I was trudging through the grocery store on Sunday afternoon, baby in tow, and my phone rang. My mother doesn’t call to check on me anymore; she calls to check on the baby. So while I perused the formula aisle, we chatted, and I complained that I didn’t know what we’d have for dinner. She mentioned having gone out for brunch after church, and it hit me. Of course! We’d have breakfast for dinner. I knew Mr. Meat and Potatoes would not be thrilled, but I was hoping to win him over with something meat and potato and egg-y. Something easy. Something that wouldn’t dirty seventeen cooking vessels, as do most of the dinners I prepare. I can really blow up a kitchen. Lately, I’ve been really grateful for some instant floor cleaning provided by a dog that is always underfoot when I’m in the kitchen.

When I was a kid, we had our big Sunday meal after church, and then my mom would do something low-key for dinner. Sometimes that was a carryout pizza, or popcorn on the couch, and sometimes it was breakfast for dinner. She’d make pancakes, sausage, the whole bit. I always thought that was a real treat. I mean, who has time to cook breakfasts like that in the morning? It makes much better sense at night.

Last night, I didn’t feel like standing over a hot griddle making pancakes which have to be eaten immediately. Making pancakes usually means the cook eats last. And I still don’t have a good waffle iron, so waffles were out.

Instead, I concocted an “oven omelet” that was as easy as it was delicious, and I threw together a batch of browned butter blueberry muffins (I think I’ve mentioned them before). I did the omelet for two, in my medium-sized cast iron skillet, but it could easily be modified to serve a crowd by increasing the ingredients and cooking it in a casserole dish.

Oven Omelet for Two

6 large eggs
3 red potatoes
6 pieces of pancetta
½ C feta
¼ C chopped green onion (reserve a few for garnish)
¼ C yellow onion, diced
½ C cheddar
2 T milk
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ tsp Cavendar’s greek seasoning
Salt and pepper

Step 1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cut the pancetta into small, bite-sized pieces, and fry in your cast iron skillet until crispy. In the meantime, dice your potatoes. Leave the skins on. You should have about a cup of diced potatoes. Also, dice up your yellow onion.

Step 2) Remove the pancetta from the pan, and drain off most of the grease left in there – all but a tablespoon or so. Add the potatoes and onions to the pan, sprinkle them with the Cavendar’s seasoning, and cook over medium heat until the potatoes are beginning to feel fork tender, and the onions are translucent.

Step 3) While the onions and potatoes cook, prepare your egg mixture. Break the eggs into a bowl, add the two cheeses, the milk, garlic, and most of the green onion. Salt and pepper to taste. Whisk the ingredients together, or beat with a fork until they’re well-combined.

Step 4) Add the pancetta back to the skillet, and pour the egg mixture over it. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for 15 – 18 minutes. The eggs will get puffy. Garnish with a little extra cheese and some green onions.

This is an omelet fit for dinner. You can play with the ingredients all you want. I’d love to add some kalamata olives, or do bacon and blue cheese, or maybe some rosemary and leftover chicken pieces.

It turns out Mr. Meat and Potatoes is not a huge fan of the blueberry (who knew?) but he did enjoy the muffin anyway – or at least he was kind enough to lie to me and say he did. The omelet in the cast iron skillet was a thing of beauty, and even more beautiful is the fact that I don’t really ever wash that skillet, so there was very little to do in terms of dishes. Which left more time for me to lie on the couch and watch The Simpsons and Family Guy and paint my toenails.