Cooking, crafts and children: Sweet Potato "crust"ed Quiche

I typically steer clear of Quiche when I see them on a menu places. They sound good in theory, eggs, cheese, assorted veggies, but when you order them out they're typically pre-made an reheated when you order and they're made in a pie shell, which defeats all the healthiness that is perceieved from teh veggies and eggs.

When my Food Network June magazine arrived, I was excited to see there was an altnerative to the crust, they used a potato crust, sounds good, right? Well, it was, but there was a decrease in flavor when I took away the crust.

Back to the drawing board. . .what would be a healthy alternative and have a yummy taste? SWEET POTATO! The sweet potato "crust' adds a lot of flavor to the quiche and it makes the meal actually healthy.

Start off by preheating your oven to 375. Using a vegetable peeler I shaved long thing strips of sweet potato and arranged them on a cookie sheet. Thiner is definitly better for this, thicker pieces will create bigger gaps later and the egg mixture will seap through. Add some salt and pepper to the cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. It doesn't take long since the sweet potato is so thin, but you want it to be very pliable.

While the sweet potato is baking, chop the rest of your veggies, today I opted for broccoli (a must in my opinion), onion, sweet peppper, and carrots. Sautee the veggies, set aside.

Whisk 3 eggs, 1 cup of milk, 1/2 tsp of cayenne, 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp ground pepper and set aside.

Reduce the oven heat to 350.

Now for the assembly. Start with a pie pan, spray or oil the pan so the potatoes don't stick. Overlap as much as possible and up the sides of the pie pan. Next, add your veggies, top with a handful of mozeralla cheese. Carefully pour the egg mixture on top and place in the oven for 40 - 50 minutes.

Before (pre-egg mixture)