Italian Mini Frittatas

I woke up starving this morning. Stumbling downstairs to the kitchen, I had a couple of options. There's cereal--minimal effort. There's scrambling an egg--still minimal effort. 


But no.


I had a sudden, uncontrollable urge to make quiche. I am a quiche master. Also, quiche is undeniably delicious at any time of the day. But there was one problem--I didn't have a pie shell. I could either make one (even though it was already going on 11.30) or I could adapt. So I made miniature frittatas instead! 

A frittata is essentially a quiche with more eggs, less cream, and no shell. Both frittatas and quiche are so great because they are kitchen-dumpers--any old thing you have lying around will taste awesome given a little baking in some egg. Not that fresh ingredients don't make amazing frittata or quiche. It's just that these dishes can turn some freezer-burned sausage and on-its-way-out produce into a magically delicious breakfast, brunch, lunch, linner, or dinner. So let's get started!

Instead of the Cast of Characters today, we're going with something a little fancier. This is a mise-en-place, which is a French word for "putting in place." It's a system used by restaurant chefs, who prepare everything they are going to need for service ahead of time to have their ingredients within arm's reach. It's an excellent system for home cooks too, though, so you're not running around your kitchen like a crazy person. Also, is anyone else loving how the peppers and onions look like an Italian flag? Anyway.


I crumbled up some Morningstar Veggie Sausage Patties (because I had them in the freezer and I think they're delicious), but feel free to use any sausage you like. Italian sausage links would be perfecto. 

Sauté the onions and peppers with a little olive oil. If you're using not precooked sausage like I did, you'll want to cook that first and then cook the vegetables in a little of that rendered fat. YUM!

Pop your veggies, sausage, and cheese into a muffin tin. I love this silicone one, because nothing will stick to it EVER, but a regular muffin tin is fine--just make sure to put a little olive oil on the bottom and sides of each well. 

Add your egg and mix it into the ingredients. Bake it on up for about 20 minutes, during which time you may look down at your feet to find...

...the cutest little beggar this side of anywhere!! Muffin the Pug just loves frittata, don't you?!

Once you're done being distracted by cuteness, make sure to carefully remove the frittata with a knife. Top with a little parsley if you like. This would be delicious over a little tomato sauce, or served with a nice arugula salad with tomatoes. 


Make this anytime! It comes together very quickly, and the frittatas can be frozen for up to three weeks.




Italian Mini Frittatas

• 3 small sausage patties or 2 Italian sausage links, crumbled or chopped
• 1/2 an onion, chopped
• 1/2 of one red pepper, chopped
• 1/2 of one green pepper, chopped
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 7 eggs
• 1 Tbsp heavy cream
• Salt and pepper
• 6 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese 
• 1 sprig fresh parsley, minced (optional) 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Sauté sausage until cooked, about 8 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside.
3. Pour all but 1 tsp of the fat from the pan. Sauté onion, red pepper, and green pepper in the rendered fat on high heat until they begin to brown, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in Italian seasoning.
4. In a large bowl, scramble eggs and heavy cream with salt and pepper. 
5. In a muffin tin, divide sausage, vegetable mix, cheese, and egg mixture evenly among six of the muffin tin wells. Mix so you don't get separated layers. 
6. Bake for 22-25 minutes on a middle rack, or until a toothpick inserted into one of the frittatas comes out clean. Serve warm, with minced parsley if you wish. Serves 6.