Zucchini and Pepper Frittata

Breakfast for dinner? Yes please! Especially when I have peppers and zucchini growing in my garden this time of year. Now if I just had the time or the room for some hens, I could almost make this meal straight from the yard. This is one of those meals that you just can't go wrong with. I mean it's healthy, it's light, it's filling and most of all it's easy to prepare. It happens to be vegetarian, but if you are just dying to put some meat in it, throw in some bacon or some crumbled, cooked sausage and you have your self a non vegetarian frittata! :)

Recipe Adapted From: 
 http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/debi-mazar-and-gabriele-corcos/frittata-with-zucchini.html

2 Tbsp Olive Oil 

1/2 small onion, finely chopped 

1 medium zucchini (or 2 small zucchinis), diced  

1/4 green bell pepper, dicedd

1/4 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 small jalapeno, diced (Optional, leave out if you don't want it spicy)

6 eggs 

2 Tbsp milk 

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 

Salt/Pepper to taste
1 Tbsp butter

3-4 zucchini blossoms, Stamen removed (this is the stem on the inside bottom of the flower) and torn in half

Heat the olive oil in an 10-inch nonstick saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion, zucchini, green bell pepper, red bell pepper and jalapeno and cook until just beginning to soften, 3 to 4 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat the eggs with the milk. Add the Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Stir until combined.

When the zucchini and peppers have softened, remove the pan from the heat and add the zucchini mixture to the eggs. Stir to combine.

Add the butter to the same pan and swirl to melt. Add the egg and zucchini mixture and place the torn zucchini flowers onto the top of the frittata,  if using. Cover the pan and cook over medium-low heat until the edges begin to brown and the center has set and is puffed slightly, about 8 minutes.

To serve, slide the frittata out onto a cutting board. Slice and eat! 

Easter Deviled Eggs

This is why I love Pinterest so much, because you get great ideas like these colored deviled eggs. They are great for taking to a party and so much more fun than plain old deviled eggs. I am thinking that these would be great to dye any color depending on the party or event you are having. So be creative, have some fun and go dye some eggs for your next party or event!

Hard boil your eggs.

 Cool, peel and slice in half lengthwise.

Remove all the yolk and save the yolk in a bowl to make your favorite deviled egg recipe. Set aside.

Fill bowls or containers about half-full of water. Add food coloring to each one to tint to the shade you desire. (Use liquid food color for this, the gels do not work in water as well)

Place the white egg halves in the water, making sure that the entire surface of each egg is covered.

Let the eggs sit at least one hour or until you achieve the desired color effect.

Remove the eggs from the water and place them onto paper towels or wire rack to dry.

Quiche Bites

Do you ever wonder what to bring to a pot luck or to a friends house as an appetizer? These little quiche bites make an easy appetizer and they are scrumptious. I like the flaky pie crust on the outside and the eggs and peppers on the inside. Great combo!!
I think when I make them next time, I will add some diced jalapenos, and some chopped bacon.
Hats off to Anne Coleman over at http://family.go.com for coming up with this one!

1 single pie crust (a store-bought shell works fine, or you can use your own recipe)
1 large egg
1 Tablespoon sour cream
2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tablespoons each red and green pepper - chopped fine
1 Tablespoon green onion - green tops only
Pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a mini muffin tin with 12 cups.
Roll out dough to a 1/8-inch thickness and cut into an 8 x 6-inch rectangle. Cut into twelve 2-inch squares. (You can do this with a store-bought shell, but let thaw first if frozen.)
Fit squares of dough into muffin tins. Set aside.
Combine egg, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, peppers, onion and salt. Blend well.
Spoon a teaspoon of mixture into each dough-lined muffin cup.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until egg puffs and dough is lightly browned at the edges. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from tins and serving

All Inclusive Breakfast

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to take all of your breakfast ingredients and combine them all together in one little bundle? It's ok. I hadn't either. So when I saw this idea on Pinterest, I decided, like always, to expand upon it. I'm not much of a breakfast food eater. I know, I know, everyone thinks I'm crazy, but I would much rather snack on fruit or eat leftovers for breakfast.
 So you are probably asking....then why did you make this? Well, sometimes a girl (ok, ok, a not so young lady) just has to use up leftovers that are in her house. I had recently made the hubby a BLT, which I didn't eat, because once again you will probably think I'm crazy, but I really don't like bacon very much. I also had some leftover frozen hash browns that really needed to be used up, since I honestly can't remember when I have ever made hash browns. So thus began the journey towards this "all inclusive breakfast"." I sure like the ring of that title.....I just wish I were being served this while on an all inclusive vacation. Maybe soon...maybe soon.
*This was what the final product looked like.

*Or you can make some gravy from the few pieces of bacon you cooked to crumble on the top and this is what your finished product will look like. That's the beauty of this, you can add whatever you would like to suit your taste.

* Sorry my measurements won't be exact as I just threw this together and honestly never stopped to think about measuring to write it down. But really you can just throw this together yourself also.

small amount of diced sauted onions
Large handful of frozen hash browns, thawed
1/4 tsp oil
salt and pepper
grated cheddar cheese
4 eggs
2-3 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 Tbsp chopped Italian parsley
1 tsp chopped fresh jalapeno
grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425°. Grease 4 cups of a muffin tin.
In a skillet, saute onions until bite tender. Set aside. In a bowl, combine onions, hash browns, oil, salt, pepper and grated cheddar cheese. Divide this mixture into 4 equal parts and press the hash brown mixture into the greased muffin tin compartments and make a well in the center, so your mixture kind of forms a "nest". Bake this at 425° for 18 min. (Check every so often to make sure the edges are not getting too brown. If they are, cover with the pan with tin foil).
Remove from oven and turn the oven down to 350°.
Crack an egg into each "nest" and top with bacon, Italian parsley, chopped jalapeno and more grated cheddar cheese. Bake for 15 more minutes. Loosen them with a knife around the edge and serve.
*If you would like to serve them with gravy, just add enough flour to your bacon drippings to make a "paste". Add milk to thin. Season with salt and pepper and cook until you achieve the right consistency.
 **Original recipe from: http://thevillagecook.com

Chili Rellano Casserole

"Muy caliente" is the way I like my food. This is definitely hot, but can be made to your own liking, by backing off some of the peppers that are added. This is super easy to make and is a good beginner recipe.

2 (8 oz) cans diced green chilis
1 (4 oz) can diced jalapenos
2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 lg onion, diced
8 eggs
1 can evaporated milk
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
salt/pepper/cayenne pepper, (just use these spices as much as you would like them or as little)

Heat oven to 350.
Spray a 13 X 9 inch pan with Pam. Pour both cans of green chilis and the jalapenos into the pan. Spread out with a spatula. Place the diced onion on top and cover with the shredded cheese.
In a large bowl, combine the eggs, evaporated milk, flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Mix thoroughly. Pour over the other ingredients in the pan. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.