Cream Cheese Frittata

Cream cheese in a frittata is something I have never heard of, but it sounds delicious!

Love the combination of ingredients, however, you can add or remove ingredients to suit your taste.  Adding sliced tomato sounds good to me!

The recipe comes from Martha Stewart, so it has to be a good thing . . .

INGREDIENTS 

2 teaspoons olive oil 

2 ounces mushrooms, sliced 

1 small red bell pepper, ribs and seeds discarded, chopped into 1-inch pieces 

1/2 small onion, finely chopped 

1 small garlic clove, minced 

3 large eggs 

1/4 cup half-and-half

4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese (1/2 bar), cubed 

2 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (1/2 cup) 

2 slices white sandwich bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (1 cup) 

Coarse salt and ground pepper


DIRECTIONS 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Heat oil over medium heat in a small (8-inch) ovenproof nonstick skillet. 

Cook mushrooms, bell pepper, onion, and garlic about 5 minutes, until almost tender. 

Transfer mixture to a bowl, cool slightly. (Reserve skillet.) 

Add eggs, half-and-half, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, bread, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to mixture in bowl . . . stir until combined. (There may be a few chunks of cream cheese remaining.) 

Pour egg mixture into reserved skillet; and bake until set, about 30 minutes. 

Heat broiler, and broil until top is golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. 

Let stand 10 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.

SOURCE

Frittata

I'm bumping up this article on Frittata since I consider this one of the best "cheap meals" ever. It is one of my favorite recipes to go to when I am low on funds and have leftovers. Since I eat rice often, I've perfected my frittatas and vary them often.

Last night I made a basic Broccoli Frittata and decided to add some seasoned bread crumbs to the mix and it was AWESOME. I was low on many ingredients that I normally use in my frittata . . . so this was very basic . . . rice, broccoli, egg, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese and a handful of seasoned bread crumbs . . . seems like you can't mess this up!

Frittata is a type of Italian omelet that frequently features fillings such as meats, cheeses, and vegetables . . . the main ingredient is usually rice or pasta. This is one of my favorite meals that is great with a salad.

My way of cooking has changed since becoming a widow and cooking for one. I always cooked as if I had a large family since my husband and I always had company just showing up and ended up eating dinner with us. That practice taught me how to cook using leftovers and has come in handy now that it is just me. Especially since I really don't want to eat the same meal night after night and hate to freeze food that I end up throwing away.

The frittata is one of those versatile meals you can throw together fast and vary the ingredients to what you have on hand. My cooking style does not take a recipe and follow it . . . I use it as a guide.

The frittata is perfect for my type of cooking. For instance, I've never used the frozen chopped broccoli . . . since I eat lots of fresh steamed broccoli or green beans, I use the left overs . . . whatever I have left. If I have leftover mushrooms, they go in too. You get the idea. You can also vary the type of rice or substitute rice with any type of pasta.

You can't really mess it up! Just experiment, try to keep the ratios balanced, using the basic ingredients and have fun with it!


Here is a recipe for a Broccoli Frittata that I use as a guide:


2 1/2 tbsp onion, chopped


1 pkg. frozen chopped broccoli (cooked and drained)


2 1/2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese


1/4 cup milk


1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded


2 tbsp. butter or margarine


1 small garlic clove, crushed


1 cup Rice, cooked


2 eggs, slightly beaten


1/2 tsp. salt


dash of pepper . . . great with cayenne or red pepper if you like hot



Saute onion in butter until tender. Do not brown. Add broccoli, garlic, rice and Parmesan cheese, mix well. Combine eggs, milk and seasonings. Stir into rice mixture. Turn into well-buttered shallow 1 qt casserole dish. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until set. Makes 2 servings.

Spicy Corn Frittata

What a wonderful meal to celebrate the summer veggies that we grow in our gardens . . . hmmm . . . a frittata that has no rice in it? I'll be adding some colby cheese to mine :)



1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 large ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded, and chopped (about 2 cups)

2 large (or 3 medium) ears sweet corn, kernels scraped off the cob (about 2 cups)

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 bunch (6 to 8) scallions, trimmed and sliced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

Coarse sea salt or kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

8 large eggs

1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces



Set a rack on the top shelf of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F.

In a large ovenproof skillet over high heat, warm 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the tomatoes and saute for 2 minutes. Add the corn, cilantro, scallions, garlic, and jalapeno and saute for 2 more minutes or until the garlic is fragrant and the mixture thickens. Transfer the vegetables to a plate and let cool for several minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

In a large bowl, season the eggs with salt and pepper. Beat them lightly with a fork, only enough to mix the whites and the yolks. Add the cooled vegetables and cold butter and stir to combine.

Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel and put it over medium heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, swirling it all around and up the sides of the pan. Add the egg and vegetable mixture and stir gently with the back of a fork without touching the bottoms and sides of the pan. Cover the pan, lower the heat, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the bottom of the frittata begins to set. Remove the cover and transfer the pan to the top shelf of the oven and bake until golden brown and puffed, about 15 minutes.

Slide the frittata onto a serving platter, cut it into wedges, and serve immediately or cool and serve at room temperature.


Nutritional analysis per serving:

Calories 385; Total Fat 28g; (Sat Fat 7g, Mono Fat 15g, Poly Fat 3.5g) ; Protein 16.5g; Carb 22g; Fiber 4 g; Cholesterol 430 mg; Sodium 165 mg


Source: The Food Network