I'm a big fan of anything that I can make ahead and freeze for busy days and these mini breakfast frittatas are perfect to pop in the microwave on a busy morning.
One of the things I love about making these is that you can essentially add anything you want to them, which makes them great for using up stuff that's nearing it's expiration date. I chose to keep this batch very basic, but by all means, substitute stuff to your liking and add in any extras that you'd normally have inside an omelette, because these are basically little omelette muffins.
INGREDIENTS
1 dozen large eggs
8 oz cheddar cheese
1 lb ground breakfast sausage
1/2-1 onion (depending on how much you like onion)
1 green pepper
1 bunch chives
milk
salt, pepper, and any other spices you like
Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit and preparing your muffin tins. I used silicon baking cups, but if you don't have those you can spray some nonstick spray in the tins. I haven't done this with paper liners before, so I'm not sure how they'd hold up in the freezer to be honest.
Brown the sausage (or your choice of meat) in a skillet with salt, pepper, and any other spices you like. While the meat is cooking, dice up 1/2-1 onion, a green pepper, and any other veggies you want to add in. Once it's done, drain the majority of the fat and set the meat aside in a bowl to slightly cool because you don't want it to be screaming hot when you add it to the eggs. Toss the veggies into the skillet and caramelize.
While the onions are cooking, crack the eggs into a mixer (or a bowl if you don't have a mixer) and mix with some milk. I never measure, but if I had to guess I use about half a cup. Just add it until the eggs are a pale yellow without looking too milky.
Chop up your chives while the onions are caramelizing and the eggs and milk are mixing. Spice the egg and milk mixture and add in the cheese. Once the cheese is fully incorporated, add in the meat and all of the veggies.
When the mixture is ready, fill the muffin tins about 2/3 full with the mixture. Make sure to get egg in every tin, because it will try and sink to the bottom of the bowl. You will more than likely have to bake multiple rounds of the frittatas.
Bake each tin until the tops are golden brown and bubbly-about 20-25 minutes. If you are choosing to store them in the freezer, a freezer safe gallon bag with the date you made them written on it is the easiest way to go.
When you take them out of the freezer to reheat, place them on a plate with a paper towel on top to keep the moisture in. It should only take about 30 seconds for each frittata.
And that's it! The last time I made these, they didn't even make it to the freezer and were gone within 24 hours because the people I live with couldn't stop popping them into their mouth. I took that as a sign that they had to be shared with the world.
I hope you all enjoy this recipe and until next time...
Stay Stellar,
Paige Elise
The first time I made this soup, I was low on cash and needed to make something that would fill my boyfriend up and actually taste good. I rummaged through the kitchen, pulled out hearty ingredients and decided I wanted to turn it all into a soup. The only thing I needed was chicken broth, so I had sent my boyfriend to the store to get that while I got the rest of the soup ready. Needless to say, it was a hit as I'm still making it a year later.
This soup is perfect for these chilly months, because it's like a hug in a bowl that leaves you feeling satisfied and all of the ingredients are easy to find year-round.
(click to view the picture larger)
I never said it was a pretty soup, but it tastes pretty good if that counts!
Did I mention this is super inexpensive to make? I made a pot that made about ten bowls for less than $15! Let's get on with the instructions, shall we?
INGREDIENTS
1 lb ground beef
1/2 an onion
3-4 russet potatoes
2 boxes chicken broth or stock
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
1 large can of corn
salt, pepper, & any other spices you like
Start by getting a large pot of water (with some salt) on the stove over high heat. Next, brown the ground beef in a skillet with salt, pepper, and any other spices you have on hand. I used an herb blend from a local spice shop, but anything that you normally like with these flavor profiles will work just fine.
While the water is boiling and the beef is browning, dice up half an onion and cut the potatoes into bite sized pieces. You can choose to peel the potatoes if you'd like, but I always keep them on.
Once the water is boiling, place the potatoes in. When the ground beef is browned, put it to the side in a bowl and drain the majority of the fat out of the skillet. After this, caramelize the onions in the same skillet.
