Frittata: AKA "Clean the Fridge Out Frittata"

I love Frittatas! It is a crust-less quiche that is easy to make and has limitless possibilities. It is also a great way to clean out all of the odds and ends of produce left in your refrigerator. Since you are using up produce that would otherwise be thrown out, it is also saving money.  I use to work with a person at Camp Tekoa who would always say, "Waste Not Want Not." That phrase has always stuck with me.

You can make up your own Frittata with any combination of vegetables and meat with this easy guideline:
8 eggs
1 cup of grated cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
chopped fresh herbs
Whisk these ingredients and then incorporate your cooked leftovers/odds and ends. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes in a 10 inch pie pan. Presto, a main entree four four or a side dish for six.

Here are two examples of how I cleaned out the fridge this month:
Zucchini Tomato Frittata:
I had one left over zucchini from the Mango Pasta Salad recipe that was one day away from mold and a pint of cherry tomatoes that I have no idea why I bought them almost three weeks ago.
I cooked two slices of bacon chopped up. Removed the bacon and used the grease to saute the chopped zucchini, 2 leaves of Bok Choy, 1 red bell pepper, and the pint of halved cherry tomatoes. I sauteed them for about five minutes and then added 1 teaspoon minced garlic and four leaves of basil chopped. I sauteed them for one more minute. Then combined the vegetables with the cooked bacon and the egg mixture and into the oven it went.

Sweet Potato Swiss Chard Frittata:
Last year in the garden we grew sweet potatoes. I still have some that we have not eaten but they are too small for baking. So, I pealed one and finely chopped it for a Frittata. Once again, I started off with two slices of bacon chopped up. Once they were crisp, I removed them and used the grease to saute the chopped sweet potato and 2 leaves of Swiss Chard from the garden. I sauteed them for about five minutes before adding the herbs. I used fresh rosemary this time along with the salt and pepper. Returned the bacon and added the egg mixture. FIN.

In preparing your vegetable filling, her are my suggestions. Start out with the thick vegetables in olive oil or grease from meat such as bacon or sausage. Adding bacon or sausage allows some people (men) to be convinced that this egg dish is actually a main serving. But, you can always keep it vegetarian by sauteing the vegetables in olive oil. Soft vegetables like green onions, broccoli, and spinach can go in towards the end of the sauteing time. Cook them for about 5-8 minutes until they all seem soft, then add your herbs and cook for one more minute.