Client favorite: Refrigerator Quiche
This is a quick doula meal I can make just about anywhere. Most families have eggs, and an assortment of tired looking veggies that were meant for something but got overlooked by a new baby in the house. This is a great way to build a whole meal out of a rag tag team of odds and ends, and give a new family something beautiful to eat that lasts beyond one meal.
Veggies and seasonings (vary by season). You can add meat as well (bacon, sausage, bits of ham, etc) but often we don’t have those items on hand, so whatever is available becomes the ingredient list.
The most common arrangement I make is to take an onion and a red pepper, sauté in some olive or coconut oil, seasoned with salt and pepper until caramelized, then deglaze just slightly with 1 T water/broth. Mushrooms are often a hit as well, but you can use anything; cooked broccoli, potatoes, asparagus, etc. I use greens as well, but I don’t precook them.
Mix the egg portion while you cook the veggies:
6 eggs (you can use a higher ratio of yolks to whites for mamas who are building blood as well)
1 pint cottage cheese or ricotta
1 c milk, soymilk, or almond milk
1 ½ c shredded cheese (cheddar, pepper jack, etc)
Tomatoes for topping, sliced to ½ inch thickness
I take a baking dish (pie plate, casserole dish, etc) and grease the bottom and sides. Add the sautéed veggies evenly to the bottom. Add any raw greens you want (I use baby spinach) and pour the egg mixture over the top evenly.
Top with sliced tomatoes, pressing them into the mixture with a fork, to get a bit of egg on the top (bakes in nicely this way).
Bake at 400 degrees for 25 min, then 20 min at 350 to finish off. Done when the middle doesn’t jiggle, or is browned the way you like it. It will come out of the over puffy and amazing, but settles in just a few minutes (get your camera out fast!). Makes a lovely potluck dish as well, and reheats great for leftovers (so essential for those postpartum days with a newborn). Can be eaten warm or room temp, although a few moms admit they eat it cold out of the fridge when desperate!