Garden Vegetable Frittata

Have you ever made a frittata before?  If not, it's really something you should try.  It's a one skillet meal that can be eaten for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner.  You can't say that about alot of dishes.  It's great for a Sunday breakfast or those busy weeknights.  It is truly versatile....and delicious!

I saw this recipe being made by Kelsey Nixon on The Cooking Channel.  I immediately went to my computer and bookmarked it.  I have made it several times and it's just one of those "keeper" recipes.

Click here for a printable version of the recipe on The Cooking Channel site.

Garden Vegetable Frittata

Recipe by Kelsey Nixon

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling

5 small red potatoes, sliced thin

1 cup torn baby spinach

2-3 green onions, sliced

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1 clove garlic, crushed

8 eggs

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish

1 - 2 cups shredded Asiago cheese (I've used Parmesan also)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Place potatoes in the skillet and saute for about 6-8 minutes, until tender but firm.  Remove potatoes from the skillet.  Add another tablespoon olive oil, and add the spinach, green onions, tomatoes, and garlic.  Saute for an additional 1-2 minutes or just until the spinach is wilted.  Season the vegetables with salt and pepper.  

2. In a medium bowl, beat together eggs, basil, cheese, salt, and pepper.  Pour into the skillet over the vegetables.  Reduce heat to medium-low and scramble the eggs for 1 minute.  Return the potatoes to the skillet.  Cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes, or just until the eggs start to set around the edges.  Drizzle olive oil around the edge of the pan to ensure easy removal.

3. Finish cooking in the oven for an additional 10 to 12 minutes, until the eggs have completely set in the center.  (Check earlier so your eggs do not get overcooked)  Serve straight out of the skillet, or flip onto a serving plate.  Garnish with shredded Asiago cheese and fresh basil, if desired.  Cut into wedges. 

Protein and vegetables all in one bite.  Add a side of fruit for a super healthy meal.

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson:  You can easily change up the vegetables in this dish.  You can add mushrooms, asparagus, zucchini or yellow squash.  You can leave out the potatoes or one of the other vegetables.  Make it your own with your favorite vegetables and enjoy it all year round.

  

Ham and Swiss Egg Sandwiches......Let's Have Breakfast for Dinner!

Who loves Breakfast?  I do.  Who loves Breakfast for Dinner?  I do.  So, for this month's Cooking Light Virtual Club, I chose the theme of Breakfast foods for dinner.  There's just something fun about breakfast at dinnertime.  It can be savory, salty, sweet or a combination of all these flavors.  Breakfast foods are usually quick to prepare which makes it perfect for those busy nights.  

I love eating eggs, prepared anyway and anytime.  This ham and swiss egg sandwich appealed to me because I usually eat eggs in between toast or a biscuit.  Sometimes, I'll sneak some bacon or a sausage patty in my egg sandwiches.  This is a healthier version.  It was super good.  Easy over egg, sauteed ham slice and swiss cheese....yummy!

Click here for recipe on Myrecipes.com

Ham and Swiss Egg Sandwiches

Recipe by Cooking Light

Ingredients

         Cooking spray (or butter)

        4 ounces thinly sliced lower-sodium deli ham

        4 large eggs

        4 English muffins, split and toasted (I used Honey Wheat)

        4 (1-ounce) slices Emmentaler or Swiss cheese

Preparation

         1. Preheat broiler to high.

        2. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat the pan with cooking spray. Add ham to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pan. Recoat pan with cooking spray. Crack eggs into pan. Cover and cook for 4 minutes or until desired degree of doneness.  (I made my eggs over easy and I used butter in the pan instead of cooking spray) Remove from heat.

        3. Place 4 toasted muffin halves, cut sides up, on a baking sheet. Top each half with 1 cheese slice. Broil for 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Divide ham among cheese-topped muffin halves; top each with 1 egg and 1 muffin half.

        Note:  I put a small amount of butter on the toasted English Muffins.  Also, the cheese melted much quicker than 2 minutes so check your oven when you melt the cheese.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the breakfast menu from the other members of the Cooking Light Virtual Supper group.

Mary Ann from Meet Me in the Kitchen made a Fig-Swirl Coffeecake.

Val from More than Burnt Toast made Blueberry and Maple-Pecan Granola Parfaits.

Roz from La Bella Vita brought Hash Brown Casserole with Bacon, Onions and Cheese.

Sandi from Whistlestop Cafe Cooking brought a Grits Souffle.

Jerry from Jerry's Thoughts, Musings and Rants made Breakfast Cookies.

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson: Take your favorite Breakfast dishes and have them for dinner every so often.  Your family will be all smiles when you announce, "It's Breakfast for Dinner night!"

Zucchini, Red Pepper and Feta Frittata

A delicious and easy egg dish that I made today for Sunday breakfast.  This frittata would be perfect for Easter breakfast or brunch, Mother's Day or even a light dinner.  Enjoy this frittata full of zucchini, red pepper, feta cheese (also has parmesan in it too!) anytime of year.  

