CAULIFLOWER FRITTATA

Ingredients:

1/2 cauliflower, only florets broken into small bits

2 leeks, halved and thinly sliced

4  fresh sage leaves

1-2 tsp. crushed garlic

1/3 bunch chard (approximately 1 1/2 cups), removed from stems and chopped

Olive oil 

1/3 cup shredded mozzarella

Handful shredded Quattro Formaggio or Swiss Cheese

Small chunk mild blue cheese, broken/smushed into bits 

Splash Worcestershire sauce

Salt

Pepper 

8 eggs

1/2 cup non-fat milk 

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a square casserole dish with olive oil spray.

2.  Cover cauliflower and a splash of water in a bowl with microwave-safe plastic.  Nuke for 1 minute.

3.  In a large sautee pan over medium-high flame, heat some olive oil.  Add cauliflower, garlic, sage and leek.  Stir frequently for 5 minutes.  Turn heat off and add chard, stirring with tongs until chard is just wilted.  Remove sage leaves.

4.  Add cauliflower mixture to casserole dish.  Sprinkle with all cheeses equally.

5.  In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce.  Pour into casserole dish.

6.  Bake for 30 minutes or until frittata is puffy and almost browned.  Serve with garlic bread and a green salad.

Notes:

*Increase likelihood of kiddos eating by covering each serving with marinara sauce and parmesan cheese (or gummy bears, or goldfish crackers, or whatever it takes).

*Kids can help by breaking off cauliflower florets, tearing chard off of stems, or whisking eggs.

*Tastes even better the next day!

*Go easy on the blue cheese, even if you really like it...it can overpower the more delicate flavors of the chard and cauliflower.

SQUASHADILLA



This surprisingly hearty recipe may require a leap of faith on the combination of ingredients for you (like it did for me), but please trust me!  The end result is worth it.

Ingredients:
(Makes 1 lunch entree sized portion)

1/4 butternut squash
1/2 jalapeño, sliced lengthwise and diced
Sprinkle black pepper
Sprinkle chili powder
1 tsp. minced garlic
Sprinkle dried oregano
1/4 white onion, sliced
1 Tbsp. canola oil
Salt
Juice of 1/2 Meyer lemon
1 egg
Milk for scrambling egg
1/2 avocado, sliced
Handful Trader Joe's shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Olive Oil tortilla

Directions:

1.  Cook butternut squash according to the instructions that will no doubt be included on a sticker on the thing.  (Usually slice lengthwise and bake cut-side down in a baking dish with 1/4 inch of water at 350 for 45 minutes.)  Scoop out the flesh and set aside the extra for future recipes.

2.  Scamble the egg with milk in a large-ish pan.  Set aside.

3.  Using the same pan (because seriously, who needs more dishes to do??), heat oil over medium heat.  Add sliced onion, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste.  Cook, stirring frequently, until onions start to brown/blacken.  Set aside.

4.  In a small food processor (y'all know how I love me some Cuisinart handheld blender with food processor attachment), combine squash, jalapeno, black pepper, chili powder, garlic and oregano.  Blend until well mixed but not yet smooth.  Mix in the egg and the onions.

5.  Over medium heat, warm the tortilla in the pan.  Sprinkle one half of the tortilla with half the cheese.  With a spatula, scoop onto the cheese the squash mixture.  Sprinkle with the other half of the cheese and lay in the avocado slices.  Fold over the tortilla and press down with a spatula to squish the ingredients together and get the cheese to melt well.  After a minute or two, flip it and press down on the other side.

6.  Slice and serve with Valentina or Tapatio.

Notes:

*This amount of jalapeno will make it pretty darned spicy.  For less spice, remove the seeds from the jalapeno or use just the tip.

*Leave out the jalapeno and onion to make it kid-friendly.

