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Jose's Spinach Quiche Muffins Photo Jose Gonzalez
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I was perusing Facebook a few weeks ago, and found that my daughter's good friend, Jose Gonzalez, had posted a photo of these delicious-looking quiche-like "muffins." Immediately, I messaged him to see if he would share the recipe with me for the food column, because they looked so good. Of course, he said yes! That's what is so fun about FB, you never have to wait to long for an answer.
Jose said that the idea for making these "muffins" surfaced because he wanted to make a quiche, but didn't want to bother with the crust and all of that. Then, he saw the muffin tin and thought, why not make little individual quiches?
"This was something I could just store in the refrigerator and easily heat up for a meal, or take them on the go," he said.
When Jose is not acting, dancing or auditioning, he also is a substitute grade school teacher, and with such a crazy schedule, a good meal that can go with him is great to have.
Jose, who was born and raised in Oakland, went to college with my daughter and, it is fun to note, I first met him when they sang a duet together for a musical at San Jose State. Since then, Jose has performed in the national tour of Memphis and was also in the cast of all three Woodminster Theater musicals in Oakland this past summer. Now, he is back in New York City, hoping to land a show on Broadway.
Since I was going to visit my daughter in just a few weeks after his posting, we decided that the three of us would meet up at his apartment and make this recipe together, which we did last week and it was so much fun. They are really easy, and great for a fancy brunch, or to take on the road for those with a busy, hectic schedule. What I really like about them, too, is the fact that they are chock-full of sautéed onion, garlic, bacon, cheese and lots of fresh spinach. The beauty of this recipe is that you can also change it up and add any sort of veggie or sausage that you like. They would also work well, I think, with just egg whites instead of whole eggs, for those who prefer to omit the yolk. And, if you make them in the mini muffin tins, they would be the perfect finger food for any kind of party, brunch, lunch or dinner.
INGREDIENTS
6 strips of bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled (reserve 2 tablespoons of the grease for onions)
1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
1/2 to 3/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese
8 eggs
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a muffin tin with coconut spray or PAM.
Cook bacon until crispy. (If you prefer, you can use pre-cooked bacon and then just use oil or butter to sauté the onion and garlic.) Set aside until cool, and discard all but a couple tablespoons of the bacon grease. Crumble the bacon.
In the same pan, cook the onions and garlic until translucent. Add spinach and cook for just a few minutes.
Meanwhile, beat eggs in a large bowl. Add the veggies, bacon and cheese to the eggs and mix well.
Distribute the egg mixture evenly into the muffin tins. You will have some of the mixture leftover for a second batch, maybe about four of them. (You can also use the larger muffin tins, or the mini muffin tins for this recipe. Just adjust cooking time as necessary.)
Bake for 30 minutes, or until done in the center. Eat right away, or cool and store in containers for quick meals during the week.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA