Our fallback meal of choice in this family has got to be the frittata. It takes almost exactly 15 minutes from the time you start cooking it on the stovetop to the moment it lands on your plate. Plus, you can use up all of your leftovers from the past few days and come up with new and, well, sometimes exciting combinations depending on what is in season at the moment.
This frittata, however, was planned and uses some of the kids’ favorite brunch foods: bacon, apples, and some cheddar cheese. Channel your inner French woman in regards to portion size here. It isn’t lowfat…and my goodness, we certainly went whole hog this morning by serving it alongside homemade biscuits. You could substitute the bacon for some very gently steamed and chopped spinach, but we feel pretty good about our decision not to.
Bacon, Cheddar, and Apple Frittata
*6 organic eggs
*1/2 cup sharp cheddar, grated
*5 pieces of bacon, cooked and chopped into 1/2-inch bits
*1 1/2 sweet apples, cored and cut into 1/8 inch wedges
*salt and pepper, to taste
*2 T. butter for the pan
For your child to do: Start by allowing him to crack the eggs into a medium bowl. That way you can simply sweep out any egg shells that fall in, and your mini-chef will have the pleasure of a super important task. (This is all assuming that your child has outgrown the putting-everything-including-raw-eggs-in-his-mouth phase.) After all the eggs are in the bowl and shells taken care of, let him whisk the eggs together with the cheese and some salt and pepper. Next, stir in the apples and the bacon gently.
Adult part: Melt the butter in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Make sure that the butter covers the entire inside of the pan, including the sides, so that your frittata won’t get stuck later on. Pour the frittata mixture into the pan evenly. Set your kitchen timer for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes the frittata should look pretty well set. If not, cook it a little while longer while keeping an eye on it. When it is set, turn on your oven broiler to high. Slide the pan into the oven, and cook till the top is gorgeously golden.
Take it out of the oven and run a rubber spatula around the sides to loosen. Then, turn your frittata out first onto a large plate and then onto whatever you’d like to serve it on. We usually use a wooden cutting board and cut it with a pizza cutter.
