Mini Frittatas

I am a zombie in the mornings. Being caffeine free during this pregnancy (and, of course, being pregnant) hasn't helped matters. So making the fam a healthy breakfast is always a challenge. I stumble bleary eyed into the kitchen and whine a little as I'm getting everything ready.

And then I remembered that years ago when I was doing South Beach, they recommended these little crustless quiches. And even as a single woman I appreciated the ease of premaking these babies and grabbing a few on my way to the office where I'd eat them at my desk because that was like, five extra minutes of sleep.

This is why I have this blog. It's so easy to get a bit tired of a really good recipe and then forget about it completely.

Tons of people make these and they call them egg bites, egg muffins, mini frittatas, crustless mini quiche...

I loosely based mine on these Mini Spinach Frittatas at Sugar Laws.

This recipe makes two dozen muffin cup sized frittatas (you can freeze extras).

9 eggs
10 oz frozen spinach (approximately)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 cloves crushed garlic
2 tablespoons dried onions (yeah, I was feeling lazy)
Salt
Butter/Coconut oil

Preheat oven to 375.

I fried the frozen spinach in a pan (you can use butter or expeller pressed coconut oil) along with the dried onion, salt, and garlic. In the meantime, I also beat together the 9 eggs in a bowl. When the spinach was suitably thawed, I combined the eggs and the spinach mixture and then added in the parmesan and mixed well. I then spooned enough of the mixture into each muffin spot to fill three quarters (I also use paper muffin cups). Bake for 30 minutes.

I usually have two in the morning. This morning Gus had eight. Growth spurt?

This Week's Controlled Crashes

Monday: Chicken Soup

Tuesday: Egg and Spinach Salad

Wednesday: Sausage and Feta Quinoa

Thursday: Chicken and Black Beans (via Conversion Diary)

Friday: Dinner out

Saturday: Healthy Spaghetti

Chili

Everyone knows how to make chili, right? Except me. I really didn't.

My dad likes to cook and participates in these chili cook-offs at work, but it seemed like such a process. And why learn the process when chili comes in a can?

And then I became a SAHM, and in searching for frugal, filling, easy, and healthy dinner options, I came across Katie's Chili at Kitchen Stewardship. She mentions that she's adapted her recipe to make it a bit healthier than regular chili, but since I never knew how to make that, I have no clue what's missing.

I made it the exact way she describes a few times, and then, as she mentions at the end, I started adding healthier "upgrades."

My most recent iteration is as follows:

You will need:
1lb stew beef
1 1/2 cups dried pinto beans
3/4 cup dried kidney beans
1/2 cup dried black beans if the mood strikes
6-8 cups homemade stock (optional--I suppose you could also use store bought stock, but I just use water if I'm out of stock)
1 can tomato paste
15-oz. can diced tomatoes
1 tsp salt
1/4-1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3 Tbs chili powder

This recipe doesn't require a lot of work, but if you're using dry beans you do have to plan ahead. The night before I measure the beans into a large bowl and then fill the bowl with water about an inch over the "bean line" and stick it in the fridge to soak overnight.

The next morning I drain the water from the beans, rinse them, and put them in the crock pot with the stock (or equivalent amount of water). I turn it on low and let it go until lunchtime. At lunchtime (or 4 to 5 hours later) I come back and add in everything else, stir it all together, and then that's it...I let it cook until dinner.

I usually serve it with cheese, and if we're having company I try to have tortilla chips on hand. It's a big hearty meal and leftovers can be frozen, which is nice.

Generally it's a nice fall or winter dish, but it's currently a spring time dish for our family since beans have iron (as does the stew beef) and they apparently don't wreak havoc on blood sugar levels.

Sausage and Feta Rice Stir Fry

As usual, it almost seems silly to post this as a recipe, but it's a dish we enjoy, and friends have claimed to enjoy it too. I made it with rice most recently, but I've also made it with quinoa, and it's equally as good.

2 cups cooked rice*
Olive oil
Feta cheese
Chicken sausage cut into pieces (Trader Joe's has a gluten/pork/casing free sundried tomato sausage that I use)
1 cup frozen spinach
1 cup grated zucchini*
4 cloves crushed garlic
Sea salt to taste
Spices to taste (I've been using Costco's organic no salt spice blend)

I get the pan hot first and pour in olive oil and dump in the sausage and rice and let it sit for a minute because I like some browned crunchy bits. I then add the vegetables, garlic, spices and salt, stir it all together, turn down the heat and then cover and allow to cook for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Before serving I often add a little more olive oil because I heart fat, and I've heard that unheated olive oil is healthier (I should use expeller pressed coconut oil for the cooking part, but I don't have any at the moment), and I also add the feta. Because feta can make anything yummy.

*Lately I've been making big batches of brown rice and then freezing it in two-cup portions. I've also been grating several zucchini in my food processor in the beginning of the week and using it for various meals. If I have those on hand, that makes this meal ridiculously easy.