Getting Sneaky with Onions

What is it about caramelized onions that is just so stinkin' delish!?! I love how they become so sweet, tender, and almost sticky. Whenever I see a recipe with onions as a main ingredient, I usually push it to the side since my husband HATES onions. We just celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary and over the past few years, I must say, I have become quite an expert at "sneaking" onions into things without him even knowing! So I thought I was in the clear when preparing this recipe, since I was planning to have the quiche baked by the time he came home. Plus, the onions are caramelized, which means they typically melt in your mouth and don't have any crunch left to them (which I think is the part about onions he hates the most.) Well, of course he walks in the door when I'm in the middle of assembling the quiche, meanwhile a WHOLE sliced onion is laying on my cutting board! BUSTED! He immediately gives me "the look", as I throw the pile of onion slices into the bacon grease and tell him "don't worry, babe, I'm cooking them in bacon grease. They won't even taste like onions by the time I'm done with them!" So, we ate the quiche for dinner and guess who went back for seconds? Yup, that's right. My onion-hating husband! 

 Caramelized Onion and Bacon Quiche


Ingredients:


1 refrigerated 9" pie crust
1/2 pound bacon
1 medium white onion, sliced
8 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
5 ounces cream cheese, softened and cubed
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese



Directions:

     1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Allow pie crust to come to room temperature, then place in pie plate, sealing around edges. Poke bottom of crust with a fork (to prevent crust from "puffing up" while baking without any filling.) Bake crust for 10 minutes, then remove from oven.

3. Cut bacon into large, bite-sized pieces. Cook in a large skillet over medium heat until browned. Drain on paper towels. Set aside.

4. Add onions to leftover bacon grease and cook over medium heat until caramelized (at least 15 minutes.) Drain onions on paper towels.

5. Whisk together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.

6. Place bacon pieces into partially cooked pie crust. Layer caramelized onions over the bacon and top with small cubes of cream cheese. Pour egg mixture over top. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

7. Bake about 35 minutes until eggs are set and crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing.

If you are going to cook a whole pound of bacon and buy two refrigerated pie crusts, you can also make 6 mini quiches in a muffin pan. Just add 4 additional eggs to the egg mixture and an extra splash of milk. Use a biscuit cutter or bottom of a drinking glass to cut little circles out of the extra pie crust. Assemble the mini quiches the same way and bake for about 20 minutes in a muffin pan.