Friday, September 13, 2013

Corn and Jalapeño Mexittata

I don't know about you, but by the time we reach Thursday evening at the Holland House, I'm pretty tired of cooking dinner. Long days at work, the lure of the weekend ahead, and now football season...the last thing I want to do is spend a bunch of time in the kitchen. When I meal plan on the weekend, I try to balance how labor intensive each night's meal is, and I often leave Thursday nights open in case we decide to order chinese take-out instead.

Since we're trying really hard to stay on track with healthy, whole-food meals, I managed to summon the strength to fix a weeknight meal that wouldn't have me slaving in the kitchen forever. One of my favorite go-to meals is a frittata. It's inexpensive, quick, and usually a great way to clean out the fridge. I wasn't in the mood for just any old frittata though. I wanted spice (and carbs) to go with it. A quick google search led me to this recipe that served as the inspiration for this dish.

The Holland House: Corn and Jalapeño Mexittata

The ingredients for this dinner cost $7.98 at the store (plus the bag of frozen corn, bell pepper and lime that I already had). Not too shabby for a meal that made 4 hearty servings for us. You could easily add a side salad, or a little meat in the frittata, if you want up the calorie content and feed a few more people. For our little family of 2 though, there was just enough for his and her portions for dinner and lunch the next day. In fact, I think Hank was planning on eating his for breakfast!

One last thing before I get to the recipe that I know you're dying to see. "Recipe" is a strong word. I treat it like most of the things I make up in my kitchen. It's a starting point, and I hope that you'll make it your own based on the things that you have available in your kitchen. Add some bacon/ham/chorizo if you want. Don't like pepper jack cheese? Use something else instead. If you have an aversion to onions, leave them out. I promise it will still taste ok!

On to the dish...I renamed it a "Mexitatta" in honor of the spicier ingredients used. I think the possibilities are endless for the flavor combinations you could try with this. Poblano + queso fresco, and black bean + avocado are a few I'd like to try.

First, get organized and gather your ingredients.

The Holland House: Mexittata Ingredients


Spray your pan with baking spray and line it with corn tortillas. Make sure to cover all of the surface. I tore some in half and used those to line the sides. Bake the tortilla layer at 350° for about 5-8 minutes until slightly crispy, but still a little bit soft. (I used a pie dish to keep the tortillas in place while baking.)

The Holland House: Tortilla Skillet






Make your salsa in one bowl, and the egg mixture in another. Reserve about 3/4 cup of salsa and then combine the remaining salsa and egg mix together with cheese. Cheese (even just a little bit) makes everything taste better.

The Holland House: Corn and Jalapeño Salsa


Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the top is no longer jiggly. Now is a great time to clean up your mess! Take the frittata out of the oven and let cool for a bit.

The Holland House: Mexittata Before
Before going in the oven.








The Holland House: Mexittata After
After- straight out of the oven.
Serve with some of the reserved salsa (and maybe even a dollop of light sour cream if you feel extra fancy).


The Holland House: Corn and Jalapeño Mexittata



Corn and Jalapeño Mexittata
(makes 8 slices)

Printable Recipe Here


I used my LoseIt app to estimate the nutritional info for this (per slice).

212 calories
12.3g fat
16.1g cholesterol
103.6g sodium
15.8g carbs
1.2g fiber
6.1g sugar
12.7g protein

Next time you're looking for a fairly easy dinner, I hope you'll give this a try. And if you get creative and come up with your own flavor combinations, please feel free to share.

4 comments:

  1. Oh my, this looks heavenly. Just got added to my dinner list for next week. Craig is thrilled, because I hacked the stuffed peppers I had planned (he HATES stuffed peppers...)

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  2. Amy! This looks great! Do you think it would work okay if I made it without the corn tortillas?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Justine! I think it would be just fine. I'd just give the pan a good spray so the eggs don't stick. I usually make frittatas without a crust, so I can't imagine it wouldn't work. PS- send me an invite to your blog! :)

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  3. Amy- I need your email address to invite you!! My email address is: justine.leshikar@gmail.com.

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