Bacon Fritatta!

What's better than the aroma of a freshly baked fritatta on a fall morning? Fresh coffee and English Muffin bread to go with it, of course!

This recipe could very easily be made vegetarian, simply by omitting the bacon. Sacrilege, I know, but not everyone eats meat..

 

Ingredients:

18 eggs

half pound bacon, chopped

1 medium onion

1 green bell pepper

1 Anaheim chile

1 can spinach

4 medium Roma tomatoes

2-3 medium potatoes

1 clove garlic

shake or two of basil

1/2 cup milk

pepper

2 cups shredded cheese

This recipe makes an 9x13 Pyrex dish. I have 11 people in the house to feed, so I make laaaaarge quantities.. 

Preheat oven to 350

Slice the potatoes thin, and layer them on the bottom of the dish. I use two layers, as I like a good crust. 

Place the Pyrex into the oven to cook the potatoes while preparing the rest of the ingredients. This gives the potatoes a head start!

In a large skillet, begin to fry up the chopped bacon. Cook it about half way, DO NOT DRAIN. Add the chopped onion, peppers, garlic, chile. Cook until tender, and the bacon is nice and crispy. The grease from the bacon will cook the veggies nicely! It's a pork fat thing.. If you are doing this the vegetarian way, leave out the bacon, and add a few tablespoons olive oil instead.

While this concoction is cooking, it's time to drain the spinach. You can use fresh spinach, but if you can't get that, use canned. I use a colander, and drain the spinach first. This can seem gross, as you get lovely spinach juice all over your hands, but its actually quite easy. Pour the canned spinach into a colander, and then literally pick up the green glob, and squeeze. You will be surprised how much juice you can get out. It doesn't have to be DRY, just mostly drained. Toss the chopped Roma's in with the spinach.

 

 When these have both drained enough, transfer them into a large mixing bowl. By this time, the bacon/pepper/onions mix should be about done. Now, the question is how do you drain off the excess grease without losing the veggies, AND without clogging your drain? Why, by using the same colander, of course. I place the colander into a large bowl, and then drain the grease into the bowl. That makes it much easier to pour the bacon grease into a jar for later disposal. We all know not to pour bacon grease down the drains, right?

 Once the bacon mix is drained, add it to the bowl of spinach and tomatoes. And now come the eggs. 18 to be precise. Why so many?? We are, after all, making a 9x13 pan of Fritatta.. Add the half cup milk, and mix everything up all together. Add the basil and pepper to taste. Once everything is incorporated, it's time to take the potatoes out of the stove. Spread the grated cheese over the potatoes, then simply pour the egg mixture over it. Place it in the oven for about 45 minutes to an hour, and viola, FRITATTA!

You will want to test the center, to make sure it is cooked thru. I do this by cutting a small inch square in the center. Once it is finished, it looks delicious!