Celebrate Green Blog

I’m always looking for ways to use up small amounts of leftover produce. In the winter, making a pot of vegetable soup is the easiest way to do that. In the warmer months, a frittata is the perfect way to use small amounts of vegetables so they don’t go to waste.

We had friends for dinner over the weekend, and I made kabobs. I was left without half a dozen unused mushrooms and a small zucchini that I didn’t use – perfect for adding to a frittata. I also grabbed some green onions and spinach from my garden and a jar of minced onions from the refrigerator.

The beautiful thing about a frittata is that you can put just about anything in it. Small bits of leftover vegetables, herbs and meat can become part of a full meal. The other beautiful thing is that this can be a breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner dish. I made mine mid-morning today and added some cantaloupe so we’ll call mine brunch.

Using leftovers plus a few inexpensive eggs makes this a very affordable meal. It’s also a very easy local or organic meal – all of my vegetables (some organic, some not) came from my garden or the farmers market and the eggs came from a local source, too.

What are you waiting for? Route through your vegetable crisper and see what’s begging to be eaten before it gets too old. The amounts of the vegetables will vary depending on how much you have and how full of veggies you want your frittata. This is one of those recipes that can be changed up to suit your tastes. Don’t get bogged down with measuring.

Ingredients

• olive oil
• diced mushrooms
• diced zucchini
• chopped green onion
• chopped spinach
• salt and pepper
• minced garlic
• 6 eggs
• 2 tbsp milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. Pour olive oil in a small (6-8 inch), oven proof pan and heat over medium-high heat
3. Saute mushrooms, zucchini and green onion for about 5 minutes, add desired amount of garlic towards end
4. Beat eggs, milk, and salt & pepper to taste in a small bowl. Add chopped spinach to the egg mixture.
5. Turn stove down to medium heat and pour egg mixture into pan with sauteed vegetables and quickly stir to mix well.
6. Let the mixture in the pan sit still for five minutes until eggs begin to set.
7. After eggs begin to set, place in heated oven for 5-10 minutes. Keep an eye on it while it bakes. When eggs are completely set, remove from oven. Slice into triangles and serve with sliced fruit or a side salad.

Other things you could add

• Cheese
• tomatoes
• basil
• parsley
• cooked ham
• cooked bacon
• cooked chicken
• asparagus
• peppers
• leeks
• just about anything that strikes your fancy

You can freeze leftover wedges for a quick meal or snack another day.

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Robin Shreeves didn’t particularly like to cook until she started paying attention to how the food she feeds her family affects the environment. Once she started experimenting with fresh, organic and local foods, her outlook on food and cooking changed dramatically. When she’s not writing the eco-friendly food blog for Mother Nature Network or attending to her two personal blogs A Little Greener Every Day and South Jersey Locavore , she can often be found in the kitchen, playing with the food that she prepares for her husband and two boys.