Quiche Pastry Cups Recipe

We love experimenting with puff pastry and love this clever idea of filled puff pastry cups!

Use the concept of the recipe and make it your own by using ingredients you and your family love.  A simple pastry cup filled with eggs and cheese would be awesome.

This recipe and photo comes from the website Taste of Home, link follows recipe.

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 30 min. Bake: 15 min.

YIELD:18 servings

Ingredients

1 package (17.3 ounces) frozen puff pastry, thawed
4 large eggs, divided use
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons half-and-half cream, divided
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded Gruyere cheese
1-1/2 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
8 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°. 

Unfold puff pastry on a lightly floured surface.  

Roll each sheet into a 12-in. square and cut each into nine squares. 

Gently press onto ungreased muffin cups on bottoms and up sides, allowing corners to point up.

In a small bowl, whisk 3 eggs, 1 cup cream, thyme and seasonings. 

In another bowl, combine cheese, spinach, red pepper and bacon and divide among pastry cups. 

Pour egg mixture over cheese mixture.

In a small bowl, whisk remaining egg with remaining cream and brush over pastry edges. 

Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer the pastry cups to wire racks. 

Serve warm.

Freeze option: 

Cover and freeze baked pastries on greased baking sheets until firm. Transfer to resealable plastic freezer bags and return to freezer. 

To use, reheat frozen pastries on ungreased baking sheets in a preheated 375° oven 17-20 minutes or until heated through. 

Recipe and Photo Source:  Taste of Home

Hash Brown Quiche

My favorite meal is breakfast . . . I love eggs and potatoes . . . this is quick, easy and delicious. You can come up with your own variations . . . I like mine with no meat, a variety of peppers and cheeses . . . whatever you like.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups, shredded frozen hash browns, thawed and drained
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 3/4 cup diced cooked ham
• 1/2 cup diced green onions
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Gently press the drained hash browns between paper towels to dry them as best as possible. In a 9-inch pie plate, toss the hash browns with the melted butter into the plate.

Press them into the bottom and up the sides to form a crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and starting to crisp. 

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. When the hash brown crust is ready pour the egg mixture over it and return to the oven.

Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for about 30 minutes until the quiche is light golden brown on top and puffed.

This recipe comes from Paula Deen, Food Network