Quiche is not my friend... until today

I have a confession to make, I am not a huge fan of quiche. I know there are lots of people out there that agree with me, the concept seems okay, an egg custard in a light pastry shell, but the execution is often just a little bit... off. I have noticed three main problems with homemade quiche: 1. it isnt cooked all the way, the eggs are runny, and the bacteria is thriving, 2. it is so overloaded with extras that it is difficult to tell what it was supposed to be, 3. citrus and milk products (that's all I have to say about that)*. Today I was trying to figure out what I could make for dinner that 1. used ingredients we already had (trying to clean out the pantry before we move), 2. took less than 20 minutes to prepare, 3. used my new ATK family baking cookbook. I found a recipe for "easy quiche" I thought if anyone was going to get this recipe right America's Test Kitchen would, so I put my faith in their testers and got to work. It turns out they knew what they were talking about (they rarely steer me wrong). I think this recipe (if followed) creates the perfect blend between vegetables and rich egg custard- not too fluffy, not too many additional ingredients, no wacky cheeses that can only be found at speciality stores, and it took about 5 minutes to prepare. I have included the recipe below (just in case you are moving soon and have a ton of broccoli, eggs, cheese, and a pie shell like we did). 

Simple Cheese Quiche

1 single crust pie dough, fitted into a 9 inch pie plate (I used a store bought crust)

Filling

5 large eggs

2 cups half and half (not skim milk, not 2%)

1 T. minced fresh chives (I used 1 T. minced green onions since that is what I had)

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

4 oz. cheddar cheese (shredded)

1. Bake the pie shell according to normal recipe (package directions)- should be light golden brown. 

2. whisk eggs, half and half, chives, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl. Stir in cheddar cheese. 

3. place warm pie shell on a rimmed baking sheet, pour egg mixture into warm shell- leave 1/2 inch free space from the top edge of the crust

4. bake the quiche for about 40 minutes or until a knife comes out clean- bake at 350

**we added broccoli to ours- dont worry it was an approved variation, if you would like to do this  use only FRESH broccoli- you will need 4c. Cut broccoli into bit size pieces and steam until bright green and tender- pat dry and line the bottom of the crust with cooked broccoli- pour egg mixture on top and bake as directed

This is the finished product- despite the picture quality it was actually quite good. 

*just in case citrus and egg products didnt make sense let me offer a brief explanation. When working with dairy products you have to be aware that curdling can occur- when you add lemon juice you need to be prepared that it is going to happen, when you add heat to the equation you might as well throw out whatever you are making, if you add the lemon juice at the wrong point you will curdle the dairy products which gives your food an unpleasant flavor and texture (you should avoid this)- if your food tastes a bit like Pinesol this might be the problem (not saying that it is but it might be)