Spaghetti Fritata

Yummy note:  So the secret recipe fairies sent me a new challenge this month, that was to cook something meatless! Our family loves meat, so this was a tricky one! My secret blog for this month's Secret Recipe Club was Kristi from Veggie Converter. What a great site to get ideas for vegetarian or vegan meals! Her site is chalked full of recipes, as Kristi has a New Year's Resolution of cooking meatless every day for an entire year. Woah! What an inspiration to keep up with such a daunting task, but it looks like she has been going strong, so way to keep up the great work, Kristi. Also, she has a great little link here with vegan options if you need a little help. So after narrowing it down to about four dishes... the chili, the zucchini fritters, or the breakfast cups,  I opted for the spaghetti frittata! I made just a few minor changes, and ended up with a delicious crunchy, flavorful, spaghetti frittata. I added some sun-dried tomatoes into the mix, and tossed in some leftover cooked spinach I had, and wow, it made a hearty dish satisfying for all. And what a great recipe! What I loved about this recipe is that it was easy, fast, and great for leftovers! You can easily throw this together in minutes if you have some spaghetti and spinach already in your refrigerator. So why don't you take the challenge and make something vegetarian or vegan today!

Spaghetti Frittata 

Adapted recipe from Veggie Converter

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced

1/4 cup cooked spinach, chopped

2 cups cooked spaghetti noodles (about 1/4-1/2 lb of dry spaghetti noodles)

1/4 cup mozzarella/parmesan cheese mixture

1 large egg, beaten (may need an additional egg if mixture seems too dry)

handful or so of french fried onions

1 tsp dried parsley

couple tablespoons olive oil for frying

salt and pepper or additional Italian seasonings to taste

Directions:

Prepare your noodles, if you are making them right away, sure they are rinsed and drained. In a large bowl, toss together spaghetti, sun-dried tomatoes, about half of your cheese, parsley, and spinach. Next stir in beaten egg and coat ingredients until thoroughly incorporated. At this point, you may want to add in an additional egg, if you think your pasta is not coated well. If all depends on your preference. Next, coat an oven-safe pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil and and toss in noodle mixture. Slightly pat down and spread it out in your pan and begin to fry over medium heat.

Continue frying in fry pan, until the bottom begins to crisp up, probably about 5-7 minutes.

Next top with remaining cheese mixture and a handful of french fried onions. Place your oven-safe fry pan into the broiler and watch the magic happen. :)  The top begins to brown up nicely and the fried onions get crispy. This takes just a few minutes, maybe 5 minutes top to finish. Be careful not to burn your fried onions, so keep a close watch on it. Cut into pieces and enjoy.

For more information or to participate in the Secret Recipe Club, please visit our group's website at http://secretrecipeclub.com/