Canadian Bacon & Egg Breakfast Pie

This is really a crustless quiche, but with a twist using Canadian Bacon as the "crust" and an overall simpler recipe than my 2017 Crustless Quiche Lorraine, found here.  This took all of fifteen minutes to prepare, then about an hour to cook.  I came up with this on a lark because we seemed to have two packages of Canadian Bacon that had gone beyond their expiration date and needed to be eaten.  I wasn't overly concerned with the expiration date because Canadian Bacon is fully cured and cooked, but I wasn't taking any chances in keeping it around much longer.

The end result was delicious.  I ate mine served over toast.  My Number One Fan had her toast on the side.  Serving with toast kind of defeated the low-carb effect of the dish, but it was a chilly, overcast autumn day and we were clearly wanting to be well within our comfort zones.

Ingredients
16 slices of Canadian Bacon (like, Jones Center Cut Pork Loin Hickory Smoked)
8 extra large eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp dried chives
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
non-stick cooking spray, butter flavored (like, Pam) 

The Recipe
Remove the Canadian Bacon from its packaging and dry well on paper towels. Pre-heat the oven to 375F degrees.

Spray a large skillet with the butter flavored non-stick spray and over medium high heat, sauté the Canadian Bacon until browned on each side, about 3-4 minutes per side.  Remove to a platter.  You will probably have to do this in batches.  Don't worry about keeping the Canadian bacon warm.

It's important to dry the Canadian Bacon well, and then sauté the slices to not only brown them, but also to remove moisture.  Canadian Bacon has a fair amount of water in it which you want to remove as much as possible, otherwise, water will leach into the eggs as the dish cooks, which would make for runny and less appetizing eggs.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, chives, salt and pepper until well blended.

Spray the non-stick spray in a 9-inch Pyrex pie dish.  Lay down seven of the bacon slices in the bottom of the dish.  Then, arrange the remaining nine slices around the edge of the pie dish, side-by-side or overlapping slightly.

Add the Gruyere cheese to the pie dish, covering the bottom slices of Canadian bacon, then pour in the egg and cream mixture.  Top with the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Place in the top third of the pre-heated oven for 50 minutes to an hour until the top is browned and a knife or fork when inserted into the center of the pie comes out clean.

Cut into wedges and serve over hot, buttered toast or as-is, if you prefer.