Dining from the Dollar Store: Magic Quiche with Asparagus

When reading the Mother Earth Living March/April edition, I came across an article called "Wildly Affordable Organics" in which "a writer shares her wildly affordable affordable cooking plans, inspired by a national challenge to eat on a food-stamp budget." That was enough to prompt the purchase of the book, which proved to be quite enjoyable and full of great recipes. One of the favorites is Magic Quiche with Asparagus. Best yet, most of the ingredients, as well as substitutes for the original ingredients, can be found at the Dollar Store. For those interested in cooking with the ingredients (with some of my variations) as they appear in the recipe, those directions will be included as well.


Ingredients:

 

Original and Optional Ingredients.	Dollar Store Ingredients.
Cooking Spray	Cooking Spray
4 eggs	4 eggs
2 cups milk	2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour	1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt	1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg*
1 cup asparagus pieces*
1/2 cup spring onion	1-1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 cup chopped garlic (optional)*	1-1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
2 teaspoons olive oil (or butter)*	2 teaspoons olive/soybean oil
4 ounces grated Cheddar*

 
Equipment:

Mixing bowls 
Mixing spoons
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Wisk
9 x 13 x 2 inch baking pan
Knife


Directions:

Put the four eggs in a bowl:

And add the milk, flour, nutmeg, salt, and turmeric. If you are using the Dollar Store ingredients, add the onion and garlic powder now as well.

Wisk the ingredients together until combined.

Set aside.

Wash the asparagus.

Remove the bottom, woody portion from the stalks of asparagus by testing them with your fingers and breaking off the portions that aren't flexible. Chop the remainder into inch or half-inch lengths.

If you are using the onions and garlic, chop them as well.

Put the oil or butter into a pan, set the heat on medium, and cook the asparagus (and the onions and garlic vegetables) until they begin to grow tender, stirring all the while.

Grate the cheese.

 

Put the vegetables in the greased baking pan and spread them around.

Sprinkle the cheese on top of the vegetables, then wisk the egg mixture one more time before pouring it slowly over the vegetables.

Put it in the oven for 40 minutes.

Serve with a salad or fresh vegetables. The Magic Quiche, which makes it own crust, goes well with Fromage Blanc and toasted English Muffin Bread.

Equipment found at the Dollar Store:

Chef knives
Measuring spoons
Measuring cups
Wisk (metal)
Mixing spoons


Variations:

What is nice about the recipe is that asparagus can be substituted with a cup of other chopped vegetables, such as carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and more. 



*Not found at the Dollar Store