Saturday, February 28, 2009

Frittata for Lunch and Chicken Salad Dinner


This recipe for a Zucchini Mint Parmesan Frittata comes from Avec Eric, at
http://aveceric.com/category/gettoasted but be warned there is an error on this page and it is very difficult to get out of, better to try his other pages such as this great recipe for mission figs in bacon http://aveceric.com/2008/09/08/mission-figs-wrapped-in-bacon/

He does a lot of recipes for single serves, cooked in a toaster oven, but I converted it to a dish for two and served it with yet again a salad.

The Darling wasn't too sure, not being a lover of zucchini, but bravely gave the dish a go, and then came back for seconds.

The small amount of mint gave the frittata a lovely fresh taste, but would be overwhelming if too much was used.

My version of Zucchini Mint Parmesan Frittata
for 2

4 large eggs
half a zucchini, peeled and very finely julienned
3 tablespoons Parmesan, freshly grated
6 small mint leaves, finely shredded
2 teaspoons olive oil (optional)
salt and pepper


Heat oven to 180deg.
Using1 teaspoon oil, lightly oil a gratin dish
Place the eggs in a stainless steel bowl and whisk well
Add the zucchini, Parmesan and mint and if wanted 1 teaspoon olive oil
Season with Salt and Pepper

Pour mixture into gratin dish and bake for approx 12 mins or until the eggs are just set and the top is lightly browned.

I served it hot but it can also be served at room temperature.

Chicken & Melon Salad
Having spent a lot of the day quilting, a fast, easy dinner was called for, found this recipe on the net and it was great, tasty, fresh and easy to prep.
Serves 2

1/2 roasted or B.B.Q. chicken, cubed
1/3rd Cup diced watermelon
1/3rd Cup diced rock melon (Cantaloupe)
1/2 stick celery, finely sliced
10 red, seedless grapes,

3 red skinned potatoes,

Steam potatoes, cool and then quarter
Put prepared chicken, watermelon, rock melon, celery and grapes into bowl, add cooled potatoes.
Pour dressing over and toss together

Serve with a plain green salad.

Dressing
1/4 cup greek style yoghurt
1/4 cup cream cheese
1 teaspoon mint jelly
1 teaspoon curry powder
8 - 10 fresh mint leaves,
Place all ingredients in processor or mini blender and blend until smooth.

Tiny taters and tiny mignons


In an effort to get some interest back into my cooking I am making an effort to post each meal here. It doesn't have to be a masterpiece, it doesn't have to be a complicated, or even easy, recipe from one of the many books I own, it just has to be tasty and well prepared.

Thursday night was a disaster, blessed peas burnt .......again.......I really don't like dried peas........I burn them all the time, problem with that is that anything I have in the steamer above the peas is also wiped out, as was the case on Thursday.

I then threw a real spit fit, chucked a whole bunch of stuff that I cannot remember along with a can of tomatoes into a pot, slammed a pot on for pasta and had a new dish on the table in 25 mins, the Darling claimed it was tasty, I was still so ticked off I couldn't tell you if it was or not. He was probably just happy to get fed ;)

So this is what we had for dinner last night.
little fillet Mignon's, tiny red skinned jacket potatoes, done in the microwave with a cream cheese, butter and herb topping and a Greek salad, sans the cucumber as the Darling loathes cucumber.

The topping for the potatoes was easily done in the mini processor,

stripped the leaves from a 6inch length of oregano,
6 basil leaves
1 tablespoon cream cheese
2 teaspoons butter
whizz it around, stopping once to push the butter back down to the blades, and presto, yummy topping and not so bad for the cholesterol.