Click here for printable recipe on Babble.com

Zucchini, Red Pepper and Feta Frittata

Recipe by The Naptime Chef on Babble.com

Ingredients

6 eggs

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

4 tablespoons olive oil

¾ cup zucchini, roughly chopped

¾ cup red pepper, seeded and roughly chopped

salt and pepper

1/2 cup feta, crumbled

Directions

1. Turn on the broiler.

2. Add the eggs to a large mixing bowl and beat them with a fork until they are broken up. Then add half of the parmesan cheese and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.

3. Heat the remaining olive oil (2 tablespoons) in an oven proof pan over medium heat. Add the zucchini and peppers and stir them until they are cooked through and wilted.

4. Pour the eggs into the pan with the cooked zucchini and peppers.  Add a few pinches of salt and pepper. Cook the eggs on the stove top for one more minute. Scatter the remaining parmesan cheese and the feta on top and place in oven.  Broil it for about 1 minute. Shake the pan to make sure the eggs are set. If not, broil for one minute more. Remove from the oven, cut in wedges and serve.

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson:  A frittata starts on the stove top and then is finished in the oven.  Make sure to use an ovenproof skillet that can handle broil temperatures.  

Mushroom Frittata for a Cooking Light Mother's Day Brunch

The Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club wanted to celebrate Mother's Day this month by coming up with a wonderful brunch menu.  A perfect way to celebrate the mom(s) in your life.  The Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club started last July when 5 bloggers from different parts of the U.S and Canada come together "virtually" every month to share a menu theme and recipes from Cooking Light's magazine, cookbooks and website. 

This month there will be some changes as we say goodbye to 2 members.  Aggie from Aggie's Kitchen and Helene from La Cuisine d'Helene.  Both of these busy moms have other commitments and family obligations right now.  Both Aggie and Helene will always be honorary members and can come back and join us any time.  

However, we would like to welcome 2 new moms to the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club.  Say a big hello to Patsy from Family, Friends & Food and Sandi from Whistlestop Cafe Cooking.  Patsy lives in New Jersey and Sandi lives in Alabama.  Both of these ladies enjoy Cooking Light recipes as much as we do.  We're very happy to have them join us. 

Now, on to the Mother's Day Brunch Menu:

Patsy from Family, Friends and Food made Triple Fruit Scones

Jamie from Mom's Cooking Club made a Mushroom Frittata

Shelby from The Lives and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch made Waffles with Two Berry Syrup

Val from More Than Burnt Toast made a Sweet Potato and Canadian Bacon Hash

Sandi from Whistlestop Cafe Cooking made Grits Casserole with Pesto Butter

I made the Mushroom Frittata in my cast iron skillet and it was delicious.  If you like mushrooms this is the dish for you.  It can be for breakfast, brunch, lunch or even a light dinner.  The recipe calls for an exotic mushroom blend but I used half white mushrooms and half baby portabella mushrooms.       

Make sure you click on the links above to read all about the other members individual dishes.

Click here for the Mushroom Frittata recipe on Myrecipes.com

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson:  I want to wish all my friends and family a very Happy Mother's Day.  And I'm sending a huge Mother's Day wish to my own mom.  I love you mom and wish we weren't so far apart so we could have a brunch celebration together.  Happy Mother's Day everyone! 

Sunday Breakfast - Baked Gruyere and Sausage Omelet

Sunday is the day I make a "big" breakfast for the family. The rest of the week, everyone usually fends for themselves. On Sundays though, I usually prepare a big spread. Nothing fancy but definitely more than just cereal. I was watching Food Network (which is frequently) and saw Giada De Laurentiis make this dish. I immediately went to my computer to print out the recipe. Oh, what's another printed recipe, right? It can join all the other hundreds of recipes I have printed out. (you can't have too many recipes) Well, I am so glad I made this baked omelet. It was absolutely delicious. Family verdict: Husband & I loved it. Marissa liked it but picked out the red peppers. Mariah didn't eat it. (she's the picky eater) Try this one Sunday morning. You'll be glad you did.

Baked Gruyere and Sausage Omelet

Recipe by Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

Butter, for greasing baking dish
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1/2 pound mild turkey sausage, casings removed (I used Jennie-O turkey breakfast sausage links)
8 large eggs
1/3 cup whole milk (I used 1% since that's the type of milk I buy)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 cups (4 ounces) grated Gruyere cheese (found in the specialty cheese section)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly butter an 8 by 8-inch baking dish.
Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the sausage and cook until brown, about 5 minutes. Set the pan aside to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper, to taste, until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add the red bell pepper, 1 cup of Gruyere cheese and 1/4 cup of parsley. Stir in the onion mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Cut the baked omelet into wedges and sprinkle with remaining parsley before serving.

Sunday Breakfast ready in about 30 minutes

It's going to be a good day!

Serve it with a fruit salad to start your day off right

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson: The middle of my omelet was not set after 25 minutes. I cooked it an extra 5 minutes or so until the middle was firm. So, check your omelet after the recommended time but if it's still loose, cook for a few minutes more until set.