Use up those leftovers in the most delicious way by transforming them into a Seriously Delicious frittata! Customize it to your liking with just a few basic ingredients straight from the fridge! Make one and have breakfast for the week or brunch for the family!
So for as long as I can remember Sunday mornings meant sleeping in, lounging around a little bit longer in your pajamas, blueberry buttermilk pancakes for Mr. Fantabulous and a frittata for me. I love eggs in pretty much any fashion where dippy eggs are my most favorite however my 2nd favorite way is in a frittata. Frittatas mean it’s a meal for me that last days. It’s great cold or straight out of the oven. You can slice it, cube it or even put it on toast to make an awesome breakfast sandwich (fyi… a slice of a frittata on an English Muffin with cheese and dash of hot sauce.. EPIC!!!)
What I will do is make a big one on a Sunday morning then for the rest of the week I take a slice in with me to work. This way I’m eating healthy and getting more protein. And it more importantly means I don’t have to grab something in the cafeteria – lord knows this child does NOT do drive-thru… ever! But yeah, frittatas are kinda like the most delicious way to clean out your fridge and re-purpose those leftovers.
So what’s a frittata you ask? So Frittata loosely translates from Italian to ‘fried’. Originally they started out in a hot skillet and were cooked low and slow – much slower than an omelet. It would contain at least one additional item and is never ever folded over like an omelet. So then what’s the difference between that and an omelet? Both are started out in a pan though frittatas are most often made in a well seasoned cast iron pan or an oven-safe pan. Omelets are cooked on top of the stove with the ingredients oven laid on top of the egg mixture then gently folded in half or rolled prior to serving.
Frittatas have their ingredients mixed into the egg mixture or the mixture is poured over top of it. It is cooked on top of the stove for a few minutes or just until the edges of the eggs are set then the entire pan is transferred to a pre-heated oven to finish cooking. While omelets are generally served to an individual person, frittatas are often cut like slices of pies and shared. Well okay you don’t technically have to share it just sayin’…
The beauty about making a frittata is that it’s truly the lazy man’s recipe. The only thing you really have to measure is how much milk you put in with your eggs – that’s it. Just dump the rest of the ingredients (as little or as much as you want) in the pan, saute it up (if need be), dump in the egg mixture, cook on the stove til the edges set and then pop it in the oven.
Let’s recap:
- Dump
- Saute (optional)
- Dump again
- Cook a few minutes on the stove
- Pop it in the oven to finish baking
YOU CAN DO IT (as she says in her best Arnold impression… fyi yeah I can’t do an Arnold impression)
Though I call this a Sunday Frittata you can call it a Thursday frittata or a Wednesday afternoon frittata. You literally can make them anytime you want. I just choose to make mine on Sundays as that’s typically my big bulk meal prep for the week. I get my lunches for work done as well as with this, my breakfasts. And the beauty of these is that the flavors are never the same as I literally go by what’s leftover in my fridge.
So for example the other day I had pot roast, fried potatoes, bacon, cooked broccolini and roasted peppers in the fridge. All of that went into my frittata. I’ve made it with shredded pulled pork, bacon, caramelized onions and bbq sauce. Slices of leftover steak, mushrooms, chopped baked potatoes and cheese rock as well. And I know what you’re thinking…. what about seafood? Yep!!! One of my favorites is jumbo lump crab, artichokes, asparagus, spinach and gruyere is AMAZING!
I’m thinking about making a western burger frittata with leftover cooked burgers, bacon, bbq sauce, beans and topping it with some crispy onions when I serve it. Sounds good, huh?
It’s funny, growing up if Mom gave us eggs for dinner it meant she wasn’t in the mood for cooking or she was mad at my dad. Stuff like that was looked down upon as well, that’s not how June Clever would have done it (um for those of you that don’t know who that is, she’s a 50’s tv Mom that was a stay at home Mom that always was in a dress or nice clothes, kept a well maintained house and served real meals with real foods – i.e., eggs were for breakfast, never dinner). However nowadays when you go into a restaurant you can order almost any time of the day and getting an egg on something is now considered upscale.
