Trogdor, the Chex Mix

My Grandpa, who is like Trogdor, loves spicy Chex Mix. So about a year ago, I made him Hot and Spicy Chex Mix, but it really wasn't hot enough for him. Like I said, he's like Trogdor. Since then I've been slowly adapting the recipe to get it up to the burning level he needs. I think I'm just about there. Here's the latest version.

Trogdor, the Chex™Mix

3 cups Corn Chex™ cereal
3 cups Rice Chex™ cereal
4 cups Wheat Chex™ cereal (because the Wheat Chex are the best)
1-1/2 cups mixed nuts
2 cups pretzels
2 cups Hot & Spicy Cheez-It™ crackers
2 cups Flaming Hot Cheetos™
5 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp garlic
4 tsp sriracha hot sauce
2 tsp jalapeño powder

In a large microwavable bowl, combine the cereals, nuts, pretzels, crackers and Cheetos™. Set aside. In a small microwavable bowl, melt the butter (about 30-45 seconds). Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, salt, garlic, sriracha hot sauce and jalapeño powder. Pour over cereal mixture. Stir until well coated. Heat in the microwave for 6 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes. Spread Chex™Mix out on paper towels until cool. Store in an air tight container.

Cucumber, Tomato and Basil Salad

To go with our grilled salmon, I made the following salad and roasted Brussels spouts. H also made roasted corn salsa to go on top of the salmon. Since we forgot to buy chips at the store we broke up tostada shells to eat with the salsa as well. I think I overrate. :) 

Cucumber, Tomato and Basil Salad 

1 cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced thinly

4 Roma tomatoes, quartered and sliced

1/4 large red onion

1/2 cup basil

1-2 tsp garlic, minced 

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

Herbamare and ground pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients.

Rosemary and Parmesan Brussels Sprouts

Many years ago my mom tried to bribe my siblings and me into eating Brussels sprouts simply cooked in the microwave. For each sprout we ate, she gave us a quarter. Only I couldn't even stand to eat one, which meant that I didn't even get a single quarter out of the deal. Fast forward 15 or so years, and my friend orders them at a Korean restaurant. I'm intrigued by how crispy and seasoned they look, so I give it a try. And fall in love. Who knew that the proper cooking method and a little seasoning could have such an effect on a tiny cabbage. Since then I've tried them at a number of restaurants (totally trending out here in Colorado) and finally got up the nerve to make them myself. Here's to my first attempt!

Rosemary and Parmesan Brussels Spouts 

1 to 1-1/2 lbs Brussels sprouts 

About 2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp dried rosemary 

Salt (or Herbamare) and pepper to taste

2 tbsp sunflower seeds

2 tbsp grated Parmesan 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and trim off brown edge of each Brussels sprout. Place all of them in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper. Spread sprouts on to a baking sheet. Roast for 30-35 minutes or until middles are tender and outside is crispy. Sprinkle more salt on sprouts and add sunflower seeds. Roast for another 3-5 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese while still hot. Serve immediately. 

Chicken and Noodles

And I don't mean soup. 

What is up with these cool spring days? All I want to do is eat warm dishes. It's like I'm from the Midwest or something, which is exactly where tonight's dish comes from. Now people like to argue with me about whether this particular dish is from the Midwest or the South. I say Midwest, but some of my Okie relatives just won't have it. But here's the thing, it's closer to a casserole (or hot dish) than fried chicken. Ain't nothing about this dish is fried. I mean, it has roasted chicken in it. It's just too healthy to be a Southern dish. Also, the only place I've actually seen this dish on a menu was in Western Kansas, which is the Midwest! So, it definitely has to be Midwestern.

Chicken and Noodles

Ingredients for the Sauce 

• 2-4 cups chopped chicken (preferably from a roasted chicken)
• 1 can cream of celery soup (trust me, don't even try to use a different "cream of" soup; it's not the same)
• 1-2 cans milk (cans? As in fill up the cream of celery soup can once or twice) 
• 2 cans chicken broth (same as milk above)
• Healthy portions (like 1-2 tsp) of 
• Oregano
• Sage
• Basil
• Thyme
• Freshly ground pepper
• Sea salt 

Ingredients for the Noodles

2 cups flour
2 large eggs
2 tsp salt
3-5 tbsp milk 

To Make the Noodles
Combine the flour, eggs, and salt together. Slowly stir in the milk until a soft dough forms. Flour a large flat surface. Knead the dough a few times on it. Then roll it out until it's 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Cut the dough into thin strips using a noodle cutter or sharp knife. 

