Go To Meal: Roasted Pepper, Goat Cheese & Basil Frittata

Sometimes, I feel really uninspired when it comes to cooking. Be it breakfast, lunch or dinner, I'm not always up for being creative and sometimes...just sometimes...I'm just plain lazy.

That's where my 'Go To' meals come in. I'm working on developing an arsenal of Go To's for all of those uncreative times. But just because I'm not reinventing the wheel doesn't mean sacrificing style, quality or deliciousness.

 

My roasted red pepper, goat cheese & basil frittata always fits the bill. It's bursting with complementing flavors, can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner, and is as easy as combining all the ingredients in one bowl and pouring into a skillet. You can't beat that.

 

Roasted Pepper, Goat Cheese & Basil Frittata
3 whole large eggs
4 large egg whites
1/2 C mozzarella, shredded
2 oz goat cheese, crumbled
1 small jar sliced roasted red pepper strips (I use the deli slices, in canned goods aisle)
1 handful fresh basil
pinch salt
pinch fresh pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the whole eggs and egg whites. Add cheeses, roasted peppers, salt and pepper and whisk until all combined.

In a nonstick, oven-safe skillet, brush the olive oil around the bottom and up the sides. Heat the pan over medium heat. Pour in the egg mixture. Spread the whole basil leaves on top.

Over medium heat, let the egg mixture stand (do NOT mix) until the bottom and sides solidify, just a few minutes. Run a rubber spatula around the sides; when the sides are just coming together, transfer the pan to the oven for 7 to 10 minutes or until the top is completely cooked.

Let cool briefly, slice and serve.

Could that be any easier? Or prettier? I love it for its elegant simplicity. No one has to know that it actually took you 15 minutes to throw together.

So there you have it...an easy, delicious and chic meal for any time of the day.

Question of the Day:

What are your Go To Meals in a pinch?

psst...Christine is blogging about her new spirit hat over on The Peach & The Pit. Wondering what that is? I am too. Head on over to check it out!

Chocolate Dipped Fruit Pops + Marshmallow Sauce

I've now been sick for 1 week.

Although I still partied like it was my job at my brother-in-law's wedding, I've also been employed by the cough monster. Or 'the mongus' as Shaun likes to call it. I'm so beyond over not sleeping due to Cough Fest 2011. I'm drinking tea, swigging Robitussin and downing cough drops like nobody's business. Luckily, I got an antibiotic yesterday but admittedly, it hasn't helped much in the way of feeling better...yet.

You know what has helped me feel better? Reminiscing about these delicious fruit pops:

I have now made these delicious pops twice, and both times they were gone in an instant. They are so easy to eat and seem so luxurious...yet little do people know how unbelievably easy they are to throw together. I first came up with this concept when I had a hankering for marshmallow dipping sauce. The conversation in my head went a little something like this:

What am I going to make for this party? I really, really need to have some marshmallow dip. It needs to happen.

I'd better get my laundry going...

Ok so what goes with marshmallow dip? Cookies...pretzels...fruit...

I could totally just cut up fruit for the dip. That would work. It's not that fun...but it would definitely work.

What if I put the fruit on a pop? Everyone likes everything better on a pop. Right?

Is that too boring to bring for a party? I have a rep to protect.

Ooh, my kitchen floor really needs to be mopped. Probably not going to happen though.

Maybe I could dip the fruit pops in the marshmallow sauce and display them pre-dipped.

But it probably won't harden. I'd have a runny marshmallow mess. Duh.

You know what does harden? Chocolate.

Yep. Chocolate dipped pops. With marshmallow dipping sauce. It has to happen. Immediately.

So with that in mind, I made these for a barbecue at Shaun's parent's house and later for my cousin Veronica's engagement party. I hope you enjoy them!

Chocolate Dipped Fruit Pops + Marshmallow Sauce
for the fruit pops:
1 container strawberries, tops sliced off
1 pineapple, bark removed, cored and cut into chunks
8 oz. milk or semisweet chocolate pieces or baker's chocolate (depending on how many fruit pcs)
1 tsp canola oil
Lollipop sticks (either thin white cardboard sticks or flat wooden popsicle sticks)

for the marshmallow sauce:
1 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1 C marshmallow fluff
1 C confectioners' sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

special equipment (for display):
1 long piece of styrofoam
wrapping paper to cover styrofoam

First prepare your display. Wrap up a piece of styrofoam with wrapping paper to make it look pretty. For Veronica's party, we used white and silver 'love' paper since it was an engagement party. You could do so many fun things with the paper! Holidays, birthdays, kids' parties...Keep it near your work station so that the pops can go right into the foam board as you dip them.

