Southwestern Frittata

One of the things I love about Thrive Life foods is the convenience.  This morning I awoke to realize that all my scheduled recipe posts have run out!  I thought I had a few more in the reservoir.  But alas, they are all gone.  And today is my posting day...what to do? 

Thrive Life to the rescue.  I quickly went to one of my newest cookbooks, Against All Grain, and tried to find a breakfast recipe that I could Thrivalize.  I had tagged this frittata recipe because I have always wanted to try making one and the ingredients sounded pretty tasty.

I was able to sub Thrive freeze dried foods for almost all of the ingredients.  And really, I could have also subbed the eggs for the scrambled egg mix (which is SO good) but I wanted to try it with traditional eggs first.  I could also have used Thrive zucchini, but I was out.

When I use Thrive in a skillet meal, I just keep adding water a few tablespoons at a time until things get hydrated the way I want them.  If I end up adding in too much, I just wait for it to simmer off and then move on with the recipe.  If you are not using Thrive, see the notes at the bottom of the recipe for conventional directions.

Ingredients:
oil or bacon grease for the pan
1 cup Thrive freeze dried ground beef (or 1/2 pound raw ground beef)
1/4 cup Thrive freeze dried onion (or 2 Tbsp. chopped onion)
1/2 cup Thrive freeze dried butternut squash (or 1/2 cup diced butternut squash)
2 1/2 tsp. taco seasoning
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup Thrive freeze dried spinach (or 2 cups fresh  baby spinach)
1/2 cup diced zucchini
1/3 cup Thrive freeze dried red bell pepper (or 1/3 cup diced red bell pepper)
10 eggs, beaten
cheddar cheese, grated
avocado
salsa
sour cream

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  In a cast iron skillet (mine is a square 10") melt some bacon grease over medium heat...about 1 Tbsp (or use your oil of choice).  Pour in the ground beef and onion and stir to toast a little.  Add in about 1/4 cup of water and allow the beef and onion to rehydrate.  Add in the butternut squash and keep adding water a little at a time.  You will see the squash change color a little as it rehydrates.
3.  Once these ingredients are well-hydrated, add in the taco seasoning and salt and stir well to combine.
4.  Add in the spinach, zucchini, and red bell pepper....adding in more water as needed to adequately hydrate the ingredients.  Cook for about 4 minutes.
5.  Turn off burner, pour eggs into skillet, and place skillet into preheated oven for 20 minutes OR until the eggs have puffed up AND are cooked through (no wet jigglies on the surface).  Immediately sprinkle with grated cheddar, if desired.  Allow to melt for a minute or two.

Serve with avocado, salsa, sour cream.

Conventional Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.   In a cast iron skillet (mine is a square 10") melt some bacon grease over medium heat...about 1 Tbsp (or use your oil of choice).  Add in ground beef, onion, squash, taco seasoning, and salt and saute until the meat is mostly cooked through.
3.  Add spinach, zucchini, and red bell pepper and cook for 4 more minutes.
4.  Turn off burner, pour eggs into skillet, and place skillet into preheated oven for 20 minutes OR until the eggs have puffed up AND are cooked through (no wet jigglies on the surface).  Immediately sprinkle with grated cheddar, if desired.  Allow to melt for a minute or two.

Notes:

• Original recipe stated 12 minutes of bake time, but I needed a full 20.  Check your frittata starting at 12 minutes.
• Make sure your skillet is oven-proof.
• Cast iron is the best!!!!!!

Recipe Source:  adapted from a recipe in Against All Grain, by Danielle Walker (her website: Against All Grain)