Vegetable Frittata

Winter has finally showed her ugly, bitter head here in Georgia this week. And all this arctic air is giving me a good reason to keep my oven on!

California girls aren't made for arctic air! If I wanted Arctic air, I'd move to Michigan. I'm never moving to Michigan, if that clears things up for you.

This week I've been roasting tomatoes, mushrooms, cauliflower, potatoes and just about anything else so I can use my oven. Actually I've been roasting all these vegetables so I can make this Vegetable Frittata.

Yes, another food on my bucket list is the frittata.

I never knew what a frittata was until I stumbled across it on Pinterest. To sum it up for others who, like myself, didn't or don't know what a frittata is, it's an Italian egg dish that's often compared to an omelet or crustless quiche. The way it's cooked is what sets it apart, as a frittata is cooked in the oven instead of on the stove top.

For many recipes, a frittata is cooked in a cast iron skillet in the oven with all the ingredients blended with beaten eggs. I say many recipes, because some call for you to start cooking the frittata on the stove top and then cook in the oven for the remaining cooking time.

Frittata's have a blend of vegetables of any kind with eggs and cheese which can be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I'm adding roasted cherry tomatoes, cauliflower, and Bella mushrooms with cheddar cheese.

So easy to make, once you get all the vegetables roasted. And you can roast the vegetables all at one time, even the day before you make your frittata.

Serve your frittata with fresh salsa, guacamole or avocado slices, and plain Greek yogurt or sour cream. Or even a hollandaise sauce. And you can serve biscuits, croissants, English muffins and even a salad on the side.

As you can see, it's a very versatile dish that can be served with anything you like and anytime of the day.

Cross another food off my cooking bucket list!

Vegetable Frittata

Recipe by Julie Murphy @ Sweet and Spicy Monkey

An easy to make skillet dish made with eggs, roasted potatoes, cauliflower, mushrooms, and tomatoes that can be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes (not including roasted vegetables)
Yield: 1 frittata (8 slices)
Ingredients

• 10 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 small sweet yellow onion, diced
• 3 cups cooked potatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup roasted Bella mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup roasted cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 cup roasted cauliflower
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 Tablespoons olive oil, for sautéing onions

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
2. Prepare skillet by generously greasing with your choice of shortening, olive oil, or vegetable oil. Set aside.
3. Over medium heat, sauté onions with olive oil until they are softened, about 5-6 minutes. Set aside.
4. Add eggs to a large bowl with milk. Whisk together until lightly beaten.
5. Stir in remaining ingredients.
6. Pour into prepared skillet.
7. Place into oven and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, or until inserted knife comes out clean.
8. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

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Lemon Blackberry Cake #whenwebake

Disclaimer ~ I was provided a coupon for a free Country Crock spread for this recipe. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #whenwebake

I was asked by my friends at The Daily Meal and Country Crock  to create a recipe for Mother's Day. And since my mom is the one who inspired me to cook and bake, this sounded like such a great idea to me. I could not pass it up!

I grew up with Country Crock spread when my mom decided it was time for us to eat healthier and not use so much butter. Country Crock is still my go-to butter substitute because it tastes so much like real butter, but easier to spread and not as many calories or fat. Did you know that Country Crock has 65% less saturated fat and 20% less calories than butter? That’s right, Country Crock has 80 calories and 8 grams of fat, with 2.5 grams being from saturated fat. Compared to butter, which has 100 calories and 11 grams of fat, with 7 grams of saturated fat per serving. And Country Crock still has the buttery rich flavor of butter and spreads easily, even when cold.

Believe it or not, my mom also loves the sweet, tangy taste of lemon treats (I guess I really am my mom's daughter {smile}). And with my lemon love back and going strong, this cake was a no-brainer recipe for a Mother’s Day brunch. I mean what better way for my mom to celebrate her Mother's Day than with some sort of lemony treat. That's why this Lemon Blackberry Cake is perfect for her upcoming special day.

Now my mom resides in California while I'm over here in Georgia and she won't be able to enjoy this cake with me. However, with the miracle of the Internet, she can make her own cake with my recipe here, as you can too.

I've combined lemon whipped cream and a homemade blackberry curd sandwiched between two slices of Angel food cake, covered with a lemon cream cheese buttercream frosting and topped with fresh blackberries. The blackberries compliment the lemon flavors.

