Sunday, March 4, 2012

#Greenslove: Mini Spinach Arugula Quiches


This month for Love bloghop the theme is #greenslove!

Please join in on the #greenslove fun by linking up any leafy green recipe from the month of March 2012. Don't forget to link back to this post, so that your readers know to come stop by the #greenslove event! The twitter hashtag is #greenslove :). 

I got these cute little mini quiche /tart pans, so I decided to make  mini quiches with spinach and arugula for #greenslove. Spinach and arugula have many nutrients, as green leafy vegetables. Green leafy vegetables are an excellent source of vitamins A and C, folic acid, calcium, manganese and magnesium. It's  also a very good source of potassium, iron, zinc, riboflavin and copper. And, besides green is my favorite color, and March is the month of St. Patrick's Day and everything green. A Green River anyone?


 Arugula and spinach, like other greens, are rich in many essential vitamins and minerals, as well as important phytochemicals.  Arugula contains phytochemicals such as carotenes and chlorophyll.  Those phytochemicals make it an excellent source of antioxidants.
  Sources: Murray , Michael N.D.. The Encyclopedia Of Healing Foods.
New York: Atria Books, 2005.


It is easy to include more greens to your diet by adding chopped  greens to salads, soups, omelets, stir frys, and quiches. Arugula, aka Rocket has a spicy, peppery flavor, which adds  a great taste to soups. salads, and egg dishes. spinach contains fiber and most of the vitamins and minerals found in meat.  These quiches make a good Lenten light lunch, supper, or appetizers.

So with all the health benefits of green, leafy vegetables, it is easy to see why I made a Spinach Arugula Quiche. Besides the steamed green leafy vegetables, the quiche has cheese, milk eggs, mushrooms and sauteed leeks. The quiches are full of flavor from all of the veggies, with the eggs,  and the cheese   I made the mini quiches, but you could make just one quiche in a 9" pie pan. We had a few of these for dinner, and I will use the rest  for appetizers.  Enjoy!



Mini Spinach and Arugula Quiches Adapted from the Essential Vegetarian cookbook by Whitecap Books
Ingredients
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 small leek sliced, only the top white part
  • 8 oz of fresh mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 C Baby spinach, washed and stems removed
  • 1 1/2 C  Baby Arugula, washed and stems removed
  • 1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese I used white cheddar
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 single pie crust rolled out  to get 6 mini crusts 6” in diameter or 1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup half and half
Directions
Mini Crusts Preheat oven to 415 degrees
Roll out dough for single pie crust and cut 6 “circles of dough. Press into mini quiche pans. Place tins on a cookie sheet. Cover Pastry with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Spread a layer of beans or rice over the parchment paper or crust. Bake the pastry shell for 10min., and then remove from oven. Discard the paper or foil and beans or rice.  Return the tin to the oven for another 5 min, until lightly brown. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  2. In a medium skillet, add olive oil over medium heat. Sauté garlic and leek in olive oil until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, and cook until brown, about 5 min. Add spinach and arugula to mushroom mixture, stir until wilted. Divide spinach mushroom mixture between the 6 mini quiche pans.
  3.  In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, half and half, 3/4 cup cheese, and milk. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into the pastry shells, allowing egg mixture to thoroughly combine with spinach mixture. You may sprinkle remaining cheese on top. if you want.  You will probably have leftovers, which can be baked in a small, casserole dish, sprayed with cooking spray.
  4. Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until tops are golden and set.
  5. Remove cookie sheet from oven, place mini quiche pans on rack to cool. Remove crusts from the tins. Serve warm.
Thanks  Junia. for hosting this wonderful event.
 Here is the list of the  amazing bloggers that are co-hosting with me.

ASTIG Vegan ~ Richgail ~  @astigvegan
Bon a croquer ~ Valerie ~ @Valouth
Cheap Ethnic Eatz ~ Evelyne ~ @cethniceatz
Easily Good Eats ~ Three Cookies
Oh Cake ~ Jessica ~ @jesshose
Queen's Notebook ~ Elizabeth ~ @Mango_Queen 

     

56 comments:

  1. Becky, what lovely tartlets! I love a good quiche...and spinach with cheese and mushrooms is one of my favorites! I love the addition of arugula, too :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lizzy,
      thank you for your sweet words. I love my mini quiche pans and this quiche recipe is a good one, with the leafy greens,cheese and mushrooms.

      Delete
  2. Green is certainly love in these quiches, Becky. They "rock-et" :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jill,
      Love your play on words. This is a good, green quiche recipe:)

      Delete
  3. wow, greens in a quiche sound healthy and delicious! love the steamed greens :). have a wonderful day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Junia,
      These quiches are good, especially with the arugula, spinach, mushroom, and leak. Thank you for all of your hard work organizing this wonderful event.

      Delete
  4. Lovely,healthy, delicious quiche recipe and a great party appetizer idea!Thanks Becky!Sending you some #Greenslove :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Soni,
      You could also just make one large quiche in a 9" pan. Thanks for your #greenslove!

      Delete
  5. Beautiful and so tasty quiches!!! they make a really wonderful bite! ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. These mini quiches can also be automatic portion control!

      Delete
  6. These look really good! I'll have to be on the hunt for GF crust and then I'll be in business! YUMMMO!
    Stopping by to send you some #greenslove! Happy to be co-hosting with you! :)
    Cindy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can make this recipe crustless, and enjoy the quiche! Thanks for the #greenslove!

      Delete
  7. Hi Becky! Those mini green quiches look adorable- I could have one right now :) Happy greenlove to you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. These quiches are so good, tasty little bites for a light lunch or appetizer. Thanks for the #greenslove!

