Mama Made Easy: Frittata

I love frittata for a couple of reasons. It's easy. I works for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It's great for reinventing little bits of leftovers, and left over frittata is easy to reinvent. It has a fancy name, but basically it's an omelet.
You start by sauteing whatever you have on hand to put in it. My favorite things to add are breakfast meat, diced onion & potato, mushroom, spinach, yellow squash (I'm not a huge yellow squash fan, but I REALLY like it in frittata), beans (especially seasoned beans left over from beans and rice are really good adding a creaminess and flavor to the dish). I always dig through the fridge looking for leftovers when I make it. All kinds of left overs can make it in, be willing to just throw it in there and try if you think it might be good. Left over pasta, rice, green beans, just whatever you have. I will saute any uncooked meat and any uncooked veggies first. I always add any frozen veggies towards the end if I don't want them droopy and pathetic, and anything that is already cooked very last. I don't like to buy tomatoes out of season, but I love to use sun dried tomatoes with egg dishes. Since I'm cooking for the girls I take the time to rehydrate them in some hot water before I start chopping potatoes, but if it's just me I don't bother. Their sweet acidity adds a great punch to the eggs and tastes so much better than the styrofoam tomatoes at the store. While you are sauteing, beat your eggs with about a tablespoon of milk or water per egg. I would add more if I was stretching it to feed a lot of people, but I never measure. I make the frittata as big as I can so I will have leftovers, but you probably want to do about two eggs per person. If you are inclined you might want to pop it all in the blender or whip them a while to make it more fluffy. I don't go to the trouble, but I'm sure it's good. Add in any spices. Fresh herbs are especially good, if you have them. I usually go with a either an Italian (thyme, basil, oregano, etc) or Mexican (cumin, cilantro, chili powder, etc) flavor theme. Lower the heat on your pan to medium low, and take the pan off the heat. Make sure your sauteed veggies are spread evenly in the pan, and the pour the eggs over, making sure it covers the whole bottom of the pan, and put it back on the heat (this is to let the pan cool down a bit, you want the eggs to cook a little slower so they don't get rubbery). Then grate cheese over the top. Let it cook until the bottom seems to be set, and the edges are cooked, but the middle is runny. Then pop it into the oven under the broiler. It's done when it's puffed up and brown. Serve it in wedges like quiche, and add a salad for dinner, or toast for breakfast. The leftovers are some of my favorite part. Just put some mayo and mustard on bread and pop a wedge of frittata between them and you have a fabulous sandwich. I'll make this a lot when I have a busy day, because cooking once gets me two meals, and I also make it for unexpected dinner guests, as we almost always have eggs and leftovers in the fridge. The girls and I love it. Hope you will too! c