Let’s Have Leftovers – Stuffing Frittata and Cranberry Orange Bars

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I posted this recipe last Thanksgiving and I thought I’d share it with you again. We’ve been feasting on our holiday goodies for a couple of days now and still have leftovers. Here’s a couple of ideas on how to reinvent them.

This one was really a stretch for me. For starters I rarely make a traditional stuffing. We grew up on cornbread dressing with a little white bread thrown in for moisture’s sake. So I wasn’t sure how it would work here. However, I gave it the old college try and, hit-it-out-of-the- park, over the fence it goes folks! Most frittata’s are loaded with eggs and this one was no exception. You couldn’t even taste the eggs and the cheese sealed the deal. After the eggs and milk are mixed you pour them over the cheese topped stuffing, and bake for 5-7 minutes. The dish is then finished under the broiler. Cooking a frittata until the egg sets on top of the stove gives me the heebie jeebies, I’m terrified that it will burn. I let this one cook on the stove top for about 2-3 minutes and then finished it in the oven. It baked evenly without the bottom burning and my nerves remained intact. Use your favorite stuffing/dressing and add the rest of the recipe ingredients. It’s good foodie friends, real good.

Stuffing Frittata – Adapted from the Food Network, Robin Miller
Cooking Spray
2 to 3 cups leftover stuffing
1 cup shredded Cheddar (regular or reduced-fat) use regular
6 large eggs
2 large egg whites
¾ cup milk
½ tsp mustard powder
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
2 TBS grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper
1 TBS chopped fresh parsley

Preheat broiler. Coat an ovenproof nonstick skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat. Put stuffing in the bottom of pan to warm and stir to break up a little. Sprinkle cheese over top. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, milk, mustard powder, and nutmeg. Pour mixture over stuffing and cheese to cover stuffing. Sprinkle Parmesan over top. Cook on stovetop over low heat for 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to the broiler and broil for about 2 minutes, until egg is cooked through and cheese is golden and bubbly. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and fresh parsley. Serve with sliced tomatoes.

My first inclination with this recipe was to use whole jellied cranberry sauce, but I changed my mind. I’ve never purchased or had fresh cranberries before, but I’m open to new ideas. I had such high hopes for these fruit bars. When I found the recipe at ivillage it was missing a few things. The ingredient list only showed one sugar entry and there should have been two and the directions never indicated when the orange segments should be added. I backtracked the recipe to Eating Well and found the additional sugar listing, but still no step for adding the orange segments. After reading the reviews I discovered that I wasn’t the only one looking for the missing step. A reviewer commented that if you watch the movie you’d find out that the oranges are added when you cook the cranberries, orange juice and sugar.

After my minor disappointment with the way the recipe was written, I was looking forward to expanding my taste buds with a new sweet treat. Ummm not so much. These bars were very tart. On the upside they were moist, chewy and the crust is super good. I’m interested to know what you think so please let me know if you make them.

Cranberry Orange Fruit Bars – ivillage
Crust
1 cup chopped nuts, (walnuts, pecans, almonds or hazelnuts) or old-fashioned rolled oats, divided
¾ cup whole-wheat pastry flour, (see Note)
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
½ tsp salt
4 TBS cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg
2 TBS canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp almond extract
Filling
5 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen, divided
½ cup orange juice
½ cup sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
1 cup orange segments
1½ tsp freshly grated orange zest
1 tsp vanilla

Note: For the crust I used ½ cup oats and ½ cup of walnuts along with the recommended amount of whole wheat pastry flour.

To prepare crust: Combine ¾ cup nuts (or oats), whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, sugar and salt in a food processor; pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add butter; pulse until well incorporated. Whisk egg, oil, 1 tsp vanilla and almond extract in a small bowl. With the motor running, add the mixture to the food processor. Process, then pulse, scraping down the sides, if necessary, until the mixture begins to clump, 30 to 45 seconds (it will look crumbly). Measure out ½ cup of the mixture and combine in a bowl with the remaining ¼ cup chopped nuts (or oats). Set aside for the topping.

Preheat oven to 400° F. Generously coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. To prepare fruit filling and assemble bars: Combine 3 cups cranberries, orange juice, orange segments, sugar and cornstarch in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is very thick, 4 to 5 minutes. (It may take up to 10 minutes to get a thick result if you start with frozen fruit.) Stir in the remaining 2 cups cranberries, orange zest and 1 tsp vanilla.

Transfer the dough to the prepared baking dish. Spread evenly and press firmly into the bottom to form a crust. Spread the fruit filling over the crust. Sprinkle the reserved topping over the filling. Bake the bars for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350° and bake until the crust and topping are lightly brown, 25 to 30 minutes more. Let cool completely before cutting into bars, at least 1½ hours.

Notes: Tips: Lower in protein than regular whole-wheat flour, whole-wheat pastry flour is milled from soft wheat and has less gluten-forming potential, making it a better choice for tender baked goods. You can find it in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets and natural-foods stores. Store in the freezer. To segment citrus, with a sharp knife remove the skin and white pith from the fruit. Working over a bowl, cut the segments from their surrounding membranes.