Spaghetti Squash Frittata

Perfect Pairing:  Leftover spaghetti squash

One food trend I am totally on board with is spaghetti squash.  My first post of 2015 was this Spaghetti Squash Pizza Casserole recipe.  I froze half of the recipe and was thrilled to have it on hand when I was in the midst of wedding planning and needed a healthy and filling meal. 

Next time you have leftover spaghetti squash try this frittata recipes.  Actually, just cook up some spaghetti squash so you can make this!  It was such a great breakfast, served up beautifully, and was delicious reheated. 

There are a few different ways of cooking a spaghetti squash.  I definitely prefer roasting them and will usually do two at once to make sure I have plenty on hand.  To roast it, poke the spaghetti squash with a fork 10 times.  Microwave on high for 6 minutes (this softens the squash and makes it easier to cut in half).  Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds.  Place cut side down on a baking sheet and roast for 50-60 minutes at 400 degrees, or until completely tender, then you can shred it with a fork.  You can also cook it in the microwave.  I use this method if I just don’t have the time for roasting. 

Cooked spaghetti squash acts as the crust of the frittata.  Try to remove any excess moisture in the squash, this is especially important if you cooked it in the microwave.  You can either squeeze it in a clean kitchen towel, pat with paper towels, or press into the bottom of a strainer.

The filling is a mixture of sautéed vegetables, eggs, egg whites, chicken sausage, and cheese.  This recipe is totally customizable so if you don’t like mushrooms, leave them out.  If you have kale on hand, throw it in.  Would rather use swiss cheese than shredded cheddar?  Brilliant.  Do it.  I think I used a roasted red pepper chicken sausage, like this.   

I have an exorbitant amount of spices in my kitchen, and I love all of them.  I used some crazy combination of Italian/Za’atar/Berbere/Jamaican Jerk in this (not really, but also not far off) but you could use whatever you have on hand, whether it is Mrs. Dash or Cajun.  Just be sure to check if it has salt so you can adjust that accordingly.

One other thing to note…. Yes, this does have cottage cheese in it.  No, you cannot tell there is cottage cheese in it.  It just adds a little creaminess and bulk, but won’t freak out cottage cheese haters.  They’re out there.

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Chocolate and Banana Overnight French Toast

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Raisin Bran Muffins

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Garlic and Herb Cheese Crostini with Summer Tomato Sauce

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Creole Jicama Hash with a Sunny Side Up Egg

Perfect Pairing:  Box shredder

I am so excited about this dish!  It will come as no surprise that since I have a big day (MY WEDDING!!!!!) coming up soon I am doing my best to eat healthy, workout, and tone up.  I am always searching for healthy recipes that are still delicious.  I have a fiancé to feed!

I love jicama but had only eaten it as a raw crudite, how it is served here.  In this breakfast (or any other meal) the jicama is shredded and cooked like a hash with onion and creole seasoning.  A simple box shredder is the perfect tool here.  No need to drag out the food processor. Just watch your fingers.

Jicama has a slightly sweet flavor which is great in this, especially if you balance it with a hefty pinch of salt.  

Top it all off with a sprinkle of green onions, sriracha, and an egg.  I like (love) a runny egg, but cook according to your preference.  

It is such a satisfying meal.  If you are familiar with the diet that uses “points” this is only 3 points!!!  You can’t beat that.  It is also paleo friendly for my paleo friends out there!  

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Southwestern Chicken Slow Cooker Soup

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Creamy Spaghetti Squash with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Healthified Cookie Pie

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Strawberry Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Perfect Pairing:  Food processor

 

About five or six years ago (it could have been more) my mom called me one morning to ask if I was watching GMA.  They were doing a segment on a new fitness craze called Zumba.  It was a high energy cardio class that was mainly composed of Latin music and Latin dancing.  I was immediately intrigued.  I started in dance class when I was 3 years old, and continued to dance through high school on the dance team.  I was also a huge fan of Latin music and Latin dancing, so Zumba seemed like a great fit for me.  I did some research and found a Zumba class in Chicago and tried it out one Saturday morning. I was completely hooked.  It was such a great workout (you can burn up to 700 calories in a class) and it was truly fun. 