To make the pops, cut up all of your fruit. Let rest in a paper towel-lined bowl or dish. This will help dry the fruit so that it won't be too wet when dipping into chocolate.

Next, melt the chocolate. Place chocolate and a bit of canola oil in a bowl. I then heat it in the microwave at small intervals, stirring the chocolate in between each interval until completely melted.

Then, place the popsicle sticks into the fruit and dip in the chocolate. (NOTE: I found that the flat wooden popsicle sticks work best on the strawberries. The thinner sticks tended to go right through the tops of the strawberries. I still made it work, but it was more time consuming and less precise than the previous time when I'd used the flat sticks).

Place the dipped fruit into the wrapped styrofoam board to rest. I used a meat thermometer to 'pre-drill' holes in the board, but the popsicle stick should work well on its own too.

They don't have to be perfect. I like them rustic.

To make the marshmallow dip, beat the cream cheese for 30 seconds in the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer. Add the marshmallow fluff and beat until combined. Add the confectioners sugar, 1/2 C at a time until completely mixed. Stir in the vanilla extract. Give a few more mixes for good measure. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for 3 hours before serving. Transfer to a cute bowl and display near the fruit.

Dip the fruit into the marshmallow sauce. It's so good. You can't eat just one. I promise.

So there you have it. A super easy, delicious and semi-healthy dessert. You know, if you don't count the chocolate and marshmallow dip :)

Questions of the Day:

What's your favorite easy yet glam dessert? I love how these pops are seemingly luxurious but are really so easy peasy!

What are your at-home remedies for feeling better? Please send help!

psst...Kimberly's blogging about being unplugged during Hurricane Irene...head over to The Peach & The Pit to share your Hurricane stories!

Being Unprepared for a Hurricane

Hi friends! It's Monday! I'm ready for a good week...how about you?

This weekend was a crazy one. Hurricane Irene blasted the East coast in a terrifying, crazy, harrowing storm.

Luckily, Shaun and I were safely tucked away at his brother Steven's wedding in Wilmington, Delaware. Though DE got hit, the hotel was like a bunker...so we were pretty safe for Saturday and Sunday.

But when we arrived home, it was clear that we were beyond unprepared for the storm. While we were lucky enough to not have any damage to our condo or experience flooding on our drive home, our building had lost power and we were told that it could be a week (week!) before it returned.

Why I felt unprepared:

I only had a smattering of scented candles on hand, instead of a real back-up lighting source. I thought this would be enough for any possible emergency. Oh how wrong and naive I was. Not only was this not enough, it was not even close to what we'd need, lighting-wise. Once the darkness fell, we realized that it would be much more beneficial to have large pillared, unscented candles to get us through. And what we really wanted was an oil lamp.

Lack of batteries. We have a really nice flashlight...but it's only one flashlight. And we only had one set of batteries for said flashlight. Not great if you're stuck for a few days and all of your stores are sold out of batteries.

We only had two gallons of water on hand. Though we didn't lose water, it was highly possible that we could have. And then we really would have been screwed. Two gallons would get us very far if we were without water for more than a day or two.

I had no ice. We have a cooler on our terrace, which we thought would be great to use for some cold goods. But ice was in seriously short supply. In hindsight, it would really be great to have a big bag of ice in the fridge at all times.

We had limited cash. This really wasn't an issue, but it easily could have been. I never keep cash on hand, but it might not be a bad idea to have a small stash of it for emergencies.

Food. Luckily, I usually keep canned goods and plenty of food on hand, but it was clear that I had little in the way of emergency-ready goods. We had use of the stove, but if we had not, it would have been a tough one. Canned goods, energy bars, nut butters, and frozen bread probably would do the trick.

So with all of this in mind, I felt a little scattered and overall unprepared for such an event. Luckily, our power came back on late last night. I'm now planning to create a full-blown emergency kit should another disaster strike. I'll be sure to keep you posted on my ideas and how I get it done!

Questions of the Day:

How prepared are you for an emergency?

What's in your emergency kit? Or what would you put in your kit?

psst...I'm blogging about my bro-in-law's hurricane wedding over on The Peach & The Pit...hope you'll check it out!