Monday, March 17, 2014

Crustless Veggie Quiche (with Sausage)

As a certified L.E.A.N. health coach who stands behind the guidance taught by the Sears Wellness Institute, it is my honor to share the Traffic Light Eating concept with you via my many recipe posts. I use it daily and it is the foundation to embracing an easier way to understanding real foods, per our opinion and the guidance of Dr. Bill Sears. 



Today, I'm sharing my Crustless Veggie Quiche (with pork sausage) recipe. Yes, it's not 100% veggie because of the added pork sausage but you can omit and it'll taste fine but I'd recommend you double up on some of the other vegetables to give it a good filling. 

Other than the sausage (which is generally a red light food), the quiche is mostly green and yellow light. [Pork] Sausage is considered red light because conventional pigs eat some pretty gross stuff (and you are what you eat eats). The Jimmy Dean pork sausage (as seen below) is free of MSG and nitrites so I made a compromise. The sausage does not taste as salty and fatty as his other sausages but it's because there are no added preservatives or artificial ingredients. 



The quiche turned out yummy. I made two dishes - one with mozzarella cheese and the other without. With all my savory dishes, I add as many vegetables as possible. I want to encourage you to not be afraid of the [real] rainbow and make the vegetables front and center; do not hide or disguise them. I encourage you to make it a regular occurrence that at every meal, fruits and vegetables (more than 1) are offered. 

Vibrant colors from 4 vegetables! 
Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
1 sweet potato, peeled & chopped into similar sized pieces
1/2 sweet onion, diced 
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 zucchini, diced
1 package of Jimmy Dean (All Natural / No MSG added) sausage (optional)
1-2 tsp of oregano
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp coconut oil / olive oil to coat pans for baking
10 eggs + 1/2 cup milk, *divided 
1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella (optional)

Veggies & Sausage topped with 6 of the eggs. No cheese.

Veggies &Sausage topped with 4 eggs; optional: 1/4 cup of Mozzarella.

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375*. 
2. While veggies are being chopped / diced, heat olive oil in skillet on medium heat. Add first the chopped sweet potatoes. While potatoes are cooking, dice the onion.
3. Allow the sweet potatoes to cook for about 8-10 minutes before adding the onions to brown. Once onions start to turn golden and are fragrant, add the chopped bell pepper. Allow all 3 to cook together for about 5 minutes. 
4. While veggies are cooking, coat pans (I used Corning Ware dishes) with oil of your choice. 
5. In a separate bowl, beat 10 eggs and 1/2 cup milk. Set aside.
6. Add the zucchini to the skillet, stir and cook for about 4 minutes. **When vegetables are nearly done, push them to the outer edge of the skillet, and brown the sausage in the center. Season with the oregano and salt. 
7. When vegetables and sausage are done, you'll spoon them into an even layer in your bake ware of choice. 
8. Divide the eggs & milk pouring it over the sausage-vegetable mixture. Top with cheese, if you'd like. 
9. Bake at 375* uncovered for about 35 minutes. Remove and let cool for 15 minutes before digging in! 

Buon Appetito! 

Baked, no cheese. 

Baked with mozzarella. 

Notes:
*The egg mixture is divided if you're using small bake ware. I had two different sized corning ware dishes, so I ended up using 6 eggs in one and 4 in the other. If you've got a large enough dish, you won't need to divide it. 
**You can remove the vegetables when they're done cooking and brown the sausage separately or you can cook them simultaneously in two different skillets. This will allow you to drain the small amount of fat from the sausage. I chose to leave the fat in with the vegetables for added flavor.
Lastly, I recommend you waiting until the quiche is nearly baked before adding the mozzarella. The quiche with the mozzarella almost burned before it was done baking. So, if you add the cheese, add it in the last 10 minutes of baking.

Choose, eat, and live well! =)


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