Through the years I visited many many many Zumba classes in Chicago.  When I say many, I mean in the 100s.  I kept trying new instructors until I found one that was a good fit, which meant I liked their music, energy, and style.  Even though there were free Zumba classes offered at my gym I was still paying a hefty amount to take classes from my favorite instructors.  Somewhere along the way I started thinking maybe I could be an instructor. 

Last November I became official.  I was a certified Zumba instructor!  I spent the next few months coming up with routines and practicing.  I practiced a lot in my living room, which was definitely not as fun as a class environment!  I finally worked up the nerve to apply at a gym in March. Within one week I had an audition, and later that day I was offered a teaching job teaching two classes a week!  I was going to start the following week!  I was pumped!  And terrified!

It was so surreal to walk into the class as the instructor and not the student.  After that first class I knew I had made the right decision, and all the hard work was totally worth it.  I loved it.  If you’re interested you can find out more about my classes at http://lindsayrodgers.zumba.com/. 

 

After my mom took one of my classes in Chicago (see above) her wheels started spinning on how to have me teach where she lives.  So she organized a class for some of our family friends on her dock.  One morning a few weeks ago we had 9 lovely ladies down on the dock at 8 AM for a Zumba class!  It was a blast.  It was definitely the best view I have ever had during a class!  I think there were a few boaters passing by that had a hard time not staring at this strange occurrence. 

 

I am pretty sure everyone had a great time, and I have received requests for another dock Zumba class later this summer.  To thank everyone for coming, and to reward them for the great workout, I made this Strawberry Rhubarb Coffee Cake. 

 

I followed this recipe.  The only changes I made were to use the food processor to make the crumb topping and the cake.  It was so much easier than cutting in the butter manually.  I would suggest using up the last of the season’s rhubarb with this recipe.  It was amazing.  Seriously. 

As long as we’re talking about rhubarb, you could also make this super simple, super yummy, Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp.  Why not have the perfect combination strawberry and rhubarb for breakfast (coffee cake) and dessert (crisp)!?

 

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Shrimp and Arugula Pesto Grilled Pizza

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Corn and Avocado Salsa

 

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Chocolate and Banana Overnight French Toast

Perfect Pairing:  Overnight softened butter

I must have a thing for overnight breakfast items.  Let me demonstrate.

Overnight Muesli (fun fact, I don’t think I have EVER spelled muesli correctly on the first attempt)

Overnight French Toast

Overnight Cornbread Strata

Overnight All Purpose Breakfast Casserole

I love being able to get the prep work done the night before, and breakfast is ready for the oven the next morning.  Often, I will prepare breakfast while I am making dinner and enlist family and friends to do the cleanup.  It is a good system.

I needed to add one more overnight recipe to the breakfast lineup, Chocolate and Banana French Toast.  It is as good as it sounds.

It is made of layers of cinnamon raisin bread, bananas, chocolate chips, and is topped with an oatmeal streusel (also never get the spelling of that right on the first try).  How can you go wrong with those ingredients? 

You could easily swap out the cinnamon raisin bread for just cinnamon if you don’t like raisins in your breakfast.  I know that is pretty common.  I personally really liked it with the raisins.  You can top with syrup, but it hardly needs it.  Gilding the lily?

The oatmeal streusel is made with oatmeal, brown sugar, and softened butter.  It is really important for the butter to be soft when you mix this up.  I would suggest putting the butter on the counter the night before when you are prepping.  It will be the perfect consistency in the morning.  There have been many times I have tried to speed up the process by using the microwave, but I inevitably forget and end up with half melted, half softened butter.

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Raisin Bran Muffins

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Best Ever Blueberry Muffins

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Asparagus and Eggs

Perfect Pairing:  Peeler

Growing up we had asparagus almost every night for dinner in the spring.  It grew in a patch of garden at the very back of our yard.  I had no idea how lucky I was to be eating fresh asparagus every night! 

