Mediterranean Quiche

In our efforts to keep our food budget down in a reasonable range, I’ve been trying to make a meatless meal at least once a week.  For the old fashioned meat-and-potatoes family that we are, it is proving a bit of a challenge, but we do love eggs.  So I found this recipe at Daily Diner and tweaked it a bit to suit our tastes.  The adults loved it; the kids, notsomuch.  But I will probably make it again because I’m a mean mom like that.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 onion, sliced
1/2 medium zucchini, chopped
1/4 pound cremini mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
3 ounces oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup grated Gruyere (or more.  YUM)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
pie crust
3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Saute onions and zucchini in butter in a large skillet until soft and translucent.

Add the mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and starting to brown.

Then add the garlic and cook another minute or so.

Season with salt and pepper and then add the tomatoes, basil, and thyme and cook for another minute.  Remove from the heat and let cool.

Beat the eggs and half-and-half  in a separate bowl.  Add the salt, pepper, grated Gruyere, and crushed red pepper.

Spoon the vegetable mixture into the pie crust.

Pour in the egg mixture, and crumble the goat cheese on top.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until set. Remove from the oven and let cool for 30 minutes before serving.