Saturday, April 11, 2009

Homemade is Better: Ham and Asparagus Frittata

Don and I tried this awesome new recipe tonight to make use of the gigantic ham we got at Fresh and Easy this week for 77 cents a pound! Don was the chef tonight while I finally made some headway with the laundry that's been piling up for weeks. I think he got the better end of the stick, but then again he did an amazing job so no complaints here. He started by carving up the smoked bone in ham into several portions, setting aside only enough for tonight's recipe and storing the rest in a ziploc bag in the freezer for later use. We also stored and froze the ham bone as well which can be used to make some of my favorite soups like split pea or bean and ham. The recipe itself was a cinch to make. Simply stir fry veggies in an oven proof skillet, stir in egg and cheese mixture and then put in the oven for a few minutes until set. Since our cast iron skillet did not fit in our broiler, we just baked at the highest temp for approximately the same amount of time and it turned out just fine. The frittata tasted delicious and we will definitely make this again a few times until the ham and jarlsberg cheese is used up. The only thing I might change is to add a couple more eggs next time as the frittata came out a little thinner than we would prefer.

All in all this was a delicious and satisfying meal, and by concentrating on sale items, it was very inexpensive to make. Here's the run down on cost.

Smoked Ham - $1.00 ($6.00 for 8 pounds on sale)
Jarlsberg Cheese - $1.33 ($4.00 for a wedge, used 1/3)
Eggs - $0.40 ($1.00 for a dozen on sale)
Bell Pepper - $0.50 (2 for $1.00 on sale)
Asparagus - $0.98 (on sale)
Pantry Items - cooking spray, salt & pepper, onion, italian seasoning

Total Cost for four servings = $4.21

Ham and Asparagus Frittata



Extend whole eggs with egg whites for a generous serving size. Serve the frittata with fruit and toasted English muffins and jam for an Easter brunch for two.


2/3 cup chopped 33%-less-sodium ham (about 3 ounces)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded low-fat Jarlsberg cheese
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 large egg whites
2 large eggs
Cooking spray
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup (1-inch) slices asparagus
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Preheat broiler.

Combine ham, cheese, black pepper, salt, egg whites, and eggs, stirring well with a whisk.

Heat a 9-inch nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and asparagus; sauté 3 minutes. Add egg mixture; reduce heat to medium. Cook, covered, 3 minutes or until almost set. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Wrap handle of pan with foil; broil 3 minutes or until egg is set. Cut into 4 wedges.



Yield: 2 servings (serving size: 2 wedges)

CALORIES 251 (33% from fat); FAT 9.2g (sat 3.4g,mono 3.5g,poly 1.1g); IRON 2.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 247mg; CALCIUM 373mg; CARBOHYDRATE 9.6g; SODIUM 791mg; PROTEIN 31.3g; FIBER 2g

Cooking Light, APRIL 2004

2 comments:

Rice Candy said...

This is a great concept especially now-a-days since everyone is watching their pennies.

Don Early said...

I think the main reason why it turned out so flat is that I used a larger skillet. If I had used a medium sized skillet like it called for, probably would have been the right thickness. But I love the cast-iron skillet, especially if it's going in the broiler or oven. So yeah, I'd probably increase the recipe maybe doubling the eggs for the size of pan I used.