Garden Veggie Frittata

Are you familiar with the concept of the Basic Bitch?  She has been all over social media lately, so she’s been pretty tough to miss.  She’s hard to define, this Basic Bitch, but everybody knows the sorts of things she likes: pumpkin spice lattes, Sex and the City, Instagramming photos of her hot dog legs.  The Basic Bitch likes generic things that everybody likes, and is therefore, apparently, void of personality.  Well guess what?  We all have some Basic Bitch qualities.  Yes, even you.  I can guarantee you like something that has been ascribed to Basic Bitches.  I, for one, LOVE brunch.  Unapologetically.  Which makes me a Basic Bitch, I guess.  And you know what?  I’m totally fine with that.  If liking brunch makes me a Basic Bitch, I will be the basic-est bitch that ever basic’ed.  Give me all the mimosas and fancy egg dishes and long, lingering weekend mornings.  There’s plenty to go around if you decide to embrace your inner Basic Bitch and join me.

There are few things in my life as a student that I value as highly as I value my Sunday brunch.  I don’t go out very often for brunch, since I’m currently hemorrhaging money, but I will cling to my at-home brunch until the day I die.  It feels so indulgent and relaxed.  It’s just the best.  Usually Sundays are work days, so getting to ease into the day is extremely important to my sanity.  This week I had a serious abundance of eggs, so I decided to forgo the usual omelet or scramble for something a little more fun (not to mention egg-consuming): a frittata.

Frittatas are the perfect brunch dish, because they’re a) delicious (obviously the most important criterion) and b) easy, which is extremely important when just getting out of bed is a struggle.  All you do is cook up some of your favorite veggies, stir in a boatload of eggs and some cheese, and pop it in the oven.  BOOM.  Magic in a skillet.

Garden Veggie Frittata

Note: All the veggie measurements are approximations.  Use whatever veggies you want in whatever amount you want.

• 3 T. Unsalted Butter
• 1 c. Cherry Tomatoes, sliced and somewhat seeded (I just squeeze ’em out over the sink and that suffices)
• 1/2 Bell Pepper, diced
• Kernels from 1-2 ears of Corn
• 1 Jalepeno, diced
• 3 Scallions, sliced
• 10 Eggs
• 1 T. Salt
• 1 t. Pepper
• 1 T. fresh Thyme, chopped
• 1/2-3/4 c. Feta, crumbled

Preheat oven to 375.  In an ovenproof skillet, melt butter over medium heat.  Add in all veggies and cook for a few minutes until soft.  Beat eggs, salt, pepper, and thyme in a medium bowl.  Stir egg mixture into skillet, and cook for a few minutes until edges begin to set.  Sprinkle crumbled feta on top, then bake for 25 minutes until the frittata is set and golden-brown on top.  Cool slightly before serving.

I’m pretty sure there isn’t a better meal out there than a frittata.  It’s chock-full of veggies, gives you protein and healthy fats from the eggs and cheese, and is low-carb for those who watch out for that.  Frittatas are super-filling and reheat pretty well– BF and I ate this thing for breakfast for three more days, and it was a perfect, quick weekday breakfast.

I put thyme in this frittata because I bought a ton of it at the farmer’s market, and I have been looking for every excuse I can find to use it up.  Unfortunately, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to use all of it before it went bad, so I decided to freeze the rest of the thyme in olive oil until I need it.

That’s it!  Now you can buy fresh herbs without wasting half of them because you just can’t use them that quickly.  When you want to use some, you’ve already got nice, aromatic olive oil and fresh herbs ready to go.  Woo hoo!