Mushroom, Cheese and Toast Frittata | Recipes (2024)
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Mushroom, Cheese, and Toast Frittata
One of my goals for last year was to tighten up spending on the grocery/household line in our budget. Thanks to some good ol’ fashioned discipline (and avoiding Target like the plague), I have shaved off over $300/month.
Here are some of my favorite ways to save money on food:
Cook your own beans. Eat more simple rice-and-beans dinners.
Roast whole chickens (or buy at Costco). Use the bones to .
Bake your own bread. I haven’t bought store bread in months. Big savings!
Eat more meat-free meals.
Stop wasting food. Best way: keep your fridge cleaned out. Fried rice, Fresh Juice, and Vegetarian Frittatas are great ways to re-invent leftovers.
Basically, I’m forcing myself to avoid the path of least resistance as much as possible: processed food, eating out, pre-packaged food. Putting in some effort in the kitchen yields huge results in the budget.
Start small! Pick one new habit and practice it until it’s no big deal. Then add another one. Soon you’ll have lots of new skills in your frugal homemaking toolbelt, which will translate to noticeable savings in the grocery store.
RELATED: How to save money by stockpiling the basics in your pantry
Today’s frittata recipe combines three of these tips! Can’t finish your loaf of No-Knead Bread? No problem! This recipe transforms those stale leftover pieces into toasty cubes,tucked into a soft bed of eggs, cheese, and vegetables.
Even with the rising price on eggs, frittatas are still a very economical meal. This is a fast, frugal, filling option that can stand on its own. Kind of like a deconstructed egg sandwich. Add some fruit or a green salad and you’re still serving 4-6 people for around $10.
And the best part about frittatas is the ability to customize them to suit your own tastes. Don’t like mushrooms or onions? Substitute asparagus or spinach or whatever vegetable is in season. Frittatas give you the ability to clean out the fridge and still put something delicious on the table.
10 eggs, lightly beaten 1/4 c. milk salt and pepper 2 T.unsalted butter, divided 2 slices bread, cut into 3/4″ cubes (about 3 cups) 1/2 lb. button mushrooms, trimmed and sliced 1/4 c. chopped onions (sweet or green) 1/2 c. shredded cheese
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and milk and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a 10″ oven-safe skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high. Add bread and cook, turning, until golden on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Clean out bread crumbs with a paper towel and return skillet to medium heat. Add remaining tablespoon butter, mushrooms, and onions; cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Season. Scoop 1/2 of this mixture out of the skillet and onto a plate; set aside. Add egg mixture to skillet.To help cook the eggs, slide a metal spatula around the outside and lift up, tilting the pan to allow the uncooked eggs to run underneath and cook faster. You don’t want the underside of the eggs to get too brown, but you also don’t want to scramble the eggs.
Press bread cubes into eggs and sprinkle with reserved mushroom mixture and cheese. Place the skillet under a broiler set on low for 1-2 minutes (watch carefully!), or until the top of the frittata is slightly puffed and golden and the eggs are completely cooked.
Remove from the broiler (sprinkle with chopped chives or green onions, if desired). Serve warm or at room temperature.
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I’m kind of crazy about cast iron pots and pans. For skillets, I own a 12″ Lodge cast iron skillet and a 10″ LeCreuset enamel-coated cast iron skillet. This 10.25″ Lodge Cast Iron Skillet is around $15, which is an awesome price. It is a heavy-duty kitchen workhorse that comes pre-seasoned, ready to cook pretty much anything you throw in it.
A frittata is partially cooked in a skillet on the cooktop then finished in the oven. It also has a lower egg to dairy ratio making it closer to an open faced omelet than a pie. Quiche has a creamier, custard-like texture due to more dairy and is cooked entirely in the oven.
But unlike omelets, egg frittatas can serve a family fast. And unlike most egg recipes, a four-serving frittata cooks all at once without any flipping or fuss. Plus, since there's no crust (like quiches), it makes it a healthier breakfast option.
