Saturday, January 10, 2009

One-Bite Wonders

I have been saving this recipe in my arsenal for the next time I throw a baby shower. I do that fairly often. I see a recipe and think, "that would be perfect for a (fill in the blank with your choice of occasion - baby shower, Super Bowl party, cocktail hour, you name it). I am constantly researching new recipes and sometimes I see things that may not be right at the moment but will be one day. To me, these little treats seemed like the perfect snack to adorn a table full of miniature treats geared toward women's palates.

Since I had tons of leftover baked ham from New Year's Day, I figured this would be the perfect time to test drive this recipe. Although there were no pregnant women in site and no talk of diapers, I still made them for an afternoon snack for Forrest and he loved them!

Mini Frittatas with Ham and Cheese
Adapted from Cooking Light December 2001

Yield

8 servings (serving size: 3 frittatas)

Ingredients
  • Cooking spray
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
  • 2/3 cup chopped reduced-fat ham (about 2 ounces) or left-over baked ham
  • 1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat extra-sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
  • 4 large egg whites
  • 1 large egg
Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion (very finely chopped because the frittatas will be small and you don't want big chunks of onion); sauté 2 minutes or until crisp-tender and lightly browned.

Add ham; sauté about 3 minutes.

Remove from heat; let cool while you combine the other ingredients. Combine eggs, pepper, thyme, cayenne, and cheese in a large bowl;

stir with a whisk.

Add ham and onion mixture,

stirring with a whisk. Spoon mixture into 24 miniature muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Each cavity will only hold about two teaspoons of the mixture. It won't seem like enough but remember they will puff up during cooking. They do end up fairly small, but if serving as an hour' derves they are the perfect size for a one bite treat. If you want them bigger, like the size of a mini cupcake, they only fill 12 of the cavities in the mini muffin tin.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until set.

These mini-frittatas were delicious. They were surprisingly moist and very flavorful. I loved that they only had one yolk in the entire recipe. I much prefer the flavor of egg whites over the yolk. They were so packed with filling that the egg was not the most important element of the recipe anyway - the onions, cheese and ham were the stars of this show!

20 comments:

What's Cookin Chicago said...

Looks great and a perfect dish to add to any brunch meal!

Anonymous said...

oh that looks yummy! i think i'm gonna try it eggbeaters! i need something portable for work and these will work perfectly!

Anonymous said...

These look so good! I love little muffin tin omelets. A great and tasty way to use up leftovers.

Angie said...

I'm sorry, but I've copywritted the phrase "Heat a large non-stick skillet." I'm going to have to ask you to rewrite the phrase in your own words.

:-D These look awesome. I can't wait to try them!

Half Baked said...

Your right these are the perfect baby shower bites. I do that with recipes too;P These look really tasty!

Ally said...

Wow, that last shot has me craving those little taters..

Ally said...

Um, ok. Yeah not taters, eggies. How's that? ; )

James said...

Those look fantastic! Thanks!

Ginger said...

Good Morning Elizabeth,

These look really good. I am going to add these to my Super Bowl menu. They would look great in a pretty lined basket.

Anonymous said...

Too bad I am pregnant with my 3rd baby and no one is going to give me another baby shower. Maybe we can serve this at our Tea & See or the baby's christening reception!

Your sis,
Jessica

MaryBeth said...

They sound perfect for our Super Bowl Party that we have every year. I think I just might have to give these a try. Thanks

Anonymous said...

These would be fun for a brunch party! Thanks for the idea. Sorry about your copyright troubles. Yikes!

Spryte said...

Wow!!! Those are GREAT!!

Diane said...

My mom always makes these for our family Christmas party and I love them! I've never made them myself, but seeing your pictures inspires me. I think I'll try them this afternoon because I have all of the ingredients in the house.

T and C Bakery said...

These look so good, I'm going to have to make them

Jeri @ TheFatLossAuthority.com said...

Oh my! These are one of the best appetizers - snack I have made in a long time! My they easy to make too so this was my main reason at first for making it, but the ingredients are great! If you're looking for a good snack, this is it!

Ethan @ FatBurningFurnace.com said...

Since I do most of the cooking in my family, I constantly look for ways to surprise my kids and wife and this one did the trick...I agree with other posters, they make great snacks for those in-between-meal hungries

Tam said...

How well would these freeze? I'm making up some freezer meals for my niece for when the baby is born and thought these would be a great breakfast or snack for her.

Anonymous said...

Do you have the stats on these? How much fat and calories per serving?

Elizabeth said...

Anonymous,
Serving size = 3 fritattas
Amount per serving

Calories: 39
Calories from fat: 30%
Fat: 1.3g
Saturated fat: 0.5g
Monounsaturated fat: 0.2g
Polyunsaturated fat: 0.1g
Protein: 4.4g
Carbohydrate: 2.3g
Fiber: 0.4g
Cholesterol: 32mg
Iron: 0.2mg
Sodium: 121mg
Calcium: 80mg