Frittata

Frittata.
That's a fun word....let's all say it together. Fra-tta-ta.
Good. ☺

What is the meaning of this fun word, you ask? It is an Italian egg dish. Basically a glorified flat omelet that starts out on the stove and ends up in the oven.

I purchased a book called Deliciously G-Free (gluten free) by Elisabeth Hasselbeck. The author has celiac disease. I do not. But, I believe I might have a slight intolerance for gluten. At one time I eliminated gluten from my diet for almost three months. Man, did I feel great! Then, Thanksgiving and Christmas were upon us. [insert dun-dun-dunnnn] Now, I just want to feel better and as a bonus, try to loose some weight. [which was a huge plus the last time]

I really like the recipes in Deliciously G-Free. The author did all the work for me. However, as far as all the different flours go, I have no idea where to start looking for all those flours! Seriously. I don't live in a large city. I live between some cornfields. I was a little disappointed there wasn't a shopping guide. But, I will do some checking around to find some of these flours. Author Elisabeth Hasselbeck does have a previous book about her journey with celiac disease. Perhaps her earlier book would have given me the info I desired. This is the only thing lacking for me in this cookbook.

Enough babbling from me...let's get on with the recipe!

Frittata

(there is that fun word again!)

Serves 4

10 eggs
1/4 c half-n-half (I didn't have any so I just used 2% milk)
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
2 T olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded & diced (didn't have so didn't use)
1 c canned black beans, drained & well rinsed (I didn't use this...personally I think beans are...ewww!)
1 c grated mozzarella or cheddar cheese (I used cheddar)
(I cut up some turkey bacon and used that with the onion. I was going to also use some cooked & cubed potatoes in it but totally forgot...oops!)

Preheat oven to 350
Place eggs, half-and-half, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Whisk well; set aside.

Heat an 8" ovenproof skillet* over medium-high heat. Add 1 T olive oil, onion and green pepper (this is where I added the bacon and probably the cooked potatoes if I would have remembered!). Cook, stirring occasionally until tender...roughly 5 min. Transfer to a small bowl.

In the same skillet over medium-low heat, warm the remaining 1 T olive oil. Add the egg misture and cook for 1 min until the edges begin to bubble. Using a spoon, pull the cooked egg edges toward the center of the pan, allowing the raw egg to run to the edges of the skillet. (You might want to tip the pan a little to get the maximum 'run-age') It doesn't say this in the recipe, but I didn't this probably 5 times before I went to the next step. I wanted to make sure my eggs were going to be done in the middle. Nothing says 'gross' to me more than an undercooked egg. shiver.

Scatter the cooked veggies (and meat if you are like me), beans (ewww) and cheese over the eggs.

Transfer skillet to the oven and back for 10-12 min or until the frittata is firm in the middle and does not jiggle when you shake the pan. Remove from oven and let set for 5 min.

Dig in!

*If you don't have one, just wrap your non-ovenproof handle with foil. At least that is what the PBS cooking shows tell me...

There you have it. A glorified flat omelet! There really isn't anything that special about it expect it is just something different. Oh, and it is deliciously good. So, the next time you are trying to figure out what to make for supper, try this fun-word recipe for Frittata.