When the potatoes are about 1/2-3/4 done, drain the water and replace with the chicken broth and crushed tomatoes. Add in the ground beef, onion, and season to taste. Cook until the potatoes are fully cooked through. Once the potatoes are cooked thouroughly, add the corn and cook and additional five minutes. This will ensure that the corn does not because mushy, which has happened to me before when I've added canned corn into a soup too early.
That's literally it! The hardest part of making this soup is trying not to cry while cutting the onions ;)
I hope you all enjoyed this recipe and until next time...
Stay Stellar,
Paige Elise
I went to Portland again last weekend to do makeup for my cousin's homecoming dance and of course hang out with her, my aunt, and their dog.
On the way up, Bart and I stopped at the shelter we adopted Pippi from to drop off some blankets and treats since the weather is getting colder out here and they asked for donations. Seeing all of the doggies who need homes makes me so sad and I wish that I could bring all of them home with me but realistically the best thing for me to do right now is just drop off donations whenever we're in the area (it's an hour away from where we live).
When we arrived in Portland, we went to a McMenamins because we haven't been even though there's one in town. I got this amazing veggie wrap that was so filling I could only eat half of it and was completely stuffed. After that, we went back to Aunt Teri's and hung out watching Netflix and catching up on the last month while we waited for Elise to get home from her water polo tournament that was out of town. Of course I also took this opportunity to get in as many Libby (their dog) cuddles as possible.
Saturday was homecoming, and Aunt Teri and I made card corsages (which I forgot to get a picture of) for some of Elise's friends and finished up her awesome crown while Elise was getting her hair and nails done. The dance was Disney themed, and her and her friends decided to do a group costume based off of Alice in Wonderland. Elise was the best Queen of Hearts ever of course.
I did her makeup before we went to her friend's house, where I set up a little makeup studio in one of the bathrooms and did makeup for four of her friends. I forgot to ask them for pictures too because I was so worried about getting them all done in time, but three of them wanted silver and black smokey eyes and one wanted natural makeup with false eyelashes, so it wasn't anything too crazy exciting. Here's a picture of Elise being perfect though!
After I finished doing makeup on the girls, Aunt Teri took us out to her favorite Thai place and we got these Thai teas that tasted so good it should be illegal. I had yellow curry, Bart had a curry that tasted like Chai Tea (in all the right ways) and Aunt Teri had a mango chicken plate. She also ordered two appetizers because her goal is to send us home fifty pounds heavier every time we visit obviously...not that I'm complaining because FOOD.
Elise got me this absolutely perfect train case to thank me for helping out with homecoming stuff. No more lugging my stuff around in random boxes and bags when I travel!
On Sunday we went to Multnomah Falls, which was breathtaking. Aunt Teri and I went up about halfway and decided we wanted to go back to the bottom and get coffee while Bart decided to try and go all the way to the top. It was really crowded and the bridge you had to cross to continue on the path was so crowded it was essentially at a stop, which is why Aunt Teri and I decided to chill instead.
While we were sitting on a bench, every kid that passed by exclaimed "Mom! That lady has purple hair!" which my Aunt thought was a hoot, but I'm used to by now because I get it everyday at work and it never gets old.
After that, Bart and I went home and were greeted by a very happy Pippi who had clearly missed us. She turned six months old on Sunday and my mom brought her to the pumpkin patch with my little sister and her friend to celebrate. I got a text from my mom that said "Pippi got a pumpkin because she licked it and said 'I want this one' so I had to buy it for her." She also sent me some adorable pictures of Pippi having an awesome half-birthday (or should I say un-birthday to keep with the Alice in Wonderland theme?). This one is my favorite.
In honor of National Dessert Day on Tuesday, I baked cream puffs and sugar cookie sticks dipped in frosting. The cream puffs had a thin layer of boysenberry preserves (because they're pretty strong) and chocolate expertly globbed on top by my little sister. I'm really happy with how they came out.
That's basically how my week has been! I wanted to share it with all of you since it's been such a crazy but awesome week! I'm baking viking cupcakes tomorrow for my friend's daughter's third birthday which is How to Train Your Dragon themed and I'm really excited about it. Until next time...
Stay Stellar,
Paige Elise
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