frittata | Cooking at Clark Towers

Happy Easter!

Meal prep is such a buzz word all over the internet, it seems there are hundreds of ideas out there that people are sharing. I do like the idea behind it but I don’t think one size fits all and are you going to plan/eat the same thing every single day? Probably not! Could you for a couple or a few day I think so!
My daughter and I have made several versions of mason jar salads, my all time favorite was the orzo, mozzarella, tomato spinach salad but there is only so much of it one can eat in a week. Variety is the spice of life or so goes the saying. Though the convenience of having lunch already made and my upbringing to not waste food, the saying when I was a kid growing up was there were people starving in Africa eat your meatloaf – yuck! Meatloaf is still my nemesis!
Working on being a little more self conscious of what I put in my mouth I find it a whole lot easier to prep at least my breakfast, lunch and snacks for the work week. I try to do this on a regular basis, when I don’t I actually miss it so I am getting better at it.
My staple for breakfast is the frittata I make every Sunday and once cooled I put 5 pieces in a container and bring it to work with me. It solves a few problems; one I’m not a morning person, so making a healthy meal every morning just not going to happen, two I am never hungry when I wake up, I generally don’t eat till around 9:30, three is the portions are already pre-set and I have already calculated out the macros – if you are watching them.
This has been going on for months now and I am have not once been like ugh more eggs! Which is saying something because i’m not a huge fan of eggs I generally only like them poached but this is working for me, so I thought I would share it with those people who might need a little help for at least the morning.

My Macro Friendly Frittata

16 ounce container of egg whites – or 8 large eggs – 1 container of egg substitute – you be you!
1 Large or Extra Large egg – it does make a difference
3 ounces cubes ham
1 small onion diced
1 ounce fat free feta cheese
5 florets broccoli chopped
1 green onion diced
1 teaspoon olive oil
6-8 grape tomatoes – halved
Kosher salt and black pepper
Sriracha sauce – a must if using egg whites
I heat the olive oil in my cast iron pan, saute the onion and ham. Add the broccoli for another minute or so. In a small bowl I combine the whites with the egg and season with salt and pepper plus the hot sauce.
Pour the eggs over the ham, onion and broccoli then add the cheese and tomatoes. Sprinkle with the scallions, salt and pepper and let it cook the bottom of the frittata for about 3-5 minutes on medium low heat. Finish off under the broiler till set and browned.

Let it set up for about 5 minutes before you remove it from the pan. I run a spatula around the edge and try to lift it off the bottom of the pan, just so it won’t stick. It’s happened. Slice it and enjoy!

Serves 8
Approx Macros – for the egg white and 1 egg
80 Calories – 2 Fat – 2 Carbs – 12 Protein

Kind of a dreary day here in New Hampshire today which is great for sleeping in, which I did, just a little. When I did finally come down stairs it literally took just a few minutes before I decided what I was going to make for breakfast.

Yesterday I spent part of the day in the garden, pulling weeds, which is a never ending task and harvesting a few fresh veggies which is my reward. This year no zucchini though, super sad face. Not only do I love grilling, frying and eating it, no zucchini bread! That is so not OK with me, will need to find another source.

Prepped veggies!

We do however have lots of cherry tomatoes, summer squash, cucumbers and broccoli; we were even able to harvest some cabbages. I think we need to learn how to stagger plantings. When everything ripens at the same time it can be a little tricky eating say 6 heads of cabbage, 18 cucumbers and too many to count cherry tomatoes.

Huge head of cabbage – apple just for scale

When I came down this morning and saw all the veggies sitting on the counter near the sink; I know right where I left them. I got out my cast iron skillet and got to work on making a frittata. When my husband asked what I was making his surprise didn’t match what I said. I told him I was making a frittata, his comment “for breakfast?” I love chicken piccata. We got quite the chuckle out of that one!

This was my husbands contribution to breakfast from our cutting garden

This is one meal that you can make for breakfast, lunch or dinner. You can make it with just about anything you have in the fridge. It can easily be turned it into your end of week fridge clean out meal before you go shopping, or before things start going bad meal. It can be an all veggie meal, or add a meat or two. Super versatile and ridiculously easy to make!

Garden plus Frittata

The plus this morning was some breakfast sausage I found in the freezer.

6 eggs

½ cup milk

3 pieces breakfast sausages

Small summer squash cut up

1 medium onion diced

1 medium head of broccoli

Large handful of cherry tomatoes halved

1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

Fresh thyme chopped

Kosher salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

Scallions chopped

Brown the meat, if you are using it; If you are not using meat add a little olive oil to the hot pan. Add the onion and saute for a couple of minutes. Add all the other vegetables and cook for just a minute or two. Add Salt and pepper to taste; whip the eggs and milk together; add egg mixture to the veggies in the pan, add the cheese and give it a quick stir to incorporate everything. Cover with the chopped scallions and bake 20-30 minutes.