Louisiana Crawfish Quiche Muffins

I don't remember ever seeing quiche cooked in muffin pans.  This made me curious to know if I could do it.  I was contacted by a reader who asked for a recipe using left over crawfish tails about the same time.  I thought it would be really cool to marry the two.  It's still crawfish season in Louisiana so I figured, "what the hell?" I love being contacted for recipes or cooking advice and I have tried to always reply as soon as possible.  The beautiful thing about this is that had she not contacted me for a crawfish recipe, I might have made this differently or not at all.  So thanks to my new friend in Mobile, Alabama (you know who you are) for inspiring me to create this dish for you, me, and the rest of our Everyday Gumbo family.  Hope you enjoy!

 I ran this today as a lunch special with wilted baby spinach and topped the quiche with crawfish cheddar bechamel.  It is without a doubt, one of the best received specials I have run yet! 

LOUISIANA CRAWFISH QUICHE MUFFINS

PREPARATION

2 EACH FROZEN PIE SHELLS

2 TBSP OLIVE OIL

2 LBS CRAWFISH TAILS

1 CUP ONIONS - SMALL DICE

1 CUP GREEN BELL PEPPER - SMALL DICE

1 CUP CELERY - SMALL DICE

1 EACH LEMON - JUICE ONLY

1 EACH ORANGE - JUICE ONLY

1 EACH BAY LEAF

1 TSP CREOLE SEASONING

1/2 TSP GRANULATED GARLIC

1/2 TSP GRANULATED ONION

1/2 TSP PAPRIKA

30 EACH LARGE WHITE EGGS

1/2 CUP WHOLE MILK

1/2 CUP SHREDDED CHEDDAR CHEESE

1/2 CUP SHREDDED PEPPERJACK CHEESE

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

• PREHEAT OVEN TO 300 DEGREES
• GREASE 8OZ 12 COUNT MUFFIN PAN WITH COOKING SPRAY
• THAW PIE SHELLS 
• CUT 2 INCH ROUNDS WITH RING MOLD OR PARING KNIFE OUT OF PIE SHELL BASES. YOU NEED 12 TOTAL
• PLACE PIE SHELL ROUNDS IN BOTTOM OF THE MUFFIN CUPS
• WHIP EGGS IN BLENDER FOR APPROXIMATELY 1 MINUTE UNTIL LIQUID IS FROTHY (OR USE HAND HELD BLENDER IN LARGE MIXING BOW - THATS WHAT I DID.)
• ADD MILK AND BLEND FOR ADDITIONAL 10-20 SECONDS
• POUR INTO LARGE MIXING BOWL AND REFRIGERATE
• HEAT OLIVE OIL IN LARGE SKILLET ON MEDIUM HIGH HEAT FOR 1 MINUTE
• ADD ONIONS, CELERY, AND BELL PEPPER AND SAUTE FOR 3 MINUTES UNTIL ONIONS BECOME TRANSLUCENT
• ADD CRAWFISH TAILS, CITRUS JUICES, AND DRY SEASONINGS
• COOK FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES UNTIL ALMOST ALL OF THE JUICE IS EVAPORATED
• REMOVE FROM HEAT AND AND LET COOL FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES
• REMOVE BAY LEAF AND THEN ADD CRAWFISH MIXTURE TO EGGS
• ADD CHEESES TO EGG MIXTURE AND STIR WELL
• USING A 6 OUNCE LADEL, FILL EACH MUFFIN CUP MAKING SURE TO MIX THE EGGS WELL AS YOU PORTION THEM OUT TO ENSURE EVEN DISTRIBUTION OF CRAWFISH, CHEESE, AND VEGGIES. YOU WANT THE MUFFIN CUPS FILLED ABOUT AN 1/8-1/4 INCH FROM THE TOP (ABOUT 7OZ)
• PLACE MUFFIN PAN IN OVEN ON MIDDLE RACK UNCOVERED AND BAKE FOR 10 MINUTES
• REDUCE OVEN TEMPERATURE TO 250 DEGREES AND CONTINUE COOKING FOR AN ADDITIONAL 20 MINUTES
• REMOVE QUICHE MUFFINS FROM OVEN ONCE THEY HAVE RISEN AND BROWNED AND LET COOL FOR 5 MINUTES
• USING A PARING KNIFE, RUN THE KNIFE ALONG THE OUTSIDES OF EACH MUFFIN CUP TO FREE IF STUCK
• USING TONGS, REMOVE MUFFINS BY CAREFULLY TWISTING THE MUFFIN LEFT TO RIGHT AS YOU SLOWLY PULL UP AWAY FROM THE PAN
• SET ON PLATE OR BAKING DISH TO SERVE

PREP TIME - 1 HOUR

SERVES - 12