This cake is so easy to make. Especially since I used liquid egg whites instead of separating the egg yolks from the whites, which can be messy and leave you with twelve egg yolks. I was also surprised with how nice the liquid egg whites whipped up with stiff peaks! And you can even make the cake a day ahead or use a store bought Angel food cake if you're crunched for time.

I know my mom is going to love a big slice of this Lemon Blackberry Cake on Mother's Day.

This cake is also perfect for any Spring or Summer get together with its fresh fruity flavors that are reminiscent of sunny days.

Homemade Angel Food Cake

Recipe by Julie Murphy

A light and fluffy homemade Angel food cake made with liquid egg whites so you can save time and less mess in the kitchen from trying to separate the eggs yourself.

Prep time: 10
Cook time: 35
Total time: 2 hours (including cooling time for cake)
Ingredients

• 1 and 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup cake flour
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 and 1/4 cups liquid egg whites
• 1/3 cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
2. Spray Angel food cake pan or Bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
3. Place sugar into a food processor and blend until fine. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, sift together cake flour, salt, and half of fine sugar. Set aside.
5. In a large bowl, egg whites, warm water, vanilla, and cream of tartar. Using a hand whisk, gently mix together until blended. Attach bowl to stand mixer and using the whisk attachment, whip ingredients together while slowly adding in remaining half of sugar. Beat until egg white mixture starts to form medium peaks.
6. Sprinkle a small amount of cake flour blend over the top of egg whites and blend on low speed. Continue to add in flour mixture, a little at a time, while gently whipping egg white mixture, making sure all of cake flour blend is evenly combined with egg white mixture.
7. Using a spatula, gently pour into prepared pan.
8. Place into preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes or until top is golden brown. Also make sure cake is evenly baked throughout by inserting a clean, sharp knife into the center and pulling back out. Knife should come out clean.
9. To cool cake, invert over wire rack and cool upside down.
10. Once cake is completely cooled, gently run a clean knife around the edges (without scraping cake pan) to help loosen cake, and remove pan.
11. To make the cake, slice in half with a large, sharp knife so you have a top and a bottom layer. Remove the top and set aside.
12. Layer bottom half of cake generously with blackberry curd. Gently layer lemon whipped cream over the blackberry curd. Place top half gently over the lemon whipped cream.
13. Generously apply lemon cream cheese buttercream frosting over cake, covering all exposed sides and top. It's ok if it starts to drip down the sides. Place fresh blackberries on top.
14. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Recipe for Lemon Whipped Cream, and Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting below. Link for Blackberry Curd recipe below.

Lemon Whipped Cream

Recipe by Julie Murphy

A deliciously light and fluffy lemon whipped cream.

Prep time: 5
Cook time: 0
Total time: 15
Yield: 8 ounces
Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 Tablespoons powdered sugar
• 3 Tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed

Directions

1. Add all ingredients into large bowl of stand mixer and whip with whisk attachment until stiff peaks form, about 8 - 10 minutes.
2. Using a spatula, pour into an 8 ounce container, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.

Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

Recipe by Julie Murphy

A deliciously lemon cream cheese buttercream frosting.

Prep time: 5
Cook time: 0
Total time: 10
Ingredients

• 1 - 8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup Country Crock spread
• 4 Tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• Zest from 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 5 cups powdered sugar

Cooking Directions

1. Place cream cheese and Country Crock spread into a large bowl of stand mixer. Gently blend together until mixed.
2. Add in lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla, and lemon extract. Beat until smooth and fluffy.
3. Blend in powdered sugar in 2 separate additions. Beat until creamy.
4. Pour into a bowl and cover. If not using immediately, refrigerate until ready to use.
5. After refrigerating, let frosting warm to room temperature before frosting cake so it spreads easily without tearing cake.
6. Can store any leftover frosting in a covered container in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

Recipe for Blackberry Curd can be found here.

Additional recipes from Country Crock #whenwebake can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Country Crock information obtained from - Country Crock's website

All content and images are property of Sweet and Spicy Monkey. Please do not reprint this content without my permission. If you wish to include this recipe on your site, please re-write in your own words and use your own photographs and link back to this post for original recipe.

Follow Julie's board Sweet and Spicy Monkey on Pinterest.

Shared with: Crafty and Delicious Party, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party #146, Munching Mondays #90