Baked Vegetable Frittata

One of the nicest ways to practice hospitality is with other members of our own families. My 17-year-old son, Danny, absolutely loves to cook. This morning, he and his brother prepared a Baked Vegetable Frittata. The picture above is a piece of this scrumptious frittata, which my sons presented to me this morning for brunch. What a wonderful surprise!

Danny has used this recipe before—the first time, a couple years ago for a Mother’s Day breakfast. This recipe is one that Danny found online, and then modified quite (and actually, I think he improved it a lot!). Danny never just prepares a recipe straight from a cookbook; he is either “tweaking” a recipe or coming up with one all on his own…and he’s been pretty successful at it! I asked him for the frittata recipe so I could post it to my blog. Here it is:

Baked Vegetable Frittata

1 cup chopped summer squash (zucchini and/or yellow neck)
8 oz. can mushrooms
1 large Spanish onion, chopped
2 bell peppers (red and /or green), chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 large eggs, beaten
¼ cup half and half
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, cubes
2 cups mild Cheddar cheese
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 1 ½ quart or 9 X 13-inch baking dish. In large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Add squash, onion, bell pepper and garlic, and sauté until tender. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. In large bowl, beat the eggs and half and half together. Stir in cream cheese, cheddar cheese and sautéed vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well and pour into prepared baking dish. Bake about 45 minutes to an hour—or until slightly golden around edges and set.

This is not only a wonderful dish for Mother’s Day breakfasts and surprise brunches, it’s also a wonderful entrée for company!