This simple quiche may sound a little weird, but it's really good! It's also a great way to use up leftover bread, muffins, or rolls (or all three a once, depending on what you have). I especially like it with leftover sweet or cinnamon roles. The quiche is only mildly sweet (unless you use a lot of leftover sweet rolls in it!), and it includes a hefty dose of protein, thanks to the cottage cheese and eggs. That means the quiche will keep you feeling full longer and help you avoid a carbohydrate/sugar crash. The quiche is nicely spiced with a little cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg, which highlight the slight apple flavor from the applesauce. You can mix up the ingredients for the quiche the night before you want to bake it and refrigerate them until you want to bake the quiche the next day. I like to use a pie pan to for the quiche, but you also can use a square baking dish. I sprinkle the top of the quiche with nuts--usually walnuts or pecans--some of which sink into the quiche as it cooks and some of which add extra crunch on top. The quiche is a great breakfast treat and makes a nice, light, inexpensive "breakfast for supper" dish. Enjoy!

Applesauce and Cottage Cheese Quiche -- Serves 6+
1 cup of milk (I use 1 percent, and it works fine)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup of applesauce
1/2 cup of cottage cheese (low-fat is fine)
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of allspice
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon of salt (optional, as the cottage cheese is pretty salty)
2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar or use date puree, if you're diabetic
1 1/2 cups of stale bread, crumbled (if you want a sweeter version, use crumbled sweet
buns\rolls, muffins, etc.)
1/2 - 1 cup of broken walnuts or pecans
Powdered sugar (optional)
Spritz a 9 or 10-inch pie dish or pan with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl or measure whisk together well the milk, eggs, applesauce, cottage cheese, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, salt (if you're using it), and brown sugar. Stir in the crumbled bread. Let the mixture sit for at least an hour at room temperature or, if you'd prefer, refrigerate it overnight and bake it the next day. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour the quiche mixture into the pie dish. Bake the mixture for 40-45 minutes (a little longer, if it's been refrigerated) or until it is lightly brown and mostly firm (it may be slightly jiggly, but will firm up on standing). Let the quiche cool for a few minutes and dust it with powdered sugar before serving it.

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