We are expecting a baby baby day now. So we have found our family in a season of needing easy, but good/healthy meals that reheat well and can even be made in advance. Bonus points for anything with considerably less than a sink full of dishes.
There are a lot of possibilities that could fit this bill. But for breakfast we have found that the almighty frittata is just about perfect -for all these reasons. But also because it tricks our children into eating a lot of vegetables before they have even changed out of their pajamas.
Here is my recipe for a frittata that feeds a family of 5 for two breakfasts:
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Heat 1 large (12") cast iron skillet to about medium heat. If you only have a 10", then cut the recipe in half, or finish in a 9x13 baking pan instead of this pan.
Add in 1 lb of Groce Family Farm Breakfast Sausage. Smash and stir.
Chop up 1 onion (1/2" dice) and add to cooking sausage. Continue to occasionally stir and break up sausage/onion mix while chopping up more veg. Don't add any more to the skillet until onions are translucent to brown and sausage is getting crispy around edges.
Stir in any of the following veg you have lying around while you chop each to 1/2
or smaller. Add them in the order listed, to ensure that items fully cook, or don't overcook in the pan. This is a great way to clear out the veg drawer. Even produce on its way out can gain a new life:
- Potatoes
- Sweet potatoes
- Winter sqaush
- Parsnips
- Beets
- Carrots
- Peppers
- Turnips
- Tomatoes
- Garlic (preferably 1 full bulb)
- Any kind of chopped greens other than lettuce (kale, spinach, etc)
Whisk in a bowl about 15 eggs, heavy pinch of salt, and the amount of pepper that seems reasonable.
Once you feel confident that any potatoes and other veg are cooked to your liking, add eggs into frying pan (if working with a smaller pan then transferring, just add as much as you can without creating a spill as you stir)
Stir around egg mixture until it is well integrated with veg and much of the heat in the pan is transferred into the mixture. Should look like (not very appetizing) half cooked scrambled eggs and chunks. Now is the time to pour into (greased) baking pan if you are in the 10" pan crowd mentioned above.
Pop Into oven. Go read your kids a book. They are going to need to bond with you before you trick them into eating loads of nutrient dense veg and protein.
15-20 minutes later check by providing a stiff shake, front to back. This will tell you if there is liquid in the middle or not. If its solid, then pull it out.
Immediately shave cheese on top. I recommend a kids side with something that won't be wasted on their underdeveloped taste buds (mozz, ched, colby, etc.), and an adult side with the good stuff: pecorino romano, or even better, Norwood by our friends at Kenny's Farmhouse Cheeses.
Cut it up and eat it. We get 10 servings out of this. But the average human in our house weighs 75 lbs. So you can take my pig farmer logic and adjust expectations accordingly.