TOUCH OF CLASS DEVILED EGGS

TOUCH OF CLASS DEVILED EGGS

My first attempt at deviled eggs...came out surprisingly well.  Just in time for all those leftover hard-boiled eggs!  :)

Ingredients:
(Makes 16 appetizers)

8 hard-boiled eggs

1 tsp. sweet relish
Splash of Tabasco
2 shakes herbes de Provence
2 shakes black pepper
1 heaping Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. spicy brown mustard
1 shake worcestershire sauce
Paprika

Directions:

1.  Peel and halve the eggs.  Gently shake yolks out of eggs into big bowl and set whites aside on a pretty serving plate.

2.  Add all other ingredients except paprika to the yolks mash well with a fork, mixing completely and getting rid of any lumps.

3.  Spoon the mixture into the corner of a sandwich bag.  Snip off a bottom corner, twist the top around, and use as a pastry bag to fill each egg white with yolk mixture.

4.  Sprinkle each egg with paprika.

Notes:

*Try serving with a bottle of Tapatio on the side for the more adventurous eaters to shake on their eggs.  YUM!

*Consider mixing in 1/2 of a jalapeno very finely diced, and topping each finished egg with a small jalapeno slice.
*Other mix-ins to consider:  1 tsp. onion or garlic powder, 1/2 avocado.

*Use vegetarian worcestershire sauce (which doesn't contain anchovies) if making for a mixed veg/carni crowd.

FAST 'N FRESH ANGEL HAIR DIABLO

FAST 'N FRESH ANGEL HAIR DIABLO

The best part of this dish (my favorite thing to throw together for lunch) is that you can probably make it with what you've already got in your fridge and cabinets. The second best part is that it's delish! And the third best part is that each serving costs about $0.50...hard to beat!

Ingredients:

(Makes 2 adult-sized entree servings)

2 servings angel hair pasta

2 tomatoes, chopped

Handful of spinach, torn or sliced

2 green onions, sliced or cut with scissors

1/2 jalapeno, finely diced

2 eggs

Dash of thyme

Dash of basil

Black pepper, approximately 1/2 tsp.

Olive oil

Salt

Parmesan cheese, to taste (at least several Tbsp.)

Squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Red pepper flakes

[Optional: Few Tbsp. pasta sauce]

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package in salted water.

2. In the meantime, stir eggs over low heat in small omelette pan until well cooked.

3. Add cooked eggs to the bottom of a large bowl. Add red pepper, jalapeno, green onions, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, thyme, and basil.

4. Drain pasta when cooked and add to bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice.

5. Top with tomatoes and spinach.

6. Stir very well and serve topped with extra cheese [and pasta sauce].

Notes:

*Kid-friendly if you leave out the jalapeno, green onion (if your kid is picky like mine) and red pepper.

*To make it even faster, use hot tap water to start with (cuts down on boiling time).

*To make it wheat-free, use Trader Joe's Brown Rice Spaghetti.

EGGS FLORENTINE, COSTCO STYLE

EGGS FLORENTINE, COSTCO STYLE




Please don't sit there and pretend like you don't absolutely love the Spinach-Artichoke-Parmesan Dip from Costco...you know you do...you know when you have some in the fridge, you are on a constant search for some sort of "edible spoon" so you can justify eating some...or maybe you just eat it with a spoon...hey, I'm not judging. Here's a more respectable (and yummy!) way to eat it...

Ingredients:
(Makes 2 servings)

2 slices wheat sourdough bread
2 tomatoes, thickly sliced (see notes below)
Several tablespoons spinach-artichoke-parmesan dip
2 eggs

Directions:

1. Lightly toast the bread.
2. Meanwhile, stir the eggs around in a small pan over low-medium heat until well-cooked but still soft; once cooked, try not to break them up any more than necessary.
3. Spread 1/2 - 1 Tbsp. dip on each piece of toast.
4. Cover each piece of toast with tomato slices.
5. Split egg between toast slices.
6. Spread additional tablespoon dip over each slice.
7. Put in toaster oven directly on rack for 5 more minutes, or until dip is just starting to melt.

Notes:

*I looooove the Campari tomatoes from Costco! So sweet and yummy. I won't use anything else.

*If you're feeling extra ambitious, add a few leaves of spinach on top of the tomato slices.