Super Simple Weekend Frittata

Whew, I got a September post in just before October 1! Talk about waiting til the last minute...
Oh the shame in not making more regular posts! I hate to say "I've been sooo busy!"...so I won't. I WILL say that I'm so happy about the season change and am really looking forward to making lots of fall dishes. My favorite holiday of the year is Thanksgiving because of course I love to cook, but it's tradition that I make a full Thanksgiving dinner for my immediate family and the gratification of cooking with love for my favorite people in the world is beyond words!
Anyhow, today's recipe is one you could make anytime of year. Frittata's are flexible because the ingredients can be changed up, so you can use whatever is in season at the time. If you've never had a frittata, it's kind of like a scrambled egg pie. You put pretty much the same stuff you might put into an omelette or scramble, but you bake it. I made this one on a whim one Saturday morning and we ate it for breakfast all weekend. I made it a little thin because it would just be Jimmy and me eating it, but I think it would be prettier and would definitely feed more people if it were a little thicker. A thicker frittata can be made by just adding a few extra eggs to the recipe below. This whole meal was made in just one pan as well, so that makes it even more appealing to me because I'm all about avoiding dishes. And Jimmy can attest to that! So if you're looking for a simple breakfast/brunch recipe that will feed you and your sweetheart all weekend long, try this one out!

Feta & Veggie Frittata

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 cup Egg Beaters
(or use 4 more eggs if you prefer)
1 medium squash, chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1/2 medium red onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup feta cheese (I use fat free, but it's optional)
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 1/2 tablespoons Italian Seasoning
Kosher salt & Course Ground Pepper (or whatever S&P you have on hand)
Handful of shredded cheddar for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute the veggies in a large pan with an oven-safe handle so that you can stick the whole pan in the oven at the end. Use the extra virgin olive oil to coat the pan, mix the veggies in it, add the Italian Seasoning and some salt & pepper. About 1 tablespoon of kosher salt (start with half of that if using regular iodized salt and taste as you go) and about 1 teaspoon or as much pepper as you like. As the veggies cook, beat the eggs, Egg Beaters & feta cheese with a whisk in a separate bowl and add some salt & pepper. Use about the same amount as was used with the vegetables. Remember that it's better to go light on salt and add more as you go if you're not sure.
Once the vegetables start getting soft and slightly translucent add the egg mixture and remove from the burner. Stick the whole pan in the oven for about 15 minutes or until it appears solid throughout. Remove from the oven & sprinkle the cheddar on top. Enjoy!

One Pot + 7 Ingredients = Chicken Tacos

Tacos, tacos, tacos!!

It was such a nice surprise having my family come visit Jimmy & me last weekend, but I was a little bummed that my kitchen still wasn't fully restored from the remodel. As of today, however, the kitchen is complete! I'm thrilled at the way it turned out all thanks to my super hard working hubby and will be sharing pics soon. 
Having my whole family here at home with me doesn't happen too often, so it made me happy which in turn made me want to feed them! With my cooking stuff spread out between the guest room and the garage, I knew I would have to make simple meals that wouldn't require too many dishes or gadgets. I had a bunch of chicken thigh meat in the freezer, so with some other ingredients I had on hand, I was able to make these hearty tacos without much fuss. I just threw everything in my trusty dutch oven & let it cook while I joined my Mom & sister for a day of shopping. We came home to a house that smelled of Mexican deliciousness and all chowed down! So next time your loved ones visit you at home, whip up this easy dish that will have them wanting to visit you more often!

My sweet baby nephew so wanted to get his little hands on these, so you know they were good!!

Isn't my taco holder neat? I got it as gift for our 5th wedding anniversary from a long time friend & I love it!

Ingredients
1 pound boneless chicken thigh or breast meat
1 can diced tomatoes with chiles
(I used Rotel-Hot)
1/2 large yellow onion, sliced up
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf (I prefer using fresh when possible)
3 tablespoons chicken taco seasoning
(or your own combination of cumin, garlic & chili powders)
Handful of fresh chopped cilantro
Kosher salt & course ground black pepper (Which don't count as "ingredients" since they go in practically everything!)

To make the chicken taco meat, either use a slow cooker or a heavy pot with a lid like my lovely red dutch oven. Add full chicken thighs or breasts, the can of tomatoes with juice, the onion slices, chicken stock, bay leaf & taco seasoning in the pot. Liberally (at least one tablespoon each) add the kosher salt & pepper then stir it all together to combine. Put the lid on the pot and place it in the oven at 300 degrees for about 2-3 hours. If you need it to cook longer, say you want to throw it in early then use it for dinner, lower the temp to about 200. My oven has a slow cook function that can be set at either low or high, so that's what I used. Once the chicken is almost done, add the cilantro so it keeps that nice green color and bright flavor. (I didn't add much because my Mom's not a fan, so you can't see much of it in the pic.) Of course you can also just toss it in with the other ingredients at the beginning if you want. Be sure to taste the meat once it's cooked to be sure the flavor is good. Remember you can always add salt, but too much will ruin your hard work.

