Slow Cooker Frittata with Tomatoes, Avocado and Cilantro - Gluten-Free

My good friend Maria suggested I make a Frittata for dinner this week, so I said "why not?!"  We all LOVE breakfast around here, so this was the perfect fit for us!

A Frittata is very simple, you see.  All it is is eggs, some seasonings and some delicious add-ins.  We love tomatoes in our eggs, so that was a "for sure" add-in.  I had avocados in the fridge, and that was a no-brainer for me.  They are such a healthy fat to have!  The cilantro was hanging out in the fridge and was about to go bad, so I used some of that too.  However, you can make this with anything your heart desires!  Add in meat if you want!  Add in some bell peppers if you like those!  Own it!

This has about a 4 hour cook time on LOW, so I cooked it on HIGH for 2 hours when I got home from work (Wednesdays I get home around 4:00.)  While it cooked, the kids played outside, I mowed the lawn, got lunches ready for the next day and read with Ella.  It was a very productive 2 hours in which I didn't have to babysit anything on the stove or oven!  

This. was. delicious! The kids cleaned their plates.  Hubby and I cleaned our plates.  I'll be making this far more often!

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

10 eggs

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

8 dashes hot sauce

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4-1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/2 cup tomato, chopped

1/2 cup avocado, chopped

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Directions: (Use a 5 Quart or larger slow cooker)

In a bowl, place the eggs, grated parmesan, hot sauce, pepper and salt.

 Mix it up.

Spray your crock with non-stick spray.  I used a slow cooker liner and sprayed it.  I was able to lift the entire frittata out of the crock this way to cut and serve it easier.

Pour the egg mixture into your crock.

Sprinkle in the onions,

tomatoes,

avocados

and cilantro.

Cook on LOW for 4 hours, or on HIGH for 2 hours (or until the center is set)

Serve and enjoy!

Turkey Bacon, Spinach and Gruyere Quiche

Who knew you could make quiche in the Slow Cooker?  Well, I'm here to tell you, it CAN be done.....and I didn't miss the crust at all!  My husband didn't care for it, but I thought it was delicious.  After my daughter conceded to actually eating dinner, (she thought we were having poached eggs and was seriously disappointed to see they were not on her plate! LOL) she said "Mmm, Mmmm, mmmm!!"  I think that says it all!

The only thing I didn't like about this was there was some water at the bottom.  However, I'm almost positive this could have been remedied by leaving the lid off for about a half hour.  I did not do that :(  Oops!  Slow Cook and learn!  (hee hee!)  I also used my 7 Quart for this while my granola cooked in my 3 quart, and I should have switched the two!  My quiche cooked too fast and got pretty brown on some of the edges.  If I had put it in the smaller slow cooker, it would have taken longer to cook since it would have been thicker.  Again, Slow Cook and learn!  We eat burnt food here, so you don't have to!  LOL

I really enjoyed the flavors of this quiche!  They worked extremely well together!  This made a great dinner, but would make an excellent breakfast.  Warning though, it cannot cook all night.  Your house will smell like burnt eggs, and it's NOT a good smell!

Turkey Bacon, Spinach and Gruyere Quiche

Ingredients:
8 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp. each of Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder and Onion Powder
1/2 cup onions, chopped
5 slices Turkey Bacon, diced
2 handfuls (about 2 oz.) fresh Spinach leaves
8 oz. Gruyere Cheese, shredded

Directions:

In a bowl, mix the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.

(I had a little helper! Oh, and excuse the total mess!)

Spray your Slow Cooker insert with non-stick spray.
Pour your mixture into the Slow Cooker insert.

Add the onions and turkey by evenly sprinkling them over the top of the egg mixture.

Layer the spinach on top of that

 and then the cheese

Take the back of a big spoon and push the spinach and cheese into the egg mixture.

Cook on LOW.  If you have a 7 Quart like me, about 2-3 hours will do it.

If you have a smaller Slow Cooker, anywhere from 4-6 hours depending on how thick your quiche is.

When it's slightly brown around the edges and the middle is pretty solid, but jiggly, turn of your slow cooker and remove the lid for at least 1/2 hour!

