POTS AND PANS CITY BLOG

There is nothing better tasting for breakfast (and nothing more classic) than bacon and eggs.  This wonderfully tasty egg dish satisfies your breakfast craving with the addition of salty bacon and zesty cheese.  You can spice it up even more by using your favorite hot pepper sauce.

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 2 TBSP. butter, melted
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 5 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• Salt and pepper
• Hot pepper sauce (optional)

Beat eggs, milk, garlic, onions, hot sauce (if using) and butter together in a bowl.  Pour into a medium frying pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook on stovetop over medium heat until eggs are nearly set (3-4 minutes).  Remove from heat.  Lay the crumbled bacon on top of the eggs.  Sprinkle the cheese over all.  Place under the broiler of your oven and broil until cheese is melted and eggs are set.

A frittata is one of those great egg dishes that can be served for breakfast, lunch or supper. Here is a fantastically tasty recipe that just fits the lunchtime or suppertime bill. Including the spinach as the vegetable and the potato as the staple, it includes everything you need for a satisfying meal. The crisp cheddar cheese topping makes it taste extra-special.

Ingredients:

• 2 TBSP. olive oil
• 3 medium potatoes, sliced thinly
• 1 ½ cups fresh spinach leaves, torn
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 6 eggs
• 1/3 cup milk
• ½ cup cheddar cheese
• Salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add sliced potatoes. Cover pan and cook about 10 minutes until potatoes are cooked through but still a bit firm. Add garlic, spinach and onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for about 1-2 minutes, until spinach is wilted.

Whisk eggs and milk together in a medium bowl. Pour mixture on top of spinach in the frying pan. Sprinkle the cheese over all. Reduce the heat to low and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Remove the pan to the oven and place under the broiler until the cheese is melted and the eggs are firm.

This spicy version of a frittata is not strictly Italian, even though hot Italian sausages are used.  The paprika and chili powder add to the spicy-ness and gives this tasty frittata a bit of heat.

Ingredients:
6 eggs
2 Hot Italian sausages
1 large onion
¼ cup milk

1 red bell pepper

1 TBSP. olive oil
½ cup Mozzarella cheese

½ tsp. paprika

½ tsp. chili powder
Salt
Pepper

Prepare the sausage: Take a sharp knife and run it down each sausage.  Then remove the meat from the sausage casing.  Chop onion and red pepper into thin slices.  Beat eggs, milk and spices together.

In an ovenproof pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the sausage meat, onion and pepper and sauté until the sausage is browned.  Add the egg-milk mixture into the pan and mix it together with the sausage and vegetables.  Cook on the stovetop until eggs are barely set. Remove from heat and top with the cheese.  Place the whole skillet under your broiler until the cheese is melted and browned.

Here is a tasty recipe that can be used as a lunch or brunch dish.  The added chicken to the vegetables and eggs makes it a total meal in itself and the fresh sage cooked under the broiler gives it great flavor.

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 medium potato
1 medium onion
1 cup shredded cooked chicken
¼ cup milk
½ red bell pepper

½ green bell pepper

1 TBSP. olive oil
½ cup Mozzarella cheese

4-5 fresh sage leaves, torn
Salt
Pepper

Peel the potatoes and dice into ½” cubes.  Chop onion and peppers into thin slices.  Beat eggs, milk and salt together.

In an ovenproof pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the potatoes and sauté until the potatoes are tender.  Add the egg-milk mixture into the pan and spread the chicken and vegetables over all.  Cook on the stovetop until eggs are barely set. Turn on your oven broiler to preheat.  Remove the egg-potato mixture from the heat and top with the sage leaves and then the cheese.  Place the whole skillet under your broiler until the cheese is melted and browned.

There seems to be a bit of discussion about what a frittata (pronounced ‘free-TAH-tah) really is.  Is it a type of quiche, or is it an omelette?  To give the first two definitions, a quiche typically is an egg dish made with cream baked in a crust, almost like a pie.  A quiche can have a variety of ingredients added into it to create many different styles and tastes. An omelette, on the other hand, is simply beaten eggs cooked with butter or oil in a frying pan with the firmed-up egg folded around various ingredients.  Typical omelette ingredients include cheese, onions, bacon, mushrooms, other vegetables, ham or other meats.

Now a frittata is an egg dish that has its origins in Italy.  It is something like an open-faced Italian omelet, but the eggs are not folded over the ingredients.  It typically starts in a skillet but is finished up being baked in the oven or put under the oven’s broiler.  The ingredients in a frittata are usually fully mixed in with the beaten eggs before the cooking starts.

Another method of making a frittata is to cook the eggs and fillings together in one pan until the bottom is set, and then invert the frittata into another pan to finish cooking the other side.  Frittatas are usually served hot, but you may find some appetizer frittatas that are served at room temperature.