To Make the Sauce
Combine all sauce ingredients in a large saucepan over medium to high heat. When the liquid starts to bowl, drop the noodles into the pot. Cook until noodles are al dente

Serving Suggestions 

• In a bowl as is. 
• On top of mashed potatoes (oh, hello, carbs!). 
• Next to your Thanksgiving turkey (as H's family does it).
• Topped with steamed broccoli. 

Chicken Fajita Bowls

It's looking like a Mexican day for me. Chipotle for lunch. Chicken Fajita Bowls for dinner. Somehow I'm okay with this. Haha. If you actually know me, you really shouldn't be surprised by this. Rarely a week goes by where I don't eat some kind of Mexican dish...or two.

Chicken Fajita Bowls

Serves 4

2 Chicken Thighs (or Breasts)
Taco Seasoning
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Red Bell Pepper, sliced (or chopped)
1/2 Large Onion, sliced
Salt and Pepper
2 cups Cooked Brown Rice
1 Avocado
4 Tbsp Plain Greek Yogurt
4 Tbsp Queso Fresco
1 Jalapeño or a few drops of Hot Sauce

Preheat a grill (I used electric) and heat the oil in a skillet. Sprinkle the taco seasoning on the chicken and place on grill. While chicken is grilling, saute the bell pepper, onion, salt, and pepper in the skillet until soft and caramelized. When the chicken is done, slice or chop into bite-size pieces. Scoop 1/2 cup rice into each bowl. Top with 1/4 of the chicken, peppers and onions. Top that with 1/4 of the avocado, 1 Tbsp yogurt, 1 Tbsp Queso Fresco, and some jalapeño or hot sauce. Enjoy!

Beef and Kale Stew Remix

It's April, and it's snowing. 

Yesterday was in the 70s (I even wore a tank top!), today's high...31. I was so looking forward to putting my ski coat in the closet for a few months, but I guess a couple of weeks is all I get for now. To warm up, H and I decided to make our Beef and Kale Stew again...with a few changes. Okay, actually I made it while he got our car's tire fixed. Sucker had a 4 inch long nail in it! But we enjoyed it together. Mmmm! :)

Beef and Kale Stew Remix

2 T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 shallots, diced
5 garlic cloves, chopped
2 t dried thyme
2 t dried rosemary
3 large carrots, sliced
3 large celery stalks, sliced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 large yukon gold potato, chopped
1 lb beef stew meat
1 (14.5 oz) can diced spice red pepper tomatoes
2.5 c beef stock
4 c thinly sliced kale
1 T red wine vinegar
Herbamare (or sea salt) and pepper

In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, shallots, garlic, and some sea salt; saute for 5 minutes. Add dried thyme, rosemary, carrots, celery, bell pepper, and potato. Saute for 5 more minutes. Then add stew meat, and continue to saute for an additional 5 minutes. Add diced tomatoes and beef stock; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the kale, red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook an additional 5 minutes.

Pasta with Parmesan White Sauce and Summer Sausage

When I was visiting my family for my niece's birthday, naturally the dinner choices were either go out or I would need to cook. Since we had already been out twice during the visit, I decided to make dinner. My mom presented me with a package of summer sausage, and I remembered that the magazine I read on the plane had a recipe for Summer Sasuage Alfredo. I figured that if I made a simple white sauce it would probably be a little healthier so I made the following...

Pasta with Parmesan White Sauce and Summer Sausage

12 oz pasta

1 package summer sausage

3+1 sliced green onions, separated 

1/2 to 1 cup sweet peas

4 cocktail tomatoes or 2 Roma, cut into quarter sized pieces

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

Parmesan cheese for garnish 

Parmesan White Sauce

2 tbsp Parmesan 

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp floor

1 cup milk

Dash of salt

Cook pasta and sweet peas according to their packages. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Slice the sausage into bitesize pieces. When the oil is hot, sauté the sausage in the skillet. 

