We have six chickens.

When I was a girl, growing up in the suburbs of New York City, there is NO WAY, I would have thought that 25 years into the future I’d put those words together.  But, I am completely enamored with those girls and even though 14 year old me would have had no interest in them and probably  would be “embarrassed” by me, they really do enrich my life in so many ways.

Just the act of watching them do whatever it is that chickens do is relaxing.  The pecking and scratching create a sort of meditative experience that takes me away from whatever hectic-ness is going on in my life.  These girls are never in a hurry. They don’t hold grudges, and they are constantly giving of themselves – literally. I aspire to incorporate some of their patience and generosity into my everyday. Additionally, I love that I’m giving my human girls other life forms to look after.  They don’t need a lot, but it is so gratifying to see those needs being lovingly met by my children. And of course on the list of why I love my chickens are the amazing, fresh, organic and colorful eggs!

Sometimes, when life gets hectic, the stash of eggs begins to add up and what better way to enjoy them then with a quiche! So, with a big thank you to Little Jerry Seinfeld, Elaine, Pig, Pip, Phoebe & Ted we press on with our quiche dinner.

“Why, Rachel, quiche has a pie crust!” you say, or maybe you don’t, but humor me here. Quiche does have a crust.  There is always the option of going the crustless frittata route, which I often do, but if I want to make a really special, complete meal, I make this recipe with the hash brown crust.

While I generally avoid processed foods, I do buy the frozen shredded potatoes that the only ingredient in it is potato (Trader Joe’s carries them).  If you can find that, it will save you a ton of time.

Once pressed into the pan, the key here is to get the hash browns nice and crispy in the dish before adding the rest of the ingredients to cook.  If I’m in a hurry, I’ll let it cook for about 20 min and then put it under the broiler for a moment to really crisp it up.

Feel free to sub zucchini or spinach for the broccoli,  and fontina or swiss work really well in this too, but the smaller folks in my house voted me down on that one. Once you add the filling, you’ll have plenty of time to clean up the kitchen while it cooks, if you are anything like me, your kitchen will be a total mess at this point, and after the meal, you’ll be too full to want to tackle it.  This is a stick to your ribs kind of meal you can feel really good about.

For a vegetarian version, leave out the sausage, but I’d recommend adding twice the veggies and some red pepper flake or Sriracha to bump up the flavor a little bit.

This version doesn’t take a ton of skill, but it does take a little bit of time. Its great to serve for a brunch, or Sunday night dinner.  The leftovers reheat very well and even hold up in a thermos for the kids’ lunches.

Gluten Free Sausage, Mushroom, & Broccoli Quiche

Prep time 25-35 min
Cook time 20 min for crust/30-35 for whole quiche
Serves 8

Ingredients

Crust:

1 20 oz.Package Frozen Hash Browns – defrosted (make sure the ingredient list is just potato)

1 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Pepper

Filling:

1 lb. Ground Mild Italian Sausage

4-6 oz. Sliced Mushrooms

2 Heads of Broccoli cut into small florets

1 Tbs. Braggs “Sprinkle” Seasoning (see note)

1 tsp. Sea Salt

1/2 tsp. Pepper

10 Eggs

2 cups Freshly Grated Cheddar Cheese (Fontina works well here too)

1 cup Milk (I used 2%, but feel free to use whole or skim or almond)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375° and butter a 9X13 dish
2. Prepare the crust by putting all of the potatoes into the baking dish.  Add the salt and pepper and press into the pan.
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes until set and the edges are starting to brown
4. While the crust is cooking, brown the sausage and move to a dish. Wipe remove the grease save for a thin layer. Add your vegetable to the pan and sauté vegetables until soft.  Season and add to the sausage to cool
5. Combine the eggs, milk and 2/3 grated cheese
6. When the crust is finished, spread the filling evenly and pour the egg mixture over the entire dish.  Gently press the filling down so it’s mostly submerged in the egg mixture.
7. Cook for 30-35 minutes until set.
8. Spread with the remaining cheese and put under the broiler for 2-4 minutes until cheese is bubbly (don’t walk away at this point – keep watching.  I walked away for a second and came back to it a wee bit over cooked)
9. Allow to cool for 5 minutes or so before cutting and serving.

Notes

*This recipe was developed with my dear friend Lauren who introduced my family to the delicious world of quiche – since she made it first, my girls just knew it would be delicious.

If you haven’t tried Bragg sprinkle yet…please do.  It is my secret weapon. It adds a delicious unique flavor