Whatatta?

As the semester wraps up and life gets crazy, a young woman's thoughts turn to... the fridge. How it's packed with ingredients and in desperate need of cleaning and where on earth did all these eggs come from? Today's fridge-busting recipe is not quite a fritatta, not quite a quiche... I give you, ladies and gentlemen, the whatatta. Bursting with veggies and other happy-making ingredients, it would have been the perfect way to start my afternoon if the stupid university would turn on the air conditioning in the dorms.

You will need:

2 slices of stale whole wheat bread

6 eggs

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons olive oil (or butter)

1/4 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup chopped mushrooms

2 slices chopped bacon (optional - if you leave it out, add a pinch of salt)

1 1/2 cups spinach, cut into strips

1/2 tablespoon baking soda

1 medium tomato, sliced

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Shred the bread into small chunks and press to cover the bottom of a lightly greased brownie pan. Beat one egg with 2 tablespoons of milk and pour over the bread to soak.

Over medium heat, saute the onions in 1 tablespoon olive oil or butter until softened; add bacon and mushrooms, and saute until caramelized. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mix cool.

In a large bowl, beat the five remaining eggs with the remaining 1/4 cup milk and the baking soda. Fold in the spinach and the cooled onion-mushroom-bacon-goodness mixture from the stove. Pour into the brownie pan over bread and egg mix, and top with sliced tomato and mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until the center is no longer runny. The whatatta will rise substantially as it bakes, but will fall once it cools. The cheese should be very well browned; if you want to slow the browning process, cover with foil during baking. Let cool slightly before serving.

Serves 4.

Calories per serving: 300

Carbs: 17 g

Fats: 18 g (mostly monounsaturated fats)

Protien: 19 g