Frittata

Ashley Miller has been styling my hair since 2014, shortly after I moved back to Ohio. To put it mildly she is AMAZING! And as you can imagine over the years she become more than the person who styles my hairs, she has become a beloved friend (If you need a stylist in Northeast Ohio, I highly recommend her! https://salonlofts.com/ashley_miller )

When I shared with Ashley I'm contributing on this blog, she immediately implored me to share some of my “easy recipes.”

She said,

You are always telling me about things you made and how easy it was to make… people want some of your easy recipes. You need to share some of those!

Thankful for her suggestion, I started thinking about my journey in the kitchen. It started as a child with training from my mom. I can remember an early cooking lesson where she showed my sister and I how you measure liquids from the glass measuring and dry ingredients in stainless steel measuring cups. Such building blocks in cooking I got from my mom. She passed on what she knew (passed down from her mom) ensuring all her kids could cook for themselves when they left her house. And after empty nest my mom has become quite a gourmet chef who still passes on incredible recipes and techniques she picks up from America's Test Kitchen, Rachel Ray or Ina Garden. She also often recommends the latest and greatest kitchen gadgets and investment appliances from William Sonoma.

Hospitality is my jam. Gathering and serving authentic community ignites my soul.

I love throwing a dinner party or brunch. Planning the menu and coming up with creative ways to cultivate conversations that matter bring me much delight. Creating beauty and an atmosphere for invitation, enjoyment and deep connection comes easily for me.

When I was single and traveling extensively for work, I didn’t love cooking just for 1, so often I would tweak a fancy, entertaining recipe to something fast and easy. My other trick for making something EASY is reading 3 or 4 recipes for the same food and see what all the recipes have in common. Then make up my own based on what seems necessary vs what is optional. Over the years I've learned there are building blocks in cooking and essentials in receipts. If you can identify those you can effortlessly makes changes based on your capacity and ingredients.

Thankful for her suggestion, I started thinking about my journey in the kitchen. It started as a child with training from my mom. I can remember an early cooking lesson where she showed my sister and I how you measure liquids from the glass measuring and dry ingredients in stainless steel measuring cups. Gratefully the building blocks in cooking I got from my mom. She passed on what she knew (passed down from her mom) ensuring all her kids could cook for themselves when they left her house. And after empty nest my mom has become quitermet chef who still passes on incredible recipes and techniques she picks up from America's Test Kitchen, Rachel Ray or Ina Garden. She also often recommends the latest and greatest kitchen gadgets and investment appliances from William Sonoma.

Now before we go any farther, I need to make a few disclaimers. FIRST: I am not a gourmet cook. I am someone who has had the incredible privilege of having training passed down from my mom. But I am by no means an expert or professional. I'm sharing what I have learned because I think many of us could use a little easy or suggestions when it comes to meal prep

SECOND: some of you will absolutely hate my recipes because of their flexibility, approximate measurements, and optional ingredients. Others will find freedom in this approach to use what is on hand and learn to eyeball many things! Even if you love a strict recipes and need the comfort of following measurement precisely, I hope you will be open to try some creative practices. You also may be in a season where easy is not necessary and you enjoy more complex meal preparations. If that is the case-- please skip my recipes for a while.

One guiding principle in my kitchen methods is using what you have. There is freedom when you realize you don’t have to go to the store for one or two ingredients. I learned that from my mamma too! It’s true. Please say this out loud with me:

I don’t have to make a special trip to grocery store!

Instead of using the energy and effort of going to the store, use building blocks and tried and true methods (or what I like to call the essentials) to improvise with what you have on hand.

Final disclaimer: I LOVE CAST IRON! This love was passed down to me from my mom who has a cast iron skillet her dad made that she used for many years! In my youth she made biscuits, gravy, corn bread, eggs and so many southern classics in her cast iron skillet. She also had a cast iron lid which today I realize is so next level. Another day I’ll tell you about how she got me hooked on a cast iron Dutch oven. That story is LE funny and involves Le Creuset.

