The Magical Frittata!!!

It's like a sandwich without bread.... but better- lots of protein and yummy fabulousness cracked into a pan! Since it does require a little bit of 'oven' time, it might not be exactly suitable for the HOT summers, but it's such a great meal, how can you resist???

Gather your main ingredients and then Preheat oven to 350°F. You can vary your fritatta depending on your mood (or what you have in your pantry and fridge at the time!) so feel free to be creative!

The basic foundation is:

4- ounces cream cheese, softened
6 to 8 eggs
1/3 cup of milk, cream or even some sour cream diluted with water
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Whisk all of the above ingredients together until blended and then set aside while you get the "fillings" together and set aside. You'll also need potatoes- either 1 to 2 cups of hash browns, thinly sliced potatoes (any variety) or even tater tots!

Whatever filling you decide (about 1-1/2 cups total) to use will have to be cooked or sauteed prior to adding the egg mixture, so you can use leftovers from dinner, or saute up some fresh veggies! Make sure that all of the fillings are diced fairly small. The potatoes can be thrown in towards the end of the cooking process (until slightly transparent) and then remove the pan from the heat and pour the egg mixture over the top and bake in the oven until done.

I love a vegetarian version myself- artichokes, feta cheese, sauteed red pepper and some lemon zest- you can add herbs to taste and then serve with some fresh lemon wedges.

Other variations:

• Denver- ham, bell peppers, cheddar cheese and onion
• Farmer's Market- broccoli, sliced red potato, zucchini, peppers
• Brunch- ham, sausage, onion, bacon, cheese
• Italian- peppers, sliced tomato, Parmesan, basil and lots of garlic- you could even substitute cooked pasta or rice for the potatoes
• Pesto- asparagus, garlic, pesto sauce, Parmesan

Place in oven and bake 18-20 minutes or until egg mixture is set in center. Remove from oven; serve warm. ENJOY!!!

The leftovers make a great lunch or snack!

WHOA- totally neglected BLOG!

Sorry little Dinner blog- we've been busy posting about our impending arrival!!!! ( :

I'm doing a new post now!

( :

RIP Little BooBoo Kitty: 10/24/2000 - 03/04/2009

My 8-year old beautiful and sweet kitty, BooBoo died unexpectedly on Wednesday. He went outside with the rest of the fur-critters when I let them out Tuesday before work and didn’t come back in when the others did. I didn’t really think anything of it- on occasion they stay out longer, but always come back at ‘dinner’ time. When I got home from my dad’s later that evening, Jason said he hadn’t seen him- this cat is like a dog and usually always comes when he is called or when you shake the ‘crunchy’ bag (their treats). We searched for him and called but no BooBoo; I didn’t sleep very well last night thinking about him and came downstairs around 3 a.m., but still no kitty. So on Thursday when I let the dogs out around 7 a.m., I walked out into the yard and when I turned around I saw him lying on the patio but he already was gone. I don’t know what happened; since he didn’t come in for his crunchies in the morning, I am assuming that he died suddenly right after I let them out on Tuesday even. He looked as if he just died in mid-step and just fell over- we did some research on the internet and found that there are many cases where a cat can die suddenly of cardiomyopathy, heartworm disease, aneurysms or toxin exposure. Since he wasn’t showing any signs of poisoning, it was definitely something internal; unfortunately we aren’t in the financial position to be able to afford a necropsy.
I knew that there was a strong possibility that something bad had happened, but when I found him it was still such a shock: I started to hyperventilate and tried to go upstairs to find my husband. I barely made it down the hall but I just couldn’t fight through the tears anymore and laid down on the floor in the hallway. I can’t really remember another time that I’ve felt so grief-stricken- not sure if it is the pregnancy hormones or the fact that I raised this kitty from birth; we had his mom and dad both- and she was kind of psycho and didn’t take so well to motherhood, so Baby Boo was my baby in that respect.
BooBoo (named because he was born right before Halloween) was part Siamese and tabby; his beautiful black coat would shine in the light- and you could see faint tabby stripes even. When he was a kitten, he would jump on me when I was in the bathtub and lay right on my stomach- and when he got too big, he would just lay on the edge of the tub curled on a towel to keep me company. Every where I was, he followed and utilized me as his human pillow.Every night he slept with us- usually curled up on my legs, or even when I was on my side, he hugged me and rested his little chin right on me. Always had to be touching me in some way, either sleeping directly on me or with his head or a paw in my hand- like a living cuddly stuffed animal. He was very un-cat-like in this respect as he liked to be near you. He also loved to be under the covers- I think he got cold easily. (His most recent favorite spot was to wrap himself around the space heater in the living room- surprised he never burned himself!)
He did have his psycho Siamese moments though- he would randomly swat at you for no reason- not a nice little “love pat” when his sharp claws were extended; but we blame that on the psycho mom. The first Christmas that we had him, he singlepawedly took down the tree at least three times, crushing every bulb on it! (Fishing line and an eye-hook fixed that!) Thankfully his dad has two speeds- eat and sleep- and mellowed that kid out a bit.
I even tried to have him ‘altered’ (yes, that’s the euphemism that they use to cut off their little boy parts) twice. Apparently prior to moving into our first house, I had him fixed but forgot about it when I found out one of the three cats had been spraying in the house- so I took BooBoo in to solve the problem. I got to work and they called me to come pick him up- I stated that was fast and they said that they wished all pet owners were as responsible as I and had their cats double-fixed! Anyways I had to take him back to work with me in his carrier and he yowled. I let him out and proceeded to then ‘lose’ him in the office. He was actually tucked under my desk deep in the corner, sleeping and since he is black, blended into the shadow perfectly. Come to find out that it was actually the female (psycho Siamese) that was spraying… I witnessed it! Ugh.
When we moved into our current house four years ago, BooBoo had a field day catching mice at night- we would open the door to go to work and there would be 10-20 mice (often not in one piece…. Ewww) waiting for us- some were even placed strategically near the cars as a going away present. We were going to get little mouse stickers and start a kill wall for the cat. After that summer, we didn’t find too many rodents running around; actually once we heard the coyotes hunting we nixed the nighttime field trips. (Speaking of, I have to say that I’m relieved that he wasn’t killed by the coyotes and went suddenly and I assume with little pain…..) That didn’t prevent him from licking his chops everytime he walked by the hamster cage
So, he wasn’t exactly as much of an angel as his mommy thought- number one, he preferred to go pee in the bathroom sink- eww, I know gross- but turn on the hot water and it’s fixed- so better than the carpet! The funny thing was watching him try to bury it! Speaking of carpet… He also shredded two large holes (2 feet?) on either side of our bed- I think it was a separation anxiety thing…. One still hasn’t been fixed and the other will not be the same! I’m considering laminate flooring! He also came very close to his 5th or 6th life when he scratched me in the face- nearly my eye. I’ve never been so mad at him! My face recovered, but I knew when he had this little scowl to just push him down.
And he had a hate-hate relationship with our rescue dog- when we got Cinnamyn, it took him nearly two years to even come downstairs; and up until yesterday he was still very apprehensive of the big mean dog (oh, he loved our dalmation- they were buds) and hissed like a devil cat. Then he would proceed to run, and of course, Cinny proceeded to chase- reminded me of an old cartoon with the RoadRunner and Wil E Coyote.
This morning, I half-expected him to follow me into the bathroom and take his place on the rug outside the shower…. It’s amazing how a little critter can become such a part of your family and leaves a void when gone. I’m glad I know that he didn’t suffer, but will yearn for some more time to pet him. This cat will always mean so much to me; there are many people who may think it crazy to be so devastated over the loss of a pet, but in essence they are really a part of the family- there for you, day in and day out. So BooBoo: may you always have a large spot of sunshine to lay in; may you be blessed with a bottomless supply of crunchies and an endless supply of mice to catch; a catscratch post that never goes threadbare; a forever-clean litterbox and a comfy bed to rest your precious little head at night. Just know that you were loved very, very much. GodSpeed little guy.

