Spinach Quiche

INGREDIENTS
1  9-inch deep dish frozen Pie crust, thawed 
1 tablespoon ghee 
1 to 2 cups chopped fresh or frozen organic chopped spinach, defrosted and wrung free of liquid
¼ cup chopped onion or shallot
4 breakfast organic chicken sausages, chopped (optional)
1/2  teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon or pinch of cayenne pepper
Pinch of nutmeg
4 eggs
1 ¼   cup organic heavy cream 
1 cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese (or your favorite cheese)


DIRECTIONS

1.      Preheat oven to 375°F.  Prick sides and bottom of thawed pie crust with a fork before baking (optional).  Bake for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
2.     In a medium mixing bowl, beat eggs, cream, black pepper, salt, cayenne and nutmeg and set aside
3.     In a skillet over medium heat, add ghee.
4.    Once the ghee is hot, add onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 4 to 6 minutes
5.     Add sausage and cook for about 3 minutes.
6.     Add spinach and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.  Remove most of the liquid before adding to the pie crust. 
7.     Spoon the spinach mixture into the pie dish, then top with cheese and the egg mixture.  Be careful not to overfill.
8.     Bake for about 30 minutes or until the filling begins to puff up and the top is golden.  Remove from the oven and and let cool for a few minutes before you serve.

Notes:
Have fun changing up the fillings by using different veggies, like spinach or broccoli, or different cheeses, like Swiss, cheddar or goat cheese.

You can also use different meats, such as ground breakfast sausage, chicken sausage or bacon.  If you use a smokey bacon use less salt. 

You can also eliminate the crust by baking the mix in a muffin pan. If you do, reduce your baking time by half and grease you baking pan. 

You can also use a pie crust sheet. Instead of pricking the pie crust you can place parchment paper on top of the pie crust before baking and use some dried beans onto the parchment paper before baking for 10 minutes.  

You can freeze your cooked quiche for up to 3 months. Remove it from the freezer and place in the refrigerator 24 hours before reheating it.  Cover with foil or parchment paper  and bake in the oven at 325°F or util the center is hot.