Once the meat has cooked down so much it falls apart on its own, it is done. Stir it around to break up any big chunks, but it shouldn't take much effort for the chicken to break down into stringy pieces like in the pics. Take out the bay leaf and drain the meat well if there is still a lot of juice before serving. 

Corn tortillas, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream & shredded cheese obviously put the ingredients well over 7 items, but these are all things that can be switched up to make the dish your own. For example, try crema oaxaquena or crema fresca instead of sour cream. They are a bit sweeter and add more depth to the flavors of Mexican dishes, especially spicy ones. Or add avocado if you don't like cream. You can also try using queso fresco or cotija cheese instead of shredded cheddar, which are crumbly white cheeses that are also used in Mexican cuisine. If you're trying to limit your carb intake, use butter lettuce leaves to make chicken lettuce wraps. Ooo, good idea Jackie! I'm gonna have to do that next time since I need to get serious about shedding these extra ten pounds I've gained this year. Especially considering it's only July! *sigh* :-/

Simple Summer Salad (since my kitchen's kinda outta commission)

This would be a great salad to prepare for July 4th celebrations because it's fresh & light and super easy to put together.

This week I spent several nights out of town for some work meetings I had and when I checked in with my husband one night he casually mentioned that he had removed all the cabinet doors as well as everything stored in the kitchen cabinets. "Huh??!!!" was all I could say...at first, but like most women, I'm rarely speechless when it comes to words for my other half. Once I visualized my kitchen with empty cabinets it led me to picture how all of the stuff that was in there might look sprawled out all over the guest room where it had been relocated. And that's where I started to get concerned. Thankfully, Jimmy was very thoughtful in keeping all items moved out of the cabinets well organized in boxes, so right now the situation is about as good as it can be given the circumstances. We had talked about remodeling the kitchen, but I guess I hadn't fully thought through the inconvenience of it. So, as you can imagine, I haven't been too eager to work on really anything in the kitchen this weekend unfortunately. Since I have been limited in the use of the kitchen, I wanted to share a simple idea for a fresh summer salad that's pretty easy to throw together. You could tailor this salad to include any combination of fruit & nuts (blueberries and walnuts sounds good too!) that you enjoy, so use this concept and get creative to serve up a fresh and healthy dish for you and your loved ones this summer.

Strawberries in salads was a pairing that I didn't used to find appealing, but it didn't take long for me to appreciate the somewhat unlikely combination. This particular recipe brings together the sweet and fleshy texture of the strawberries with the crispy, salty bacon and pungent, creamy bleu cheese. Yumm!

Strawberry Bacon Spinach Salad Recipe
Serves about 4-6 people as a pre-dinner or side salad
About 8-10 slices bacon
1 bag Baby Spinach
1 1/2 cup sliced strawberries
1 cup bleu cheese crumbles
1 cup pecan halves (chopped pecans work too, but I prefer larger pieces)
Honey mustard salad dressing (I like Newman's Own Light Honey Mustard)

I like to start most of my salad recipes by putting my glass salad plates in the freezer. It's something many restaurants do to help keep your salad cold and taste fresh. Even if you don't remember until you're almost ready to serve, just a few minutes in the freezer is enough to create the same effect.


If bacon is precooked, move onto the next step, but if not, cook the bacon in the oven. It is easier and cooks the bacon to the perfect crispiness. Spread the slices out on a foil-lined cookie sheet (to make clean up easier) then place in the oven at 375 degrees for about 12-15 min or until brown and crisp. Once the bacon is done remove from pan, place on paper towels to absorb excess grease and let cool. Chop up bacon once it has cooled.


Make sure baby spinach is well rinsed and place in a large salad bowl. Toss in sliced strawberries, bleu cheese crumbles and pecans. Top with chopped bacon and serve on chilled plates with honey mustard dressing on the side.

As you can see I only have a few super important items left in my cabinets like a bottle of wine with glasses and my cheap little coffee maker on the bottom shelf next to the oven. This is the before picture, but hopefully the after picture will include granite counter tops, a new stainless over-the-range microwave and freshly painted cabinets. It's not exactly a gourmet kitchen, but it's all I need to produce some tasty treats.