Summer Squash & Spinach Frittata

Things have been crazy, and tomorrow marks my last day shift...I start nights on Monday. Party. I can hardly believe that I'm already over halfway through orientation! Time flies. Plus, I'm super excited about Halloween being next week! Yes, I'm working, but I get to dress up. And I'll be fulfilling a childhood dream. Any guesses? Hint--my costume involves the color pink. (Shocking, I know.) I need to finish it up this weekend.

I whipped together a frittata earlier this week for dinner. Mostly because we had eggs, summer/yellow squash and baby spinach that needed used, and I figured a frittata was the best way to go. Frittatas are really great. There's so much possibility. You can basically throw in whatever veggie you want. You can use more or less eggs depending on how thick or big you want it. Toss in some herbs. Maybe some cheese. It's simple. It's tasty. It's fabulous. 

Summer Squash & Spinach Frittata

1 small onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 medium summer squash, thinly sliced

1 bag/box of fresh baby spinach

1/3 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated

7 large eggs

Basil to taste

Salt & pepper to taste

EVOO

• Preheat oven to 400*F. 
• Heat up some EVOO in a large, oven-safe skillet. Add the onion & garlic and cook for a couple minutes. Add in the squash and cook until it's pretty soft. Add in the spinach. If your skillet has a lid, throw it on top to help steam the spinach. 
• In a bowl, beat the eggs. Add cheese, basil, salt & pepper. Mix together & pour over the veggies in the skillet. 
• Let it all sit on the stove for like 1-2 minutes before transferring to the oven. Once it's in the oven, bake until set (it took mine like 5 minutes).

Enjoy!

Just throw it all together and make something!

This is really the first thing I just "made up" this summer.  I had some vegetables that REALLY needed to be used.  The whole dish was really a joke.  I didn't even take a picture the first time around.  I didn't think it would be worth it.  But I was VERY wrong.  It was WONDERFUL.  Wildly successful.  And super easy.  See for yourself:

Ingredients:

1  pound ground meat of choice 

1  decent-sized zucchini, sliced

1  decent-sized yellow squash, sliced

1  small onion, chopped

1  red bell pepper, chopped

Eskimo Joe's Famous Fry Seasoning to taste (this stuff is amazing...I don't even like Eskimo Joe's) 

2  cups rice

Directions:

Brown your meat in the skillet.  If there's a lot of fat in the pan, get rid of some but not all.  If there's not any fat left, add some EVOO.  Then, add in all the veggies and seasoning.  Cook until it's all nice and tender.  Meanwhile, cook your rice according to the instructions on the bag or box.  I use minute-rice because it's fast and easy.  Once everything's done, just scoop some rice on a plate and top it with the meat and veggies.  Enjoy! 

    

Zucchini Carbonara

I made Zucchini Carbonara for dinner one night last week.  I had some zucchini and yellow squash that needed used up, so this seemed like the thing to make.  I lightened it up a bit, of course.  It was totally delicious!  My mother said that it would need to be made again because it was so good.  The brother liked it too, although he would prefer "real" bacon over turkey.  Go figure.  The only problem I had was, once I poured the mixture of eggs, half & half, and parmesan over the hot pasta and zucchini, the eggs boiled a little.  So, the texture of the sauce wasn't very smooth or very pretty...but it was far from inedible.  Maybe I'll get it figured out next time!  I also might toss in some sauteed mushrooms...yum!  

 

Zucchini Carbonara 

(adapted from Farm+House+Table)

Ingredients:

2 medium zucchini, cut on an angle at 1/2" thick

2 medium yellow squash, cut on an angle at 1/2" thick

1 lb whole grain penne pasta

4 large egg yolks

1/2 cup fat-free half and half 

1/2 cup parmesan, freshly grated 

EVOO

6-8 slices of turkey bacon, cut in 1" pieces

1 small bunch of parsley or thyme

Directions:

Cook pasta as directed on package.

Whisk egg yolks, half & half, and parmesan together.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Heat a very large frying pan and fry bacon until crisp (or cook in microwave until crisp).  Remove bacon from pan.  Add the zucchini and yellow squash slices with a little EVOO to pan and season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle in the parsley or thyme leaves.  Stir and fry until zucchini and squash are slightly golden and soft.  

When the pasta is cooked, drain it, reserving a little bit of the cooking water.  Immediately, toss the pasta and bacon in with the zucchini/squash.  Remove from heat and ladle in reserved cooking water and half-and-half mixture.  Stir together quickly and serve!

Grilled Summer Vegetables

I love summer.  And I really love all the fresh fruits and vegetables that come with summer.  Oh, and I love the Sunflower Market, which has all these fresh summer fruits & veggies at great prices.  (For example, I got 3 gigantic red bell peppers for $1, 2 pounds of onions for $1, and so much more.  The trick is to stick with what's on sale that week...but if you go on Wednesday you can shop the sale for the previous & current week!  Also, bring your reusable bags and get $0.10 off/bag at checkout.)  So, with my new-found resource for fresh veggies, and summer air, I felt we needed some grilled veggies.  I went with mix of onion, red bell pepper, zucchini, and yellow squash, seasoned to taste.  The grill got fired up, and the veggies went into a grilling bowl.  The result was SO delicious.  Seriously.  It's so simple and healthy.  Throw some grilled chicken on the side, and you have yourself the perfect summer dinner!