Frittatas are a good meal choice for any time of the day-breakfast, lunch or dinner. Any egg dish naturally goes for breakfast, but the versatile frittata can be a good choice for lunch or dinner too.  Frittatas are even easy to transport, cut into a wedges, and taken as a snack or for a lunchtime meal.  They are a healthier alternative to take for lunch than the typical fast food restaurant fare.  For dinner a frittata meal can contain foods from all the food groups, especially when paired with some fresh Italian bread and a side salad. Some frittatas may even contain leftover pasta or potatoes to make it even more a complete meal.

Frittatas can contain any number of different ingredients.  Fresh vegetables, mushrooms, cheeses, meat, potatoes, different herbs or any combination thereof are common.  Leftover vegetables or cooked meat are also great in frittatas.  Herbs, fresh or dried, can also add a lot of flavor to a frittata, or you could use your favorite hot pepper sauce to spice it up as well.

For health conscious people, frittatas can also be made with egg substitutes.  Using egg substitutes (that you can find in any grocery store) could be a good way for you to enjoy the great taste of a frittata while still watching your cholesterol intake.  You could also make a frittata just using egg whites.  In that case, just use a pinch of turmeric to add a bit of color and a little bit of extra spices to add to the taste.

When cooking a frittata, it is wise to use a non-stick frying pan or skillet.  In that way, you do not have to use any cooking oil or butter so the eggs don’t stick to the pan.  Your frittata will slide right out of the pan easily.  Using a skillet that will go from stovetop to your oven is also advisable.

Many people enjoy the great taste of a frittata.  They are easy to make and are healthy too.  The flavor combinations that you can create in a frittata are only limited by your imagination.  Various herbs, vegetables, spices, meats, and cheeses provide a basis for your culinary talents to expand when making a frittata.  Try one on your family today.  They won’t be disappointed by your efforts.

Among the recommendations in the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans is the advice to eat more vegetables.

Though the amount varies from person to person, an adult eating a total of 2,000 calories a day should have about 2 1/2 cups of vegetables a day. Children can eat proportionately fewer cups, but they also need to have a good assortment of veggies daily. The Guidelines recommend a mix of dark-green, orange and starchy vegetables, plus legumes (such as cooked dry beans) and other vegetables.

As you harvest summer’s bounty from your garden or the supermarket, keep eggs in mind. Versatile eggs can help you increase your family’s vegetable intake. The complete protein that eggs provide can turn the incomplete protein of vegetables into a main dish. In turn, veggies supply carbohydrates and fiber to make a well-balanced meal. Vegetables, in fact, make good flavoring foods for a number of quick-to-fix egg dishes.

Fried rice is one easy-to-make example. To cook it, simply stir-fry cooked rice with veggies, pour on eggs mixed with a touch of soy sauce and scramble. You can also turn vegetable soup into a hearty entree by poaching eggs in it. It’s quick and easy, too, to cook a frittata, an unfolded, family-sized omelet that makes a handy skillet supper. Just pour seasoned eggs over cooked veggies and let the mixture cook without stirring.

When you introduce new veggies, let the kids help. Children are more likely to try new foods when they’re involved in the cooking process. For the Wagon-Wheel Frittata, young helpers can beat the egg mixture, prod the broccoli florets into place with a fork, arrange the tomato slices and sprinkle on the cheese. Older children and teens often prefer more strongly flavored foods, so let them choose a frittata topping from among several choices, perhaps a spicy pizza sauce, salsa or hot pepper sauce. Whatever they choose, you can rest easy knowing they’re eating their veggies.

Wagon-Wheel Frittata

6 servings

• 1/2 cups (about 6 oz.) fresh
• broccoli florets
• 1/2 cup (about 1.5 oz) sliced
• fresh mushrooms
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil or butter
• 6 eggs
• 1/3 cup skim or low-fat milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian
• seasoning, crushed
• 4 very thin tomato slices
• 1/4 cup grated or shredded
• Parmesan cheese

In 10-inch omelet pan or skillet over medium heat, cook broccoli, mushrooms and water, covered, until broccoli is tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. Drain. Remove pan from heat. Add oil. Arrange broccoli florets evenly around pan. Set mushroom slices between broccoli florets.In medium bowl, beat together eggs, milk and seasoning until blended. Pour into pan over broccoli and mushrooms. Cover. Cook over medium-low heat until eggs are almost set, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat. Place 1 tomato slice in center. Cut remaining tomato slices in half. Arrange over top to resemble wagon-wheel spokes. Sprinkle cheese evenly over top. Cover and let stand until eggs are completely set, about 5 minutes. Slide from pan onto serving plate or cut into wedges and serve from pan.

Nutritional information per serving of 1/4 recipe using cooking oil and skim milk: 189 calories, 13 gm total fat, 322 mg cholesterol, 233 mg sodium, 203 mg potassium, 5 gm carbohydrate, 14 gm protein and 10% or more of the RDI for vitamins A and C, riboflavin, calcium, phosphorus, iron.