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Chicken Pasta and Tomato Quiche

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Chicken Pasta w/ Sun Dried Tomato Quiche
Chicken Pasta w/ Sun Dried Tomato Quiche

Last week we made a Lasagna Quiche which was primarily made to be easy to make and help recover after a hard skate.  Since not everyone likes beef or pork, here is one that uses chicken for the main ingredient.  This one got topped with a little Prosciutto for fun but that is optional.

Serves: 16 – 22 (2 Quiches)

Ingredients

  • 4 Chicken Breasts
  • 1 cup Bow tie Pasta
  • 6 tsp Olive Oil
  • 2 tsp Ground Pepper
  • 1 tsp Sea Salt
  • 4 cloves Garlic, minced
  • 4 tsp Marjoram, chopped
  • 1/2 cup Red Wine
  • 1 cup Sun Dried Tomatoes (not in oil), chopped
  • 2 pie crusts
  • Base Quiche Mix
  • 2 cups Romano Cheese, shredded
  • 1/2 cup Prosciutto, diced (optional)

Preparation

Prepare the Pasta according to the instructions on the package, or alternatively you can prepare this in a skillet with just enough salted water to cover the pasta, at a boil until the pasta is soft but firm.  Remove from the water and strain.  In this case, return the pasta back to the warm skillet and mix in 2 tsp of Olive Oil to coat all the pasta.  Remove from the skillet and put in a container and refrigerate until final assembly.

Pound out the Chicken Breasts until they are no thicker than 1/2 inch.  Coat each side with Olive Oil and season each side with Salt, Pepper, 2 cloves minced Garlic and a light sprinkle of about 1/2 of the Marjoram.  In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the chicken breast to a golden brown on the outside.  This should take 4 – 6 minutes per side.  Be careful not to cook too long, the chicken will get tough.  We want this to be browned and still juice in the middle.  Set aside and allow to cool.  Refrigerate in a container until ready for final assembly.

In a small pot, over medium-high heat, combine the Red Wine and the Sun Dried Tomatoes with the remaining Garlic, Marjoram and 1 or 2 tsp Olive Oil and bring to a slow boil, stirring occasionally.  Continue to cook for 3 – 5 minutes at the slow boil.  Remove from heat and allow to cool in a container before refrigerating this tomato sauce until final assembly.

Final Assembly and Cooking

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Take the refrigerated chicken and dice into 1/2 inch chunks.  Then in a large mixing bowl combine and thoroughly mix the pasta and chicken.  Then transfer equal amounts to each of the prepared pie crusts.

Prepare the Base Quiche Mix and into that add the tomato sauce and mix completely.  Pour this equally over the chicken and pasta in the pie crusts.  Top that equally with the Romano Cheese and Prosciutto (optional).

Place the quiches in the oven and cook for 30 – 40 minutes, checking after 30 minutes to make sure the cheese doesn’t get too brown.  The top should be just turning golden brown when ready to come out.  Either serve hot or pack up and head to the rink.

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Lasagna Frittata

Lasagna Frittata
Lasagna Frittata

Almost every hockey player knows that one of the best recovery foods is comprised of either beef or chicken, tomatoes and pasta.  If you’ve ever been around a game that goes to multiple overtime periods, you’ll find trays of meaty lasagna or other meaty pastas being devoured by the players in the overtime intermissions.  So why not make a quiche.  Here is and update to the original Lasagna Quiche from the Real Men DO Eat Quiche cookbook.  This actually makes mini-lasagna in each pie pan, instead of what we came up with before.

Serves: 16 – 22 (2 Quiches)

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Hamburger
  • 1 lb Italian Sausage
  • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 large Onion, finely chopped
  • 1 Shallot, finely chopped
  • 4 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 Tbsp Pepper
  • 1 Tbsp Salt
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
  • 2 cups Porcini Mushrooms (chopped)
  • 1 cup Spaghetti or Bolognese Sauce (pick your favorite)
  • 12 pieces of Lasagne Pasta
  • Base Quiche Mix
  • 6 tsp Butter
  • 2 Pie Pans
  • 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
  • 1 cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded

Preparation

In a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat add the Olive Oil.  When the oil is hot, add in the Onions, Shallots and Garlic and stir.  After about 2 minutes add in the Pepper, Salt and Cinnamon and continue to stir until the onions are soft and translucent, about 2 minutes more.  Add in the Beef and Sausage and raise the heat to high.  Continue cooking this until the meat is just starting to brown, about 5 – 10 minutes.  Add in the mushrooms and continue cooking for another 5 – 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  You’ll know your done, when the meat is starting to get a crisp browning and the mushrooms have soaked up most of the grease.  Remove and stain to reduce the grease.  If you want you can use the grease later in the Spaghetti Sauce and Base Quiche Mix to add flavor, I don’t because this makes a greasy quiche.  Put the strained mixture in a container and refrigerate until final assembly.

Although I’m told that some Lasagne Pasta doesn’t need to be cooked first, I cook it by the instructions anyway.  Instead of cooking these in a large pot with a lot of water, I’ve taken to using a skillet or large pot with just enough water to cover the pasta.  To the water I add a dash of Olive Oil and Salt.  Then when the water is boiling, add in the pasta and cook for about 6 – 8 minutes.  This is a little faster and uses a whole lot less water.  Strain the water out and put the pasta back in the hot pot and add in 4 teaspoons of butter and make sure this is all melted and fully coating the pasta.  If you need to add a little heat to get this done.  Transfer the pasta to a container and refrigerate until final assembly.  If you want to you can line your pie pans with 1 teaspoon of butter each and refrigerate.

Final Assembly and Cooking

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare the Base Quiche Mix in a large mixing bowl as you normally would.  Add in the Spaghetti or Bolognese Sauce and continue to whisk for an additional 3 minutes.

Place one layer of pasta in the bottom of each pie pan.  Then spoon in a layer of the meat mixture.  Slowly add the eggs/sauce mixture to form a layer.  Top this is a thin layer of the shredded cheeses.  And repeat this step until almost to the top edge of the pie pans.  Three layers is usually enough.  Top the last layer with all of the remaining cheese.

Place in the oven and cook for 30 – 40 minutes.  Keep an eye on the cheese so that you don’t burn it, but a little browning makes for a good flavor.  Remove from the oven and either serve or pack it up for the rink.