Cheese Strata

I've never heard of, or made Cheese Strata before, but it won't be the last time I make it!  What a great and easy meal for a brunch or breakfast for the Holidays!  It's cheap (yay), easy and DELICIOUS!  I had two helpings, my husband had two helpings, and even though my daughter was reluctant to try it, she ate half of the plate I gave her!  I was happy with that! :)  This is the perfect portion for a family of 4.

Now, I know the picture doesn't look very appetizing, (my husband thought he was supposed to stir it when he got home.....he wasn't!  LOL) but I promise it tastes awesome! :)

P.S.  It's not all that great warmed up the next day, (I should know, I just tried) so eat it up while it's hot! ;)

Cheese Strata

Ingredients:

14 slices of bread, crust cut up and broken into bite sized pieces.

3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

4 Tbsp. butter, cut into approximately 8 pieces

6 large eggs

3 cups milk, warmed for 3 minutes in the microwave (I used half and half because I had a huge container to use up!)

1 small onion, chopped finely

2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

3-4 dashes hot sauce (don't worry, it doesn't add spice, just good flavor!)

1 tsp. garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

Cooking spray

Directions:

Heavily spray the Slow Cooker insert with cooking spray!

Place half the bread in the bottom of the crock pot.  Place 4 pieces of butter on top of the bread.  Spread 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese on top of that.  Repeat this process with the remaining bread, butter and cheese.

Mix the milk, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, garlic powder, salt, pepper and onion together.  

Pour mixture over the bread/cheese layers.

Cook on LOW for 4-6 hours or HIGH for 2 hours.

Enjoy!

TIPS:  I find it much cheaper to shred my own cheese most of the time.  You end up using far less, especially if you grate the cheese finely!  

Egg Casserole

I was going through a little bit of Slow Cooker withdrawal, so I'm happy to bring you another recipe tonight!  This meaty egg casserole was pretty darn good!  My husband really liked it and added syrup to his second helping!  I made the "healthy" version of this recipe, but personally, I think it would have been WAY better if I had not made it healthy!  Oh well, my hips and butt are thanking me right now!  I still enjoyed my meal and will definitely make this again when we have company or a staff breakfast!

I cooked my Egg Casserole for quite a while tonight....10 hours, but I would suggest a max of 8.  It got a little dry because I cooked it so long.  We were running late getting home tonight!  If you let it go as long as I did, no big deal, it will still taste yummy!

Also, if you are vegetarian, you do not have to add the meat!  Put in more veggies than I did to fill it out.  This can be made with ANY or ALL of your favorite omelet ingredients!

Ok, let's get to the good stuff!  Here's the recipe:

Egg Casserole

Ingredients:

1 32 oz. bag hashbrowns

1/2 lb. turkey bacon (use real for more greasy goodness and flavor!)

1/2 lb. turkey sausage (use regular for more greasy goodness and flavor!)

1 onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped (I used orange because I had some left from a meatloaf I made)

12 oz. mushrooms, chopped (I found and bought pre-chopped!)

1 1/2 cups shredded cheese of your liking (I used Gruyere...mmmmm)

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

12 Eggs

1 cup milk

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp, pepper

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

5-6 dashes hot sauce

Directions:

In a skillet, heat olive oil.  Add bacon, sausage, onions, bell pepper and mushrooms.  Cook until tender and meat a bit brown.

In a separate bowl, mix eggs, milk, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and hot sauce.  

Spray Slow cooker with non-stick spray.  Lay 1/3 of the hashbrowns on the bottom of the slow cooker.  Lay 1/3 of your meat/veggie mixture on top of that.  Lay 1/3 of your cheese on top of that.  Continue this process for 2 more times ending with your cheese on top.  

Pour your egg mixture over the top.  

Cook on low for 7-8 hours.

TIP:  I browned my meat and veggies the night before and put them in the fridge overnight.  I also mixed my egg mixture and stuck that in the fridge.  I also grated my cheese and had that in the fridge, but since I'm crazy, using pre-shredded cheese is so much easier and a time saver!  In the morning, I layered everything, gave the eggs another whisk and poured it in the crock pot.  It took me about 5 minutes to get this going this morning!  You can do it too!