Meatless Monday: Pizza Frittata

If you're anything like me, you struggle with meal planning, trying to balance budget friendly, kid friendly, waistline friendly with tastebud friendly.  Like me, you may have different tastes to accommodate.  In my house, eggs are on the danger list, because my husband does not like them, but I figured there was enough other things in this frittata that he might not mind, and I've also had moderate success in feeding him frittatas in the past.  It just so happened, though, that he ended up cooking this one and thus knew exactly what went into it--not that I was trying to fool him, since I know he knows frittata means egg dish, but hoped he would enjoy it anyway.

I really enjoyed this dish; it tasted a lot like a pizza because of the similar flavors, but can really be eaten at any meal and makes great leftovers too. 

Would this fool you into thinking you were eating pizza?

This makes a really nice, vegetarian meal, and I encourage you to give it a try.  The sauce is quite tasty (though my husband highly recommends using jarred marinara sauce and doctoring it rather than making it from scratch), and it looks to be pretty decent for you (though I have no nutritional info, so won't assert anything for certain!)

Pizza Frittata:  Source:  Everyday with Rachael Ray July/August 2012

Ingredients

• 12 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk or half-and-half
• 1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tobasco
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup EVOO
• 1/4 pound hot soppressata or pepperoni, finely chopped, or 2 fresno chile peppers (for vegetarian option), sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 tablespoons grated onion
• 1 sprig oregano, finely chopped, or 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 cup dry red wine
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes
• 6 ounces fresh mozzarella, shredded on the large side of a box grated or thinly sliced
• A small handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• A few leaves fresh basil, torn

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees . In a large bowl, beat the eggs, milk (or half-and-half), parmigiano-reggiano, hot sauce, salt and pepper.
2. In a large, ovenproof skillet, heat 2 tbsp. EVOO over medium to medium-high heat. Add the eggs and keep moving and settling them as they cook. When the eggs begin to firm up, transfer the skillet to the oven. Bake until light golden and puffed but not cooked through, about 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in another skillet, heat the remaining 2 tbsp. EVOO over medium-high heat. Add the soppressate (or chiles), garlic, onion and oregano and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the wine and cook to reduce slightly, 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and simmer to thicken, 10 minutes.
4. Remove the frittata from the oven and top with the tomato sauce and mozzarella. Bake to melt the cheese, 8 to 10 minutes more. Top with the parsley and basil.

Make Ahead scrambled eggs

For the under 10 guests, I couldn't think of what to serve. I didn't want to go for chicken nuggets, but figured breakfast for dinner would be a big hit. Wanting to get as much done the day before NYE, I sought out a few make ahead breakfast recipes.

First up, I made scrambled eggs, according to this recipe.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 12 eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/8 tsp. white pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Preparation:

Beat eggs with cream in a large bowl. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Pour eggs into skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until eggs are scrambled and just set, but still moist.

Remove pan from heat and stir in sour cream. Spread eggs into a greased 12x7" glass baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to eat, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover the baking dish and sprinkle eggs with pepper and salt. Stir gently, then bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and eggs are hot, at least 140 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. 8 servings

This made way more than we really needed, since NONE of the adults had any (save ME)!! It was really good though! My son ate a good amount, and we both had some more the next day too--still great. This is a very rich recipe, as you can tell from the use of sour cream AND heavy cream, but it made some delicious scrambled eggs!