Toddler Lunch or Company Brunch: Frittata For All

On my most organized weeks, I’ve prepped multiple meals for the week on Saturday or Sunday, but a typical scenario involves running around all weekend, getting home Sunday afternoon, and saying, “x*?% (mild expletive), I don’t have anything prepped for daycare lunches this week!”

Frittatas have saved me so many times because:

• I can make it with about ten minutes of physical prep time.
• My son can eat it for four days in a row without getting sick of it.
• Baking it dirties just one pan.
• It uses ingredients I always have in the house.
• I love it too and can eat it for lunch.
• It can double as dinner.
• It’s a perfect company brunch dish, and you can do your quick (they’ll be here any minute, ahh) clean-up while it bakes.

Frittatas are baked egg dishes that can be made in two ways. I used to make them in a pan on the stove, carefully watching for when they needed to be flipped. Who has time for that? Now, I quickly mix the ingredients (often right in the pan I am cooking in) and toss them in the oven. My son loves them made in muffin tins as well.

Our staple dish, which we also love for a super easy toddler lunch or company brunch, is a Spinach and Parmesan Frittata (recipe below), but you can use any veggie that you have on hand, love to eat, or are trying to eat more of.

One of the key ingredients in my frittatas is (surprise!) cottage cheese. Besides contributing even more protein and calcium, it gives it a creamy texture that makes the leftovers as good as the first day – a key feature for me!

Some other great combos are:

• Roasted asparagus (roast in the oven with olive oil cooking spray for ten minutes) and goat cheese.
• Roasted peppers (roast in the oven whole sprayed with olive oil cooking spray for ten minutes, and then cool, peel and dice or use jarred roasted peppers), julienned sun-dried tomatoes, and feta cheese.

The Super Easy Baked Spinach & Parmesan Frittata

Ingredients:

• 10 eggs*
• 1 cup 1% cottage cheese
• 10 ounces cooked, chopped spinach, squeezed dry (I use frozen, microwaved)
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan
• 2/3 cup onions, chopped (I like to keep Trader Joe’s prechopped onions in my fridge)
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• Pinch of nutmeg (great with spinach, but leave out when using the other veggie suggestions above)
• 1/4 tsp. basil
• 1/4 tsp. oregano
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

*Note: I use whole eggs, which are protein-packed and contain vitamins like Biotin and Vitamin A, but the recipe tastes great with six whole eggs and six whites if you wish to reduce calories

**Use a large casserole dish or muffin pan. Makes 24 muffins.

Preheat the oven to 375. Heat a sauté pan to medium heat, add olive oil, and sauté onions until translucent. Then add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl, including the sautéed onions, and whisk thoroughly. Spray a large Pyrex pan with cooking spray (for the muffin version, spray the muffin pan with cooking spray, then use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to spoon into the muffin pan). Bake for 20-30 minutes until the eggs are lightly golden on top. Serve immediately, or cool it and use it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

Let me know if you try it! What are your favorite “go-to” recipes?