Ham and Red Pepper Quiche

Total time: 45 minutes
     The ham I use is 'raw' so I sautéed it quickly, while the crust baked.  I lightly sautéed the pepper strips as well.  The rice makes a lovely crust, much healthier than the traditional pastry... and easier too, especially if you cook the rice earlier.  I used Swiss cheese.

 Ingredients:

• 2/3 cups brown rice, 125gr, 4.4oz
• 1 1/3 cups chicken stock, 310gr, 11oz
• 1/4 cup  shredded cheese, 30g, 1oz
• 1 large egg, 65gr, 2.3oz
• 1 tsp olive oil, 4.5gr, .16oz
• ham, thick slice, cut into small pieces, 175gr, 6oz
• 1 medium - large red or green pepper, 160gr, 5.6oz
• 3 - 4 tbs snipped chives  or 1 tbs dried chives
• 3 large eggs, 195gr, 6.9oz
• 1 cup 2% milk, 240gr, 8.4oz
• 3/4 cup shredded cheese, 90gr, 3oz
• 1/2 tsp olive oil, 2gr, .05oz

 Instructions:

• The crust:
• Cook brown rice in stock according to package directions.  Can be done ahead or the day before.  If rice is just cooked, spread it on a plate to cool for 5 minutes before adding to egg. 
• Oil a 9" (22 cm) pie or quiche plate. 
• Lightly whisk egg. 
• Mix rice, cheese and egg. 
• Pat into the quiche plate, working it up the sides a bit for the edges. 
• Bake in 400F (200C) oven for 10 minutes.
• The filling:
• Cut pepper into thin strips.  
• Cut ham into small pieces and sauté in nonstick skillet until lightly browned. 
• Remove ham from skillet add pepper and lightly sauté.  
• Whisk the eggs and milk together. 
• Add the chives. 
• To assemble: 
• When crust is done, remove from oven.  
• Sprinkle ham evenly over the crust, then the pepper strips.  Sprinkle on the cheese.  
• Pour egg mixture over the top and bake, 30 minutes, 400F (200C). 
• Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes before cutting.

Note:  I usually put the quiche dish on a baking sheet to make it easier to handle – it gets kind of full…

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Nutrition Information                  Recipe serves 2            Entire Recipe / per serving Calories:   1696 / 848 Total Carbohydrates:  129 / 64.5           Dietary Fiber:  9 / 4.5 Total Fat:  76.5 / 38.25          Saturated Fat:  34 / 17 Cholesterol:  1317 / 658.5 Protein:  116 / 58 Calcium:  1343 / 671.5 Sodium:  3224 / 1612

Please note:  The nutrition info is for 2 servings, but this really serves 3; or 4 with a salad.  I use 2 servings for consistency.
We normally have the leftovers, cold, for lunch.

General Technical Details and Disclaimer:

Measurements are actual measurements used for calculation. If there are no values the nutritional numbers were simply too small.

I try to be accurate, but I do not guarantee it.  I use 'grams' as the unit of weight; with an approximate conversion to ounces.

My information comes from my own digital, computerized scale and the USDA Nutrient Data Library: http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/