egg-cellent

so this weekend, i was cleaning an old cast iron pan that my mother gave me, and it made me think that i should find more uses for cast iron cookware.  after poking around the internet, i decided that some sort of fritatta recipe looked interesting.  if i hadn't been feeling distinctly lazy, i would have gone to the grocery store last night to pick up some sort of vegetables to include in my breakfast recipe.  as it was, i ended up sticking to a basic bacon and cheese filling.  still, i think i ended up with a worthwhile eggs-periment.

ingredients:
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- shredded cheddar cheese
- bacon pieces
- texas pete
- seasonings (salt, garlic powder, hot pepper, paprika, oregano)

preparation:
beat the eggs in a small bowl.  add the milk and about 4-5 shakes of texas pete.  add a dash of salt, some garlic powder, ground hot pepper, paprika (for color), and oregano.  add bacon and cheese, and stir until well mixed.

pour mixture into a small pan.  as you can see, i used what is approximately a 5 inch cast iron pan.  i did coat the bottom of the pan with some oil first.  bake at 350°F for 25 minutes (or until the egg is fully set). let cool for a few minutes before removing from the pan.

verdict:
i am relatively pleased with this.  i wasn't sure how it would turn out because i found a variety of recipes online (various baking times and temperatures), so i chose the temperature most frequently used.  this was apparently a smart choice because the end result was fluffy and well-seasoned.  however, i did learn a few things from the experience:

• the smell of oregano while baking was heavenly.
• more filling ingredients would be better.  don't skimp on the bacon, and i think that broccoli or spinach or other vegetables would be lovely.
• even though this particular cast iron pan seems to have a very nice layer of seasoning on it (almost glassy surface), the eggs stuck to it.  very annoying to clean afterwards (coarse salt works wonders for that, though).  next time, i think i'll use a glass pie pan to make this sort of dish.