#9: Weeknight Dinner

Sometimes I feel overloaded with bacon at our house. I renewed K's Bacon of the Month subscription for this birthday, and then my brother and SIL gave him a package of treats that included bacon as a birthday gift. My kitchen smells like bacon a lot. (Not that I'm complaining!)

During the recent influx of bacon, I knew I needed to step it up from my usual BLTs or breakfasts for dinner. I'd made a Broccoli Cheese Quiche for a book club last weekend, and it was very tasty and well-received. K enjoyed the slice I saved for him, and suggested it would be even better with some Bacon Salt (one of the treats I'd stuffed his stocking with at Christmas). I decided that instead, it would be a good excuse to use up a package of bacon. K's review of the final product: "Holy Shit!" I celebrated my new recipe with a "I made delicious quiche" song/dance routine. Bacon is tasty!

Bacon Cheese Quiche (adapted from Weight Watchers, heehee!)

6 oz pie crust, 9-inch, refrigerated

1 package bacon

1/2 cup sweet onion, chopped
1 1/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
1 Tbsp mustard (I used Sweet Hot Mister Mustard, because that's our favorite)
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground, or more to taste
1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Press pie crust into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch, removable-bottom tart pan or a 9-inch pie pan; refrigerate until ready to use. (I bought a pie crust from the frozen section, already in a pie tin, and let it defrost in the fridge while I was prepping.)

Cook bacon over medium-low heat in skillet until done. Remove bacon from pan*, and add onion to remaining bacon grease and sauté briefly, about a minute. Remove onion from pan and pat dry to remove extra grease. Crumble bacon when cool and set aside.

In a large bowl, add ricotta cheese, cheddar cheese, egg, egg whites, mustard and pepper; mix well and fold in bacon and onions. Spoon mixture into prepared crust and level surface with a wooden spoon; sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese.

Bake until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

*When I remove bacon from the skillet, I put it on a plate covered with a paper towel and pat it dry with another paper towel. It gets rid of at least some of the grease.