Dinner Quiche

This recipe is very dear to my heart! My best friends mom...Patty Hammett...passed away November of last year and how she is missed. But I don't want this to be sad, I want this to be a celebration of Patty.
Patty taught me 3 things in life:
1. The true meaning of "never look a gift horse in the mouth!" If someone wants to give you something or do something for you...let them and be blessed by their gift!
2. We all have challenges in life, but how you choose to live with those hurdles is what defines you. Patty was legally blind, however, if you were not told you would not know. She did not view it as a crutch and I loved that about her!
3. Her recipe for QUICHE!

This no ordinary quiche...well...maybe it is an "ordinary" quiche and maybe that's why it is so great! Quiche is thought of as a "girly" dish, but let me tell you that my husband LOVES it. He will even ask for it..."Can we have that girly pie thing?" There is something about my big burly husband eating a perfect slice of quiche that makes me giggle inside. It's just so unexpected. Frankly, there is nothing girly about this meal...it has all the man components...MEAT, CHEESE, EGGS, CRUST...crust?? is that girly? NAH!




Quiche Components:

*NOTE:  This recipe makes 2 quiche...feel free to half it if you have a smaller group of mouths to feed!
2 lbs ground beef
3 cups sharp cheddar
1 container sliced mushrooms (what's that?...1lb or something close?)
1 sweet onion (or any kind you fancy...I just LOVE sweet)
3 tbs red wine
2 tbs butter
2 deep dish pie shells (I prefer Pet-Ritz...yep...I BUY my pie shells for this recipe...don't judge!!)
6 eggs
1 cup of milk
*NOTE: The possiblities for ingredients is endless...bell pepper, sausage, spinach, tomatoes, jalapanos, and on and on and on...losen your apron strings and get wild!!

Chop le onion'...oui?

Let me ask you something...Do you "fry' your hamburger meat, or "brown" it??  We fry it!!  Just cook it like your momma taught ya!  (fyi...it's the same thing!)  Add your onion, salt, pepper, and garlic while "fryin" it up!  Don't skimp on the seasoning...you want it to taste good don't you? 

While the meat is "fryin"...let's saute' le shrooms.  Heat the butter and wine in a skillet...don't be eyeballing my skillet...you know you have one like this too!  If you don't...you need to cook more!!

Toss the mushrooms in that booze infused buttery goodness! Add plenty of salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Trust me on this...if you season each component perfectly ...when it comes together the dish is perfect.

Oh look at that!!!!  The only thing better than the way that looks is the way it smells!  Ugh...I can't even describe this deliciousness!  You won't be able to help yourself here...you are going to eat some...but Try to leave a few for the quiche!

The meat should be cooked by now...make sure you drain any excess fat!  Patty did not do it this way...it's my own spin...dump 2 cups of cheese into the hamburger and mix it all up.  The cheese will get all melty and yummy and this makes sure you get the same amount of cheese in every bite!

Preheat your oven to 350*.  In a bowl (obviously)...crack all of your eggs.

Add the milk!

Now whirl, twirl, & swirl them together...I find this to be much more fun if there is music in the background!

A: Please forgive my sadly uncentered picture...should've fixed that but...well...I didn't! 
B: Fill the pie shell with 1/2 of the meat mixture and top with 1/2 of the mushrooms.

 Pour 1/2 of the egg mixture over the 1st quiche. 

Top with 1/2 of the remaining cheese.  Place on a foil lined cookie sheet. Bake for 45 min to 1 hour.
NOTE* The cheese and crust may begin to brown too much somewhere around the 30 min. mark...make a foil tent over the quiche and that solves the issue.

And this my friends is one "man pleasing" pastry pie!  Now, you should get the other one baking cause WHEN you eat this whole thing...you'll be hankerin' for it at lunch again tomorrow!  I will suggest you serve this with salad because that is what Patty would do...but as my husband loves to say..."Do I look like a rabbit?"  So we just eat quiche alone...and yes man CAN survive on quiche alone...or at least I wouldn't mind tryin'!