Summer Squash Frittata

We eat a lot of squash during the summer. We bake, sauté, and steam it. Squash is just so versatile. Well, I had some leftover and wasn't sure what to try. I was reading another blog and saw she has made squash frittata. Why hadn't I thought of this? Oh well, here is my own version. I turned out pretty good for the first try. Next time I will drain the leftover squash first.

Recipe: Serves 6 as a side dish or 4 as a main course

5 eggs

1 each small yellow squash and zucchini, steamed or sautéed

4 slices of bread, toasted and torn into pieces

3/4 cup SHARP cheddar cheese

s/p to taste

1/4 cup milk

Heat oven to 375*. In an 8x8 casserole dish, spread out squash and top with bread. In a bowl, mix eggs, milk and s/p. Pour over squash and bread. Top with cheese. Bake 15 minutes and then turn on broiler. Heat under broiler for 2-3 mins or until is browned and bubbling. Enjoy!!

Pork-tastic Chops

Let me begin this post by saying I typically do not like to eat pork (exception bacon). However, I had a coupon for a free pound of boneless pork chops at EarthFare (love this store). So Nick and I splurged one pound free and $4.99 for another pound. This got us four 1"-1 1/2" chops weighing 1/2 lb each. These were huge! Anyways, I made two of these with a homemade mango bbq sauce.

Recipe: Serves 2

BBQ Sauce:

1 mango diced

1 hot banana pepper (or other chile pepper)

2 tbsp Sweet Baby Ray's Bbq Sauce

1 tbsp chopped cilantro (optional)

Place all ingredients in food processor and blend until all mango is smooth.

Pork Chops:

2 thick cut boneless pork chops

Salt, pepper, garlic powder, steak seasoning (like McCormick's Montreal Seasoning)

2 tbsp oil

Heat skillet on medium high with oil. Season one side of the pork with a sprinkle of each seasoning and place seasoned side down in skillet. Season the other side of the pork. Cover with lid or aluminum foil. Cook each side for about 5 mins. Reduce heat to medium low. Once each side is browned, begin basting with the mango bbq sauce. Baste one side and flip, it cook about 2 mins. Baste other side and flip immediately, cooking about 2 mins. Baste and cook each side 2-3 times. Should take about 20 mins to fully cook. Once pork is finished top off with mango bbq sauce, cover and let rest five minutes. Serve with veggies or instant potatoes (that's what I did). Enjoy!

Sensational Salad

I love salad--really love salad!! Seriously, I could eat salad everyday. Recently I tried a simple salad and it was a hit. I hope you try it and love it as much as I did. My only request is USE FRESH INGREDIENTS--splurge just a bit for fresh lettuce and cheese.

*Side note: Even my I-don't-eat-anything-with-salad-in-the-name husband enjoyed this. He's eaten it three different times now!!

Recipe:

3 cups mixed salad greens (or favorite lettuce*)

3/4-1 cup freshly grated gouda cheese

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Mix together and top with any vinaigrette (or ranch if you must).

*Please, please, please do not use iceberg with this. It will only detract from the quality of this dish.

Quick Cooking Potatoes

Tonight, Nick and I took dinner over to his grandmother's house. It was so good--the food and conversation. Also we got to spend some time with Nick's cousin, Kevin, who was over for dinner as well. Well, I cooked this meal tonight after I got off work so I definitely needed to make sure it was fast! I made homemade mashed potatoes. Usually I would not make these in a time crunch but had a brilliant thought..."Why not slice the potatoes so they cook faster?" So I did. And it worked wonders!

I figured the amount of time spent dicing the potatoes vs. time spent slicing (about an 1/8"-1/4") was the same--maybe 8-10mins. I just filled the water, covered it, and started heating it on med-high. Then I sliced the potatoes and placed them in the heating water when I had too many on the cutting board. Added salt and chicken bouillon, and let it boil for about 15 mins (about half the time had I diced them). They were perfect! Mashed with butter, milk, and s/p. Delish! Try this one and enjoy a fabulous homemade dinner.

Another Casserole

I don't why, but I have just made alot of casseroles lately. No that that is a bad thing, it's just I feel like I've just given up. It's just been busy so I just throw whatever into a dish and that's dinner. Anyways, here is a tex-mex insprired casserole.

Recipe: Serves 4-6

1 1/2 cups cooked rice (leftover or just cooked)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can corn, drained and rinsed

1 can rotel

1/2 cilantro, roughly chopped

10 6" or 8" flour tortillas

Dash of red wine vinegar, lime juice, salt and pepper, salsa

1 cup cheese

Heat oven to 375*. Combine beans, corn, Rotel, cilantro, and rice. To this mixture add just enough, vinegar, lime juice and salsa to coat everything. In a 2qt casserole dish, layer one tortilla and 1/3 mixture. Repeat until finished then top with cheese. Back for 15-20 mins or until cheese begins to brown. Serve with extra salsa and sour cream. Enjoy!