On my Own...

I rarely cook just for myself, but I found a recipe for a Cauliflower, Sweet Onion and Leek Quiche in Rachael Ray Magazine, and my wheels rapidly started turning. Honestly, I turned this recipe upside down and sideways, so I'd hardly call it the same recipe, but guess what? It was easy, healthy, cheap, and very tasty. I am definitely NOT a quiche aficionado, but I think this was a lovely summer meal. Instead of throwing this into a regular pie shell, I opted to make this in a brown rice crust, which worked like a charm, and gave a nice nutty tasting crust to the dish. I also substituted green onions for the leeks, since that's what I had on hand, as well as reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese instead of Gruyere. To make things easier, I actually bought fresh, already chopped broccoli and cauliflower, and used a carton of egg whites instead of cracking my own (less waste, in my opinion). Since this was a very light, high protein, vegetarian meal, I ate a quarter of the pie, and it was a perfect meal. Last night I reheated it (after freezing it) under the broiler with some roasted vegetables, and it was even better than the first time. Now, if only my family would be willing to share it with me, so I didn't have to eat an entire pie, myself...

Brown Rice Crust: 2 cups of cooked brown rice (used a Bird's Eye Steamer Bag) mixed with 1/4 cup of egg whites, 1/4 tsp of salt, and baked at 450 for 10 minute. Voila! You have a perfectly set crust!

Pre-Cooked Quiche...
All set!

I couldn't believe this stayed together when I cut into it. I was in shock.

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 Bag of Bird's Eye Brown Rice (frozen)
1/4 cup of egg whites
1/4 tsp salt

Steam rice in the micro, per package directions. Stir in egg whites and salt, press into a pie dish, and bake at 450 for 10 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 400.

For the quiche:

• 1/2 cup packed shredded 2% cheddar cheese (about 2 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
• 3/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
• Salt and pepper
• 2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped broccoli
• 3/4 cup low-sodium veggie broth
• 7 egg whites (about 1 cup)

Directions (After baking the crust for 10 min in the oven):

1. In a large, heavy skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the broccoli and broth and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes; let cool slightly.

2. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites and season with ½ teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir in the remaining cheese and the broccoli mixture. Transfer to the prepared pie shell and bake until the filling is set, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

*If you want to see how this compares to Rachael's recipe, click on the link in the above post!
** For my calorie conscious friends: I used a recipe builder to come up with a calorie content of 210 calories per 1/4 of the pie. Eat up!