Triple Citrus Chicken and More!

I know that it's been awhile since I've last blogged. Several reasons: Numero Uno- I haven't cooked a creative meal in quite awhile- the holidays just sidelined those plans; dos, December brought about quite a stressful month with the holidays, some minor family issues and us with our second round of fertility treatment. And last; the treatment WORKED! We're expecting our first baby in the beginning of September..... needless to say, the idea of eating is not appealing whatsoever; hence cooking has pretty much gone out the window! Well, now that I'm approaching the end of my first trimester, my appetite is slowly coming back, and I actually cooked something that resembles dinner twice this week. Since I have been living off of cereal and fruit smoothies for the past few months, I guess I could've posted a few blender recipes.....
and my dear husband has been quite the microwave dinner gourmet chef!

We ventured out today to get some supplies to hunker down for tomorrow's rainy day, and came across quite a steal at Sam's Club: 6lbs. of fresh chicken breasts on 'clearance' for just $6.88 a package. We bought three packages- who can pass up a deal like that! And with a modern convenience such as a freezer (albeit packed with Lean Cuisine's), it's a great investment. Now to really make this a good deal, you have to take the time to repackage the chicken. Armed with a Sharpie, resealable baggies and a few marinades, you can create a few easy dinners in about 30 minutes. I repackaged one package just on its own with two breasts per sandwich-sized bag, and then put several in another larger size bag that is labeled with the contents and date- it helps to alleviate 'mystery meat' guesses later on! Plus these are perfect to just grab and defrost quickly- great for throwing on the barbeque or under the broiler!

I also took several bottles of store-bought marinade and put into a bag (don't forget to label and double bag!)- when you defrost these, they will be premarinated and will be delicious. If you have unexpected company coming, they'll never know you didn't actually take the time to marinate it just for them! I also took a few minutes to make a few other marinades:
Tequila Lime, Triple Citrus and Ultimate Chicken. They are all simple and inexpensive.

Tequila Lime: zest and juice one lime, add 1/3 cup of tequila, pepper, one pressed garlic clove, a dash of olive or canola oil, pepper and a dash of southwest-style seasoning- don't add any salt to your marinades in advance- the salt actually drys out the meat. Add to a baggie with 3-4 chicken breasts. You can add salt to taste once your meats are mostly cooked. When you are ready to use, thaw and grill or cook to your hearts content.

Ultimate Chicken: Now this is more of a rub- into a large ziptop freezer bag, add the following: 1/4 cup of paprika, 4 tablespoons of the following: dried parsley, onion powder, italian seasoning, lemon pepper. Add a sprinkle of poultry seasoning, and 1-2 cloves of crushed/ pressed garlic. Add a few tablespoons of water and a little oil to make it into a paste-like mixture. Add a few chicken breasts to the bag and rub the paste into the chicken- double bag, label and freeze until you need to use!

Triple Citrus Marinade: zest and juice one lemon, one orange and one lime. Add 2 tablespoons of italian seasoning, lemon pepper, 1-2 cloves of freshly chopped/ pressed garlic, and a dash of olive oil. Mix in a bag- add a few chicken breasts and freeze.

I hope that you enjoy these recipes!