Flourless Mini Breakfast Quiche with Sausage and Mushrooms

I am constantly on the search for new, innovative ways to serve a low-carb breakfast.  This recipe was pulled by my Number One Fan and came from a website called everydayhealth.com, but I note that it also appears on other "heathlful eating" websites, so it's obviously making the Internet rounds.  As I find with many recipes on the Internet, they have not always been thoroughly vetted, and while some of their techniques sound good, they are not always practical and some just don't work.  Case in point here.  The original recipe has you turning out the quiche on a baking rack and allowing them to cool completely before serving.  It didn't work well, and besides, why the hell anyone wants to eat cold eggs is beyond me.  So, I've given you an alternate method for removing the quiche from the muffin tin below.  Oh, in case I didn't mention it, you will need a twelve-count large muffin tin for this dish, but not the mini-muffin tin in spite of the name of this recipe.

I also felt the recipe needed considerably more onions and cheese, so I have amended this recipe accordingly, with thanks to the initial innovators who dreamed it up to begin with.

Ingredients
9-oz package turkey sausage (like, Jimmy Dean's)
2 tbsp olive oil
4-oz can mushrooms, thoroughly drained (like, Green Giant)
2 green onion, chopped
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
1-1/4 cups Swiss cheese, shredded
5 large eggs
3 egg whites
1 cup milk, low fat (1%)
1 tbsp black pepper
non-stick cooking spray (like, Pam)

The Recipe
Pre-heat oven to 335 degrees and position a rack in the oven's center.  Coat a 12-count large muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.

Heat a skillet over medium high heat with 1/2 the olive oil, and brown the turkey sausage.  If you are using the fully cooked variety of turkey sausage like I was, just heat it through and let some of it brown a little.  Remove to a mixing bowl.

Continuing over medium high heat, add the remaining olive oil, and saute the yellow onions until they are translucent, then add the mushrooms.  Continue to saute until the vegetables become slightly browned, about eight minutes.  Remove to the mixing bowl with the sausage.  Allow this to cool a bit while you prepare the eggs.

Whisk together the eggs, egg whites and milk, thoroughly for about a minute. Set aside.

Add the cheese, green onions and black pepper to the vegetables and combine these ingredients well.

Using a pitcher with a spout, pour the egg mixture into each muffin cup, about 2/3 of the way from the top.

Using a small ice cream scoop, add the vegetable and cheese mixture to each muffin cup, so all ingredients are even with the top of each muffin cup.

Pop the muffin tin into the oven for 35 minutes or until the tops have puffed up a little and are starting to brown.  Insert a toothpick into the center of one of the quiche.  If it comes out clean, the dish is ready.  The original recipe called for 25 minute at 325 degrees, so bear in mind all ovens are a bit different.  The toothpick method, however, is an infallible way to determine if the mini-quiche are done.

Remove the muffin tin from the oven and allow to cool about five minutes.  Then, using a thin knife to go around the edges of each quiche, they should lift out neatly and completely with a spoon.