Mini Quiche

The weather has turned cold, and my thoughts have turned to...quiche?  Mini quiche, to be specific.  I wonder what it says about me that quiche is a comfort food.  Hmmm.

Anyway, for some reason my brain decided, and my tummy concurred, that we must have, not just quiche, but mini quiche, for supper last night. I have a favorite quiche recipe, but never in my life have I made mini quiches, so I turned to the internet for inspiration.

These are not my mini quiches, but they did look something like this
{photo credit}

Here's what I came up with, from Pressed Petals Inn in Holderness, NH, using ingredients I had in the house.  It was oh, so yummy!  The crust was flaky with just a slight tang from the cream cheese--delish!  And the filling was nice and creamy.

Mini Sausage Quiches

Crust

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup flour

Blend butter and cream cheese in medium bowl until creamy. Blend in flour, refrigerate for 1 hour. Roll into 24 balls; press each into ungreased mini-muffin cup to form pastry shell (I used regular muffin cups, so 12 balls). Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Filling
1/2 pound Italian roll sausage
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1 Tablespoon snipped fresh chives

To prepare filling, crumble sausage into small skillet. Cook over medium heat until browned, stirring occasionally. Drain off any drippings. Sprinkle evenly into pastry shells in muffin cups; sprinkle with Swiss cheese and chives.

**Note: here's where you can personalize your quiches with whatever fillings you like.  Try ham & cheddar, sausage & pepper jack, bacon & swiss, mushrooms, spinach, or other veggies--whatever strikes your fancy that day.

Egg mixture
2 eggs
1 cup half & half  (I used half skim milk, half whipping cream, because I happened to have whipping cream on hand)
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash cayenne pepper

Whisk eggs, half & half, salt, and cayenne until blended; pour into pastry shells (I mixed this in a 2 cup pyrex measuring cup with a pouring spout to make it easier to pour into the shells). Bake 30 minutes or until set. Remove from pans. Serve hot.

This recipe met with approval from 4/5 of the members of our household--definitely a keeper.  Next time, I'll try to make enough to freeze some so I can have mini-quiche with very little effort in less than an hour when the urge strikes.