Frittata

I am guilty of letting my toddler watch a little bit of TV at night. In fact, I usually am watching it with her.

On one of the channels we watch is a woman who comes on named Helen Cavallo. A chef that does a segment called “That’s Fresh”. It is usually about a minute to two minute commercial that shows how to make a healthy meal/snack. Last night, the item she made last night was Frittata.

This is the recipe that she gave last night. This recipe is also listed again at the bottom of the YouTube video, which I have linked to the bottom of this post.

BACK-TO-SCHOOL FRITTATA IN A SKILLET

Ingredients:
 

5 eggs
¼ lb sliced Ham, diced into ½ inch cubes
½ cup of grated or shredded low or reduced-fat cheese of your choice
1 cup of frozen or fresh peas
½ teaspoon olive oil (1/2 teaspoon more to grease the muffin tins)
Beat eggs in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper

Sauté the peas in olive oil on medium heat for about 5 minutes, until they cook through. Add the diced ham and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add the eggs to the cooked ham and sprinkle with cheese. Cook over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes, until bubbles start to form on top. Then place the sauté pan in a 350 oven for 5 minutes, until the eggs look firm and have set. Let cool and slide onto a platter. Slice and serve!

TO MAKE FRITTATA CUPCAKES…

Follow the same ingredient list and directions, but instead of dicing your ham into cubes, line the bottom of a greased muffin tin (use a ½ teaspoon olive oil on a paper towel and coat the muffin tins,) with a whole piece of sliced ham so that it forms a cup. Cut off any extra ham and add to egg mixture. Pour the mixture of peas, eggs and cheese into the ham cups

Place the cupcake pan into the oven and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes until the cupcakes look firm and have set. Let cool and they will pop out of the tins. It’s a great back to school frittata. Serve for lunch or anytime!

I am going to try this recipe this morning when my daughter wakes up. I am going to make the cupcakes.

Here is also the YouTube link to the 1:33 minute segment. It looks delicious!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ4xowPif3s&feature=share&list=SP7CA4CB7DB6667D31

Enjoy this recipe!

People disappoint me...

I have a gripe this morning, and I promise to keep it short.

What in the world is wrong with people. Our kids are buried heads down into electronic devices or in front of a television. Parents can’t stay off of their cell phones, ipads, iPods, i-whatever the hell is in their hands at all times. We don’t disconnect from our jobs, people or anything anymore. There is no such thing as “unplugging” unless we go on vacation, even still, people have all of their devices….

Children are being started in playschool when they are 2….2? Really? Why are we sending our 2 year olds to school….my gosh, why are we sending our kids to school before they are 5? Why can’t we as parents be responsible for their early education? When did we start handing over something as important as the ground laying bricks of our child’s curiosity in learning to other people?

I have been doing some research recently on homeschooling curriculum for my 2 1/2-year-old daughter. Yes, I know, it is early and she is young, but at the same time, she is very advanced intellectually for her age. It is not because I have pushed her, it is because I am a stay home Mom and we “play” a lot. Just that when I play with her, she doesn’t realize it, but she is learning at the same time. She has the vocabulary of someone twice her age, and the comprehension that mirrors her vocabulary. I often times forget that emotionally she still is only 2 1/2 with what she understands.

I may be accused of “pushing” her, but we play. Our play is outside, in the world, exploring and having fun. We admit, she does watch TV and yes…I do use it as a babysitter when I am cooking supper. I know all the experts tell me this is wrong, but then again, if I am working over a stove with hot items…a bit of “mind numbing” Little Einsteins isn’t going to upset me too severely. Besides, thanks to Little Einsteins…my daughter has an appreciation for music and art, already!

Back to my gripe though, why are more kids not outside? We are outside playing everyday. I look forward to taking her out there and exploring in the sandbox, chasing bubbles around the yard, picking up sticks in the yard that fell.