Meanwhile, make the sauce by heating the butter in a small sauce pan. Add the flour and sauté for a minute or so. Slowly whisk in the milk as the sauce thickens. Reduce the heat to low. Add the salt and Parmesan cheese. Stir until cheese is melted. 

Add three green onions and tomatoes to the sausage and cook for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the pasta, peas, and sauce. Spoon into bowls. Top with more Parmesan, and the remaining green onion, salt, and pepper. 

Notes: when I make this again, I'd like to try swapping the peas with either green beans or broccoli and top it with some fresh parsley. 

Hummus and Egg (and Bacon!) Roll Up

"It's breakfast for dinner, Paul. It's your favorite." Okay, it's actually breakfast for breakfast. Lately I've been eating a lot of oatmeal, bagels, and waffles for breakfast, but when I do I get hungry again at 9:30. That's a little too early for me to be ready for my morning snack so I decided to go for lots of protein today. I ended up with this Hummus and Egg (and Bacon!) Roll Up. It's pretty good, but this one could have used a little pepper so I added it to the ingredients below. 

Hummus and Egg (and Bacon!) Roll Up

1 tortilla

1 boiled (or scrambled egg) 

1 piece of bacon (halved, if desired)

1-2 Tbsp hummus

1 oz cheddar cheese 

Chopped fresh parsley

Freshly ground pepper

Mmm protein! Spread hummus on the tortilla. Top with the egg, cheese, bacon, parsley, and pepper. Pop in a microwave and heat through (30-60 seconds depending if the egg started off warm or not). Roll up and enjoy some morning protein! 

Chipotle Potato Salad

I've always hated potato salad, and I even refused to try any until I learned that you could make it without mustard. Mustard=blah!! Ryan on the other hand loves mustard and potato salad, but he knew that he could never make one for me if he put mustard in it, so we decided to try making a chipotle potato salad anymore with ingredients we had around the house.

Chipotle Potato Salad

• 6-8 Yukon Gold potatoes, chopped small and boiled
• 1 leek, chopped
• 5 boiled eggs, chopped 
• 1-2 cups mayo (we just did what looked good, no measuring in this house)
• 1 t ground cumin
• 1 T minced garlic
• 1/2 can chipotles in adobo sauce, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 t pepper

Just mix everything together!! 

Green Beans and Pasta with Pistachio Pesto

This was my first attempt of making pesto, and I have to say, it was easy and tasty! I based it off of a recipe on Food Republic. Here is what I did.

Green Beans and Pasta with Pistachio Pesto

6 oz fresh green beans, trimmed and rinsed (a couple more ounces would also work)
8 oz pasta (I used Farfalle)
1/2 t sea salt, divided
3 T pistachios
3 T grated Parmesan
Leaves from a small bunch if fresh basil
4 T olive oil
1 clove garlic

Cook pasta as directed by package. Fill a medium saucepan with water and put on high heat on the stove. Meanwhile, grate half of the garlic clove into a blender or food processor. Add the salt to the water. When water boils, add green beans. Add the pistachios, Parmesan, basil, and olive oil to the blender. Blend. Add 1-2 T of green bean water to the blender and blend again. After about four or five minutes of cook time on green beans, drain. Mix the green beans, pasta, and pesto together. Top with more Parmesan and red pepper flakes if desired.

Tomato Soup

When there's snow on the ground, I crave soup and came up with this simple tomato soup. Since H doesn't like tomato soup, I only made two serving worth--one for today's lunch and one for tomorrow's lunch.

Tomato Soup

1 t olive oil
1 c chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 14.5 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
1-2 T fresh chopped basil
1/4 c shredded white cheddar cheese
3/4 c milk
1-2 t chili garlic sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium sauce pan sauté onion in the oil for three minutes. Add garlic and sauté for an additional minute. Add tomatoes and basil. Heat to boiling. Add cheese and cook until melted. Purée in a mixer or food processor. I like my soup to be a little chunky so I only puréed 2/3 of the mixture. Return to sauce pan. Add milk and cook until heated through. Stir in salt, pepper and chili garlic sauce to taste. Serve and enjoy!

