Hearty Sausage and Cheese Frittata

Hearty Egg and Sausage Frittata

This is one of my favorite recipes when I'm having guests stay over for a  night, or want to prep something for breakfast that will make it through part of the week. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a lover or ricotta even in my breakfast food! I cut this into 8 pieces, 2 pieces per serving. You can see that you may also use the macro count from the 21-Day Fix programs in order to track your intake as opposed to counting your calories. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do!

(Makes 4 Servings)

INGREDIENTS:

• 10 oz. Turkey Sausage (about 3 sausages), casings removed
• 1 ½ cups Broccoli Florets, chopped
• ½ Red Bell Pepper, diced
• 2 Green Onions, thinly sliced
• 6 Egg Whites
• 2 Eggs
• ½ cup Low-fat Ricotta Cheese
• ½ cup grated Low-fat Cheddar Cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat a 9- or 10-inch ovenproof, stick-resistant (or seasoned) skillet on medium-high; mist with non-stick cooking spray. Add sausage, broccoli, pepper and onions and cook, breaking up sausage with a wooden spoon, until sausage is crumbled and no longer pink; about 3 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk egg whites, eggs and ricotta until foamy and just a few lumps remain. Pour over top of sausage mixture; cover, reduce heat to medium and cook until bottom and sides are firm and top is almost set, about 7 minutes.

3. Preheat broiler to high. Uncover skillet and sprinkle cheddar over top of egg mixture. Broil until center is set and cheddar is melted and bubbly; 2-3 minutes.

Roasted Chicken with Potatoes and Vegetables

Sounds super boring right?  Chicken.  Potatoes.  Vegetables.  How does one celebrate this meal?  Well, for starters, the herbs, onion and lemon that you stick in the chicken make it so moist and flavorful, that it won't taste like the precooked roasted chicken you pick up at your grocery store, that you and I both know has been sitting under that heating lamp for a solid two hours.  Seriously.

Another one of my Food Network favs is "The Best Thing I Ever Made: (Insert whatever food they choose for this particular episode)".  This one was obviously chicken, and I personally have always been a bit intimidated by roasting my own chicken because I'm always afraid I'm either going to under cook it, or over cook it.  But, I am trying to take new steps this year, and so I jumped in head first, bought the chicken and took the advice of my Chef de Cuisine about temperature.  I suggest you use a meat thermometer, and you won't ever have to worry about over, or under cooking your chicken again.  What drew me to this recipe, was the use of shallots, and the way Marc Murphy sautes the endive with the chicken liquid.  It just sounded so homey and flavorful.  

Truth be told, the Roasted Chicken with Potatoes and Vegetables was super easy, and super delicious.  The only thing that I did differently was place a bit of the chicken liquid in a pan and sauteed the endive separately, rather than keep it in the roasting pan.  I did this because I use stoneware, and I didn't want to put that on my stove burners.  But let me tell you, the flavors you get in this recipe will blow your mom's roasted chicken out of the water, and the best part is, you can use your chicken carcass to make your own chicken stock in a crock pot, where you can just leave it in the pot, and walk away for 12 hours.  Imagine the dinner possibilities with your own stock?  Amazing!

 Chicken and Summer Vegetable Cacciatore with Polenta

I absolutely love this dish.  The recipe that I followed to make this suggested you pan sear the chicken and saute the vegetables, which I'm sure would taste fantastic.  I, however, had the Weber fired up for some reason or another (when you cook with charcoal, you tend to cook three meals at once to take advantage of the grill being lit), and decided that I was going to grill the chicken and the vegetables.  I cannot stress enough, how happy I am that I decided to take this approach instead of sauteing.  The flavor that you get out of the vegetables is amazing, and I don't think you can go wrong with any grilled protein.

This was another recipe from The Best of Clean Eating, a book I would highly recommend.  Regardless of how frustrating I find the layout of the actual book, the recipes are always amazing.  

I pre-marinade my 1 lb. of thinly sliced chicken in a large plastic zip-lock bag with salt, pepper, chopped fresh oregano, and chopped fresh basil, 2 tbsp. of olive oil, and tbsp. of water. Mush it around in the bag to ensure even coverage, and put in the fridge for at least 30 min.  Slice into 1/2 in. slices: 1small zucchini, 1small yellow squash, 1 red bell pepper, 1 orange bell pepper, and two tomatoes which have been cored. Grill the vegetables on medium heat until soft and slightly charred.  Grill your chicken until cooked through.  

Polenta, or boiled cornmeal, can be served many different ways including grilled, soft or baked.  I bring 1 c. of low-sodium chicken broth to a boil, add 1/2 c. of polenta, mix until it's absorbed, and then remove it from heat, add salt and pepper, and sometimes, I add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  If served directly from the pan, the polenta will be nice a smooth and creamy texture, almost like a cream of wheat.  You'll notice in my picture, however, that the polenta is firm and holds shape.  This will occur when you put polenta in a pan, and cool it down in your refrigerator.  I usually cook the meal, put it directly into tupperware and then cut it when I'm taking a portion for a meal.  Either way, I enjoy both textures, and you can decide yourself how you would prefer the dish.    

I can't wait for summer, and all the farm stands to open so that I can pick up all my veggies farm-fresh and grill this dish up!