Dinner according to Jeff - Breakfast!

If you would have put eggs down in front of Jeff about four years ago, he would have turned his nose (or really, he would have just not eaten them). Now, he can't get enough. Something happened somewhere between Michigan, California, and Florida a few years ago. We went on vacation and he came home an egg lover. Perhaps I should clarify, a scrambled egg/omelet lover. He still won't touch a runny yolk.

Now, he eats eggs anytime he gets the chance. This past fall, whenever he would cook himself dinner or breakfast or lunch, it would be scrambled eggs. That's it. For four months that was the only thing that was on the menu, (to be fair, he didn't actually cook himself a meal very often). I think that he may just really like ketchup, with which he smothers his eggs; typically his plate is half eggs half ketchup, but I have much weirder food eating habits, so I won't poke fun.

And I used to love eggs. Sunny side up was my favorite, or as I fondly referred to them - "dippity eggs" (dippity because I could 'dip' my toast into the runny yolk). But I liked scrambled too. My mom made a mean egg. Now, I'm sort of indifferent. I'll eat omelets if they're stuffed with lots of delicious things (sausage, feta, tomatoes, ...) or every once in awhile I'm game for a poached or scrambled egg, especially if its on an H&H bagel with bacon and muenster cheese.

I do, however, like to eat the Omega-3 eggs, makes me feel healthy. I don't eat nearly enough flax seed to get those delightful Omega-3's. In fact, I never eat flax seed unless its disguised as something else or hiding in a muffin or something I don't know about. Although Kashi has a delectable granola bar that has those potent little seeds which is actually quite tasty. I'm also a bit afraid of fish (another good source of Omega-3's). I love fish, almost any variety, but it changes practically daily which fish you can and can't eat because of over fishing and farming, and I absolutely can not keep track of the "bad to eat because of high levels of mercury" fishes. Although the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California is supposed to keep an updated list on these issues, who wants to be checking a list every time you feel like fish, especially if you're out at the restaurant? However, I have heard that Google has a beta service for your cell phone that you can text message them with a search and they'll text you back the answer, so I suppose you can actually check the list even if you're at a restaurant.
And there it is, I have digressed. Back to the topic at hand...

Are you beginning to see the issue? Jeff wants eggs for every meal. I'd rather have something else. The answer came to us last summer when Jeff was in California. He had this wonderful Italian roommate who introduced us to the wonder which is the frittata. I had seen recipes for them before, just looked like an omelet to me. But, what I learned, was that the eggs in the frittata were just a vehicle for any and every leftover you have in the fridge. Leftover pasta? Put it in a frittata! Leftover steak? Add some eggs! Veggies, meat, cheese, noodles, rice, whatever! And Jeff could get his breakfast for dinner. Now it's pretty standard if we have pasta one night for dinner, the next night will be frittata with the leftovers. You can either put in 'naked' cooked noodles or throw in the leftover pasta, sauce and all.

The BEST part of this meal, is that it epitomizes the one pot meal. The dishes that I dirtied yesterday (in our frittata after pasta ritual): one small bowl (for mixing the eggs), the cutting board (unavoidable unless I don't cook at all), and a 10" pan. That's it! My kitchen was still clean, while I was cooking, even in a NY apartment kitchen. Unbelievable. ESPECIALLY for me.

So, keep your kitchen clean, get dinner on the table in 20 minutes and eat a meal that's quite nutritious (depending on what you add) and keeps everyone in your family happy! How could I not share this one?!

Frittata
This recipe serves two for dinner, add some garlic bread or a salad to round it out. Just increase or decrease the amount of eggs to change the number it serves, but be careful as you'll also need to change the size of your pan as well

6 eggs (or some combination of egg whites and eggs, you definitely need some whole eggs though)
milk
salt and pepper
whatever you have leftover in the fridge (asparagus, peppers, onions, feta, sundried tomatoes, regular tomatoes, garlic, pasta, chicken, meat, are some of our favorites)
Last night we had: half an onion sliced, half bunch asparagus cut up in small pieces, leftover pasta (~ 1 cup), spinach (some), sundried tomato (4 tomatoes, cut up) and feta (~ 1/4 cup)

Pre-heat oven to 400. Heat some oil in a non-stick pan that can go in the oven over medium/medium high heat. Add the veggies that need a little extra time to soften (asparagus, peppers) or the onions if you want them a bit carmelized. Add the pasta. Mix the eggs in a bowl with a splash of milk. Beat eggs very well (if you want, it's even better to throw them in a blender). Lower the heat to medium low and add the eggs to the pan. As the egg cooks on the edge of the pan, use a spatula to scrape the sides and tip the pan so that the runny egg can get to the edge. When the egg is beginning to set, add the rest of the ingredients (the cheese, sundried tomatoes, etc...). Don't forget to season each layer that goes into the pan with salt and pepper. Once the egg is almost completely set, put the pan in the oven for 5 - 10 minutes.
Enjoy!