Green Eggs and Ham Frittata

Yesterday was just one of those days.

I slept through two snoozes and then staggered through getting dressed.  As I walked into the living room, I was assaulted by the sound of “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins.  After making a thorough search of the living room, dining room, kitchen, and breakfast room, I finally found the source of the song.  The Boy’s phone was laying on the floor near Michael’s recliner and he had set the alarm to go off at 6:00.  His alarm sound was the song.  I turned it off and sat in the quiet for a few minutes before waking everyone – as is my custom.  Solo cup of Dr. Pepper 10 on the arm of the chair.  Checking my Facebook and Instagram and Twitter.  Watching the news with the sound turned low.  It’s how I prefer to wake up in the morning.  As soon as “the waking” begins, all heck is gonna break loose, so I relish those quiet moments before the storm.

The Boy burst out of his room – interrupting my quiet – and began shouting about how his friend challenged him to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and he only had 24 hours to do it.  And if he waited until after football practice, that would be too late.  I assured him that it would be okay because he didn’t even see the video challenge until 9:00.  He was frantic.

And that, dear neighbors, is why we dragged a patio chair out into the driveway at 6:15 and I filmed my son dumping a bucket of ice water over his head.  His reaction was nothing to write about.  He – who has endured many an ice bath after a rough practice or workout – simply shrugged and said, “That wasn’t too bad.”

The Redhead was not having any part of waking up.  She covered her head with her blanket when she heard me coming and when I announced that it was time to get up, I heard a British accent say, “Elizabeth’s not awake right now.  Please leave a message at the beep.  BEEP!”  I granted her ten more minutes.  After making breakfast and packing lunches, I went back and had to tickle her out of bed.

Michael took The Boy to school.  I took the Redhead with me.  We had a typical school day.  I served my everyday duty spot in the school lobby for the car rider line.  And we headed home just as a downpour started.

A brief interrogation revealed that The Redhead had quite a bit of homework.  I set about making a quick dinner because my evening was just getting started.  I tried to make something that everyone could eat – even Michael the Meat Eater – and something that would reheat later for The Boy.

Michael came home briefly before leaving again to pick up The Boy from football practice just as I left to attend Fifth Grade Parent Orientation.  I came home fourteen hours later to find that Michael had overseen The Redhead’s homework and she was done  (Okay, it wasn’t that long.  Only about an hour, but I was tired so it felt like fourteen hours!).  I helped The Boy with his last assignment and then I finally settled in to eat the dinner that everyone else had already enjoyed.

This is one of those recipes that you can make for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner.  You can make it ahead and freeze it.  You can sit it by the stove for a couple of hours to be reheated as your family members come home.  Very versatile dish.  I named it The Green Eggs and Ham Frittata, but it’s really just spinach, ham, and cheese.  And although classic frittatas are baked in a pie pan, I made this one in a 9X13 baking pan so it would make more servings and they could be cut into squares for serving.  The best thing of all is that it comes together in less than five minutes and only takes 30 minutes to bake!  I think you’ll enjoy this one!

Green Eggs and Ham Frittata

• 4 cups of raw spinach
• 1 cup of chopped onion (frozen is fine)
• 1 cup of small-diced ham
• 2 cups of shredded Colby Jack
• 12 eggs
• 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon of salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a 9X13 baking pan with baking spray.

Use a food processor to finely chop the spinach.  The four cups will be reduced to a little more than a half a cup.  Pour chopped spinach into a large bowl.  Add the onion, ham, and cheese and stir to mix.  Break the eggs into the same bowl and whisk the eggs and other ingredients together.  Add the whipping cream and salt and whisk to incorporate.  Pour into the prepared baking dish and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes – or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out with no raw egg.  The top should be slightly browned.  Cool for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting into squares for serving.

Well Duh #1:  You could divide the mixture between two pie pans or 12-16 muffin cups.

Well Duh #2:  Don’t sweat the heavy cream.  If you don’t want to use it – or don’t have it – you can use milk (even skim!) or you can just leave it out completely.

Well Duh #3:  To freeze, I like to place individual squares in separate ZipLock bags.  It makes it easier to reheat each serving.  If you know you’re gong to freeze it, you may just want to go ahead and make this in muffin tins so your servings are already portioned.