An Inspired Cook

I’ve taken some time off to enjoy the last days of summer. The last few weekends we’ve been hiking and traveling to some of our favorite places like Santa Fe and Taos. Pretty soon the fall colors will be dotting the landscape and we’ll be out again enjoying the crisp air and taking photos. But throughout August and September we’ve been enjoying New Mexico’s green chile season. It’s one of our favorite times of the year with the aroma of green chile roasting in the air, well there’s nothing better. This green chile and cheese quiche has been on my bucket list for awhile and it seemed like the perfect time to give it a try. I thought a hash brown crust seemed appropriate for this particular quiche and it turned out so good. I simplified the prep work by using dehydrated hash browns to make the crust. I’ve tried several recipes using them and they always come out just as good if not better than making hash browns from scratch. Once the crust is prepped I added a layer of grated cheese and then poured the green chile and egg mixture over top. This savory quiche baked to perfection leaving a crispy outer crust with fluffy eggs and spicy chile in every bite. I added a few bacon bits on top for Joe and I but you can keep it vegetarian if you like. We ate half of it over the weekend and saved the leftovers for later. Would you believe the leftovers were even better the next day? Oh yes they were!

These Idaho Spuds deyhdrated potatoes come from Costco. They are a staple that I use quite often and come in handy when I don’t have fresh potatoes on hand. I like them better than frozen hash browns and are much easier to make than hash browns from scratch. Pour hot water into the carton to the fill line and wait 12 minutes. Drain the rehydrated potatoes of any excess liquid and they are ready to go.

I melted a tablespoon of butter in an 8 inch cast iron skillet. When melted, turn off the burner and swirl the butter over the bottom and up the sides of the pan.

Pour the drained hash browns into the hot skillet.

Use a spatula or wooden spoon to press the hash browns along the bottom and around the sides of the pan to make a crust. Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

While the crust is in the oven, time to prep the quiche filling. I wasn’t sure how many eggs to use so I cracked 5 eggs and thought that looked about right.

Then I added 1/2 cup of half and half. Whisk that all together.

Next add 1/3 cup of roasted and chopped green chile. Mix that all together.

Take the crust out of the oven. You should see some browning the top of the crust and around the edges. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of melted butter over the crust. I didn’t measure the amount of grated cheese but I would estimate it was 1/2 – 3/4 cup of grated cheese. Layer cheese just inside the hash brown crust.

Pour the egg and chile mixture into the center of the crust to cover the cheese.

Almost ready to go back in the oven.

Just before it goes in the oven I sprinkled some sea salt and ground green chile powder over top. It’s the only seasoning it needs.

After 40 minutes I removed it from the oven. I started checking it at 30 minutes but the eggs didn’t set firm until 40 minutes. Test by shaking the pan slightly and if the center jiggles, it’s not set and should go back in the oven for 5 – 10 minutes.

Getting up close to smell the aroma!

Green Chile and Cheese Quiche with a Hash Brown Crust

1 4.2 ounce box Dehydrated Hash Brown Potatoes
2 tablespoons Butter, divided
1/2 – 3/4 cup Grated Cheddar Cheese
5 large Eggs
1/2 cup Half & Half
1/3 cup Roasted and Chopped Green Chile
Salt to taste
Green Chile Powder, optional
4 slices Bacon, cooked and chopped, optional

Rehydrate hash browns according to box directions. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine eggs with half and half, whisk until well blended. Add the chopped green chile and stir until evenly distributed throughout. Set aside.

When hash browns have rehydrated, remove from box and strain any excess liquid. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in an 8 or 9 inch cast iron skillet. Swirl melted butter over the bottom and around the sides of the pan. Turn off the burner, add the hash browns and begin to press them into the bottom and up the sides of the pan using a spatula or wooden spoon. Place the skillet with the hash browns in the oven for 15 minutes. They should slightly brown around the edges. Remove skillet from oven and drizzle the remaining tablespoon of melted butter over the hash browns. Layer the cheese inside the hash brown crust. Pour the egg mixture over top so that the mixture is evenly distributed over the cheese. Sprinkle with green chile powder and salt if desired. Let cook for 35 – 40 minutes. Check the eggs for doneness by shaking the pan slightly. If the eggs are firmly set, remove from the oven. If needed cook an additional 5 minutes and check again until the eggs are firm. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes. Slice and serve with cooked bacon bits.