Crustless Country Quiche Bites |
Appetizer |
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Crustless greens baby quiches are perfect appetizers, or even breakfast!
Ingredients
1 (16-ounce) package Cut `n Clean Greens Country Greens
3 strips bacon (may use turkey bacon)
1 cup finely diced onion
Freshly ground pepper (about 1/4 teaspoon or so)
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg, freshly ground if possible
1 (15-ounce) container low-fat ricotta cheese (can use whole milk ricotta)
1 (8-ounce) bag (2 cups) shredded Italian blend cheese (or use shredded mozzarella)
3/4 cup (3 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 eggs, beaten slightly (can use egg substitute)
Garnish: pine nuts (optional)
Preparation
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mist mini muffin pans (36 to 40 mini cups) with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
In a large pot, bring 4 quarts water to a boil, add two-thirds of the bag of Country Greens (about 10 ounces of greens) and boil gently for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure even cooking. (Save rest of greens for another use.) When done, drain greens in a colander and allow to cool slightly. When cool enough to handle, mass greens on a cutting board and chop more finely, then squeeze with hands to remove any remaining excess water.
Meanwhile, cook bacon in large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon, drain, cool and crumble or chop finely.
Leave a small amount of bacon fat in same skillet, and cook onion 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add greens, freshly ground pepper and nutmeg, and cook over medium heat about 3 minutes or until liquid evaporates, stirring occasionally. Stir bacon into greens in skillet and remove from heat.
In a large bowl, combine ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan and eggs, stirring to combine well. Add cooled greens mixture to ricotta mixture and stir well.
Spoon mixture evenly into prepared muffin cups (it will fill 36-40 mini muffin cups, depending on how full you make them). Place 3 or so pine nuts on top of each mini quiche if desired, and bake 25 minutes or until filling is set and quiche is slightly browned. If you are baking pans on 2 racks, switch pans on racks at halfway point for even cooking. Remove from oven and let stand in pan 5-10 minutes. To remove from pan, run a thin-bladed knife around edges and release the quiches from the cups. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature. Allow quiches to rest on a wire rack until room temperature and then refrigerate or freeze for later use.
Makes 36-40 individual quiche bites.
