I need help with some recipes!

It's hubby's birthday in 2 weeks and I plan to invite about 20 of our friends to a nice brunch on Saturday the 8th of June.

I want to make it non-meat, all vegeterian and low fat healthy sort of buffet. I've come up with 6 different salads to serve but I need some help with quiches. I was thinking about 2 kinds of quiches + a lasagna. I have a good recipe for a spinach, borccoli and ricotta cheese lasagna, though I could also go for a regular tomato, herbs and cheese lasagna instead and make the spinach and broccoli into a quiche haven't decided yet.

Anyway, I'm searching the web now for low fat crustless quiches that are quick and easy to make. A lot of them contain something called "Bisquick". I don't know what it is but we don't have that in Israel. Can anyone shed some light on that mysterious ingridient for me please? And maybe suggest a substitue?

Also, recipes for dead easy vegeterian crustless quiches will be most welcome!

Thanks!

Bisquick is a powder mix. You can make biscuits, dumplings, and all sorts of stuff with it. I don't really like it. I just make my crusts out of flour, water, Crisco (vegetable shortening) and a little salt. I guess it's not exactly low-fat, but it's not too bad!

Have you tried this site? http://www.allrecipes.com/
You can search for just about everything, and they have a vegetarian section.

Good luck, it all sounds yummy so far!

Yes, stay away from the bisquick. It's bread, not pastry, and as any good cook knows, pie (or quiche) crust is pastry, not bread!

I don't trust any food that comes in a box.....

But, I have never heard of a crustless pie! The crust is what makes it a pie!

Any particluar reason you need it to be crustless?




Well, just did a quick Google and apparently this is a very common thing. Hmmm, learn something new everyday. Actually, all the recipes I came across were not strictly crustless, they just had a crust other than pastry (bread crumbs, potato, etc.). Have you tried doing a Google search?

Good luck! I love cooking and baking, but am very much a "traditional" cook who would never dream of making a pie without a good, old-fashioned pastry crust! So, I am of very limited help!

I am a personal chef who cooks for many people with allergies, including wheat, so I do crustless quiches all the time. The secret is to grease the pan very well, either with oil, or my favourite, spray grease. Another thing that helps when there is no crust is to put the veggies in the pan first, then the egg mixture (with no cheese mixed in) and sprinkle cheese on top. That way the cheese does not stick to the pan, and the slices slide right out. Slicing is much easier as well if you let the quiche cool completely, and even refrigerate before slicing. To make it lower in fat, just use 2 egg whites to substitute for each whole egg you want to remove; ie. for an 8-egg pie, you'd use 8 whites and 4 whole eggs. It works out better if you use some yolks, maybe you want to use half egg white and the rest whole eggs. Using only whites gives a very dry result.

As for recipes, well, I just cover the bottom of the pan with chopped veggies (I find asparagus, broccoli and mushrooms are the best, and I usually add a bit of finely chopped red pepper or grated carrot for colour), add as many beaten eggs as required to cover the veggies (I use about 8 for a 9" pan, and up to 16 or more for a large square casserole-type dish - you can beat up a bunch, check the level and add more if necessary, but don't fill past about 1/2 full), then top with grated cheese if desired and bake at 325-350°F for about 20-30 minutes or until the center of the pie doesn't wobble and flow when you shake the pan. It keeps well in the fridge for several days, so you can make it ahead.

Good luck!

PS My dad's birthday is on June 7!

I'm thinking spinach and feta cheese go so well together, probably better in the lasagna than in the quiche, but that's a personal opinion. Chevre is nice with spinach too. But it might be nice to do a veggie lasagna with optional cheese on top, in case someone is strict vegan and still wants a hot dish.

Sounds like a fun party! Happy birthday to hubby!

Our cooking style in Israel is very different then the one you're used to Crustless quiches are much more common then proper pies. I've never actually tasted classic American pies like pumpkin pies etc.

Besides, I'm looking for the crustless type because they're much easier to make Guess I'm just lazy...

I found a nice recipe today that's much like the one you suggestes JulieB! I actually prepared it for lunch today. It was a leek quiche with sliced cooked leeks, 7 eggs, 4 spoons of self raising flour and a glass of milk. Just mixed all the ingridients and sent it into the oven. It looked real good 45 minutes later. I left it in the oven and went to watch TV only to find out an hour and a half later that I had left the oven turned on So, no one got to taste my famous leek pie I'm going to try this again with some other vegetable, maybe tomorrow.

Thanks everyone!

Mmmm. . . . Leek sounds good . . . shame it got a little crisp

Is a crustless quiche the same as a frittata?

Anne, I can't help you on this one...I've never made a quiche, but I wanted to wish you good luck with hubby's birthday meal!!!! I am sure it will all go smoothly for you!!!

Thanks Debby!

I guess a quiche is pretty much made of the same ingridients as a fritatta, only it's baked rather than fried.

I found some nice recipes in my MIL cook books. She's going to make her excellent mushrooms and onions pie (with a crust ) and I'll make a spinach quiche and a brocolli one.

I always describe a fritatta as halfway between an omelet and a quiche. With a fritatta, you have to start with an oven-safe frying pan, because you cook the bottom on the stovetop then finish the top with an oven broiler.

It seems to come out the same as a crustless quiche, but I guess with a fritatta you get the yummy crispy bits on the bottom from frying the veggies, and then also a crispy broiled top.

Thanks for the explanations!

Mmmm! I'm hungry now!