I’ve told you about how I look to clean out the fridge when I cook, so I don’t unnecessarily waste food. This homemade frittata is the perfect example of that.
A frittata is basically a Quiche without the crust. It contains eggs, a meat, veggies if you want them and generally some kind of cheese.
The perfect part of this dish, is that the ingredients are anything you want them to be.
You always want to use an oven safe pan, because after you saute the veggies, you’ll add the rest and put it in the oven. I use my cast iron frying pan. I love that thing. Nothing beats cast iron.
The Basics In a Homemade Frittata
Eggs
I always use a dozen eggs. When I make a homemade frittata I make a big one. This way, we eat it as breakfast throughout the week or it can be a breakfast for supper kind of thing, which is always good too.
There are only 2 of us at home, so a frittata of this size will last a few days.
Meat
I’ve made homemade frittatas with bacon, sausage and ham. I’ve not used chicken or beef or venison, but I don’t know why you couldn’t.
I generally use about a pound of meat. Some people may not want that much meat and that’s okay. But my husband is a meat and potato kind of guy and he like a lot of meat. But, so do I really.
Veggies
This list could be almost endless. Any kind of veggie you like can go into this. I always start with onion, but the list can vary greatly depending on what you have in the fridge and what you like most.
Here’s a list of all that you can use in a frittata. It’s by no means all inclusive, there are just so many things you can use.
- Green peppers
- Hot peppers
- Mushrooms
- Squash
- Spinach
- Any other kind of greens
- Green Onions
- Asparagus
- Tomatoes
- Potatoes/hash browns
And the list can go on and on. Just look to see what you have in the fridge that needs to be used up, or what you like, chop it up and add it to the skillet.
Cheese
My family loves cheese. I say family because my grandkids LOVE cheese. I refer to my granddaughter as a cheese monster and she agrees.
You can use pretty much anything you can grate, from cheddar of all kinds to Parmesan, goat cheese or ricotta.
Depending on the blending of veggies, meat and spices will depend on the type of cheese you would like to add.
Building Your Homemade Frittata
1. Cook whatever meat you’ve decided to use first. As a rule, a pound will do. If you’re cooking bacon, you’ll want to crumble it after it’s cooked.
2. Chop your veggies and saute them. If you’re using onions, saute them until they become clear. For other veggies, you’ll want to saute them until they just become soft. Remove from heat.
3. Whip the eggs with a whisk. Sometimes I add a little bit of milk because it adds a little bit to it and can make it fluffier, but it’s not necessary. Then add whatever spices you like into the eggs. This could be thyme, basil, rosemary or just salt and pepper.
4. Add your meat and cheese to the eggs and stir just to combine well.
5. Pour your egg mixture into the skillet with the sauteed veggies and then just kind of smooth it out on top spreading everything out evenly.
6. Hopefully you’ve read this whole article before you started so you know to preheat your oven to about 350 deg. Once the oven is ready add your skillet to the oven and cook for about 35 – 40 min. When you insert a knife in the center and it comes out clean, you’re good to go.
Now your homemade frittata is done – what about a topping?
After you remove your frittata from the oven, you can add more cheese, or gravy or even salsa, if you like. Be creative. I bet there are a ton of toppings I haven’t even thought of.
A homemade frittata is not exactly a quick breakfast, but is really good and really easy to make. I like that I can run through the fridge and find a way to use up all the little bits of left overs. Therefore, eliminating allowing them to go bad and having to throw them out.
When you make one, let me know what you put into it and how it turned out. Or if you’ve made them in the past, let me know what all you added to yours. How did you do it differently? I’d love to know, so please let me know in the comments below.
Until next time – Health, Wealth & Blessings – Tracey