I love quiche. I don’t love how fattening it can be. This is a slimmed down version that I made appetizer / child size. I added all kinds of things to my batter – broccoli, mushrooms, chicken, red peppers, green onions, garlic and basil. The lovely thing about this dish is how customizable it is! You can choose whatever works for you and your family.

The wonton cup is decorative and neat for a party, but these come out beautifully as crustless quiche too. That’s how I made the majority of mine.

Looking at how all the ingredients show on the top of these mini quiche, I wasn’t sure my kids would even try them. But, let me tell you, I had a hard time rescuing enough of these to get any photographs! The whole time I was taking pictures, my kids were screaming at me for more. I did manage to save 8 to put into the refrigerator so I could test how well they reheat.

I tried both the toaster oven and the microwave, and the toaster was far better; tasted fresh out of the oven. I bet you could easily freeze them and reheat for a party, an after-school snack, or breakfast like we did.

When the twinkies were given the quiche in a wonton cup, they gave me the name, immediately saying “basket, mommy.. quiche in a basket!”. I love how those little minds work!

The NUTS and BOLTS

Step 1

• 2 cups Skim Milk
• 2 Whole Eggs
• 4 Egg Whites
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup Mascarpone Cheese
• 3/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/2 cup Asiago Cheese
• 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
• 1.5 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt

Step 2

• 3/4 cup Finely Shredded Cheese of Your Choice
  Plus, Up To 3 cups of Add-ins… I  used:

• 4 oz Broccoli, Minced
• 4 oz Chicken Breast, Minced
• 4 oz Mushrooms, Minced
• 2.5 oz Red Bell Pepper, Minced
• 1 tsp Minced Garlic
• 2 Tbsp Basil, Chopped Fine

• Wonton Wrappers, Optional

WHAT TO DO WITH IT ALL

While this can be a touch time consuming, it is so worth it! You will need your stand mixer. Start by beating the milk, eggs, egg whites and oil together until well blended and slightly frothy. Add your mascarpone cheese and blend.

Sift the rest of the dry ingredients together. I used 2 kinds of grated aged cheese, feel free to use whatever aged cheese you like best. Beat the dry ingredients into the wet until totally incorporated. Your batter will be liquidy and lumpy.

Now, stir in your shredded cheese, and 3 cups of your favorite additions. Chop any vegetables really fine so they can cook and also fit in the mini-muffin size quiche. I used pre-cooked chicken breast, raw mushrooms, broccoli, green onion. garlic and red pepper. Because I have this cool basil plant (and because I LOVE basil) I added that too. Use whatever your family likes (or you think you can pull over on them). Maybe make the first time with only some things they really love, then ease them into more options each time you make it.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and heavily spray 2 mini muffin pans with cooking spray. If using wonton wrappers, press each wrapper into a muffin cup and lightly spray again. Fill each cup, wrapper or not, full to the top and bake for 25 minutes until quiche is lightly browned..

Remove, lightly salt the tops of the quiche, cool for 5-10 minutes and pop out of the pan with a tiny rubber spatula or thin spoon. Serve warm. Try not to over eat.

MONKEY METER

The eldest wanted to try it right away. She thought it looked really cool in the wonton flower (as she called it). She loved it. Said it was really cheesy and lovely tasting. 5 of 5

I thought the small ones would balk at this odd disc. Strangely, they immediately wanted to try. After the initial couple bites, they started shoveling them in. Each Twinkie ate 6 (!) and cried when I said all gone!  5 of 5

All the grown-ups loved it. Both the fancy “basket” way, and just plain. my husband said it was definitely 5 of 5