Coastal Carolina Muffin-Tin Frittatas

Happy new year, I suppose. 2021. I wrote 2020 on three things at the daycare before I caught myself, which is three fewer than last year when I wrote 2019 on the parent sign-in sheet until February. Progress.

The first week back at work after Christmas break is always adjustment. The toddlers come in sugared-up and sleep-deprived and every routine we built in the fall has to be rebuilt from the beginning. Monday was genuinely chaotic. By Wednesday we had our rhythm back. I am glad I chose the toddler room. There is something about being around people who experience the world with that much newness that keeps me from getting too stuck inside my own head.

New Year's Eve was just me and Biscuit and leftover pecan pie and the television on low while I read my book. I was asleep before midnight. Not sad about it. I woke up in 2021 well-rested, which feels like a strategic advantage.

Sunday I went back to Gloria's and we made black-eyed peas and collard greens for the new year. It is the tradition Gloria explained to me when I first came to live with her: black-eyed peas for luck, greens for money, cornbread for gold. You cook these on the first of the year and the rest follows. I have never missed a year since. We were a few days late this year but I figure luck is not strictly calendar-dependent.

I made the cornbread from memory now. No index card, no measuring cups, just the weight of the batter and the color of the crust and the smell. Gloria tested it with a toothpick and said nothing, which means it was right. Silence is the passing grade. I am fluent in her kitchen language. That took years.

We made our black-eyed peas and cornbread a few days late this year, and I’m choosing to believe the luck is on a delay rather than forfeited entirely—but it got me thinking about how Gloria’s kitchen taught me that Southern food is less about a calendar and more about intention. These Coastal Carolina Muffin-Tin Frittatas are what I made the next morning with the greens and bits left from our New Year’s spread, and they carry that same spirit: simple, warm, and rooted in place. They’re the kind of thing you learn to make by feel, the way I finally learned the cornbread—by smell and weight and the quiet approval of someone whose kitchen language you had to earn.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 12 frittatas (6 servings)

Ingredients

8 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 cup cooked collard greens, chopped and squeezed dry
1/3 cup diced cooked andouille or smoked sausage
1/4 cup diced roasted red pepper
1/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons sliced green onions, plus more for garnish
Nonstick cooking spray

Instructions

Preheat oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Generously coat a standard 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray, making sure to coat the sides and rims well to prevent sticking.
Whisk the egg base. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, black pepper, and smoked paprika until fully combined and slightly frothy, about 1 minute.
Prepare the fillings. Distribute the chopped collard greens, sausage, and roasted red pepper evenly among the 12 muffin cups, filling each about one-third of the way.
Add cheese and onions. Sprinkle shredded cheddar and green onions over the fillings in each cup.
Pour egg mixture. Carefully ladle or pour the egg mixture over the fillings in each cup, filling to about three-quarters full. Give the tin a gentle tap on the counter to settle any air pockets.
Bake. Bake for 18–20 minutes, until the frittatas are puffed, set in the center, and just beginning to turn golden at the edges. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
Cool and serve. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then run a thin knife around the edges and lift each frittata out with a spoon. Garnish with additional green onions and serve warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Coastal Carolina Muffin-Tin Frittatas — A Little Southern Magic to Start the Year Right