Cajun Quiche in a Rice Crust

Photo from Cooking Light

Source: Cooking Light, January 2006

If you don't have cooked rice on hand, use boil-in-a-bag rice (such as Success Rice) and follow the microwave directions. Cool the rice slightly before adding egg. Total time: 45 minutes.

Crust:
2 cups cooked long-grain white rice, cooled
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
Cooking spray
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded cheddar cheese

Filling:
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 ounces andouille sausage or kielbasa, chopped (about 2/3 cup)
3 eggs
1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
1 large egg
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375°.

To prepare crust, combine rice, garlic powder, onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 egg. Spread mixture into the bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle bottom of crust evenly with 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese.

To prepare filling, heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and the next 4 ingredients (through sausage); sauté 5 minutes. Spoon mixture evenly into prepared rice crust. Combine the egg substitute, fat-free yogurt, salt, hot pepper sauce, and egg whites; stir with a whisk until well blended. Pour egg substitute mixture over sausage mixture. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until the center is set. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

4 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)NUTRITION PER SERVING: CALORIES 291(32% from fat); FAT 10.3g (sat 4.5g,mono 3.7g,poly 1.6g); PROTEIN 19.5g; CHOLESTEROL 79mg; CALCIUM 181mg; SODIUM 623mg; FIBER 0.9g; IRON 2.8mg; CARBOHYDRATE 29.4g

Holly Rudin Braschi, Cooking Light, JANUARY 2006

My notes: I did not use any of the prechopped or convenience vegetables the CL recipe calls for, I used fresh. I also used regular eggs instead of egg substitute (not a fan of egg substitute) and used regular cheese in place of reduced-fat. However, I did use a lower-fat smoked sausage, so I don't think the fat content was terribly high, even with the regular cheese and eggs. This recipe was not at all spicy with plain smoked sausage, so I would up the tabasco or even better, add some Cajun seasoning to give this more kick. All in all an okay recipe that could be better with some tweaking.

I talked about this recipe HERE.