Hot and Spicy Qrunch Crust Quiche

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A couple of weeks ago I got asked to go on CBS 6's "Virginia This Morning" in honor of Hot and Spicy Food Day (which is tomorrow, so get your chili peppers!). I was asked to tasked with talking about how you can celebrate such an auspicious holiday and incorporate Qrunch Organics, which is a brand ATOB has worked with before. Part of this involved bringing homemade spicy foods to the studio.

If you caught the segment, I ended up making a spicy salad (regular salad topped with a Qrunch burger and chili powder-infused Italian dressing), some spicy nuts, and a Qrunch crust quiche.

I'll talk about the nuts first because they were the easiest. I modified this recipe and subbed canola oil for the coconut oil and chili powder for the cayenne. I also omitted the paprika. This was truly an easy concoction, and I'll probably make it again soon to impress my millennial peers.

My spicy Qrunch crust quiche was the real showstopper. Qrunch Organics has a quiche recipe on their website, which I followed with a few modifications and tips. The crust is made exactly as they describe except with only Original Qrunch Burgers and I used four as opposed to five (I also had an 8 and 3/4" aluminum pie pan). The Spicy Italian burgers were sold out at my local Kroger. *insert tearful emoji*

The benefits of Qrunch Burgers are numerous. They're organic (it is called Qrunch Organics), gluten-free, and soy-free. That last part is a rarity. This is an awesome alternative to traditional soy-based veggie burgers.

The recipe says to thaw the Qrunch Burgers, but el oh el, I just nuked four in the microwave for two minutes. I then used a fork to mash them with the eggs and butter. I also used the fork to meld the mix to the pie pan because I don't like getting my fingers dirty (it means I can't Snapchat and Instagram while cooking, duh).

Into the oven went the quiche crust, and I cannot describe how heavenly it smelled when it emerged. I noticed the crust tended to rise in the center with an air pocket, but I used a spatula to push it down once I took it out. Thankfully, the crust did not crack because that would have been a bummer.

For the filling, I used a full onion as opposed to the recipe's recommended half an onion. I don't eat onions a lot so I felt like the other half would go to waste, so why not throw it in?

Finally, I added my secret ingredient. The Qrunch Quiche recipe is not meant to be spicy, but I had to make it spicy for Hot and Spicy Food Day, so I chopped up two Anaheim peppers and tossed them in. I didn't cook them beforehand.

Two peppers might have been too much, but I bought two, and again, what was I gonna do with the remaining one? Also, go big or go home? (A GI doctor might say actually, "You're gonna be in the bathroom," but that's a different problem.)

For the rest of the filling, Qrunch recommends eight eggs. Now that's a lot. Ordinarily I use five eggs when making a quiche. Nevertheless, I followed suit. I also added mozzarella along with the Parmesan. But the Parmesan is a great idea. It adds a sharper, richer taste than a typical quiche.

Inevitably, not all the filling fit into the crust. I ended up scrambling the rest. So my tip is, use two less eggs and maybe don't include that extra half of onion. And maybe one Anaheim pepper.

*tastes scramble*

Yeah, just one pepper will do it.

And then you wait.

I really like this recipe because I tend to watch my carb intake. For brunch I'd rather expend my calories on mimosas and cocktails. That means I often make crustless quiches. However, the crust is the best part of a quiche (well, after the cheese). This Qrunch crust offers an awesome way to have a nutritious crust that's gluten-free, fibrous, and altogether healthy.

Also, did I mention how good the crust smells?

Here is the final creation! Bon appétit!