Lazy Sunday Morning: Classic Quiche Lorraine for Breakfast

After all the rain and thunderstorms last night followed by a late night of movie-watching and gloriously sleeping in to a chilly fall morning, eggs seemed to fill the bill of fare this morning.  Not just any eggs, not plain scrambled or even the richness of dipping toast into the rich yolks of fried eggs over easy, but the cheesy, bacony goodness of the classic Quiche Lorraine.  With pre-cooked bacon and previously rolled pie crust in the freezer, shredded parmesan in the fridge, and a couple of green onions in the crisper, it took less than five minutes to beat the eggs along with the other ingredients and pour them into the pie shell--so worth it this morning! 

Classic Quiche Lorraine

Recipe by Rebecca Franklin, Editor of About.com/French Food

Ingredients:

• 1 layer pastry dough
• 4 slices bacon, crumbled
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup half and half
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Fit the pastry into a deep-dish pie pan. Sprinkle the bacon onto the bottom layer of the pastry. Beat together the eggs, half and half, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Pour the eggs over the bacon and sprinkle with the shredded cheese. Bake the quiche for 45-50 minutes, until the eggs are set in the middle.

Makes 8 servings.

Glenna's Notes:  When the eggs appear set at the sides and the middle is still slightly jiggly, I use a meat thermometer to check the middle. Eggs set at 140 degrees F.  They may still jiggle in the middle but will set upon cooling.

Optional:  2 green onions, chopped

Nutritional information per serving:   Calories:  223;   Protein:   9;   Carbs:   9;    Fat:   16;   Fiber:    0.3   Weight Watchers Points:   6

Note:  The fat grams can be significantly reduced by substituting reduced fat milk for the half and half but the final texture of the dish will be less creamy.