Asparagus is a great thing to have in a garden because it grows back so quickly.  I swear we could clean out the patch and it would be ready to harvest again in a couple of days.  I have fond memories of walking out to the back of the yard on a gorgeous spring evening with the dog to pick asparagus for dinner.

This recipe for asparagus and eggs is great for a quick brunch or even a light dinner.  It is fresh, healthy, and delicious.  Roasted asparagus is tossed in lemon juice, then topped off with parmesan shavings and a fried egg.

The Perfect Pairing for this recipe is a vegetable peeler.  It is the perfect tool to use for parmesan shavings.

 

 

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Sweet Potato with Kale, Mushrooms, and Pancetta

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

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Morning Glory Muffins

Perfect Pairing: Spring loaded scoop

Last spring I had breakfast at a local diner where instead of toast you could substitute a morning glory muffin.  I thought that sounded nice, so I tried it out.  I absolutely loved it!  I studied it thinking I wanted to try to recreate it at home.  Turns out, morning glory muffins are a real thing and this place did not make them up, and there are many recipes for them online. 

I found a recipe that sounded closest to what I had at the restaurant and gave it a shot.  They were equally delicious!  These muffins are filled with good stuff like shredded carrots, apples, raisins, walnuts, and coconut.  The diner muffins had a crunchy sugar topping so I added that to my version along with some rolled oats on top.

Using a spring loaded scoop is the fastest and most efficient way to get the batter into the tins.  I have talked about my love of these scoops here, here, here…. Oh, and here.  I like them a lot.  

 

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Kale, Butternut Squash, and Bacon Breakfast Burritos with Spicy Chipotle Sauce

Perfect Pairing:  Leftover adobo sauce recipes

These were so good.  It was the kind of breakfast that you wanted to eat again for lunch.  The combination of sweet butternut squash, crispy bacon, earthy kale, and spicy sauce was crazy delish. 

These are super filling, and a definite change from your standard breakfast burrito.  It would be easy to double the recipe and serve to a large group for breakfast or brunch.  I would let everyone build their own…. but I would have to put in my two cents in on exactly how I thought they should be made.

Start with your warm tortilla, a good amount of the chipotle sauce, and a scoop of squash roasted with cumin, coriander, and a dash of cayenne.

Top that with some kale that was sautéed in the bacon pan and simple scrambled eggs. Then finish it off with crumbled crispy bacon and fresh green onions.

I’m telling you, these are darn good breakfast food.

The chipotle sauce is made with adobo sauce from a can of chipotles in adobo.  That stuff is spicy so you don’t need much.  You will have a lot leftover.  Good news is that it freezes well, and it is a great ingredient to have on hand.  Here are some ideas on how to use the leftover sauce.

Spicy Mexican Chicken Lime Soup

Chicken Chilaquiles

Fajita Stuffed Potatoes

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Prosciutto and Pineapple Grilled Pizza

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Tomato Bisque

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Fruit Slush

Perfect Pairing:  Shallow dish

I don’t think my family has had a Christmas breakfast without fruit slush.  It is a staple.   It is great because you can make it ahead of time and keep it in the freezer until you are ready to serve breakfast or brunch.  The kids always go crazy over it, and why wouldn’t they?  It has crushed pineapple (sweet), maraschino cherries (sweet and really red), orange juice (kids love juice), and bananas (enter the only real fruit).  Don’t get me wrong, adults love it too.

When my brother was little he had a bit of an allergy to red food dye.  Nothing critical would happen, but he would get extremely hyper and the edges of his ears would get bright red.  My mom said she could always tell when he had Hawaiian Punch or even Cheetos at a friend’s house.  Maraschino cherries are like the holy grail of red food dye.  They practically hurt your eyes they are so bright.  I remember being at my aunt and uncle’s wedding and my brother kept sneaking up to the bar to get bowls of the neon fruit.  Bouncing off the walls. 

This recipe makes a big batch and uses an entire jar of cherries, including the juice, which makes it a pretty pink color.  I love pink.