Creamy Potato Soup with BACON!!!

As the weather turns colder, it's time to look into soups. I've always wanted to make a really good potato soup, but I never knew where to start. I knew I wanted something creamy with chunks of potato in it. I searched the Internet, and found a recipe for Delicious Ham and Potato Soup. Ham didn't sound very good to me, but bacon did. :) So I altered the recipe to what sounded good to me. I've written the recipe a little different than normal because there are some things I would change about my soup tonight. For example, I felt it was too thick. I've added all changes into the recipe below. 

Creamy Potato Soup with BACON!!! 

2 large gold/white potatoes, diced (you could also use 4 to 6 small ones)
2 stalks celery
1/2 large white onion 
2 cups water (probably should have used a little more)
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 t salt 
1/2 t pepper (wasn't enough for me so I put more in my bowl)
3-4 pieces of bacon
2 T butter
2 T olive oil (alternatively you could probably use bacon grease in place of some of the oil)
5 T flour
1-3/4 cups milk (I probably should have used 2 cups milk)
Cheese
Green onions, sliced (I didn't actually put these in, but I think they'd be really good in it)

Place the potatoes, celery, onion, water, and chicken bouillon cubes in a sauce pan. Boil for 15+ minutes, stirring occasionally (mine cooked for about 30 minutes because I didn't plan things out well, so that might be why I felt it could use more liquid--too much might have boiled off). Season with the salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook bacon. Crumble or dice. Either after the bacon is done or while the it is cooking, heat butter and olive oil in a small sauce pan. Whisk in flour. When mixture starts to boil, slowly add in milk. Bring to a boil. Pour into potato mixture.

You can either stir in the bacon (but I felt this made it a little soggy) or top to soup with it in each bowl. Also top with cheese and green onions, if desired.

Butternut Squash and Couscous Salad

When your [appreciative] vegan friends come into town, you're forced to make new recipes or go out for all meals. So cooking one meal out of six isn't bad, right? After asking my coworker for a recipe, we came up with an almost vegan dish: Couscous Salad with Butternut Squash and Cranberries. Technically the recipe isn't vegan since it has goat cheese in it, but vegan cheese could be substituted, so I thought it was a winner. I bought the recipe home to show H, who made the best horrified face I've ever seen! I realized quickly that the recipe was too sweet for the guy. After thinking about it, I decided to alter it a little to make it a little more savory sounding. Here's what I came up with:

Butternut Squash and Couscous Salad

1 medium (2 1/2 - 3 lb) butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 onion, diced
1/4 cup diced fresh tomatoes

1/4 cup diced sun-dried tomatoes

1 cup water

1 cup uncooked couscous

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon chili-infused olive oil

1 teaspoon chipotle tabasco hot sauce

Zest of one orange

1/2 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon Albanian-rubbed sage

1/2 teaspoon rosemary

1 teaspoon cumin

2-4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 can garbanzo beans, drained

3 oz goat cheese (or vegan cheese)

Pre-heat oven to 425° F. Toss the squash and onion with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread them out on a baking sheet and roast, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender and the onions are starting to crisp at the tips, about 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, bring 1 teaspoon salt, the water, and 1 teaspoon olive oil to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir in the couscous and remove from heat. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes until the couscous has absorbed all the water. Fluff the couscous with a fork and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, olive oil, hot sauce, orange zest, spices, and 1 teaspoon of salt.

Combine squash, onions, couscous, garbanzo beans, and tomatoes in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and stir to combine. Gently fold the cheese into the salad. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

The original recipe says to serve the salad cold or at room temperature. Personally, I think this version is better served warm (so I heated mine up in the microwave for 20-30 seconds). 