And well if someone offers a frittata on a dinner menu for $30 bucks because it as imported cheese, eggs from a golden goose and truffle this or that… seriously, don’t order it. It’s JUST EGGS people. Don’t over complicate it. What’s that saying.. KISS – keep it simple stupid. Yeah I don’t like the word stupid ether but you get my gist. It’s just eggs and basic ingredients. You don’t need to fancify things or make them fancy schmancy with $47 cheese or imported this. Go with what you have.
Okay so there is a just a wee bit of FYI you need to know when making these. The most important thing that honestly does matter is the egg to dairy ratio. You can’t just toss in a few eggs and guess on the milk. You won’t get the right outcome with the frittata – it’ll either not set or it’ll almost curdle and get ‘grainy’. The rule of thumb is this:
12 eggs = 1/2 cup of dairy (I go with half & half or cream)
6 eggs = 1/4 cup of dairy
Going with anything smaller is tough. You *could* go with 3 eggs and a 1/8th cup of dairy BUT you need to make sure you have a small enough pan. For that size I’m thinking 4-6″ pan.
So I’m giving you a missing…. Mission Fridge Frittata! Grab your ingredients and whip up one seriously delicious frittata that you can share with the family or have for the week! And when you make yours, snap a pic and post it on Instagram tagging @thekitchenwhisperer or posting it on our facebook page tagging us. Don’t forget to use hashtag #thekitchenwhisperer too! I want to see your creations! Plus I want more frittata ideas and flavor combinations!
Sunday Frittata – the most delicious way to use up leftovers!
Find more fantabulous recipes, tips and tricks at www.thekitchenwhisperer.net. Also, join our TKW Family on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram
Ingredients
- 8 large eggs
- 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoon half and half or heavy cream (no fat free to skim)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 4 slices bacon
- 1 large shallot, chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped red, orange and yellow peppers
- 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
- 15–20 potato tots or 3 large frozen hash browns (about a cup of potatoes)
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 3/4 cup grated Colby jack or sharp cheddar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F, rack in the middle. In a well-seasoned COLD 10” cast iron pan add the bacon and put the heat to medium-low. Cook the bacon until crispy on both sides. Remove from the pan and place on a paper-towel lined plate. Remove all but 2 tablespoon of the bacon grease.
- Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the pan turning the heat to medium and add in the shallots, peppers, mushrooms and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Sauté for 5-7 minutes or until the shallots & peppers have softened and the mushrooms have removed all of their liquid. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add in the potato tots and cook for 5-10 minutes or until they are soft and start to break down into smaller pieces. Just crisp these use slightly. Remove from the pan. In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, 1/2 cup of cheese, remaining salt, pepper and paprika.
- Increase the heat to medium-high. Add in the remaining butter and coat all sides. Next, add in the potatoes, crispy bacon and rest of the veggies to the pan. Pour in the egg mixture. Tilt the pan around to make sure the egg mixture covers all of the veggies.
- Cook for one-two minutes or until you see the edges of the eggs start to set – do NOT stir.
- Top with the remaining cheese and put the pan into the oven baking for 8-12 minutes. Do not overbake. Start with 8 minutes and check – just cut a small slit in the center of the egg mixture. If the eggs are still runny and pool to where the slit is, bake a few minutes more. Keep checking every few minutes til done.
- Once done, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 5-8 minutes. Slice and serve.
- Store leftovers (though let’s be real, you won’t have any) covered and in the fridge.
Notes
Now remember you can go with anything you have in your fridge. Just keep the egg to dairy ratio as listed in the recipe.
Suggestions:
– Pot roast, fried potatoes, bacon, cooked broccolini and roasted peppers
– Shredded pulled pork, bacon, caramelized onions and bbq sauce
– Slices of leftover steak, mushrooms, chopped baked potatoes and cheese
– And I know what you’re thinking…. what about seafood? Yep!!! One of my favorites is jumbo lump crab, artichokes, asparagus, spinach and gruyere is AMAZING!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6-8
Leave a Reply