Naturopathic Cancer Treatment Provider for over 25 years
Making nourishing meals can be challenging in busy households. Planning ahead is the key to making better choices. This recipe from The Nourish Me Kitchen by Dr. Erika Siegel is an excellent way to ensure your first meal of the day includes vegetables. It's also perfect for entertaining.
From Dr. Siegel:
"This dish is perfect for one of our favorite family activities: spending the weekend with great friends in a beautiful spot. We all share the responsibility of kiddo care, cooking, and cleaning. Before these weekends, I like to prepare some food in advance so I can spend more time having fun. This recipe is one of my fa- vorites for our group. With a quick reheat (in the oven, not the microwave), these eggy, veggie-filled muffins can easily feed two to three families with virtually no cleanup!"
"Veggie frittata muffins are simply a frittata mixture baked in a muffin cup—no plates or forks required. Make them your own with your favorite add-ins. They’re perfect for brunch and meals on the go, and, since they freeze well, they’re a great make-ahead meal option—just pull them out of the freezer as needed."
Veggie Frittata Recipe:
MAKES ABOUT 15 MUFFINS
1 dozen large eggs
2 cups cooked chopped rainbow chard leaves (cooked just until wilted)
1 large zucchini, cut into 1⁄2-inch dice (about 1 1⁄2 cups)
1/3 medium onion, diced (1/3 cup)
1⁄2 cup tightly packed hand-torn fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1⁄2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3⁄4 teaspoon salt
3 to 4 pinches red pepper flakes (optional)
Muffin pan liners (highly recom- mended!) or olive oil for greasing the muffin cups
6 ounces goat cheese (optional but highly suggested)
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. In a large bowl, crack the eggs and whisk until fluffy. Add the next 7 ingredients and mix well. Season the egg mixture with the salt and red pepper flakes (if using).
3. Line the muffin pans. Alternatively, pour a tiny bit of olive oil into each muffin cup and use a paper towel to grease the bottoms and sides to pre- vent the eggs from sticking.
4.Pour the egg mixture into the muffin cups, leaving about 1⁄4 inch of room. Top each frittata muffin with a few chunks of goat cheese (if using).
5. Bake in the preheated oven, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake for another 10 minutes, until the centers are just set, check with a toothpick. The muffins will continue to cook when you take them out of the oven, so be careful not to overcook or they will dry out.
6. The frittata muffins can be frozen in the muffin liners and reheated in the oven—no need to thaw first. Let the muffins cool completely before freezing.
For these muffins, I always use paper or silicone muffin liners so I don’t have to deal with greasing the pan or having our muffins stick. (Seriously, do yourself a favor and get those muffin liners.) If you don’t have a muffin pan or prefer a more traditional frittata shape, see the Note for alternate instructions.
You can also prepare this recipe as one large frittata in a 6-by-10-inch pan (or a pan close in measurement to this). The cooking time will be somewhere between 40 and
50 minutes; check the center of the frittata with a toothpick for doneness.
You can get more recipes like this from the Nourish Me Kitchen two volume book on Amazon.
