Potato, Ham, and Bell Pepper Frittata

Frittatas have to be one of the most wonderfully adaptable and forgiving of all foods.   They are good for any meal from a casual breakfast to a fancy dinner party; they are delicious hot or cold; and they cheerfully accept just about anything hanging out in your fridge or pantry that needs a good home. They’re like a less-fussy quiche, or an omelet that serves everyone at the same time instead of having to bother with individual breakfasts. They also store well; make a frittata all for yourself on a Sunday and not only will you have a special weekend breakfast, you’ll have a few weekday ones as well.  Got a pile of people to feed but only a few eggs, odds and ends? Make a frittata. Your victims guests will think you’ve gone to all kinds of effort, when in reality you’re basically feeding them leftovers because you were too lazy to go shopping. That’s what we call a win-win.

One of the other great things about a frittata is that it’s very easy to lighten up, if you find yourself wanting or needing to go that route. By decreasing the number of eggs, using a measured amount of higher-calorie, flavor packed ingredients (meat, cheese), and increasing the proportion of lighter components (i.e. vegetables) you can tweak it so that it fits your needs and still tastes amazing. You just want to make sure you have enough eggs to almost cover your solid components; eggs will puff up during cooking so you don’t need to bury them, you just need enough to stick everything together so you can slice it.

The proportions I give here work well for six whole extra large eggs. If your eggs are smaller you may want to add an extra egg, or a few egg  whites;  you can also cut down on the number of whole eggs by substituting 3 eggs whites for each whole egg, or supplementing with EggBeaters if that’s your thing.  

Consider the ingredients here a jumping-off point; whatever kind of meat, cheese and vegetables you have can all be successfully incorporated into your frittata. How about cubed chicken, feta cheese, and spinach? Or shrimp, Monterey Jack, and salsa Verde? The sky’s the limit!  

 A few notes for my WW friends; I ran this one through the WW Recipe Builder and came up with 3 SmartPoints per serving (if cut into 8 servings); your mileage may vary depending on what ingredients you use, always check for yourself (I definitely do NOT work for WW).  I would recommend serving something else along with it if you’re really serving eight; fresh fruit (0 SP) and toast (varied SP) would be divine.  Otherwise you’ll probably want two servings; well worth the 6 SP.

Enjoy! 

Potato, Ham, and Bell Pepper Frittata

8 small or 4 large servings

Ingredients : 

Cooking spray

½ small onion (or 1 large shallot) chopped

1 cup red potato, raw, diced 

4 oz cooked lean ham, diced

1 small bell pepper, diced (I used half red, half green)

6 extra large eggs, beaten

¼ cup 2% milk

½ cup (2 oz) reduced fat cheddar cheese, shredded (I used Cabot 50% reduced fat)

Salt and black pepper to taste

Optional: a few pinches of your favorite fresh or dried herb(s), to taste (dill is especially nice; tarragon is also nice, but potent – be careful!)

10 inch ovenproof skillet (oven proof is important here as it will actually be going into the oven!)

Directions : 

Preheat oven to 375

Heat the skillet over medium-high heat; spray with cooking spray. Add the onion and sauté for a minute or so, then add the potato. Reduce heat to medium; let cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potato is almost tender (dicing the potato quite small will help it cook quicker). Turn the heat back up to medium-high and add the ham and pepper and cook for two more minutes, until everything is heated through and peppers start to soften a little. Season with a little salt and black pepper.

While the potatoes are cooking whisk the eggs and milk together until smooth, then stir in half the cheese along with some more salt and pepper (and herb[s] if using.).  Pour the egg mixture into your skillet and check to see that everything is more or less distributed. Let cook on the stovetop undisturbed for about two minutes, or until the edges start to set. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the frittata and pop the skillet (uncovered) into the oven. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until eggs are completely set and frittata is beginning to lightly brown. Remove from oven ; cut into wedges and serve.

Lighten Up : Poached Eggs with Caponata and Polenta

And now for something completely different...

Yes, even your intrepid blogger needs to lighten up from time to time. I firmly believe in the "all things in moderation" approach: paleo, gluten free, raw vegan diets are definitely not the thing for me... I love food way too much, and I never want to lose that. The problem (or my problem, anyway) is when you don't practice the "moderation" part; it becomes far too easy to slip from "curvaceous"  to "cowabunga".  The solution (again, this is just for me; I don't presume to know your life !) is to lean more towards the lighter side of the "all things" approach. And so, a new feature on this blog: food that is definitely worthy of the "Culinary Orgasm" title, but won't leave you lying on the couch gasping for air.

