Cheese, Bacon & Herb Frittata

The other day, one of my co-works made a Frittata for a potluck breakfast. Another co-worker is currently on a "carb free" diet, to get in ship shape for her upcoming wedding so the Frittata was made special for her. A Frittata is like a quiche, except Frittata is crust free; Just eggs and whatever goodies you'd like to add in for flavour. It's incredibly versatile and easy! It can be made in advance and re-heated or eat it cold. Frittata is the perfect for potluck, picnic, breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack!

For the herb addition to my Frittata I used a couple great freeze dried seasoning blends from Epicure Selections. Their Cheese, Chive & Bacon Dip Mix and Three Onion Dip Mix are perfect additions to eggs, potatoes, soups and of course, dips. I absolutely love their products and have one of just about everything in the catalogue. If you don't have Epicure products to use in your Frittata, just use whatever herbs or seasonings you'd like.

Ingredients:

8 whole eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon dried herb blend of your choice (I used 1/2 tbsp Epicure Cheese, Chive & Bacon Mix and 1/2 tbsp Epicure 3 Onion Mix.)
Pinch each of Salt & Pepper
4 slices of crisp cooked bacon, broken into small pieces
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
2 green onion sprigs, sliced thin

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350° F. Lightly grease a 9 inch pie plate and set aside.

2. Add eggs and milk to a bowl and beat together. Stir in herbs, salt and pepper.

3. Pour egg mixture into prepared pie plate. Sprinkle over half the cheese and drop bacon pieces evenly around the dish. Cover with remaining cheese.

4. Bake in pre-heated oven for 30 minutes, or until cheese has melted and the eggs are puffed up and the edges starting to brown.

5. Remove from oven and sprinkle with sliced green onion. Let cool slightly then slice and serve.

Variations: Substitute ham or sausage for bacon, or omit meat for a vegetarian option. Use fresh herbs instead of dried. Add fresh, diced veggies. Anything goes!



This post is part of Twister Tuesday @ GNOWFGLINS.

Sweet Potato, Leek & Ham Soup

This recipe is adapted from Cooking Light's "Fresh Food Fast" cookbook. It's incredibly quick to make and is a great use of left over holiday ham.

1 cup diced, cooked ham
2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups sliced leek (2 large)
3 cups peeled & diced sweet potato (2-3 large)
1 cup chicken broth
2 cups water
1 cup 2% milk
salt & pepper to taste
thin sliced green onion for garnish

1. Heat a large heavy-bottom pot over medium heat. Add ham and cook 3-4 minutes until lightly browned. Remove ham from pan and set aside.

2. Melt butter in the same pot. Add leek and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.

3. Add sweet potato, chicken broth and water. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer 30 minutes until sweet potato is fork tender.

4. Remove pot from heat and pour in milk. Using an immersion blender, puree soup to desired consistency. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Stir in 3/4 cup of the diced ham. Return pot to low heat and let simmer for 5 minutes, just to heat through.

5. Spoon into bowls and garnish with remaining diced ham and sliced green onion.

Local Eating - Winter Foods

(Photo taken in my back yard 3 winters ago... thankfully no snow this year!)

Re-posted from last year. It's December 1st - Time to think winter foods!

Wondering what is growing in the Vancouver area during the winter months?

Get Local BC has a lot of information to help people buy and eat local.

Right now there is an ABUNDANCE of locally grown produce available. Here is the list from Eat Local BC:

Vegetables: Beets, cabbage (green & red), carrots, garlic, kale, leeks, onions (red & yellow), parsnips, potatoes, rutabagas, shallots, squash (winter), turnips (white), zucchini
Fruit: Apples, kiwi
Meat & Dairy: Dairy Products, eggs, beef, buffalo, chicken, duck, goat, lamb, pheasant, port, rabbit, turkey
Seafood: Clams, cod (Pacific), crab, Dungeness crab, flounder/sole (Pacific), mussels, oysters (Pacific), prawns (jumbo), sablefish (black cod), scallops, shrimp (side stripe, west coast)
Herbs: Bay leaves, chervil, rosemary, sage, savory (winter), thyme
Etc: Honey, Mushrooms, Nuts

At first I thought I hated winter vegetables but now I'm finding I really enjoy roasted beets and parsnips. I use carrots, potatoes, squash, onions and shallots regularly. Winter produce isn't so bad after all!

Looking for a winter Farmers Market in your area? Check here.