October is party month: birthday parties, Oktoberfest parties and lots and LOTS of Halloween parties. Parties require party food. My favorites are cute-bite sized treats that your guest can pick up with one hand so they don't have to put down their tasty drink. No one likes to put their drink down at a party! A really simple finger food to make (and is vegetarian-friendly) are mini quiches. They look fancy and like you have mad cooking skills but in reality it's just you, pre-made pie dough and a biscuit cutter. 10 minutes tops to assemble! 
What's your favorite easy-to-assemble party dish?


[On an unrelated side note, a friend recently gave me a heads up that my blog's comment box has not been working correctly. Sorry about the inconvenience. The issue's been repaired, so feel free to comment away folks!]   ;)


Mini Cheesy Spinach Quiches
makes 48 tiny quiches

Ingredients

1 pkg. pre-made pie crust (I like Trader Joe's brand, it comes with 2 pie crusts)

1 (10 oz.) box of frozen, chopped spinach

2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese (you can find this where the shredded cheese is at your store)

1 (16 oz.) container cottage cheese

1 bunch of green onion, white parts only sliced

4 eggs, lightly beaten

salt and freshly grounded pepper

 
Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Defrost frozen spinach. Then place spinach in a colander and press out remaining water.

3. Using a small biscuit cutter or lip of a shot glass, stamp out your dough.

4. Press each dough round into the hole of your pre-greased mini-muffin tin. (I usually give the tin a light squirt with some cooking spray.)

5. In a bowl, combine spinach, shredded cheese, cottage cheese, green onion, eggs, salt and pepper together. Mix well.

6. Using a spoon, fill each pie crust about 3/4 full.

7. Place tin in oven and bake 20-22 minutes, until edges are a light golden brown. Insert a toothpick in the middle of a quiche, if it comes out clean the quiche are done.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Pop the quiches out of the tin with a paring knife.

Note: You can make these quiches to suit your taste by subbing in red peppers, bacon, mushrooms, Gruyere...whatever you like. They're very versatile.