Don't overcook! Overcooking eggs makes them rubbery. When you remove the Frittata from the oven, it will continue to cook, especially if you are using cast iron, which retains heat well. You do want it to be set and not liquidy, but keep this in mind so you keep the texture perfect.
If meat and vegetables figure into your frittata, cook them in the pan before you add your eggs—and I leave mine ever so slightly underdone. That way, they don't get soggy when they keep cooking in the oven (and I tend to like my vegetables with a little “bite” anyway, but it's a personal preference).
While it's similar to an omelet, crustless quiche, and Spanish tortilla, the way a frittata is cooked is what sets it apart. Frittatas are generally thicker than omelets. A frittata is made with the exact same ingredients as an omelet, but here, the milk, or more preferably, cream, is crucial.
Cook the frittata in the oven just until the centre is no longer wobbly and the edges are golden-brown. If still unsure, place a knife into the centre of the frittata. If raw eggs run out, keep cooking. You want the eggs to be just set as the frittata will keep cooking while it's standing.
Cheeses like feta, cottage cheese and swiss cheese are healthy sources of protein and calcium. So, ditch processed cheeses and opt for these healthier alternatives. Similarly, add boiled and shredded chicken or turkey to your omelette, instead of going for red meat additions like bacon bits.
The bottom line: an egg a day shouldn't put you over the edge, especially if you're eating leaner cuts of protein and plant-based protein, rather than relying solely on red meat. If you have a heart-related condition, being aware of your saturated fat intake is more important.
The frittata originates from the Mediterranean region, and a very similar dish with eggs, cheese, and vegetables was known in ancient Rome. All the efforts of tracing this dish to a particular Italian region defies attempts, as it is popular all over Italy.
For a standard 12-egg frittata, stir in about one cup (shred it first). Want to top the eggs with cheese, too? Shoot for ¼ to ½ cup more. If it's an oozing texture you're after, pick cheeses that have superior melting quality: "This is your cheddar, gruyère, and fontina," says Perry.
The best choice for making frittatas, cast iron skillets can safely go from stovetop to oven, and they conduct heat well and evenly. Seasoning a cast-iron pan gives it a non-stick quality, so a well-seasoned skillet will result in the easiest slicing & serving.
Pre-seasoning the eggs with salt helps them retain moisture during cooking. Cooking the vegetables in batches gives us more control over their texture. Keeping the cheese in large chunks gives us oozy pockets in the frittata. Flipping the frittata ensures a creamy, dense center.
Tough vegetables like potatoes, squash and onions need to be pre-cooked since they will not have time enough to soften before the eggs are done. Raw meats such as bacon and sausage also need more time and heat to cook through safely, so get them prepped before your other ingredients.
If the center is still liquid, you've got to cook longer. If it's almost set, cook the frittata a few more minutes, then remove it. As long as the frittata is still in the hot pan, it will continue to cook. That's why it's important to pull the dish from the oven as soon as it reaches that "set" stage.
Crust: A quiche has crust while a frittata does not. Sometimes, quiche is baked without crust. Base Ingredients: While both frittatas and quiches are made with eggs, quiche is made with an egg custard, which also includes cream or milk. Some frittatas are made with egg whites only.
You can think of a frittata as an Italian omelette. The origin of the word frittata is the Italian friggere, "fried," and in Italy it was once a common way to describe any egg dish cooked in butter or oil in a pan.
A crustless quiche is quite simply baked eggs and literally anything else you want to throw in. Like so many of our classic heroes, the easy egg bake of a crustless quiche goes by many names: egg bake, egg casserole, oven omelet.
The traditional cooking methods used also set quiches, frittatas, and omelets apart. Quiches are typically baked in the oven; omelets are cooked-over stovetop heat and folded over (with the center most often left custardy and not quite set).
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Introduction: My name is Prof. Nancy Dach, I am a lively, joyous, courageous, lovely, tender, charming, open person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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