Leftover Ham, Broccoli, and Cheddar Quiche

I luvvv quiche.  Love, love, love.  Not only is it easy to make if you have a premade pie crust, but it is hearty, filling, and packed with protein!  It's also packed with calories, which has led me in the past to try and make a "healthy" or healthier quiche.  Many people use heavy cream in their quiches, but I prefer the texture and taste of half and half, which is slightly less dense, but still tastes rich.  And the half and half it saves you a few calories.  Just be careful when making a quiche sans half and half or heavy cream because when you mess with the dairy component, you mess with not only the taste, but the texture.  And no one wants a loose quiche.

This recipe is great if you have leftover ham and want to make something other than a split pea soup (it reminds me too much of baby poop these days).  And don't worry about if your ham is sweet.  I used leftover Honey Baked ham and this was a hit. 

You can serve quiche warm or room temperature.  I like to make quiche for dinner served warm with a nice side salad dressed in olive oil and vinegar and eat the leftovers for breakfast.  Today I paired the quiche with a side of bacon. 

Today IS National Bacon Day after all...

Yes there is a "holiday" for everything.  

Feel free to substitute the meet, veggies, and cheese to suit your favorite flavor profiles and let me know how it comes out.

Leftover Ham, Broccoli, and Cheddar Quiche

 Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 onion, white or yellow, diced
• 1.5 cups leftover ham, diced
• 1.5 cups broccoli, florets only, diced
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup half and half
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 7 ounces mild cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
• Frozen pie crust

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Melt butter in medium saute pan over medium - high heat and saute onions until caramelized, about 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile heat broccoli until just cooked, but still crisp.  I microwave for 30 seconds - 1 minute.
4. In a large bowl combine cooked broccoli, onions, and ham.  Set aside.
5. Beat eggs, half and half, salt and pepper until incorporated.  Set aside.
6. Fold in 6 ounces of cheese into ham and broccoli mixture and add mixture to pie crust.  Top with egg mixture and sprinkle remaining 1 ounce of cheese over everything. 
7. Cook for 45 minutes or until eggs are set and cheese is browned.

8. Let quiche rest for at least 10-20 minutes before serving. 

Freschetta Brick Oven Crust Review

In my last post I mentioned that I was part of BzzAgent's Freschetta campaign.  You can read more about it here.

BzzAgent sent me package with a Freschetta pizza cutter, a coupon for a free Freschetta pizza of my choosing, and two coupons to share with family and friends.

When I think of frozen pizza  I normally think Digorno as Digorno advertisements frequent the television airways with their catchy slogan, "If it's not delivery, it's Digorno."  And I will say that Digorno pizza's are pretty good, considering they generally cost around $6-8 a pie.  I tend to keep a Digorno on hand for those nights when it's too late to order delivery and I just don't have the energy to cook a meal.  Don't judge, it happens when you are busy with life. 

I've had Freschetta's Naturally Rising pizza before, and I remember I liked it, so I wanted to try one of Freschetta's other pizza options.  Unfortunately my Walmart didn't offer the Gluten Free Thin & Crispy, but they did sell Brick Oven Crust so I settled with a Pepperoni & Italian Style Cheese Pizza.

Since I was at class my husband was on pizza cooking and picture taking duty.  He opened the package to find that the pie definitely doesn't come ready to put in the oven, unless you like all your pepperoni in one corner.

 We don't.  The pepperoni is not frozen to the pie so he made a beautiful piece of pizza pie art work.

He followed the directions and our pizza ended up taking a total of 15 minutes to cook.  

Wait 5 minutes (ideally...he never can) and then cut.  Thanks to BzzAgent we have an awesome pizza cuter that does the job and is kid friendly...no sharp metal.

Frozen pizza has come a long way and it is definitely not the frozen pizza I grew up with as a kid.  Freschetta's Brick Oven Crust comes out crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.  The crust is probably the star of the pie.  It is really good!  The pepperoni is delicious and the cheese is 100% natural.  My only complaint is that the sauce could use a little less sugar.  Unlike my friend growing up who put white sugar on her pizza, I prefer my pizza more on the savory side with a side of homemade boneless buffalo wings.  

I've tried a lot of different frozen pizzas and I will say the best is either Freschetta or Digorno.  They are both very similar and offer a range of crusts and toppings.  Without a taste off, however, I can't pick a winner.  Guess I have project...

It never hurts to have a frozen pizza on hand for those busy nights.  And considering Freschetta pizza starts at $5.99, generally less than Digiorno, and are often on sale, they are a great option.  If your family is larger than two I would recommend buying two pies as my husband and I easily polished off our frozen pizza in one sitting.  In fact I wanted more.  Freschetta really impressed me.

Have you tried Freschetta pizza recently.  What's your favorite?  What did you think?  I'm curious to know.  I'm going to look for the Gluten Free variety to try next.  After all, I'm always on the hunt for a good gluten free pie.

Thank you again to BzzAgent for providing me the opportunity to sample a free Freschetta pizza.  If you haven't signed up for BzzAgent click here to be able to also receive free stuff to review.