Hash Brown Ham and Cheese Quiche!

We really like quiches, mainly for supper or even a brunch.  I sometimes make hash browns or fried potatoes for a side with quiche.  This quiche uses the hash browns for the crust so it just combines all of the goodness in one dish. 

My husband gave this recipe the two thumbs up and said it was the best quiche I had ever made and that includes a lot of quiches.  I think the potato crust made it a little hardier than other quiches and that was the appeal for him. 

 Remember back when they used to say 'real men don't eat quiche', wonder why?  All of the men in our family eat quiche, it's eggs, cheese and milk, what's not for a man to like?  And now this one has the one of the other male food groups...potatoes.  I think they were wrong about men and quiche...lol.

 Here is what you will need for this yummy dish:

Ingredients:

3 cups shredded hash browns
4 Tbs. butter, melted and divided
1 cup chopped ham (or you could use browned sausage or crisp cooked bacon)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup half and half
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
dash seasoned salt
dash Tabasco sauce

Thaw hash browns and then press between paper towels to remove any excess moisture.  If you don't do this, the crust will be a little soggy.  Just get the extra moisture out of them, they don't have to be completely dry.

Melt the 3 Tbs. of the  butter in a deep pie plate or a quiche dish.

Toss the hash browns with the butter to coat and then press in the pie plate like a crust.  Make sure to go up the sides.  Pat until it is tight.  Place in a preheated 450 degree oven for about 25 minutes until it is just browning and crispy.  Watch in the last 5 minutes and don't let it burn or brown too much.

Saute the chopped ham in a about 1 Tbs butter until it's just slightly browned.

Place the browned ham in the potato crust once you remove it from the oven.

Mix all of the other ingredients and pour over the ham.  Make sure the cheese is distributed evenly over all.  I place the pie plate or quiche dish on a cookie sheet or pizza pan before filling it.  This will catch any spillovers and make it easier to take it in and out of the oven.  Reduce the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees.  Bake the quiche for 30 minutes.  It should be just browning on top when done.