How to Make a Ham Quiche

Quiche is a dish that is easy and inexpensive to prepare. With simple, staple ingredients like eggs, milk and cheese, a plain quiche can be put together in under an hour. Even more elaborate quiches are easy for novice cooks to add to their repertoire. Here's a ham quiche recipe that is perfect for any meal.

Things You'll Need

• 4 eggs
• Cheddar cheese (or cheddar cheese soup)
• 1/2 cup ham (diced or sliced, cooked)
• 1/2 cup cream (light is better than heavy)
• Cooked broccoli (optional)
• Unbaked pie crust (at least 9-inch diameter)

Instructions

1. Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl until they are fluffy. The recipe typically requires that the yolks be included, but they can be removed if you're concerned about cholesterol. Add 2 additional egg whites if you remove the yolk, just to keep the egg volume comparable.

2. Add the soup and the cream to the fluffed eggs. If you've made it with a soup base, it will make for a quiche that is more moist, while a quiche with extra cheese will be heartier and heavier.

3. Put a layer of cheese at the bottom of the crust. This adds a kind of "barrier" layer to the crust.

4. Add the ham and broccoli to the pie crust atop the cheese. You can always leave the broccoli out if you want your quiche with fewer ingredients.

5. Pour the soup and egg mixture into the pie crust. Poor slowly to ensure that it doesn't flow over the edge of the crust.

6. Ensure the mixture is fairly level in the crust. Push the ham and broccoli into place so the top of the quiche is relatively uniform. It's fine if some parts stick a little out of the mixture.

7. Bake the quiche in the oven for 50 minutes at 350 degrees.

Tips & Warnings

• Try a ham quiche that includes a nice cheese (Gruyere works well) and spinach. This will give it a deep flavor while dramatically increasing the creaminess of the quiche.

• Note that adding different ingredients into the quiche like vegetables (potatoes in particular) can affect the actual cooking time. Be sure that you are familiar with how long different ingredients need to reach the proper consistency.