Recipe: Mini Ham and Cheese Frittatas

Last year I was diagnosed with celiac disease while I was on a project in Houston, TX.  This meant that I had to learn how to live without gluten AND get used to a new a project in a state I'd never been in before.  I was extremely fortunate to meet someone on my team who was both my age and who ate gluten-free, my good friend Tonya.  She was an absolute blessing during my time in Texas, from allowing me to vent about anything and everything to going out for food and drinks the few times I had to be onsite over a weekend.

She also gave me the recipe for these delicious mini-ham and cheese frittatas.  These are absolutely delicious, flavorful little bites made of egg whites, ham, onions, chives, and cheddar cheese.  I've made them as hors d'ouerves for several family occasions and they were all gone by the time the bulk of attendants had arrived.  They're also quite filling; Rob and I ate them this evening along with store-brought hash browns (sort-of-brinner for the win!) and couldn't finish all of them.

With that, here is the recipe and some pictures of our cooking process!  These are gluten-free, obviously, but not egg- or meat-free. I'm sure there are ways to make these vegetarian-friendly, though!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup finely-chopped onion (we use regular red onion)
2/3 cup chopped ham
1/3 cup shredded cheddar
2 tbsp chopped fresh chives
1/8 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp black pepper
4 large egg whites
1 large egg
Mini-muffin pan

(Note: this makes a relatively small batch, so sometimes Rob and I increase the recipe by a wee bit. Tonight we used 6 whites and 2 large eggs, as an example, and ended up with around 16 or 17)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Heat large skillet on medium heat.  Sautee onion for 2 minutes.  Add ham and sautee for 3 minutes.  Remove, cool for 5 minutes.

3. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl and stir with whisk.

4. Add ham mixture to the bowl.

5. Spray mini muffin pan with PAM or other non-stick spray.  Spoon mixture into mini-muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes.

And now for the photos:

  



My husband's pretty handsome :)

Don't have one of these? GET ONE if you cook with egg whites.

All done! NOM!

The final product!  Yummy and just the right size!

This is Cypress's "I'm waiting for food but am pretending to be calm" pose.

This is legit my husband's dishes/dinner playlist. We have mini-dance parties.

See?