Greek Frittata with Barley

Right now I'm so frittata-obsessed, I'm just making up recipes, but I totally hit on a winner with this one. Remember my barley stir-fry made in an effort to use up all the barley I got such a great deal on? Well, I made that again, and added it to a frittata, and it was fantastic (if a little messy).

Stir Fry:

Ingredients:
Handful cherry tomatoes
2 cups cooked barley
2 cloves garlic
two handfuls fresh spinach
Olive Oil
Preferred spices I used a little basil plus salt and pepper, hot pepper flakes and parsely

8 large eggs

1 cup ricotta (this is not completely necessary, I'm just trying to use it up--skip it if you don't have it on hand already)

Feta cheese 1/2 cup to 1 cup (depending on how much you love feta

• Dice garlic and throw in a skillet with a couple glugs of olive oil. Sautee until garlic is golden brown
• While garlic is browning, dice tomatoes
• Add barley to skillet and cook five minutes
• Add spinach and cook until wilted
• Add tomatoes and cook until warm
• Add any spices
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Once the stir fry is finished, set it aside and crack eight eggs into a mixing bowl
• whisk vigorously, and add the cup of ricotta, whisk again until completely mixed
• Make sure to spray pie plate with non-stick spray like Pam (or the store brand) and scoop in stir fry
• Push to the edges and smooth out so that it's about 1/2" thick and even
• Pour egg mixture on top
• Sprinkle feta onto that, and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.

Barley ~$.30, Eggs $1.50, Spinach $1.00, Feta $.50, Tomatoes $1.25, spices and olive oil $.50=

$5.05 or $.42/serving.

Baked Spanish Tortilla

I bought a pie plate! That means I'm going to be making quiches and fritattas in a somewhat over-the-top way, but that's alright. I love me some eggs, and now I have a new and exciting way to eat them. So my first foray into egg cookery, I decided to take on Spanish Tortilla. Of course, as soon as I realized that I could finally make this delicious dish at home, I also found out that Spanish Tortilla is usually fried thus negating my need to the pie plate. So I improvised.

Just in case anyone doesn't know, Spanish Tortilla is not like the corn or flour tortillas you can buy in the store, it's more of an egg bake with potatoes and usually onions. Since I hate onions, I left them out.

Ingredients:

8 large eggs--this is approximate, I used up my carton of medium eggs, and then moved onto the large ones. Well, turns out that my pie plate is huge. I beat about six eggs, poured them in, then realized I still had room.

4 large russet potatoes cubed very small

1 cup ricotta cheese--this is not absolutely necessary, I just happened to have some I need to use up. Add it in if you have it on hand, leave it out if you don't.

1 cup sharp cheddar shredded

six cloves garlic

Olive Oil

Salt pepper and preferred spices--I used a bit of parsley and some mustard powder

• Cube potatoes very small and boil in water until fork tender.
• Pre-heat oven to 350
• In a mixing bowl, crack eggs and beat together until completely mixed. Add in ricotta cheese and mix with eggs until smooth. Add preferred spices.
• Dice garlic and put in a frying pan with several glugs of olive oil. Saute until garlic is golden brown, then add diced potatoes. Stir potatoes to coat in oil.
• Pour potatoes into pie plate and push to the edges making the layer as even as possible.
• Pour egg mixture over potatoes to that it comes up about 1/2 inch below the rim of the pie plate.
• Sprinkle shredded cheddar over the top.
• Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 35 minutes, or until golden brown. Stick a knife in the middle to make sure it's cooked all the way through.

Potatoes ~$1,Cheese ~$1, Eggs $1.50, Ricotta $.50, Spices and Olive Oil $.50 = $5 for 8 servings or $.63 apiece.