I actually can answer this myself though. Most of the people I see now days have the mentality of my husband (whom I do love dearly, but is really quite lazy when it comes to parenting). After a long day of work, everyone just wants to sit and relax, so it has been easier to give the kids either a game to play with their hands, or a show on TV for them to watch so Mom and Dad can relax after a hard day at work. My husband is notorious for plopping my daughter in front of the TV and letting her sit there. When I say something, I get the telltale, “I am tired, I am sore, I just want to relax” attitude. Which in turn I get the “It isn’t like you work all day, you don’t understand” remark. Let me be the first to tell you…staying home isn’t a picnic. My work just differs…yet isn’t any less important.

As adults…why are we not more interested in outside activities? I get the “That sounds dumb” from my husband when I ask him to go and play with his daughter and blow bubbles while I finish housework or supper. What is “dumb” about sharing a bit of joy and play with a small child?

There are probably no easy answers to any of the above questions. Someone will always have an excuse for why things are the way they are. I don’t have to like it, nor do I have to agree with it. The only thing I can do it keep doing what I am doing, and hope that someday, my daughter will appreciate that I stayed home and nurtured her the way I did.

We need rain...

We are suffering a horrible drought in our part of the country right now. We have gotten about an inch rain, though, in the last couple of days....but not enough.

This is a picture of one of the lake shores near my home. It is down about 4 feet....I am standing in a spot I should not be able to get to....
I hope we get more rain soon.

Goodbye Hummingbirds...

I changed my calender over this morning, like everyone else did and started to come to grips with it now being September. I came to the realization the Autumn is knocking on our doorstep. The first thing that comes to mind when September hits, is not that we here in the US celebrate Labor Day, the last big “hurrah” of the summer, but that it is time once again for my hummingbird feeders to get taken down and put away into storage for another year. It is really a sad time, I do enjoy very much, the little hovering friends that visit my feeder from about Mother’s Day in May through Labor Day.


I for one really enjoy the changing of the seasons, and look forward to the leaves changing color, and the geese flying south for the winter. Which brings me back to the little hummingbirds. How does something so small make it so far south. All I can do is hope that they have a safe journey to where ever they may go, and that I will be waiting here next year, feeder full…ready for their return.

A new blog...

I have created a new blog via WordPress. I invite you to check it out. It is going to be my main blog from here on out.

I needed to go a new direction with my life...and my new blog is it.
Chequamegon Living

Drought on the river....

We went for a little trip to the Big Falls area here in northern Wisconsin recently. The drought was obvious as we came on down to the water. As you can see the water is very, very low. In spring, when the ice and snow are melting, you can't see any of these rocks at all. In fact, you wouldn't want to be anywhere near them as they can drag you under in the current. Right now, not so much. In fact, I felt perfectly safe letting my 2 year old daughter play amongst the rocks and bounce around them as we made our way across the river.

This is a picture taken from the road to the Falls. I am standing on the bridge. This is a great river (normally) to kayak down. Not much kayaking going to be done on it in it's current state.

Moon Gardening

Wondering how my Moon Gardening did this year?
Well, considering we were in a huge drought, we did alright!

I am not overly happy with some of the results…but what I did get is more than what most people got. Here are the numbers…as of right now.

Peas: Crap shoot harvest…my daughter ended up eating all these off the vine.

Carrots: Still in the ground…not sure yet on the harvest

Zucchini: Count at this time…. 5 harvested, with 3 more still coming (one plant)

Tomatoes: 8 pints of Salsa, 6 pints of pasta sauce, a bunch of dehydrated, still have more ripening on the vine (5 plants)

Acorn Squash: 3 total (2 plants) this one didn’t fare to well with the drought.

Peppers: outside factors harmed these….got enough for the salsa….

Corn: waiting to see what I end up with…this, like the peppers had an outside factor that harmed them.

Cucumbers: I ended up with 14 pints of pickles…sweet, dill and bread ~n~ butter…very happy with this result (2 plants)

If the weather would have been better, I am sure I would have had more. Most of my neighbors are not getting much of anything….I am living like a king with my harvest compared to the other gardens in the area….

So…Moon Gardening….success!