Recipes

I say frittata, you say… ?

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If I ever volunteer to come to your house and make you breakfast, you should consider yourself very lucky.  You should also consider yourself forewarned:

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For no dish, no matter how simple, will the kitchen be left unscathed.  What can I say?  I like to become one with my food Winking smile

And yes, that IS a bottle of wine next to the eggs.

I’ve always wanted to make a frittata, and this Sunday morning I was in the mood to get my cook on so I decided to give it a shot.  Once I started googling frittata recipes, I realized I was lacking a major piece of equipment:  a skillet that could go from stove top to oven without causing a fire.  Dangit.  That’s going on the T.J. Maxx list.

Since I had my heart set on eggy bliss, I decided to just use a standard glass pie pan.  Does that mean it’s not a frittata anymore?  Hmmmm what would its proper classification be?  I say frittata, you say….. frrrrreggcasserole?

Something to ponder as the man pours your mimosa.

This frittata consisted of:

  • 6 egg whites
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 Hot Chicken sausages (casings removed, cooked and crumbled)
  • 1 large handful chiffonade spinach
  • S&P, to taste
  • Frank’s Red Hot, to taste (plus more for garnish Winking smile )
  • 1/4 cup diced tomato
  • 1/4 cup diced red onion
  • 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
  • 2 tsp minced garlic

While I cooked up the sausage, and sautéed the onion, mushroom, and garlic, I got to egg crackalacking.  Once the sausage was cooked and the veggies were soft, I stirred all the goodies into the eggs then poured into a pie pan that I’d coated with cooking spray.

Into the oven at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, and you’ll end up with this beauty:

DSCF6937

The frittata set up PERFECTLY.  Perfect temperature, perfect cook time:

DSCF6938

I started off with just a slice:

DSCF6947

But ended up eating precisely half of the frittata…

DSCF6945

Good news is the stats on half the frittata: 318 calories, 11g carbs, 11g fat, 41g protein, 3g fiber

Molto bene Red lips

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Recipes

I say frittata, you say… ?

8 Comments

If I ever volunteer to come to your house and make you breakfast, you should consider yourself very lucky.  You should also consider yourself forewarned:

DSCF6929

For no dish, no matter how simple, will the kitchen be left unscathed.  What can I say?  I like to become one with my food Winking smile

And yes, that IS a bottle of wine next to the eggs.

I’ve always wanted to make a frittata, and this Sunday morning I was in the mood to get my cook on so I decided to give it a shot.  Once I started googling frittata recipes, I realized I was lacking a major piece of equipment:  a skillet that could go from stove top to oven without causing a fire.  Dangit.  That’s going on the T.J. Maxx list.

Since I had my heart set on eggy bliss, I decided to just use a standard glass pie pan.  Does that mean it’s not a frittata anymore?  Hmmmm what would its proper classification be?  I say frittata, you say….. frrrrreggcasserole?

Something to ponder as the man pours your mimosa.

This frittata consisted of:

  • 6 egg whites
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 Hot Chicken sausages (casings removed, cooked and crumbled)
  • 1 large handful chiffonade spinach
  • S&P, to taste
  • Frank’s Red Hot, to taste (plus more for garnish Winking smile )
  • 1/4 cup diced tomato
  • 1/4 cup diced red onion
  • 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
  • 2 tsp minced garlic

While I cooked up the sausage, and sautéed the onion, mushroom, and garlic, I got to egg crackalacking.  Once the sausage was cooked and the veggies were soft, I stirred all the goodies into the eggs then poured into a pie pan that I’d coated with cooking spray.

Into the oven at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, and you’ll end up with this beauty:

DSCF6937

The frittata set up PERFECTLY.  Perfect temperature, perfect cook time:

DSCF6938

I started off with just a slice:

DSCF6947

But ended up eating precisely half of the frittata…

DSCF6945

Good news is the stats on half the frittata: 318 calories, 11g carbs, 11g fat, 41g protein, 3g fiber

Molto bene Red lips

/

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Restaurants

HOLY.HOT.DOG.

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I’ve been doing A LOT of eating lately.  It’s not my fault, really.  How can a gal not fall victim to sensory overload in this food-filled city of Charlotte?  Every street, every corner, every nook and cranny of this beautiful city is buttered with interesting restaurants to try–from fancy schmancy steak and lobster grilles to down-home-country barbecues to fabulous food trucks and every single flavor combination in between.

Let’s just say I’m in glutton heaven, and I’ve made it my personal goal to try each and every restaurant in the city.  I’m dedicated to this cause.

As I try more and more places, I’ve started picking up on some of the soap-operaesque back stories of the local establishments.  One that is particularly intriguing is the story behind The Penguin Drive-In in Plaza Midwood.

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In the past, the Penguin was just one of those places you had to go.  If you were a true Charlottean (yes, that’s what they call us), you’d been to the Penguin a hundred times and you’d eaten your fair share of their famous fried pickles.  Newbies in town didn’t know what they were missing as they walked right by the Penguin’s dilapidated building and awfully awkward parking.

