July Menu ~ 2012

 Oh, happy day! The Home Heart is back online after a very long month. The move is complete and we are settling in. Internet connection was installed only yesterday So, to kick-off a new season here at The Home Heart, it seemed only fitting that my first post be a menu for the new month.

First, I must say that it is no secret that I did not do a whole lot for my May Menu, which was mostly composed of my April Menu, which I did little of as well. These last several months have been hectic to say the least, and so I will be repeating some of said previous menu while trying to insert some new things as well. Here we go…

Maple Mustard Chicken

BBQ Salmon

Pasta with Pesto and Green Beans

Quiche

Turkey Salisbury Steaks

Taco Cornbread Pizza

Pan-Seared Tilapia with Lime Pepper

Olive Pasta

Beef &/or Chicken Fajitas w/ Rice & Beans

Italian Beef with Giardiniera

Cheeseburger Salad

Chicken Rio with Cilantro Rice

Traditional Pot Roast

Hot Chicken Salad

 Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli

Italian Beef with Giardiniera

Skillet Corn

Roasted Fresh Green Beans

Cheesy Rice Fritters

Brown Sugar Cake

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

French Apple Cake

Eggs in a Bowl

*This is not a complete menu so I will most likely post some surprise recipes.

Zucchini Tomato Feta Spaghetti Fritatta

In my search for great vegetarian dishes I came across two different frittata recipes. One called for linguine and greens (any kind such as collards), and the other, zucchini and tomato. Well, they both sounded so good that I just couldn’t decide. So instead of choosing I simply adapted both recipes and combined them into one fantastic frittata!

Zucchini Tomato Feta Spaghetti Frittata

1 Tbsp. EVOO

1 small onion, diced

2 large zucchini, or 3 smaller ones sliced about 1/4 inch thick

1-2 large tomato, sliced

1 Tbsp. fresh Thyme leaves (or 1 tsp. dried)

Salt & Pepper

9 large eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup feta, chopped up

1/4 grated parmesan cheese

1 1/2 cups cooked whole wheat  spaghetti or linguine

Pre-heat oven to 425*. In a 10-inch oven-proof skillet over medium heat, warm oil. Add zucchini, onion, and thyme and cook, covered, stirring often, until tender but not browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. {I browned mine anyway because that’s how I roll and it turned out great. So don’t panic if your stove top is hotter than any other in the whole world, like mine is.} Uncover, and cook until all the liquid in the pan evaporates. Season with salt and pepper, remove skillet from heat.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs and milk. Add parmesan cheese and whisk briefly again. Stir in noodles. Pour egg mixture over zucchini. Use a fork to gently combine the vegetables with the noodles {You could cut the noodles up into smaller pieces before to make this easier. I didn’t because I like to make things difficult for myself. It still turned out fine} and to allow the beaten eggs to coat the bottom of the pan. Top with feta cheese and tomato slices.

Place skillet in oven and allow egg to cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until egg mixture is fluffy, slightly browned, and center is set. You can set the broiler on the last few minutes.

Remove from oven; gently slide a heatproof spatula around the edges and underneath to loosen from skillet. Serve immediately.

There are so many ways to make a frittata!

I hope you enjoyed this week’s Meatless Monday recipe

Bacon and Egg Puffs

On Sunday morning I decided to make something for the boys. Since I make them breakfast and dinner every day, I don’t normally make big breakfast’s on the weekends. Instead I will let them have their cereals of choice for a treat. Jadon prefers chocolate cereals over any other, such as Reese’s Puffs (his #1) or Chocolate Chex (I like this because it’s gluten-free and slightly healthier) or chocolate Cheerios (again…slightly.) Brandon likes Frosted Flakes. Sigh. All that sugar. You can see why I only let them have it once, maybe twice, a week.

So it’s not rare that on any given Saturday or Sunday morning I will feel moved to prepare breakfast. I really should do this on Saturdays so that Cory could benefit as well. Sunday’s are a mad rush to cook, feed, and dress for church. Cory is gone early so he never gets Sunday breakfast with us, and I have no idea why I like to make things difficult for myself. Apparently I just do.

I came across several breakfast ideas such as this one in my days. Some were egg recipes that included shredded potatoes and some were french toast versions. Without any real recipe to go by I figured this could hardly go wrong, and so I quickly pulled together my own take on an old idea.

I used:

6 strips of turkey bacon, cut in half

6 eggs, whisked

Milk, if desired, added to eggs for that fluffiness

Salt & Pepper to taste

Shredded cheese – I used Mexican blend because that’s what I’ve got

*Preheat oven (I used my convection) to 375* and place 2 pieces of bacon, criss-crossed, in each section of a 6 cup muffin tin. Allow to cook some, about 3 or 4 minutes, then remove pan from oven. Evenly distribute the eggs in each cup over the bacon and add a little cheese on top. Place back into oven and allow eggs to cook and set. This should take maybe 10 minutes. Eggs will be slightly browned and puffy. Remove from oven, add more cheese if desired and serve.

pre-cooked

A perfect serving. The boys liked them and I liked knowing they were getting a whole egg in each serving. Jadon ate one, and Brandon ate two. I served them with cups of yogurt, toast, and juice.

This meal didn’t cost me anything extra because I already had the ingredients. I am now out of eggs and turkey bacon. I don’t necessarily feel as though buying more eggs is cheating, but perhaps more bacon would be? Oh, this Pantry Challenge is hard!

Look for post #2 today: Cinnamon Apple Tart!