A commonly made recipe in our house is quiche. It is easy to make up quickly and is adaptable to the ingredients you have on hand. For example, I was over at a friend’s house and decided that I would make these with chopped up chicken and apple sausage. Also, I made them without a crust, and in muffin tins for single serving size portions. The recipe I was working with had always called for adding flour with the cheese, then mixing it in, but I never found the results of using it worth the trouble, so I dropped the ingredient. The flour was likely supposed to help sop up part of the liquids from the melted cheese, but I felt it was also lightly masking the flavors.

Pastry for pie shell. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a pie plate with pastry and fit it to plate. Fill with pie weights (or cleaned dry beans) and bake for 5 to 10 minutes, or until pastry is done, and barely starting to brown. Remove from oven and carefully pour out weights. Fill with quiche fillings while still hot.

ADD YOUR OWN FLAVORS QUICHE

• 1 (9-inch) baked pie shell
• 3 beaten eggs
• 1 1/2 cups cream
• 1/4 cup green onion
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
• Dash of freshly ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup cooked meat
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix together eggs, cream, onion, and seasonings. Stir in desired meats and cheese. Pour into cooked pastry. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

QUICHE

• 1 (9-inch) baked pie shell
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup diced cooked ham
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 6 eggs
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• Onion slices separated into rings
• Green onion curls

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In small skillet over medium heat, cook celery, pepper, and onion in butter until tender. Sprinkle vegetables, ham, and cheese into pie shell. Beat together eggs, milk, salt, if desired, and paprika until well blended. Pour over vegetable mixture. Bake until knife inserted near center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with onion rings and onion curls.

ASPARAGUS QUICHE

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 ounces ham finely cubed
• 6 shallots, minced
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Deep-dish 10-inch crust, baked for 10 minutes at 400 degrees
• 3 ounces each shredded fresh Parmesan cheese and Gruyere (or Swiss) cheese
• 1 1/2 lbs asparagus, trimmed, cut into 2-inch lengths and cooked al dente

Melt butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add ham and shallots and sauté 3 minutes. Set aside. Combine cream, eggs, salt and cayenne in a medium mixing bowl and beat until thoroughly blended. Spread cooled ham-shallot mixture evenly over bottom of pie crust. Put asparagus on top of shallot mixture. Carefully pour in the egg mixture. Sprinkle with the cheeses. Place on a baking sheet and bake 30-40 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cut into wedges and serve hot.

QUICHE LORRAINE

• 1 (9-inch) baked pie shell
• 3 beaten eggs
• 1 1/2 cups cream
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
• 6 slices bacon, cooked crisp, drained crumbled
• 2 tablespoons reserved bacon grease
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix together eggs, cream, onion, and seasonings. Fry onion in bacon drippings until tender. Stir in bacon, onion and Swiss into the egg mixture. Pour into cooked pastry. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.