I recommend using a shallow bowl or dish, like a 9x13 pan when you make this.  If you pour it into a big bowl the fruit will fall to the bottom and it takes longer to defrost and serve. 

Merry Christmas!  I hope your holiday is filled with loved ones and precious moments together.

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Chicken Vegetable Barley Soup (perfect for those New Year resolutions)

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Sweet Potato Strudel with Brown Butter

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Chorizo and Potato Frittata

Perfect Pairing:  Sriracha

This recipe came to be because of a cooking accident.  Fortunately it turned into a very good thing!

I have a really good deal going when I visit my parents.  Before I head home I will send my mom some menu ideas along with a grocery list.  Usually by the time I get there everything is purchased and put away.  How fabulous is that??  My mom thinks it is a pretty good deal too because I do most of the cooking.  Everyone wins.

Recently I asked my mom to buy chorizo for an appetizer I wanted to try.  I guess I didn’t think to tell her to get Spanish chorizo instead of Mexican.  Once we realized this we were about 20 miles from the closest grocery store.  How different could they really be?  Well, it turns out they are very different.  My goal was to slice the chorizo and grill it, but you cannot do that with Mexican chorizo.  It is more of the crumbly bulk sausage variety. 

So now I had some cooked chorizo that needed to be used.   We didn’t have much else in the house, but did have eggs and potatoes.  A frittata!  There is a chance that this is actually more like a Spanish Tortilla, but honestly I don’t understand the difference, so I am calling it a frittata.  I am including this picture against my better judgment.  I know it is so far from being pretty, but it is nice to get an idea of what the entire recipe looks like.  Right?

We all loved this.  It was super hearty and great as a main course for dinner.  I used Manchego cheese but you could use whatever favorite cheese you have on hand.  The chorizo has a kick, but this dish is great topped with a little (or a lot of) sriracha sauce.  I love that stuff.

 

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Un-Recipe Files - Vanilla Fruit Salad

They say life is all about simple pleasures.  I have to agree with that.  One of my favorite simple pleasures is a good fruit salad.  How great is it to have a big bowl of ripe fruit all clean and cut for you?  It is even better if it is the perfect proportions of produce.  I get so annoyed when you are at a restaurant and they give you 1 strawberry, 4 grapes and a few pieces of tasteless honeydew.  Bleh.

I am perfectly pleased with straight up fruit but this salad has a vanilla sauce that adds a nice sweetness and makes it a little extra special.  There is no real recipe for this salad.  I drained the juice from a can of peaches and a can of pineapple chunks into a large bowl.  Next, I whisked in about half a package of vanilla instant pudding.  Then, gently fold in the fruit.  I used strawberries, grapes, blueberries, and the canned pineapple and peaches.  It was so delicious. 

The next day I added more fruit and there was still plenty of sauce to coat another batch.  Delicious! 

 

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Un-Recipe Files: Omelet Station

 

Here is the situation.  You are at a nice hotel breakfast buffet.  Do you go for the custom omelet station or the waffle station?  I have a hard time with that decision.  When I travel with my mom we will each take charge of one station and then share the results.  The best of everything!  During vacation in Cabo this year we talked about doing an omelet station for a big family breakfast.   We told my dad he was in charge of watching and learning from the chef.  He took his role seriously, and did an amazing job back in the Midwest!

This is what we included in our lineup.

 

A few tips from Chef “J”!

• An electric griddle works great.
• To keep things moving we put out small plates for diners to pick out their toppings and then lined them up so they were ready to go as soon as Chef “J” was ready for them.

• Have your eggs cracked, whisked, and waiting in a bowl.  We figured two and a half eggs per person, or about one ladleful.  We didn't add anything other than salt and pepper to the eggs. 

• Before each omelet, pour a little olive or vegetable oil on the griddle.

• Sauté the fillings on one side of the griddle and pour the ladleful of eggs on the other side.  Smooth out the eggs so they cook evenly.

• Wear a homemade chef’s hat.

• Right before the eggs are finished cooking add the fillings right down the middle and sprinkle with cheese.  Fold up the omelet and serve!

