Real Men Don't Eat Quiche - Until Now

I did not start out knowing how to cook (ask my Husband) and I never took classes or studied recipes to try to improve, but improve I did. Eventually, I stopped using recipes half the time and just went with what sounded good or looked right. To be totally honest, many of my favorite meals were ones where I had no idea what to make and did NOT feel like going to the store. I would stand staring into my cabinets and fridge taking an inventory of what I already had, and then trying to see if any of those ingredients could go together to make a meal. I was really hating the idea of grocery shopping on those days and out of desperation came inspiration. This is one of those recipes. The beauty is that you can change some of the ingredients to fit what you have in YOUR cabinets and the result will probably be just as good. Plus, your family will love you and people at parties will think you are a genius.

This recipe will make 36 small muffin size quiches or 2 or 3 8" round pie-plate quiches.

8-10 Eggs

1- Can Water Chestnuts, 8 oz.

1 Pkg. Cream Cheese

2 Individual Pie Crusts (You can substitute w/ Phyllo crust for flakier appetizers or use the pre-made mini-shells.)

1 Pkg. Cream of Spinach Soup Mix

8 oz. of Imitation Crab Meat

1 10oz. Can of Ro*tel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies (I use original, but you can go spicier if you want.)

Other items needed: Cooking Spray, Cutting board or flat surface, Mixer, 3" round drinking glass, Muffin pan or pie plate. (If making the pie version, you can buy pre-made frozen pie crusts.)

I made this recipe up and I didn't know how to tell anyone else how to make it or what the exact ingredient measurements were.....so I had to make it again. No one is complaining about that. Since I was writing down all the steps and how much of this and how much of that anyway, I figured it would be helpful to take pictures of each step just in case my written instructions are not clear enough. I hope this is helpful and that you love this as much as we do.

GETTING STARTED:

Pre-heat the oven to 350F deg. Be sure pie crust is not frozen. If it is, bring closer to room temp. before starting.

Chop the water chestnuts into smaller pieces. Don't chop them too small or fine, as you want to be able to feel them after they are cooked.

Chop the crab into smaller, manageable pieces .

Add all ingredients,(except for crust) into a large bowl and blend thoroughly with a mixer and then set aside to prepare crust.

For Mini-Quiches:

Using a large drinking glass or cookie cutter (at least 3" in diameter), start cutting out circles of dough. You should be able to get 12 out of each pie crust. You may have to roll the dough remnants into a ball and re-roll it flat with the side of your drinking glass to get all 12 cut-outs. Dust a little flour on the surface to keep it from sticking.

Spray or grease the muffin tray with vegetable oil or butter and put one dough circle in each cup. (It will only come about 1/2 way up the side.)

Fill each "mini-crust" with the quiche mixture nearly to the top of the crust line.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until they get firm on top and the edges start to brown.

You can let them cool in the muffin tray or take them out immediately and let them cool on a wire rack or a plate. They should come out easily, but a fork or butter knife may be needed to get it started.

For Regular Quiche:

Instead of a muffin tray, you will put your mixture in 8-9" pie crust and bake til firm and crust starts to brown.

ENJOY!!

If I have left anything out or the recipe is not clear, please let me know and I'll do my best to correct it. I would also love to hear from anyone who tries it.

So until then, Bon Appetit!!