Tasty Thursday: The Frittata

When my husband is working through dinner, the kids and I often have breakfast for dinner. Yum! It feels like a treat to the kids and it’s often less work for me. We had this frittata a few days ago and I was reminded that they are easy to make but far more appealing than a plate of scrambled eggs. Don’t get me wrong – I love scrambled eggs but the kids don’t always. Slice up a frittata however and they are all in. I could have made two of these the other night and there wouldn’t have been a crumb leftover.

This time of year some fresh sliced melon made the perfect side dish. In the winter a fruit salad or green, leafy salad would be nice on the side.

Ham & Veggie Frittata

• 1 TB cooking oil
• 1 small zucchini, sliced into thin half-moons
• 1/2 large red onion, diced
• 8 oz of diced ham
• 8 eggs
• A splash of milk
• 1/2 cup of feta cheese

1. In a large pan with a lid, saute the zucchini and red onion in cooking oil over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, until they start to get soft. Toss in the ham and stir around for another minute or two.
2. In a medium size bowl, scramble your eggs with a splash of milk. Pour over the top of the veggies & ham, add half the feta cheese, and stir to make sure everything is even spread out in the pan. Cover & reduce heat to medium. Cook for 6-8 minutes until the middle of the eggs are just set but still moist.
3. While the eggs are cooking, preheat your broiler on low. When the eggs are ready, uncover, add remaining cheese and place under the broiler for 3-4 minutes until cheese is lightly browned.

Note about your pan: If your pan isn’t oven-safe (or if you don’t know), wrap the handles in foil before you put it in the oven.

Note about the frittata: This is one of those “use what you have” recipes. Maybe you have asparagus, green onions and shredded pepper jack in your fridge. Any 2-4 ingredients plus cheese that sound good together, work well in a frittata. Enjoy!

Tasty Thursday: Watermelon recipes from the State Fair

We were at the Indiana State Fair this week. An annual tradition for us, I’m still astounded at how much there is to see and do at the State Fair beyond the animal barns and rides. One of our favorite stops is the Taste of Indiana exhibit. There are two reasons we like this exhibit:

1. FREE FOOD: the whole focus of the exhibit is to hand out samples of food made from products grown & raised in our state. You wander around and eat small snacks at approx 15 tables.

2. Learning: It really opens the eyes of my kids (and sometimes their mother) to realize how many things are grown and raised in Indiana. I had no idea mint farming was even an industry here – but it is. This exhibit is full of little learning moments in between trying barbecue duck, beef sausage and tomato juice.

This year there was a booth from watermelon farmers (mmmmm…. fresh watermelon) and the Watermelon Queen (yes, really)

was handing out free recipe cards. I haven’t tried these yet but I’m excited to and I thought I’d share my State Fair find with all of you. Two tasty watermelon recipes:

Watermelon Mediterranean Salad

• 6 cups mixed salad greens
• 3 cups cubed, seeded watermelon
• 1 small sliced red onion
• 1 TB extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
• dash of black pepper

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except oil & pepper. Toss with oil and pepper just before serving.

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Watermelon Fire & Ice Salsa

• 3 cups chopped, seeded watermelon
• 1/2 cup diced green pepper
• 1 diced jalapeno pepper
• 2 TB lime juice
• 1 TB diced cilantro
• 1 TB diced green onion

Combine ingredients, mix well and refrigerate until serving. (Recommend refrigerating at least one hour.) Serve with chips or as a garnish for grilled chicken or fish.

Tasty Thursday: Steak Tacos

We love grilling year round in this house but especially in the summer when it helps keep the kitchen cool. Here’s a yummy and fast recipe for steak tacos that we’ll be using this weekend.

Steak Tacos

– 2 lb flank or skirt steak
– 1 lime
– 2 TB chili powder
– 2 tsp cumin
– 1 tsp oregano
– 1 tsp cayenne pepper
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 1/2 tsp sugar
– 1 cup picante or salsa
– tortillas
– favorite taco toppings: lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, guacamole etc.

1. Mix chili powder through sugar in a small bowl.

2. Squeeze lime juice onto the steak and rub in. Then rub with the spice mixture. Place in a plastic bag with the salsa to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

3. Grill steak to desired doneness – 4-6 minutes per side for medium. Let rest 10 minutes before thinly slicing against the grain. Serve with taco toppings.

Tasty Thursday: Southwestern Chicken Pasta Salad

When we grill chicken, we tend to toss a few extra breasts on the grill to be used in dinner later in the week or for lunchtime salads. This week I had a few grilled chicken breasts waiting to be used and I was looking for a summery recipe that wouldn’t heat up the kitchen. I dug out an old Cooking Light recipe, made a few modifications so it would feed the whole family and it was delicious. Cool, full of fresh veggies and hearty enough to be a meal all by itself.

Southwestern Chicken Pasta Salad

• 1 box of short pasta (penne, bowtie, rotini etc)
• 2 chicken breasts, cooked & chopped
• 2 cups of fresh corn kernels (2 ears should be enough)
• 1/2 cup green onions, sliced
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large handful of spinach, chopped
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 2 TB extra virgin olive oil
• 2 TB canned chipotle chiles in sauce, chopped
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• salt & pepper to taste

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. While it’s cooking chop up your chicken & veggies. Put all chopped up food in a large bowl.

2. Drain the pasta and add it to the bowl. Mix well with the chicken and veggies.

3. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the orange juice, lime juice, olive oil and chopped chipotle chiles. Drizzle over the pasta, chicken & veggies and mix well. Add the salt, pepper & cheese and mix to incorporate. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes. Serve cold.

Note: It’s not too spicy but spicy enough that my girls wouldn’t like it. For them I took out a few scoops of the chicken, pasta & veggies and put it in a separate bowl. Then when I was making the dressing. I whisked it together before adding the chipotle and drizzled some of that over their portion. Then I added the chipotle, whisked it together again and drizzled it over the main dish.

Tasty Thursday: Roasted Salmon

At least once a week we eat fish or a meatless dinner. Salmon is one of our family favorites and I’m always looking for easy ways to cook it. Taking some inspiration from Rachael Ray, I came up with this recipe:

Roasted Garlic Soy Salmon

• 3 lbs salmon (skinless or not), cut into ~six inch fillets
• 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 2 minced cloves of garlic
• 1 TB ground coriander

1. In a 9×13 pan mix together the soy sauce, garlic & coriander. Place the fillets in the pan to marinate while you preheat the oven to 400 degrees. After five minutes, turn the salmon and let it sit another five minutes.
2. Prepare a broiler pan by lining the bottom with foil and spraying the top with non-stick spray. Lay the salmon on the pan – skin side down if it has the skin on. Roast for 20-25 minutes. The fish is done when it flakes easily and is light pink throughout. Remove skin before serving.

We served this with steamed broccoli and brown rice. Healthy, yummy and on the table in 30 minutes.