      Delete
  8. Replies
    1. Kim,
      Thank you much for stopping by my blog and your kind words.

      Delete
  9. Beautiful tarts and I love mixing spiabch and arugula together - they make suce a great tasting pair.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. These quiches did have a great flavor with the spinach and arugula.

      Delete
  10. These are fabulous my goodness the beautiful photo's well done!

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    Replies
    1. Claudia,
      These mini quiches are so good, and portion control.

      Delete
  11. i have always wanted to make quiches but for some weird reasons, i have not been able to :(

    this indeed is perfect for the lenten season when people tend to abstain from eating meat...i guess it's about tiime for me to make quiche and this one is on my to do list :)

    thanks for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dudut,
      Quiche isn't hard to make. For me the hardest part is the crust. You can make them crustless, too. Just our all of the filling ingredients in a sprayed bowl or pan, and per instructions.

      Delete
  12. I love mini quiches! I was planning on making one, but I'm not sure if it'll be as good as yours. ;) Great job, they look delicious! Sending #greenslove your way!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jackie,
      This is a good quiche recipe, but I'm sure that you could make these:)
      Thanks for the #greenslove!

      Delete
  13. These have my name ALL over them!! SO delicious and lovely ingredients
    mary x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mary,
      These little quiches are delicious, especially with the spinach and mushrooms.

      Delete
  14. Becky-your mini quiche yummy delicious spinach, and the Arugula addition is such a perfect lunch that I would enjoy with a plain green salad, and a simple olive oil and white wine vinegar dressing. I will be adding my green addition on my next post, as well!
    Love the recipe and the photos, as well:DDD

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Elisabeth,
      This quiche is delicious with the spinach, arugula, and mushrooms. It makes a good light lunch, dinner, or even an appetizer. Lots of green love:)

      Delete
  15. Quiche is my comfort-brunch food. Gorgeous green rendition. I love the leeks and arugula together!

    Lots of #greenslove your way!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laura,
      I never thought of quiche as comfort food before, but it really is. You can make quiche with a variety of filling ingredients. I love spinach, and the baby spinach and baby arugula worked well in this quiche. Sending#greenslove your way!

      Delete
  16. Spinach, arugula, mushrooms and garlic...and cheese :-D - perfect! I love this recipe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laura,
      This is a wonderful recipe for quiche. Sending #greensslove your way!

      Delete
  17. Spinach + quiche = winning recipe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Richgail,
      Spinach in quiche go together so well. Sending lots of #greenslove your way!

      Delete
  18. Everything about this recipe sounds great. I am not a vegetarian, but I make most of our meals that way, and this will fit in very well with our eating lives :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tiffany,
      I am not a vegetarian either, but I just like spinach, and it's green:) We do eat a lot of non-meat meals, because we like them.

      Thank you for stopping by my blog! I appreciate your kind words. Hope to see you back soon!

      Delete
  19. We love quiche here, what a great recipe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Debbie,
      This is a great recipe. If you make it, let me know how you like it.

      Delete
  20. You must have had some fun making all these different quiches. It does sound like a great baking project and all of these sound tasty. Definitely a success! Even non-vegetarians would enjoy these. Well done.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tina,
      Thank you! This was definitely a project making the mini quiches, and the crusts. Many steps to follow. If you just want to eat quiche right away, I would suggest making the quiche in in the 9" pie pan, less labor intensive, but it would taste the same.

      Delete
  21. What a great idea to make quiche mini-sized! Sounds like I'll be making this soon. Thanks for sharing this recipe & some greenslove!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Elizabeth,
    Mini quiche is automatic portion control, or an appetizer. Thanks for the #greenlove.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Green is one of my favorite colors too, and I love your mini quiche recipe! Te combo of rocket, spinach, and all the other good stuff sounds delicious! Happy to celebrate #greenslove with you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your kind words. This quiche is very good, and very green. Sending lots of #greenslove your way!

      Delete
  24. Fabulous mini quiches! The delicious spinach, arugula, and mushrooms is a favorite combo of mine for pasta and I would love to try your wonderful #greenslove recipe:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lora,
      Thank you! the spinach, arugula, and mushroom combo worked in this quiche. I f you make the quiche, let me know how it turns out! Sending #greenslove your way!

      Delete
  25. Individual quiche tart pans, LOVE IT. And you greens filled quiche are so appetizing, I would devour a few in a row. Happy greenslove

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, I bought these cute little quiche pans to make the mini quiche. They are perfect for appetizers, or a light lunch. I love, them, too.

      Delete
  26. I love them! they look fantastic and would bre perfect as breakfast, brunck or even as a snack

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Beti,
      Yes, These little quiches are perfect for almost any ocassion.:)

      Delete
  27. I like the combination of spinach and arugula! I don't think to cook with arugula and always use it as a salad. I'm excited now to try this out. And I recently bought some mini tart pans so this will be perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  28. nothing beats a good quiche and this one looks fantastic! Love the colors and it looks so buttery and yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  29. These look wonderful!!! Sending you lots of #greenslove this month and tweeting this right now. Perfect weekend light dinner with a salad.

    ReplyDelete
  30. I love mini anything...just the right amount of food for me without feeling like I over-indulge...these look fantastic!

    #greenslove

    Jen

    ReplyDelete
  31. I remember when I finally tried arugula, I realized I had been missing out:-) Arugula is so delicious, and these quiches sounds wonderful! Hugs, Terra

    ReplyDelete
  32. What's up, I just wanted to say, you're dead wrong. Your current point doesn't make any sense.

    http://fabvegan.com/blogs/316/1123/do-sizegenetics-work-why-it-is

    http://thebarefootmailman.com/node/982

    ReplyDelete

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