spoonful of the veggie mixture to each cup.  Then fill each cup with the egg mixture.  Should be about 3/4 full.  Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar.  Bake for 30 minutes or until set in the center.  If you make a regular quiche with crust in a 9 inch pie plate, bake for 50-60 minutes.  Let them stand about 10 minutes before serving. 

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