Quiche with Tater Tot Crust

Of all the "carb diva" foods I make in my kitchen, quiche has to be in the top 10 of my favorites.

• It's so versatile. You can serve it for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or even as an appetizer. 
• You can adapt the basic recipe to just about whatever ingredients you have in your refrigerator. Change the cheese, change the protein.
• It's a tasty way to get your family to eat more veggies.

There is one downside, however. The pastry crust. I'm pretty darned good at making pie dough, but depending on the humidity it can be a tad fussy. Sometimes I'm just not in the mood for fuss. Yesterday was that kind of day, so I made a quiche with a potato crust.

I took a few photos during the process but didn't have a recipe (I'm making this up as I go). Here's what I did.

Quiche With Tater Tot Crust

Equipment and Ingredients

• a tart pan with removable bottom
• parchment paper
• straight-sided drinking glass or measuring cup
• measuring cups
• wire whisk
• frozen tater tots (about 4 cups)
• 1 cup cooked chicken Italian sausage (see other suggestions below)
• 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk

Instructions

(1) Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.

(2) Line a tart pan with a sheet of parchment paper. Here's the first Carb Diva trick for you. My parchment is notoriously uncooperative. It's stiff and doesn't like to nestle into the bottom of a pan. Simply take that sheet of paper and wad it up into a ball. Don't be gentle. Then unwrap; it will now submit to your will and line the bottom and sides of your tart pan.

(3) Fill the tart pan with tater tots—be generous but don't crowd them in.
Place in the preheated oven and "bake" for 5 minutes, just enough to thaw the tots.
Remove from the oven and allow to sit for a few minutes to cool.

(4) Grab that drinking glass (or measuring cup) and use it to squish the no longer solid tater tots over the bottom of the pan and up the sides. Be sure to completely cover the bottom of the pan.

(5) Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

(6) Bake the tater tot crust for 15 minutes, or until golden and crisp on the edges. Remove from the oven.

(7) Layer on the meat. I used chicken Italian sausage, but you can use your imagination here. 

(8) Next, add the veggies, and then the cheese.

(9) Whisk the 4 eggs with the milk until well-blended. Pour over the cheese layer. Bake the quiche for 30 minutes or until the eggs are set. 

Meat Suggestions

• cooked ground beef, turkey, or chicken
• vegetarian crumbles (faux ground beef)
• pulled pork
• diced cooked ham
• crisp-cooked crumbled bacon

Cheese Suggestions

• Cheddar
• Swiss
• Mozzarella
• Parmesan
• Colby
• Cheddar jack
• Provolone

Veggie Suggestions

• diced bell pepper
• diced onion
• chopped tomato, seeds removed
• broccoli florets
• asparagus tips
• black olives