Simply Frittata, by Grizelle

This evening, when I got home from work, I didn't have anything prepared for dinner, so I made a quick plain frittata. Start to finish, including taking stuff out of the fridge & pantry, to cleanup of the dishes was under 15 min. A real time saver is having pre-shredded cheese.

The one I made is a really plain one, but there are some other fillings suggested at the bottom.



Skillet frittata: This makes enough for 2 nice sized servings.

Time: approx 15 min - from start to cleanup

Mats:
4 large eggs
2 Tbsp half and half or milk
seasonings (salt, pepper, herbs such as basil, thyme)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 garlic glove, finely chopped
2 large basil leaves, finely chopped (if you don't have any fresh herbs, a pinch of the dried herb of your choice in the egg mixture works fine)
2 oz. dry quick cook Chinese noodles (these usually come in 8 oz. bags, with 2 noodle cakes per bag - just break one cake in half, that is the right amount) or a half package of Ramen noodles. If you have about a cup of leftover cooked spaghetti or angel hair pasta, that works too.
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Hot sauce or chopped tomatoes, etc. for garnish

Step 1. Get all your ingredients out first and place them in your work area

Step 2. Bring approx 3 cups water to a boil in a medium sauce pan. While you are waiting for the water to boil,chop the onion, garlic, and herbs and place them in a small bowl.

Step 3. When the water is boiling, add the dry noodles, and cook approx 2 - 3 min until just beginning to get tender, remove pan from heat, drain noodles in a kitchen strainer

Step 4. In another small bowl, beat the eggs & milk together with a fork, just until blended.
*Pre-heat the oil in a medium sized non-stick skillet.

Step 5. Sautee garlic, onion, and herbs on medium or medium low heat until the onion starts to get transparent (about 3 min), distribute vegetables evenly over the bottom of the skillet.

Step 6. Adding in the rest. Start by spreading the cooked, drained noodles evenly on top of sauteed vegetables. Sprinkle noodles with a pinch of salt and pepper. Lastly, carefully pour egg mixture over top of noodles.

Step 7. Make small cuts in the frittata as it starts to set, allowing the egg mixture to run through the cracks, and keep the edges loosened from the side of the pan. When the frittata starts to get firm, do not make any more cuts.

Step 8. Now, here is the tricky part...to brown both sides without using the oven, you need to flip the frittata over in the skillet. I use a heat resistant plate that is just a bit larger than the skillet to do this. I flip the frittata on the plate, browned side up, and then slide it back into the skillet.



Step 9. Sprinkle the top with shredded cheese. You can cover the skillet so the cheese melts quicker, about 1 - 2 minutes.

Step 10. Slide frittata onto serving plate and garnish with herbs, chopped tomatoes, hot sauce, etc. Cut into wedges to serve.



My dinner!


Frittata filling variations:

-Fresh or frozen (thawed & drained) chopped spinach or asparagus tips, with garlic, onion, and use grated Romano, Parmesan or Asiago cheese as the topping

-Sun dried tomato (reconstituted in hot water then drained and chopped), basil, garlic, and onion with mozzarella and/or Parmesan on top

-Chopped ham or Canadian bacon, onion, mushrooms with cheddar on top. (The mushrooms I like to use are the crimini also called "baby bella" small brown ones. They have a lot of nutritional value in terms of trace minerals, as well as more flavor than white button mushrooms.)

For sides, fresh fruit goes really well with these, especially pineapple, grapes, and melons.