Everything but the Kitchen Sink

Hello! Pull up a chair and make yourself at home. I'm Andrea Meyers, and welcome to Making Life Delicious.  This podcast is a celebration of the joyful, flavorful, and messy moments that happen in the kitchen and the garden. Today, we're baking legacy into our breakfast.

Imagine for a moment. It's Friday night or early Saturday or Sunday morning. I open the fridge, and what do I see? Half an onion from Tuesday's tacos, some cilantro, and maybe a couple handfuls of sharp cheddar cheese. 

That's when I realize that we are in "leftover limbo." But we always have eggs, and that's a great starting point.

I think about our family cooks, our moms, grandmothers, and aunts. They didn't see "random scraps." They saw potential. And even though they preferred to have a menu and everything ready to go, especially for guests, I learned from them that the best weekend breakfasts didn't need to be planned weeks in advance. They could be improvised right there on the spot. Welcome to Weekend Breakfast Improvisation, where we take the philosophy of "Everything but the Kitchen Sink," add a foolproof custard base from Aunt Joey, and turn your fridge leftovers into a comforting masterpiece.

The Family Recipe

This quiche is a family recipe that has been passed around for about forty years! Aunt Joey is a culinary queen on the Meyers side of the family, and I received the recipe from her sister, Ann (my mother-in-law) not long after Michael and I were married. Joey shared the quiche story with me recently.

Like some members of my family and me, she has to follow a special diet due to allergies, and this quiche meets her needs. It has lots of protein and is easily modified. She likes cottage cheese and so uses that more often than other cheeses.

Why No Crust?

Traditional quiche has a pastry crust which is blind baked, meaning partially baked, before filling with the custard and bacon or any other fillings. The pastry lends a lovely buttery, flaky texture to the quiche, and for many people is considered a very important part of the dish. So why skip it?

For cooks who want a quick and easy version of quiche, crustless can the way to go. You don't have to deal with making pastry from scratch or even using store-bought crusts. That step is removed. It also reheats well, and it's freezer friendly. There's no soggy crust to worry about. 

If you have dietary concerns, taking away the crust reduces calories and carbs, as well as concerns about allergens such as gluten in crusts. If you are concerned about gluten and other allergens, make sure to check the rest of your ingredients for potential sources of allergens.

For my family, the convenience of no crust was our first reason for choosing Aunt Joey's crustless quiche recipe. Later, it became important when my doctor determined that I was gluten intolerant and I had to remove gluten from my diet.

The Kitchen Sink Quiche

The crustless quiche is a favorite on my side of the family as well!  Aunt Joey's quiche has become one of our favorite palettes for improvising in the kitchen, and over the years we have created a number of variations that we return to. Any of these ingredients can make a seasonal or destination quiche just bursting with flavor.

If you want a Mexican variation, go with some Chorizo sausage, cilantro, chopped peppers, some green onions, stir in some crema Mexicana, or top it with some sharp cheddar or Mexican cheese. Blend and then serve it with some salsa or ranchero sauce.

If you're feeling Italian, maybe go with some Italian sausage or ricotta cheese, some fresh basil, parsley or spinach, maybe toss in some sun dried tomatoes. Stir in some shredded mozzarella, then top it with shredded parmesan or Grana Padano cheese.

If it's spring, some ham, asparagus, baby chard and then stir in some goat or white feta cheese and then top it with some shredded Swiss cheese. And if you're looking in the fridge and it's a leftovers mix and match, add bacon, a little bit of broccoli, some sauteed mushrooms, shredded or chopped cooked potatoes, and your choice of cheese makes a great quiche.

My Last Bite

And that brings me to my Last Bite for this week: 

Whatever you have, make it your own. The next time you're staring into the fridge at those 'random scraps,' don't just see ingredients-envision a destination.

If you find leftover cilantro and a stray pepper, give your quiche a passport to Mexico with a dollop of crema. If it's jar of sun-dried tomatoes and some wilted spinach, take it to Italy with a shake of Parmesan.

My challenge to you is to stop worrying about the 'right' way to make breakfast and just do it your way. A theme turns a fridge-clean-out into a culinary choice, and that is exactly how you turn 'leftover limbo' into something truly delicious.

Just remember: the egg custard is your canvas, but the flavor? That's all you.

So based on what's in your fridge, what quiche variation could you make today? What could be your destination today?

I hope you enjoyed this crustless quiche episode of the Making Life Delicious podcast. Remember to subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Until next time, may your garden be green and your weekend breakfast improvisations be easy and satisfying. Thanks for listening, and let's make life delicious together.