Veggie, Sausage, and Cheese Frittata

Now, I am no frittata expert. Heck, I don't even know if this is a frittata, or if it's just a glorified crustless quiche? Or a generic baked egg dish? Oven omelet? We could sit here and debate the merits of the naming convention, but all you need to know is that this here veggie, sausage, and cheese frittata (executive decision, that's what I'm calling it) made this almost-9-month-pregnant-and-quarantined-woman do a chair shimmy as I ate it for breakfast yesterday morning. And again for dinner.

Now, some of the ingredients below are specific to what we have on hand, and since we're sort of in the midst of a global pandemic, please do not go to the store for any of these ingredients. Save it for a rainy day, or a day when you can go to the grocery store without fearing coronavirus. Heck, just make your own substitutions because that is the beauty of a dish like this! Use whatever you have on hand. No beet greens? Use kale, spinach, swiss chard, arugala. No sausage? Toss in some ham or bacon. Russet potato-less? Yukon golds would be just dandy. I've made a few, and have never actually repeated a recipe because this is a great way to use up leftover produce, cheese, meats, what-have-you in the kitchen.

And so you feel comfortable freestyling in the kitchen when it comes to a a frittata, here's a good rule of thumb from The Kitchn: "So how do you make a great frittata every time without always using a recipe? The answer is a ratio. For every six eggs, use ¼ cup heavy cream, 1 cup cheese, and 2 cups total of vegetables and/or meat. This will get you a frittata with a hearty filling — especially if you’re using something like potatoes and bacon — and a creamy egg custard shot through with the tang of cheese."

Loaded Veggie, Sausage, and Cheese Frittata

Ingredients

• 8-10 large eggs, enough to cover the ingredients
• ½ cup almond milk (this is what we had, use whatever you have! Milk, cream, soy milk, etc...just unsweetened and no flavor)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 breakfast sausages of choice (I had some homemade country style sausages in the freezer with lots of garden herbs in them)
• 1 russet potato, thinly sliced
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups greens (I used beet greens from the garden)
• ½ onion, caramelized for 15 minutes beforehand on the stove)
• 2 tbsp fresh herbs of choice (again, I had fresh herbs in the sausages so I didn't use extra, but is a nice kick!
• 1.5 cups shredded cheese (I used manchego and cheddar)

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375. Whisk eggs, salt, pepper, milk and set aside.
2. Start caramelizing onions in a bit of oil or butter, stir periodically for 15 minutes making sure they don't stick. Add a bit of water if necessary. While this is going, sauté sliced potatoes and greens, covering to steam them for a bit until potatoes are tender.
3. Cook sausages as directed.
4. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stirring until fully mixed. Add mixture to a greased cast iron skillet, or 9x13 baking dish. Cast iron is preferred if you have it though!
5. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until puffy around the edges and until a knife inserted into the center of frittata comes out cleanly with no eggy mixture on it.
6. Slice, serve, enjoy. Will keep in the fridge for a few days, but you'll probably eat it really quickly. 🙂