Sunday's Plate

The word "Quiche" produces a lot of snickering from men because quiche seems to be something served at uncomfortable restaurants where the little frilly chairs are crushed into corners for intimate talks. I mean quiche doesn't seem to go with hard hats and cowboy boots. Face it; quiche is pretty feminine.

It also makes kids turn up their noses and call, "Foul ball!"

But once the initial taste test is done, most people who like scrambled eggs love quiche. Quiche is a lot like swamp soup - quiche is the place for leftovers.

The nice thing about quiche is, it's an anytime meal because you nearly always have the ingredients to make it without going to the store.

The crust is simple: 2 cups flour; 1/2 cup fat; a little salt and enough (4 TBSP) boiling water to make pie crust. Mix in a food processor, roll out, fill the biggest pie plate you have and the rest is about as easy as watching TV.

Now for the insides! What's good in a quiche? Anything left over. Last night I used a lot of mushrooms, broccoli, cheese cubes, a pound of bacon and six ounces of shredded cheese.

But any thing left over will do. Lunch meat, last week's roast, cooked bacon, a blade of ham cubed or ground, cheese, veggies of any kind, even a layer of spaghetti sauce will make a fine quiche.

You just fill the pie plate with anything you've got.

The egg part is easy. Take four, five or six eggs and mix them with milk like you are making scrambled eggs. Pour into the crust over the fillers, and then top with grated cheese or shredded cheese and bake for about forty-five minutes.

Tip: You'll get a man to eat this if there is a lot of meat like bacon or ham. Kids will eat a plainer stock - just eggs and cheese.

Quiche can be made for individual tastes in cute little single serve pie pans or muffin tins. For quick dinners, buy store bought mini pie crusts, line them up on the counter and make each one different, bake and serve.

It's marvelously nutritious if you make the crust from scratch with whole wheat pastry flour.