My hope in sharing some of my “easy recipes” as Ashley affectionally calls them, is that you will get creative and feel freedom in the kitchen to use what you have on hand or get creative and try something new. If you capture the building blocks and essentials of any recipe you can make it your own and it becomes impossible to ruin.

I also hope that you will take off the restraints of certain dishes being only for holidays, special occasions or entertaining. If it’s easy it can be for a Monday night or Saturday morning with your family. Or if you are single, it can be a treat that has the added blessing of several leftover meals.

As a newlywed I'm learning that by making something special on a regular weeknight not only surprises my husband but communicates love and honor. In our house my husband is my king and I am his queen. Making something special for him is one way I treat him like a king. He values a healthy, high quality food and enjoys a nice dinner. This is one way I convey my value for what he values. And while there is something to having certain dishes that are just for holidays and hold special meaning as well as tradition; there is also something to creating a meal with care and thoughfulness on a regular night that honors and blesses uniquely those who get to enjoy it. And it's great when there is an easier version.

So let’s start with an uber easy veggie frittata.

Frittata is an egg dish much like an omelet that has several ingredients such as vegetables, fresh herbs and possibly even cheese to make it an all-in-one meal (you can also add meat but this one is veggie only). The difference between a frittata and omelet is an omelet is often made for one person where a frittata is an entire dish with multiple servings and is baked in an oven, typically in a cast iron skillet.

There are a couple different ways to make a frittata. I'm going to share an easy way that starts on your stove top and transfers to oven. As I’ve already shared, I'm a cast iron super-fan and believe a good ole cast iron skillet is the best for frittatas. But this can also be made in a glass baking dish or muffin tin. You will want to adjust temperature and time for those. For this recipe—I’ve only ever done it in a cast iron skillet (but it would be easy to adjust if you only have a glass baking sheet or want to make individual servings in a muffin tin.)

The options are limitless and easy! You can be creative and use whatever you have on hand. If you have frozen vegetables, use them. It will save time on chopping. The pictures you will see here were from two weeks ago. I only had onions, frozen green pepper and fresh carrots-- a combination I would have never picked. But I had plenty of eggs and wanted to make something different for breakfast. So I went with a frittata. I used some building blocks I knew (cast iron skillet, eggs and veggies) and looked what I had on hand. And voila! My husband loves vegetables so this was a delicious win for both of us!

Vegetable Options: onions, green peppers, red peppers, yellow peppers, tomatoes, carrots, asparagus, broccoli, mushrooms, spinach, zucchini, yellow squash, (pi-4)

Optional fresh herbs: Basil, garlic, rosemary, thyme, cilantro, parsley (pick 1)

Ingredients:

Olive oil

12-18 eggs (depending on size of cast iron skillet—12-18 eggs work well in 12” cast iron skillet)

3 cups veggies (whatever you have and enjoy in eggs)

1/4 cup heavy cream (or dairy substitute)

Salt & Pepper

Optional: cheese and/ or fresh herbs

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 425º

Cover bottom of your cast iron skillet with olive oil Sauté vegetables in cast iron skillet until they are tender – add salt and pepper and any other seasoning (set aside)

In a mixing bowl whisk together eggs and add dairy

On stove top and over medium heat add eggs to cast iron skillet (with vegetables) Cook for 1-2 minutes (until the eggs is sticking to sides of cast iron skillet)

Turn off stove top and gently transfer cast iron skillet to oven. Bake for 7-15 minutes. Check after 7 minutes. If it does not look cooked in the middle keep in oven until center is fully cooked.

Serve alone as a meal. Or add avocado on top. Also pairs well with fresh fruit, breakfast potatoes, sour dough toast or grits. And if you are having this for breakfast a pipeline hot cup of black coffee is great too.

Bon Appetite!

What are your thoughts on an easy frittata?

What is a meal reserved for a holiday that you might serve on a regular weekday?

Do you need more easy in your life? Do you want me to share more of my easy recipes?

Please share in the comments below. As always, I want to hear from YOU! And if you try this easy recipe-- please share a picture too!