(crustless) mini quiches.
I’ve mentioned before that I am obsessed with small cute food things (like mini food erasers!!!). I haven’t been baking much of anything lately due to the new diet and overall laziness, and for some reason, I’ve never had much interest in making appetizers, so sadly, small cute food things have been missing from my life for the past few weeks :( But I can’t take it anymore. Must. have. cuteness. NOW!
A few nights ago, I re-found this awesome mini quiches recipe on Let’s Get Stupid Together that I bookmarked forever ago and totally forgot about. I remember first stumbling upon it last summer and literally squealing with happiness at Marta’s beautiful photo of the little quiches sitting happily in their muffin pan. They are so adorable, easy to make, TASTY, and perfect for my mostly-fruits-and-veggies diet :D Plus, they’re easily adaptable to whatever ingredients you have in the fridge. My version is very healthy (but still super yummy), with only veggies, spices, eggs, and milk (no calorie/carb heavy crust), but you can easily switch things up by adding some more tempting ingredients, like cheese and meat!
These mini quiches are great appetizers and nice little accompaniments to a salad or entree, delicious both warm and cold. I love the combination of flavors from the peppers and spices :D I’m not entirely sure why I’ve completely avoided appetizer recipes until now…maybe because I’ve always assumed they belong only at dinner parties, which I never have the opportunity to host and rarely attend, or because I can never resist eating such a small piece of anything so might as well make a bigger version for efficiency :P In any case, I’ve now learned to embrace appetizers as the epitome of “small cute food things” and am looking forward to trying out lots of new recipes very soon!
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Mini Quiches (adapted from crustless mini quiches)
12 mini quiches
4 eggs
1/3 c. milk (I used 1%)
1/2 c. red and/or green bell pepper, diced
1/2 c. mushrooms, chopped into small pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 onion, diced
1/3 c. green onions, sliced thinly
2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. each salt & pepper
Vegetable oil (to saute and grease muffin pan)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat about 1 tbsp. oil in a pan on medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and all but 2 tbsp. of the green onions (reserve the rest for garnish). Cook for a few minutes until soft.
Add peppers, mushrooms, and spices. Cook for several minutes until soft.
Whisk together eggs and milk in a mixing bowl. Add vegetable mixture and mix lightly.
Spoon mixture into lightly greased muffin pan. Fill each cup almost full. Top with a few pieces of green onion.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden.
Cool for 20 minutes, then carefully remove mini quiches from pan (I used a spoon to help).
Serve alone as an appetizer or with salad, as a side dish, etc.