But then Guy Fieri stopped in at the Penguin for his show Diners, Drive-in, and Dives, and all hell broke loose.  I’ll admit, I love the show, and I love seeing places I’ve visited on TV.  It’s almost like for that millisecond when the image flashes across the screen you are actually a part of something famous.  As if your emotional investment in the place somehow makes you a part owner, and you burst with pride when you see your baby on the big screen.

What, just me?

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Anyway, due to some disagreements, two of the four guys who ran the Penguin left to open Pinky’s Westside.  The remaining two owners couldn’t come to an agreement with their landlord, so they were forced to abandon the Penguin.  The landlords of the building then decided to run the Penguin themselves, and the other two guys opened up the Diamond Grill, literally a block away from the Penguin. I think I’ve got that straight…

Interestingly, all three restaurants serve hotdogs and all three have fried pickles on the menu.  The newly-owned Penguin has the “famous Penguin fried pickles,” Pinky’s has “Greg’s pickles,” and the Diamond has “classic fried pickles—the neighborhood’s first and best original recipe.”  Can you smell the rivalry brewing?

Of the three restaurants, I’ve only been to the Penguin so far, which many other Charlotteeans are boycotting in favor of the Diamond.  Let’s hope this post doesn’t get me blacklisted.

The Penguin had a TON on the menu that I wanted strike that NEEDED in my belly.

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But as I perused the menu, one item made my heart sing.

The Ma… the Meatloaf Hot Dog. 

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Chili. Onion. Slaw.  Seriously?!?!

Seriously?!

Let’s make brief note of the MONSTROUS side salad that came along side with a balsamic dressing was to die for.

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But really, chili, onions, and coleslaw on a hotdog?!  My world was officially rocked.  Hands down THE BEST hot dog I have ever consumed.

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Now that I know the backstory I feel it is my moral foodie obligation to give all three of the brawling restaurants an equal tasting.  I MUST go to the Diamond and to Pinky’s to give their Weiner Wonderlands an equal shot.  Seriously, it says Weiner Wonderland on the menu… get your head out of the gutter already.

Nutritional stats on the hotdog:  1 clogged artery, 1 full belly

Penguin on Urbanspoon

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My Favs, Ramblings, Recipes

Jambalaya & Bad things happen when I don’t eat.

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Somehow in the past few months I seemed to have forgotten my passion for cooking.  Let’s take a moment to ponder how the heck this is even possible.  Somewhere between leaving a job of over four years, attempting to sell a house, subsequently becoming a landlord, selling off and donating an insane amount of my possessions, a crazy condo hunt, leaving my family and home state of 26 years, a HORRIBLE moving experience, starting a new job, and immersing myself in the culinary delights of a new city I forgot how much fun and just how darn rewarding a home cooked meal can be.

Blasphemy!

Through these past few whirlwind months I’ve been a little *ahem* emotional.  Ok, not just emotional.  Let’s also throw in irrational, brash, and downright scary at times.  This Saturday I actually cried over burnt pizza.  I CRIED, PEOPLE.  And then I sat on the living room floor with my knees clenched up to my chest and just stared off into nothingness as my body seethed in furry searching for some sort of carbohydrate to peak my bottomed out blood sugar.

I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again:  bad things happen when I don’t eat.

While I was in the midst of nuclear shutdown, the BF came over, sat down beside me, and put his arm around his little sugar feigning zombie.  And we sat.  And then he did what any good man would do:  he didn’t talk, didn’t ask questions, he just got up from the floor sauntered over to the kitchen and made me a snack.

I know, right?

Why can’t I see things so simply?  Is it really just a man thing?  Are women really just crazy complex, overanalyzing, (often) emotional basket cases?  Whatever the case may be (lord knows I don’t have the answers) the BF does a pretty darn good job of reeling me back from Mary’s Land of Anxious Gloom by trying to insert some of the simple things into my life.  Sunday morning he convinced me to simply sit on the porch and drink mimosas, and Sunday night we simply made jambalaya for dinner.

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This was simply stick to your ribs delicious, guys.  I’m serious.  It gave the jambalaya we had in New Orleans a run for the money!

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We used an old Cooking Light recipe (with a few minor modifications—if you’re interested, check out the original here).

Jambalaya Ingredients List (serves 5)

  • 2 cooked hot chicken sausage links, sliced
  • 1 cup chopped white onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 1/2 cups uncooked long-grain brown rice (such as Uncle Ben’s Fast & Natural Whole Grain Brown Rice)
  • 2 3/4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp ground thyme
  • 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 8 ounces cooked boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with green peppers and onions, undrained
  • 4 ounces raw shrimp, peeled, deveined
  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

Simplified instructions:

  • Coat a large pot with cooking spray then heat over medium-high heat. Add sausage, onion, green pepper, celery, and garlic.  Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 12 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.
  • Stir in uncooked rice and cook for two minutes, stirring constantly. Add broth and all the spices and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.
  • Add chicken and tomatoes, stir in shrimp, cover and cook 8 minutes or until shrimp are done.
  • Remove from heat, sprinkle with green onions, and eat your face off.

Stats on 1 serving:  351 calories, 54g carbs, 4g fat, 25g protein, 5g fiber

Looking for a Jambalaya-for-one recipe?  Check out this post.

Looking for a crazy, borderline incoherent, slightly volatile woman?  Catch me on a day when I miss my midmorning snack.

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