mediterranean quiche

we had some guests this weekend and i wanted to make something easy but tasty (read: impressive) for a sunday brunch.  i've only tried quiche once before and didn't care for the recipe, but i'm really glad i got the guts to try it again because this one's a keeper.

note: obviously if cholesterol is an issue for you, this might not be your recipe.

Mediterranean Quiche - serves 6
prep time: 10 mins  cook time: 40 mins
adapted from: How to Make a Spinach and Sun-dried Tomato Quiche

1 deep dish pastry or pie shell (frozen for me - kudos if you bake your own!)
1 jar of sun-dried tomatoes (i used 6-8 dried instead of from a jar - less oil)
1 small box of frozen chopped spinach (thawed & drained well)
1 cup feta cheese (hubby got me some with sun-dried tomato & basil seasoning in it already.  yummy)
1/2 - 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese (go low fat)
1/2 cup onion - chopped
1 clove garlic - minced
6 eggs
salt, pepper, & sweet paprika to taste (what is sweet paprika?  never heard of it.  i just used the regular stuff)
* the recipe called for milk but i completely forgot it so... forget it!

saute the onions & garlic in a bit of olive oil.  if using dried sun-dried tomatoes - bring 1 cup of water to a rapid boil.  drop tomatoes into the water and boil for two minutes (reserve the liquid to add to a soup later in the week if you like!)
meanwhile, beat the eggs.  add salt, pepper, & paprika to taste (by the way, i omitted the salt - really not needed, especially with feta cheese).  add feta and sauteed onions and garlic, and spinach & mix well.  you can also add 1/2 cup of mozzarella at this point, but i didn't.
pour the egg mixture into the pie shell.  arrange sun-dried tomatoes on top (or chop them and sprinkle them on top like i did).  sprinkle 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (or feta if you like) over all.
bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes until set & golden brown on top.

seriously - YUM.  i had a couple ideas for tweaking this next time - one was to go even more mediterranean and add black or kalamata olives... but that might make it a bit too salty.  the other was to add cubed leftover ham or, better yet, bacon.  of course, in the last couple weeks i've found myself regularly saying "know what would make this better?  BACON!" so maybe it's the baby talking...  :)  even without any tweaks, it was easy to make and delightful to serve.

happy quiche-ing!