Loaded Country Frittatas

Recently, while volunteering at our local church we made these ( a little different) Frittatas for a Missionary Conference. I was so impressed with the recipe, I figured we'd try it out at home. 

Unlike me, you won't be making 200 of these bad boys like we did! However, for our recipe, we did double it and made about two and a half muffin pans of them. 

My only tip is making sure they are cooked fully because you are dealing with eggs.  So, the recipe may say cook for 20 minutes or so but with ours, we went about 25-28 minutes. Partly because ours were so loaded with goodies, it took them a little longer to cook. 

Let's get down to business! 

Ingredients:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, 

325 if using a convection oven

Cook for 20-28 minutes or until lightly browned 

1 can (12 fl. oz. ) Evaporated Milk

3 large eggs, beaten

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 cups (8 oz. pkg.) shredded cheese mild or sharp

2 cups chopped frozen broccoli, thawed and drained

1/2 cup chopped bell pepper

cooking spray

For our recipe we added:

1 cup chopped up ham

or you can use

1 cup cooked, chopped up bacon

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine these ingredients. 

Add your eggs, and beat well. 

Then slowly add in the evaporated milk, stirring slowly. Mix well. 

Next, you are going to add all your chopped and diced ingredients. Add the bell peppers and broccoli. 

Lastly, add the shredded cheese and ham or bacon (which is optional but really makes them so much tastier.) 

Stir all ingredients really well and set aside. 

Completely coat, very well with cooking spray. These babies tend to stick and can be a pain getting out of the pan without enough spray. Don't use muffin tins because they will stick to them and are almost impossible to get off. 

Then, you'll want to grab an ice cream scoop or a 1/3 measuring cup. 

Fill each muffin cup just about to the brim. 

Cook in the oven for 20-28 minutes. I always set the timer for 15-20 minutes and then increase the time by 5 minutes each additional time and check them. You don't want them to burn. However, slightly brown is good. 

Once cooled remove from muffin pan by taking a plastic fork or knife and go around the edges of the muffin cups. Then I use a fork to gently lift them out and set on cooling racks to continue to cool. 

You can freeze them as well. :) 

Great breakfast for you or your family. Enjoy! :) 

The Best Three-Cheese Lasagna Soup

Today, I'll be sharing with you a family recipe for the best three cheese lasagna soup. I love recipes that aren't super time-consuming. 

Being a mom, anything that saves you time is a life saver. Plus, this isn't a very spicy recipe and my kids loved it just as much as the adults did. We made it for our small group for church.

 However, we all had to try a little bowl before serving it. I'm very happy with the results and hopefully, it will become a new family favorite for you and yours as well. 

The Best Three-Cheese Lasagna Soup

Ingredients:

19 oz ground Italian sausage, hot or mild. 
1 (14.5 oz) can fire roasted diced tomatoes with garlic
1/2 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1/2 Tbsp. dried Italian seasoning
6 cups chicken broth
1/2 Tsp. onion powder
1/2 Tsp. kosher salt
1/2 black pepper
8 oz dried campanelle pasta (Bell Shape)
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
4 oz shredded Mozzarella cheese
2 basil leaves, chopped fine

Directions:

In a large skillet over high heat, brown sausage. Making sure to break apart into small bite size pieces, until fully cooked or no pink is left. Drain well. 

In a large (12 quart) pot over medium heat add tomatoes, paste, sauce, seasonings, onion powder, salt, pepper, and chicken broth. Stir to combine. Once sausage is done, add to the pot. Cover and bring to a boil. 

We cooked our pasta in a separate pot and was unable to find the campanelle shells, so we used two boxes of DaVinci signature tortellini which is a tomato & three cheese filled pasta. Two boxes because we wanted to double the recipe. You'd just be using one box if not doubling. 

 Once water is boiling add pasta, cook uncovered, until it is al dente or about 7-9 minutes. Turn of heat and drain. 

Once our sausage mixture was boiling we transferred that to the crock pot and separated the liquid from the sausage mix. Added enough juice to fill the crock pot and discarded the rest. 

Then added our sausage mix and pasta. We did it this way because we didn't want a real soupy mix. We wanted it to have equal amounts of liquid to sausage mix ratio. 

Once in the crock pot, we added the ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and mozzarella cheese. Stir well to combine.

Sprinkle top with freshly chopped basil leaves and enjoy. 

Serve with warm Artisan bread, sliced and homemade garlic butter.

Homemade Garlic Butter. Two ways!!

This is the best garlic butter and can be used on everything from bread, potatoes, to Salmon. Quick and easy to make and smells delicious when they are roasting. 

Ingredients:

1 cup salted butter softened

2 small cloves of garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons minced fresh parsley

1 Tablespoon sliced fresh chives

2-3 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice. 

Directions: 

Combine all ingredients together in a small bowl. 

Serve with bread or over hot vegetables. 

Notes:

To make garlic toast, spread garlic butter over fresh bread and place on a baking sheet. broil 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned. 

Way #2

Slice off the head of the garlic clove cluster, not separated. Sprinkle with olive oil. Roast garlic head in the oven at 400 degrees, for 35 minutes. 

Remove from oven and cool to the touch. Separate garlic clove from the casing and set aside. For a family of five, we use one stick of salted butter, softened, and four cloves of roasted garlic. 

Smash garlic with a fork and remove any skin or heavily browned areas. Or this with give your butter a bitter taste. 

Once smashed up, add to softened butter and mix well. Taste. Does it need more of a garlic taste? if yes, add one at a time until you acquire the right ratio for your liking. 

Add finely chopped Italian parsley to make it pretty and enhance the taste. Done! This is by far, hands down, my favorite garlic butter I have ever had!!     

  

Homemade Rose Water Toner

I decided to make my Mom a homemade rose water for her birthday. Personally, I love the stuff and found it to be a really good toner and it smells divine. 

Recently, I was given these beautiful roses and thought they would make excellent rose water. Having never made it before, I wasn't sure how they'd work out verses normal red roses. Which is what most people use but I am a rebel and always tend to go against the grain. :)

To make the Homemade Rosewater:
Ingredients: 

• Roses (as many as you like-I used 12 stems)
• Distilled water (enough to cover the rose petals- I used about 1.5 liters)

1. Remove petals from stems and run them under semi-warm water. You want to remove any leftover residue on the petals. 

2. Add the petals to a large pot of water and top with enough distilled water to cover the petals. Add any more than that and your rose water will become diluted. 

3. Over a medium-low heat bring the water and petals to a simmer and cover. 

4. Let it simmer for 20-30 minutes or until petals have lost their color or are a pale pink (if you use red roses.) For me, mine became a lighter peachy type color an lost all the red accents around the tops of the petals. 

5. Strain the petals to separate the petals from the water. 

6. Discard the petals and place the rose water in a glass jar to store. I used a giant Ball canning jar. 

To make a Homemade Rosewater Face Toner:

• 1 T pure rosewater (recipe above)
• about 4 T of distilled water (or enough to fill your spray bottle)
• 1 2.5 ounce spray bottle

To make:

1. Combine all ingredients in spray bottle and shake.

2. To apply: spray directly on face or spray a cotton pad and wipe face to remove any residue.

Store any extra rosewater in the fridge to help preserve it for a longer time. It keeps for a long time if stored correctly. 

Homemade Cheese Sauce For Mac & Cheese

There is something special about Mac & Cheese. Maybe it is because we grew up eating it or maybe it reminds us of being home?  

For me,  it brings me back to my youth. Nothing can really beat a big ole bowl of macaroni. It's warm,  cheesy...great now I want some!  

You get the point,  we've all had it. However,  have you ever made your own?  It can't be beat,  totally trumps regular box Mac & Cheese. 

For this recipe,  you can use which ever noodle you prefer.  They can be made prior or during. You choose. 

I like to make my noodles ahead of time and let them cool a bit before adding my sauce. 

Ingredients : 

3 T butter

1/4 C flour

2 t mustard powder

2 C milk

1 C American Cheese

2 C sharp cheddar

1 C Parmesan cheese

Salt and Pepper

In a medium skillet add butter,  flour. Stiring until mixed. When the butter starts to bubble,  reduce heat to low. 

Add milk,  and stir very well with a whisk. 

Add mustard powder. Stir until well mixed. Slowly add cheese a cup at a time. 

Simmer on low,  stirring constantly to avoid the milk burning. About 5 minutes or until cheese is all melted. 

Now,  add your cooked well drained pasta. Mix until all the noodles are good and coated. 

Salt and pepper to taste,  add parsly for garnish and serve warm. 

Refrigerate leftovers. 

Wanna get crazy?  Let's bake it!  

Transfer mixed noodles and  sauce to an over safe dish. 

Sprinkle the top with bread crumbs. To make my own I use normal white bread,  toast in the toaster. Then I add it to the food processor. Boom!  Homemade. They work great,  a little more texture than regular bread crumbs. 

Bake at 325 for 10 minutes. You just want the crumbs to brown slightly. 

And devour!  Your family will thank you!