Eggs in custard cups are something I'm rather fond of; there's a fantastic recipe here for Baked Eggs with Creamy Leeks that I really love (end of one of my Irish entries : A Full Irish Breakfast, Culinary Orgasm Style ...this recipe can also easily be lightened by substituting pan spray for butter and fat free half-and-half for heavy cream. No one will be the wiser; part of the magic of leeks). Whilst perusing my fridge this morning my eye lit upon some leftover caponata and polenta; this, I thought, would be the perfect first entry for my new feature. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day ! And it was perfect; indulgent and satisfying enough for a weekend breakfast, but light enough not to weigh me down for the rest of the day. (Bad pun not intended !)

Caponata  (a Sicilian eggplant dish, sort of a sweet and sour relish) is something that's readily available in stores, along with tubes of ready-made polenta. Look for both in the refrigerated section, usually near where you'd find hummus and/or fresh pastas (in my usual supermarket that's actually the same place). Caponata can also sometimes be found in jars, though the fresh kind is usually better. Both caponata and polenta can also easily be made at home; the caponata I used here is a lighter, less sweet version of my own making, I've included the recipe here, though I'm still in the process of tweaking it. Polenta cooking instructions are on the box; in order to slice it like I have here, you'll need to chill it in a loaf pan until firm enough to slice (preferably overnight). This is just the good ol' tube kind from the store. A few blackberries on the plate...and we have achieved Culinary Orgasm.

Poached Eggs with Caponata and Polenta

These can be baked in a water bath, per the leek recipe above; for one or two servings, the microwave actually works pretty well, so those are the directions I'm giving here.

For one serving :

1 egg
2 tablespoons caponata (purchased, or recipe below)
1 slice polenta, warmed (this can also be microwaved, but for extra polenta goodness sear the slices in a pan with pan spray until a little toasted on both sides)
Salt and pepper to taste
Pan spray

Spray a custard cup (or oven-safe mug, or small bowl) with pan spray. Spoon the caponata into the cup, then carefully crack the egg on top, Microwave until the egg is done to your liking; I suggest starting with 30 seconds, then adding time in 15 second intervals until its cooked just how you like it,

Slide the egg onto the slice of warmed polenta, and enjoy !



Light + Simple Caponata 
(loosely based on a Weight Watchers version, not linkable - sorry !!)

Pan spray  
1 small uncooked red onion, chopped  
1 small eggplant, diced (small  cubes)
1 Tbsp capers, drained and chopped  
1 tsp minced garlic  
14 oz can fire roasted chopped tomatoes, undrained  
1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano  (or 1 tsp dried)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil (or 1 tsp dried)
2 Tbsp vinegar  
1/4 cup water, if needed
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste


Spray a large sauté pan or a high-sided skillet with cooking spray. Set over medium heat, add onion, and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes, or until softened.  Add eggplant and continue cooking, stirring often, for 4 minutes, or until eggplant softens at edges. Stir in capers and garlic; cook for a few seconds, until fragrant.

Stir in tomatoes, oregano, basil and vinegar; add water if it seems dry. Bring to a full simmer. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer slowly for 30 minutes, until slightly reduced and the eggplant is nice and soft.

This will make more than you need; caponata is tasty with all sorts of things. Serve it as a side dish, use it to top chicken or fish before baking, spread it on bread...whatever floats your boat !

we have a name....and EGGS !

thank you all for your name suggestions...winning entry is from the other resident foodie cook (the old one - the young one doesn't cook for himself at home much, despite having been a culinary tech student for a year of high school). I'm still tweaking the format, not 100% satisfied with the way everything looks yet - but at least we have a name !

In the meantime, since he won and all, the first official food post will be something he made - Spicy Pickled Quail Eggs. He's been trying to get me to eat pickled eggs for years, and so far I've resisted....but I promised to try the quail ones, and I have to say they are really good - and quite addictive ! He's not one for recipes so much, but here is approximately what he did :

Spicy Pickled Quail Eggs

24 hard boiled quail eggs (boil gently about 5 -6 minutes)

1 tsp celery seed

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tbs pickling spice

1 Scotch Bonnet pepper, chopped

3 cloves fresh garlic

1 small Vidalia onion

1 1/2 cups white vinegar

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup water

Slice onions and garlic. Dice chili pepper and put in sauce pan with its seeds. Add the white vinegar, cider vinegar, water, and spices, bring to a boil, then let cool slightly.

Put peeled hard boiled eggs, sliced onions, and garlic in glass jar. Pour in sauce, cover jar tightly, and refrigerate. (If sauce doesn't fill the jar, top off with white vinegar until it is about 1/4 inch from the top).

Let sit 2 - 3 days

Yum !