Sausage and Pepper Quiche

I don’t know about you but this summer has been go, go, go! It started as soon as school let out, when we left for our summer beach vacation, and hasn’t stopped since! In fact, this past weekend was the first full weekend I have been home since May, and it was spent running errands all.weekend.long!

But I am not complaining! I am totally one of those people that have to be on the go. Not only do I find it super satisfying to work hard at a job I love, for me I strongly believe that life is about adventure, endless possibilities and sharing the fun with friends and family!

Several of our adventures this summer have included vacations and get togethers with friends and family. Spending time with family and friends, especially a family as large as mine, is fun but can be challenging as well. Earlier this summer all of my family gottogether for a family reunion and to celebrate my grandmother’s birthday. This was no small task considering there are nearly 50family members (and counting) with all my aunts, uncles, cousins, their significant others and kids! (Whew! Just thinking about it makes me exhausted!)

To make things easy, we had dinner catered each night and then did breakfast and brunch buffets. Serving brunch buffets is my “go to” way to entertain house guests or for any large or small gathering. It is easy to whip up things like hard boiled eggs, coffee cake, breakfast casseroles and quiches ahead of time to make the morning of the gathering a breeze and to satisfy several different tastes and preferences. To make things even easier and to add more of a variety, we also always have an assortment of fruit and store bought goodies like bagels and lox, muffins, juice, cereal and yogurt.

When planning and shopping for our recent family reunion, I stumbled upon these new Quaker® Real Medleys® Yogurt Cups on the cold cereal aisle of my local Walmart. I was instantly intrigued, because I had never seen anything like this before. These Quaker® Real Medleys® Yogurt Cups are a delicious blend of yogurt, multigrain granola, real fruit and crunchy nuts in a shelf-stable single serve cup. Since these granola and yogurt blend cups don’t have to be refrigerated (Just add cold milk, stir, and eat!) they are perfect to set out on a breakfast buffet for a large crowd like ours, when everyone comes and goes. I don’t have to worry about keeping the yogurt chilled for hours (guests can help themselves to milk in the fridge) and since we held our reunion on the lake, my family members could grab an individual cup and take it with them to enjoy while they sat out by the water. Winning!

Another winning breakfast/brunch item? This Sausage and Pepper Quiche! I first threw this quiche together awhile back when we had last minute out of town house guests and I needed to something in a pinch to feed them. This quiche was such a hit that I have continued to make it for various gatherings. While making a traditional full sized quiche is quick and easy, if doing a brunch buffet, like we had at our family reunion, I like making individual mini quiches for guests to easily grab and go!

Sausage and Pepper Quiche
by Heather H. of Kitchen Concoctions: www.kitchen-concoctions.com
PrintableVersion
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 60 minutes Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1 store bought 9-inch pie crust

1 pound regular or hot breakfast sausage

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

½ large red bell pepper, diced

½ large green bell, diced

1 medium yellow onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

4 large eggs

1 cup milk

1/3 cup heavy cream or half and half

1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

1 teaspoon dried sage

½ teaspoon each salt and black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch pie plate or tart pan with nonstick spray.

Roll out the pie crust and press into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim away any excess dough and flute or crimp the edges of the crust. Set aside.

Heat ½ tablespoon oil a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, and cook, stirring
occasionally, until well browned and cooked through, about 5-7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.Add remaining oil and butter to skillet. Add onions and cook until they are caramelized, approximately 10-12 minutes. Add bell peppers and cook, stirring occasionally for an additional 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove peppers and onions from heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and heavy cream; whisking until well combined. Stir in cooked sausage, vegetables, cheese, sage, salt and black pepper. Pour egg and sausage mixture into the prepared pie crust.

Bake in preheated 375 degree F oven for 40-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is set. Serve warm, at room temperature or cold garnished with fresh sage, if desired.

For Mini Quiches: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray. Unroll 2 (9-inch) pie crusts and place flat on a cutting board. Using a 3-inch round biscuit or cookie cutter (or cup) cut 6 rounds from each 9-inch crust. Press 1 (3-inch round) pie crust into the bottom and up the sides of each muffin cup. Continue with recipe as directed above to make quiche filling. Once egg and sausage mixture is made, pour approximately ¼ cup quiche mixture into crusts in muffin tin, filling to within ¼-inch from the top. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and set. Cool in muffin tin for 2-3 minutes, then using the tip of knife, lift quiches from pan. Serve warm, at room temperature or cold with fresh sage, if desired, for a garnish. Alternately, you can omit the pie crust and create mini “crust-less” quiches. Prepare as directed above and reduce baking time by 5 minutes.

Serving Suggestion: Serve with fresh fruit or a simple spinach salad and Quaker® Real Medleys® Yogurt Cups.

Quaker® Real Medleys® Yogurt Cups is filled with quality ingredients and comes in three tasty flavors like, Apple Cinnamon, Raspberry Pecan, and Strawberry Almond. They are satisfying with 25 grams of whole grains and 10 grams of protein when prepared with 1/2 cup of cold Skim Milk. Just add cold milk, stir, and eat!

Looking for more breakfast ideas that are “Crunchy. Cool. Yum.”? Download the Blippar app from your Apple or Android store to scan your package and receive information tutorials on Quaker® Real Medleys® Yogurt Cups. You can also find more delicious recipes with Quaker® Real Medleys® Yogurt Cups at QuakerLove.com and by following Quaker® online on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube.