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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How to roast a pumpkin

photo by Amanda Sandlin

It’s hard to believe that Halloween has already come and gone and we’re embracing November's chill. And now, what do you do with all these pumpkins around your home?

If you kept your pumpkins whole this year (uncut with no carving), then you’re in luck because you can still use your pumpkin for this recipe. Just remove any outside decorations (with soap and water, please no flammable substances) as best as you can since the pumpkin will be going into the oven and you don’t want it catching on fire. That would bring a whole different meaning to roasting your pumpkin {Haha} and we don’t want that! For safety reasons, please use an undecorated pumpkin.



I used a small pumpkin aka sugar pumpkin

If you carved your pumpkin this year, then if you go grab it off the porch within 24 hours after carving it, you can use this recipe too. Just make sure there’s no wax, bugs, candy, grass or leaves stuck to the inside flesh. If there is, just cut out that part.

It’s rather easy to roast a pumpkin. The hardest part is cutting it so make sure you have a sharp knife available.

If you’re working with a whole pumpkin, cut the stem off first. After cutting off the stem, cut your pumpkin in half. Using a spoon, scrape out the pumpkin seeds. Don’t throw them away because they make a tasty little snack after being roasted. Place your pumpkin seeds in a container with 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar and enough water to cover the top of them. Place a lid on the container and set aside until the next morning. I can’t remember where I saw this trick, but it helps in getting the stringy flesh of the pumpkin off a little easier.

If you’re working with a carved pumpkin, then you’ve done most of the work already. Cut your pumpkin in half and follow the directions below.

Lightly spray your pumpkin halves with an olive oil spray or coconut spray. Spray both side of the pumpkin halves and rub the oil with your fingers to smear it all over. If you don’t have a spray, you can lightly brush the oil over your pumpkin halves.

Line a cookie sheet with either parchment paper or aluminum foil and place pumpkin halves face down.



Into the oven they go

Cook at 350F degrees for 45-60 minutes or until you can stick a fork through the flesh without any resistance. After flesh becomes soft, remove from oven and let cool for about 30 minutes.

Once pumpkin is cooled off, using a spoon, scrape flesh from shell and place on a separate plate. It should come off easily, if not, it needs to be cooked a little longer. I scraped all the way down to the pumpkin shell.

You can also use the pumpkin shells for composting or feed it to the dogs, like I did. And yes, I checked before feeding it to them, pumpkin rinds are safe for dogs. But please if you're going to feed the rinds to your dog, only do it with a naked pumpkin, not one that was painted, glued, or marked on. My pups love it when mommy makes stuff in the kitchen!

Now you're ready to make any (and all) of the scrumptious recipes out there made with pumpkin!

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Seasoned Roasted Potatoes

The potato. It’s a staple vegetable in diets all over the world and can be prepared in many ways. You can bake it, boil it, fry it, grill it, mash it, steam it, microwave it, and roast it. You can top them with butter, sour cream, ketchup, chili, cheese, bacon, onions, or anything you desire. You can eat it as a meal or as a side dish. The options are endless as this little oblong vegetable is just that versatile. 

Potatoes are one of the most nutritious vegetables available. One plain medium potato (5.3 ounces) contains:

• 620mg of potassium which is more than bananas, broccoli, or spinach
• Trace amounts of essential thiamine, riboflavin, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc
• Vitamin B6 and vitamin C
• They contain antioxidants
• And with no fat, sodium, or cholesterol and a total of 110 calories.*

 

They have their own unique savory flavoring of mild earthiness, sometimes a little sweet and buttery, combined in a light and fluffy fleshy meat-like middle. It’s no wonder we make them a part of our everyday diets.

 

I love potatoes! Sometimes I will have a baked potato for dinner when I don’t feel like cooking. I love to season and roast potatoes in the fall and winter months. But for some reason, I got to craving roasted potatoes this week. I guess I’m just wishing fall would hurry up and get here and by cooking fall meals, it will be here faster. Talk about wishful thinking, especially since it’s supposed to be high 80’s to 90’s this week, ugh!

 

Well, if I can’t have my fall weather, I’m going to have my favorite fall side dish, Seasoned Roasted potatoes. These are lightly seasoned and roasted in the oven with fresh rosemary from my garden. I love using fresh rosemary in homemade soups, stews, and sprinkled over my roasted potatoes.

 

 

I planted my rosemary plant when I moved into this house and its one heck of a hardy little herb. It’s also the only one that I can grow! I haven’t bothered with it since I planted it six years ago and it just keeps on growing. I don’t have to water it and it has survived snow storms, ice storms, and the Georgia heat. It is my favorite plant and I love the way it smells when you rub your fingers over the leaves. I finally pruned it this year as it was starting to look in need of some TLC.



My hardy rosemary plant



Anywho, back to the recipe. This is a delicious and easy recipe to make that compliments any meal without all the heavy, creamy toppings that usually accompany a potato dish. These lightly seasoned roasted potatoes will soon become a favorite in your home during the fall and winter months ahead.

 

 

 

Seasoned Roasted Potatoes

 

Ingredients

 

2 lbs. potatoes, washed, rinsed, and diced into small square bites

 

1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, chopped

 

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

 

¼ teaspoon sea salt

 

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper (can use more if you like it a little spicier)

 

¼ teaspoon paprika

 

1 garlic clove, minced

 

3-4 Tablespoons olive oil

 

Directions

 

Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Lightly spray a cookie sheet, 17 ½” x 12”, with non-stick spray. You can also use olive oil spray or lightly wipe down the cookie sheet with olive oil if you don’t have spray. Wipe off any excess with a clean paper towel. Set aside.

 

In a large mixing bowl, combine potatoes, spices, and olive oil. Mix together well so all potatoes are covered with olive oil and spice mix.

 

Spread out evenly on prepared cookie sheet so potatoes don't overlap. Place in oven for 45 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown.

Halfway during cooking, about 20 minutes, remove pan from oven and flip potatoes over so they get crunchy on both sides.

 

Remove from oven and let cool for at least 5 minutes as potatoes will be HOT.

 

Serve and enjoy!

*Nutritional facts about potatoes obtained from ~ Potatoes Goodness Unearthed, Inc.

 

*Helpful Hints*

 

- you can use any variety of potatoes to make these.

 

- All measurements are US

 

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.

Featured at ~ Sweet and Savoury Sundays #82 and On Display Thursday Linky Party #12

 

 

 

 

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