• A large spatula, similar to this one available at Sur La Table, was the perfect tool for sautéing and flipping.

Everyone agreed this was a new favorite breakfast! 

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Raisin Bran Muffins

Perfect Pairing: Spring loaded ice cream scoop

A few years ago my parents started talking about moving to the lake full time.  If I’m being totally honest, I didn’t think it would happen for years.  Then on a walk in the fall of 2010 my mom happened upon “the perfect lot for a house”.  Things really started moving after that. 

My parents sold our family home last summer.  They built that house in 1989.  It was very bittersweet to say goodbye to my childhood home, but I am thrilled that my parents are living at the lake full time.   I always say it is my favorite place on earth, so I am happy to have a bed there! 

Even though the original lake house is just a mile down the road/coast (can you call it a coast on a lake?), I was sad to say goodbye to it.  We had so, so, so many good memories there.  When my parents bought it 15 years ago it was not exactly a pretty sight.  The entire outside of the house (including lots of decking) was painted an awful rust color.  The bathroom doors in the master bedroom were saloon doors.  You know what I mean, the half doors that are on old timey western movies?  Um, who in their right mind puts saloon doors on a bathroom?  Especially when the bedroom opens out onto the deck?!

We didn’t care about the saloon doors or rust colored paint.  My mom said to my dad, “We won’t have to change a thing!  We’ll just move in and have fun!”   Ha, famous last words!  Through many renovation projects (and a lot of hard work) they turned it into a beautiful home.  We all feel very fortunate that the new owners seem to love it as much as we did.  I am excited to see them make new memories in that house.  I just feel better knowing it will be loved.

We not only made a lot of great memories in this house, we made a lot of really, really good food.  We even started having chef challenges there.  If you ask any regular houseguest what food reminds them of the lake house, I think they would all say raisin bran muffins.  My mom has been making these muffins since there was a saloon door on the master bathroom.  They are, without a doubt, my favorite muffins. 

The recipe calls for an entire box of raisin bran cereal, so it makes a large quantity, probably about 50 to 60 muffins. The beauty of this recipe is that the batter just gets better with time!  You can keep it for up to eight weeks in the refrigerator.  Just scoop out the number of muffins you need, and bake them up.  We found that a spring loaded ice cream scoop is the perfect tool.  This is our go-to breakfast at the lake, whether we are feeding 2 or 20.  Mom always has a batch ready to go in the fridge.

So even though there will be no more raisin bran muffins made at the saloon door lake house, there will definitely be countless batches made at the new address! 

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Sweet Potato and Sausage Breakfast Hash

Perfect Pairing:  Eggs

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!  I was lucky enough to spend it with loved ones.  Unfortunately, there was a lot, and I mean a lot, of rain throughout the weekend.  We definitely made the most of it and still had a great time.  It is all about the company!

There are so many good things about this recipe including sweet potatoes, sausage, caramelized onions, it is made ahead of time, and is versatile.  I figured out the versatile thing firsthand. 

The hash component is made the night before and stored in the refrigerator overnight, so it lends itself to quick prep in the morning.  I made this when I was home for Easter and the plan was to cook it for breakfast in a 9x13 baking dish in the oven.  When I woke up that morning I realized the ceiling fan had stopped, the clock was dark, and the house was very quiet.  The power was out and we did not know when it was coming back on.  Fortunately, my parents had already made coffee!

We moved to plan B and cooked the hash in a pan on the grill.  It was a happy accident because I loved the crispiness and grill flavor. 

 

The hash would be great as a breakfast/brunch side dish (actually, it would be good at any time of the day) but it is made into a complete meal by cracking eggs on top. 

I can’t say enough about this meal.  It was so good.  The combination of spicy sausage, sweet caramelized onions and sweet potatoes, and a slightly runny egg was divine.  I can’t wait to make this again! 

We only used a portion of the recipe in the skillet since it makes a large batch.  The leftovers were fabulous.  For the leftovers we cooked the hash and eggs in the oven in individual ramekins. 

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