Breakfast Cups

A few months ago, my friend invited me to join Pinterest. I didn't really see the reason for bookmarking images (or that's how I explain Pinterest to people anyway), so I didn't use it for months. About a month ago, I had a craft night and another friend showed me a scarf she wanted to recreate on Pinterest. Naturally, Pinterest had a new purpose for me...recreation of awesome things! I mostly pin recipes and craft ideas. As I was searching others' pins, I found a recipe for Bacon, Egg, and Toast Cups by Martha Stewart. They looked so cute, I just had to make them! I don't really eat butter, so I changed the recipe up just slightly. Here's my version:

Breakfast Cups

• Cooking Spray (I like the oil olive kind personally)
• 6 slices of wheat bread
• 6 slices of turkey bacon, cut in half
• 6 large eggs (although medium might actually be better, large almost didn't fit in the cups)
• Salt and pepper

Preheat over to 375. Spray each cup in a muffin pan with cooking spray. If using a 12 cup muffin pan, spray every other one.

Cook the bacon till almost done (it will cook more in the oven). Cut the crusts off of the bread. Then smash them down with a rolling pin or your palms. Cut the smashed bread in half and place in the muffin cups. Place the bacon in the cups. I placed mine so a little was sticking up. Then crack an egg into each cup. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the whites are set. We baked ours for about 27 minutes because H doesn't like his yokes runny at all. I probably would have liked them better around 20 minutes, but I like runny yokes. :)

Other Variations: 
I'm really excited to try some other versions of these cups. Browned sausage sounds amazing to me. As does chopped ham. I think when I do those, I'll scramble the eggs and pour on top of the sausage or ham. I also would like to try putting some bell peppers in them.

Creamy Potato Soup

For dinner last night, I really wanted potato soup. I've been craving it like crazy, but I've never made it from scratch before. I don't even have a recipe (that I know of) for it. I decided to take my chances and use the Creamy Butternut Squash Soup recipe as a base. And I even remembered to take a picture! I halved the recipe, and instead of using a butternut squash, I used about 2 lbs of Yukon gold potatoes. Instead of cilantro I added two green onions, sliced, and 1 teaspoon of dried chives. To make it easier for you, here's the recipe:

Creamy Potato Soup
1 T olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
4-6 garlic cloves, crushed (we love our garlic!)
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
2 lb potatoes, cubed (I used Yukon gold)
one 14-15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cans coconut milk
1 can vegetable stock
2 green onions, sliced
1 teaspoon dried chives
2 t sea salt, plus more to taste


In a stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and saute for five minutes. Then add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Saute for another minute or two, stirring frequently to reduce burning.


Add the cubed potatoes, tomatoes, coconut milk and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender (till you can stick a fork in them easily).


When everything is cooked, ladle some of the soup into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a clean pot or bowl. Continue to blend the soup in batches until all soup has been pureed. If you like your soup more chunky, only puree half of the soup. Add the sea salt, green onions, and chives. Enjoy!

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

This might just be my new favorite soup recipe. I've made it twice now, and neither time I got a picture of it. Just picture a bowl of yummy, creamy, yellow soup! :) The original recipe says that it serves 6-8 people. Either my family isn't big on soup or it's more like 10-12 people. We do usually eat something along with the soup, so maybe that's why. It makes great leftovers and freezes well, so I'm okay with the large batch. Mm-Mmmm. Okay, here's the recipe:

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

2 T olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

6-8 garlic cloves, crushed (we love our garlic!)

1 t crushed red pepper flakes

one 4-5 lb butternut squash, peeled and cube*

one 28 oz can diced tomatoes

2 cans coconut milk

4 c vegetable stock

1/2 c chopped cilantro

2 t sea salt, plus more to taste

*Instead of peeling and cubing the squash, you can split it in half and bake it at 350 in the oven until tender. I think this takes about 20-30 minutes. Scoop out the cooked flesh and add it with the tomatoes, coconut milk, and stock. 

In a large stock pot (about 8 quarts), heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for five minutes. Then add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Saute for another minute or two, stirring frequently to reduce burning. 

Add the squash, tomatoes, coconut milk and vegetable stock. If you added the squash raw, cover and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes or until the squash is very tender. If you added the squash pre-baked, just cook until all the ingredients are heated through. 

