Joy in the Kitchen!

It is said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  Yet, that's often one of the most difficult times to take a few minutes to nourish yourself!  This breakfast scramble can be cooked in under 10 minutes and is quick to eat.  Ingredients can be prepped ahead to save time. I often fix this just for myself, though if my husband is home he enjoys it as well.  It works well to just double the ingredients and cook for two.  It doesn't work as well to cook for six people as the eggs take longer to cook and the spinach goes too soft and the color leaches out into the eggs.   Dave and I have been participating in a health program through his work that gives us support on making healthy changes to our activity and food.  One of the challenges is to eat a high protein breakfast each day.  This recipe supplies around 15 grams of protein and 260 calories.  Add a piece of whole wheat toast and you're above 20 grams of protein....

Need a dessert that will dress up any occasion? How about a light main dish for a special luncheon? Cream Puffs fit the description perfectly!  They look as delicious as they taste and are really, really, easy to make. We like to eat large ones filled with a creamy chocolate filling, or we've made small ones to serve at wedding receptions. They make a delightful main dish by filling with a fresh chicken or seafood salad.  Any way you fill them, they are YUMMY! Today is our "Engagement Anniversary"!  Just a mere 28 years ago my husband proposed over a lovely Japanese dinner he cooked for us.  The proposal was hidden in fortune cookies he served at the end of dinner.... no wonder he was so insistent when I didn't take one the first time he offered them. LOL  I'd never enjoyed fortune cookies before like I did that evening. :)  No time for a special celebration dinner tonight, so chocolate filled cream puffs will be what makes our celebration special. No...

My young chefs were up early and eager to get in the kitchen this morning!   We tried something new today.  Breakfast Pizza!  I've seen something similar in McKay's Better Homes and Gardens New Junior Cookbook.  They used bread dough and pressed onto a full sized pizza pan.  WE did our own thing and made individual pizza's using Pillsbury Grands biscuits.   We decided, after trying these, we'd DEFINITELY do them again! (the girls were SO sad Daddy wasn't here to share our fun and yummy food.)  We also decided that one individual pizza is a lot for a little girl, so next time they'd split one. :) (I have to confess here... I spent a lot of time thinking it would sure be easier to just have bacon, hashbrowns, scrambled eggs, and bicuits separately.... BUT, as the girls were assembling these, it was so much fun to hear their exclamations of "Man!  These are gonna be GOOD!" and "I can't wait to eat these!" and "I wish Daddy was here,...

I love harvesting from our garden right now.  A few vegetables are done producing, but most are still on.  (where we live anyway)  I'm always looking for ways to use zucchini and a frittata is a great way to enjoy it!  I looked on Wikipedia and it says that a frittata is a type of Italian omelet.  I didn't know that, I only remember my cousins wife who is from Spain, showing me how to make a potato frittata when I was young(er).  This is more directions than a recipe.  Play with it and make it your own. :) Zucchini Frittata zucchini eggs salt & pepper tomato for garnish if desired For just myself for lunch I use an 8 inch cast iron skillet, enough slices of zucchini to make 2 layers and 3 eggs. (Yes, I'll probably die from high cholesterol, but so far so good... and I don't eat 3 eggs every day)  If you have a mind to share your frittata (to each his own!), cut it into wedges like a pie and serve. Heat your pan on medium....