You ever have one of those weeks where you realize you haven’t gone to the grocery store in awhile and the food supply is dwindling? In addition to that, you also don’t feel like actually going to the grocery store because it’s just a hassle and you’re nearing the end of the week? It’s like you have food, but at the same time you don’t. You have little bits and pieces of dishes, but not enough ingredients to fully pull something together.
We’re at Dollywood. Yup, you heard me correctly.
As much as I hate to admit it, I am in this position a lot. I hate going to the grocery store. But this week I actually have a really good excuse for not having any food in the refrigerator. You see, we went out of town last week and I got back Sunday afternoon, which is our usual grocery shopping day. No one wants to go run errands after they just got back into town. No one. And if you do, you’re just weird. We like to relax. Maybe watch a football game or two. That’s it. No shopping. None.
Unfortunately, it lead to a predicament. We’ve eaten out two nights in a row and it’s really time that we made dinner at home…
“Oh! I can make…no, I ran out of garlic last week…”
“But, what about…nope, don’t have milk.”
“Ugh.”
I’m pretty sure I stared at the inside of my refrigerator for 15 minutes hoping that it would just tell me what to make. To my disappointment, refrigerators don’t speak. BUT, it all of the sudden came to me. I could make a frittata, a flat, Italian-style omelette. Sausage? Check due to a 1/2 pound that I froze last week (go me!). Potatoes? Check…what else are you going to use two red potatoes for? Cheese? That’s always a check. Eggs? Check and mate. The frittata is on like donkey kong.
*THE INGREDIENTS. You can really just throw anything into a frittata and call it a day, which is why it’s the perfect dish for one of those days where the pantry is telling you that you desperately need a grocery store run. Luckily, you can tell the pantry to pipe down until tomorrow because of the omelette.
- 7 Eggs, beaten (this is what I used, but you can use as many as you’d like)
- Half and Half
- Sausage, ground
- Onion, chopped
- Potatoes, cubed and par cooked**
- Parmesan
- Salt and Pepper
- Olive Oil
THE METHOD. This particular style of omelette doesn’t require the same technique as the traditional style, which is good for us. Surprisingly enough, eggs are one of the hardest ingredients to master.
The frittata breaks down into two phases: cooking the ingredients that go inside the omelette and then cooking the actual omelette. So, this will be a piece of cake.
Turn the broiler on and place the top rack about 8 inches from the top.
In a hot pan, add some olive oil and brown up your sausage. Drain and set aside.
In the same hot pan, add some more olive oil and brown up the par-cooked potatoes. Season them up with salt and pepper. Maybe some paprika. Make those babies taste good. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add some more oil and add your onions. Cook until translucent and remove.
Crack your eggs in a bowl, add a splash of cream, and half of your parmesan cheese. Season well with salt and pepper. This is the only time you’ll get to season your eggs. Whisk it up. Set aside.
Place a pan that can withstand being placed in an oven over medium heat. Disperse your sausage and potatoes around the bottom of the ban. Give the eggs a quick stir and add them to the pan. Stir a little bit to allow the eggs to seep under the ingredients. Let the bottom cook and set. About three minutes. Sprinkle the top with the remaining parmesan. Place under the broiler to allow the eggs to finish cooking the top to get a light brown color. (Caution: Broilers are hot. This dish will cook much faster than you think so I would advise that you don’t leave the kitchen). Move to a wooden cutting board and serve it up.
Okay…so it’s not the prettiest of dishes, but it’s still pretty damn tasty.
ENJOY IT. Let’s take a step back and relish in the fact that we made a delicious dinner with absolutely nothing in the refrigerator/pantry. We are Wonder People, we are. Go us. High five the dog or something.
* The amount of each ingredient really depends on the number of eggs you use. The more eggs, the more of each ingredient needs to be added. This frittata is not rocket science, y’all.
** I boiled my potatoes to par-cook them. If you want to cook them in the pan the entire way, go for it, but we all know how long it takes potatoes to cook sometimes. While the sausage was browning, I just boiled the potatoes and by the time it was done, they were ready to brown up in the pan.
The Fun-Sized Chef 