Frittata, or: How To Empty Out Your Fridge

My parents came over for breakfast last Sunday morning. That's a rare treat - they live a few states away, and I don't get to cook breakfast nearly enough (hint to friends and family: I love cooking breakfast. And Pies. Maybe even Pies for Breakfast?).

Where was I?

So, my parents were coming over. I had some some red bell pepper strips, some yellow bell pepper strips, a half a yellow onion, a half dozen eggs, a pound of sausage. A cabinet full of herbs.

I debated between making this and Baked French Toast. But I would have had to thaw the French bread for the French toast.

So that's how I made my decision.

The Frittata was awesome. I'm totally going to brag on myself here. It was awesome. Served with a salad, it was the perfect brunch. Well, I didn't serve Mimosas, so maybe it wasn't the perfect brunch. But that's ok with me - it gives me something to strive for.

This isn't really a recipe - it's more like mixing odds and ends with some beaten eggs and cooking it. But here's my basic process. I use one skillet - my iron skillet - for everything.



Cook up about 1/2 pound of whatever meat you have - diced ham, sausage, bacon, etc ( I had sausage). Drain sausage in a colander, bacon on paper towels. Do NOT, please for the love of holy grease, do NOT wipe out the skillet. While the meat's draining:

Saute about 1-2 cups of vegetables in the iron skillet. I used about a cup of mixed red and yellow bell peppers and a half cup of onion. While that's cooking:

Whisk six eggs in a medium bowl with a little milk. Add in some dried basil (or dill, if you're a dill fan). I don't measure here, so just flow with me. Then I grabbed some garlic powder, a few twists of fresh ground black pepper, and a pinch of salt. Whisk it all in. Then dump in about a half cup of shredded cheese - I used Colby Jack.

Put the sausage back in the skillet with the peppers and stir around. Pour the egg/cheese mixture over the top and stir around to make sure egg is surrounding everything. Now, put your spoon aside and let it cook over medium heat for about 7 minutes - you want the eggs to be done on the bottom. In the meantime, heat your broiler.

When you're ready, put the entire skillet under the broiler until the eggs are done all the way through (About 4 or 5 minutes). Sprinkle about 1/2 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese over the top and pop back under the broiler for about a minute.

Cut into wedges and serve.