When everything is cooked/heated, stir in the cilantro. Ladle some of the soup into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a clean pot or bowl. Continue to blend the soup in batches until all soup has been pureed. If you like your soup more chunky, only puree half of the soup. Add the sea salt to taste. Enjoy!

Hummus

I know I've posted a recipe for hummus before, but I think this one is better.


Hummus:
1 can (15-16oz) garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained, but reserve 3 tablespoons of the liquid

1/4 cup olive oil

1 clove garlic

1 tablespoon lemon juice (more can be added if you desire)

1/2 teaspoon salt

If using a food processor, add everything except the reserved liquid together and blend. If using a blender, I recommend blending it into two mixtures and then combining them. Add the reserved liquid a little at a time until it reaches your preferred consistency.

Optional additions: 

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin and sprinkle with coarsely ground pepper

1/3 cup chopped and drained sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil)

1/3 cup chopped and drained roasted red peppers (packed in oil)

Homemade Lemonade

Now that my summer class if over, I'm going to try to post some of the recipes I've made over the past couple of months. Homemade Lemonade sounds like a great one to start with! Last weekend, I went to one of my best friend's weddings. Amber and I met back in 4th grade, and have been great friends ever since. She looked absolutely gorgeous! As did her decorations and bouquets (which I caught; get ready H ;) haha). Here is a picture of one of her center pieces for the reception tables:

There were probably 20 or more tables, so you can tell that they had more than enough lemons to give away. Ryan and I took home 17! We used the peels to make limoncello (if it turns out I'll post a recipe for it) and the juice to make Homemade Lemonade:

1 cup + 3 cups water, divided
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Combine 1 cup water and the sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until dissolved to create a simple syrup. Cool the simple syrup. Pour the syrup, lemon juice, and 3 cups water into a pitchers. Stir well. Serve with ice, if desired.

Frittata

This was my first attempt at a frittata! After making it I realized how versatile they are. I kept seeing them in my recipe books, but I wasn't really sure what they were. They sounded good, but seemed a bit complicated. As it turns out, they're not. Ms. Betty Crocker helped me create this one. Sorry there's no picture. Maybe next time. :)


Frittata
4 or 5 eggs
1/4 c mozzarella cheese
1 T butter
1 c chopped peppers (red or green)
1/2 c chopped onions
1 small red potato, thinly sliced
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
Garlic powder
Dried dill


Beat eggs, pepper, and salt in a bowl until well blended. Stir in the mozzarella cheese and set aside. Melt butter in a oven safe skillet (we used a cast iron skillet) over medium heat on the stove. Saute peppers, onions, and potato sliced in melted butter. Season with sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dill. Once the onions and potatoes are tender, pour egg and cheese mixture over vegetables. Cover the skillet, and cook for 8-10 minutes. Turn oven to broiler setting with the rack set in the top position. Place skillet on rack and cook for 2 minutes, or until the top of the frittata is golden brown. Flip the frittata out of the pan and cut into pie slices. Serve immediately with ketchup or salsa, if desired.

Parmesan Flat Bread

To start out the grilling season, Ryan and I made kabobs! Thank you to my sister and her husband for the awesome flat skewers! We had chicken, onions, cherry tomatoes, green bell peppers, zucchini, and pineapple (pictured right). The chicken, veggies, and tomatoes were spread with barbeque and grilled to perfection. For the pineapple, we marinated chunks in red wine for a few hours before grilling it. Then for some carbs to go with our kabobs, we made some Parmesan Flat Bread. Mmmm!

Parmesan Flat Bread

2-3 inch ball of Spent Grain Bread dough

Flour

3 garlic cloves, chopped

Salt and pepper

1/4 c shredded parmesan

Preheat a grill to medium heat. Sprinkle the ball of dough with flour. Spread out into a flat, round crust. Press chopped garlic cloves into the dough (alternatively you could mix the chopped garlic into the dough before spreading it out). Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill one side of the bread until golden brown. Flip the bread over and sprinkle with parmesan. Grill until this side is also golden brown and the parmesan cheese is melted.

                   Before                                                                                                         After