Use up the Fridge Frittata

I recently wrote an article for the upcoming South Sound Magazine (hits newsstands in February) on how to eat well on a budget. I hear it time and time again that to eat cheap, one must visit the drive thru. That simply isn't true. With a little planning and a little imagination, dinner can be homemade, on the table and delicious every night. There are many tips and secrets but one is, any food in the fridge can be made into a pasta, a soup or a frittata. No matter what meal was made earlier in the week, the remaining ingredients, can and should be used in one form or another. After one look into the fridge this week, I realized that I had ham, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and onion to use up. And although they would all be fantastic in a pasta dish, it was Christmas morning eggs that came to mind. Christmas morning eggs usually consists of eggs, cheese, sour cream, mushrooms, tomatoes, green onion and salami. Since our "Egg" dish this Christmas didn't turn out as planned, I couldn't miss this opportunity to try again. I sauteed up the onion with a little cooking spray, added the mushrooms to "wilt" and then tossed in the ham to get a little bit of color on it. Then I added some beaten eggs and whites with tomatoes and green onion and let them cook until set on the bottom of the pan. A quick bake in the oven, a good shake of the pan and dinner was on the plate in no time. Never throw out food. Try this recipe with anything from your fridge. It works, trust me.

Use Up the Fridge Frittata


4 large eggs
2 egg whites
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 onion, sliced root to root
4 large cremini mushrooms, sliced
4 oz deli ham, sliced
1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 green onion, sliced

Preheat oven to 400F.

Heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and egg whites until frothy; set aside,

Spray the skillet with cooking spray and add the onion. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, season again and cook until mushrooms start to release their liquid, about 2 minutes more. Add the ham and cook for 1 minute or until lightly browned. Add the beaten eggs, the tomatoes and the green onion, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, until beginning to set, about 3 minutes. Add the pan to the oven and cook until top is set, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven, give the pan a good shake and transfer to a plate, using a spatula to help loosen if necessary. Slice and serve

Yields 3-4 servings

Grilled Onion, Brie, and Fig Panini

Let's be honest here.  We talk on this blog like we cook every night, like time is 'a plenty and life never gets in the way.  Well...not so much.  Many nights we are far apart, others one works late, often neither are inspired to cook.  Should we be admitting this as food bloggers?  Hopefully everyone reading can relate.  On nights like these, we opt for food that is fast, friendly and easily delicious.

Tonight with an exhausted mind, body and soul, it was a must that dinner be found in the kitchen.  A sandwich thin, an onion, half-fat brie (a sin that will never be repeated) and fig jam caught the attention of this hungry girl.  Some would say, hmm?  This girl said, yum!  A quick grill of onion on the panini press, bread topped half with Dijon, half with fig jam, coupled with brie, it all came together beautifully.  Sweet, tangy, creamy, and wholesome, every bite was simple perfection.  The only thought that clogged the brain was that this would be an amazing appetizer.  Superbowl Sunday anyone?

Grilled Onion, Brie, and Fig Panini
1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
4 whole wheat sandwich thins (like Oroweat)
8 oz brie (although low-fat does work, if you are a brie lover, not worth it)
1/4 cup fig jam
1/4 cup Dijon mustard

Preheat panini press or grill to medium-high heat.  Coat sides with cooking spray and add onions.  Grill for two minutes or until lightly browned and tender.  Meanwhile, spread half of each sandwich thin with the jam, the other with the mustard.  Layer grilled onions and brie between the two sandwich halves and press until crusts are browned and cheese is melted, about 3 minutes.

Slice each into four triangles for appetizers, or two halves for dinner.

Yield: 4 Servings

BLTC

We have a confession to make. Bless us world, for we have sinned, well at least in the eyes of most Americans. We admit it, we, wait for it, don't much like bacon. Yes it is true you have seen us sporting a T-shirt that read "I LOVE BACON!" but that was just for show. We don't mind it in the background but as a front-running star, it doesn't suit our pallets. Second confession, mayo is icky. It is white, slimy, and in anything other than egg salad, potato salad or tuna salad, it can pretty much not exist. And don't even get us started on the uselessness of iceberg lettuce. Until last summer, we didn't much care for tomatoes in their raw state either. But there are times, when there is a freakish star alignment or some other comic force we aren't aware of, we crave not only bacon, the meat of Gods according to our friend The Coug, but mayonnaise as well when combined with iceberg lettuce and raw tomatoes. We can't explain it, nor shall we try. We just know that sometimes that this combination somehow works. Why is a BLT so damn good? Growing up, we really hated tomatoes so our parents subbed tomatoes for Tillamook Cheddar cheese. It was our own BLC. And then all of the sudden, it hit us. Why not combine the sandwich of our past with the brilliance of a BLT? It is genius, pure, unadulterated genius. Toasty bread, salty bacon, silky cheese, crispy lettuce and fruity tomatoes... There is nothing else to say.

BLTC

3 strips bacon
Freshly ground black pepper
2 pieces of whole wheat bread
1-2 Tbsp mayonnaise
2 pieces iceberg lettuce
2 slices Tillamook Cheddar cheese
tomato, either a handful of grape tomatoes halved, or any tomatoes, sliced

Cook bacon until crispy. (Either in the microwave, fry pan, grill pan, or oven, your choice.) While the bacon cooks, toast the bread. When ready to assemble, spread mayo one side of each piece of toast, lay cheese on one half followed by the bacon and tomatoes. (We only had grape tomatoes on hand but they worked great!) Place the lettuce on the other slice and flip over the tomato half. Slice and enjoy. It is pure bliss.

Yield 1 sandwich

Open-Faced Tuna-Artichoke Melts

Tuna isn't something that everybody loves. But around these here parts, we actually like the stuff. It is cheap, a good emergency staple, easy to prepare, versatile and, in our opinions, darn tasty. It isn't something we eat every day but when the craving hits, there is nothing that can take its place. Upon spying some new sourdough English muffins at our parents house, we instantly thought of a tuna melt for dinner. Many eons ago, we used to make a dish with tuna, black pepper and artichokes with Feta. Knowing we had an open can of artichokes in the fridge and low fat Swiss in the deli drawer, it was a lucky day for us to visit the Ma and Pa family store and eye the English muffins to remind us of our past meal. It was just as good as we remembered. Actually, it was better. We spiced it up with more black pepper than any two girls should like and a good smear of Dijon. It was heaven with every ooey, gooey bite. Don't think tuna is boring and something to skip. Skip your way into your kitchen and make this tuna delight!

Open-Faced Tuna-Artichoke Melts

1 can tuna, drained
4 canned artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
black pepper
1 English muffin, split
Dijon mustard
2 slices, reduced fat Swiss cheese

Mix the tuna and artichokes in a bowl and season to taste with pepper. Spread each side of the English muffin with a generous amount of Dijon and divide tuna mixture between the 2 halves. Place one slice of cheese on each muffin and place under a broiler. Broil until the cheese is melted and starting to brown, 1-3 minutes.

Yields 1-2 servings

Wagon Wheel Chili Burgers, Reimagined

Do you remember your favorite tastes as a child?  A special cookie from your grandmother, possibly a lasagna from your mother? Or is it a neighborhood restaurant that served cold bread pudding from a rotating case that makes your taste buds tingle?  The two of us were destined to be food bloggers (or cookbook writers, or in the food world.) Why?  Because if you ask us about a memory, we can tell you what we had to eat.  Seriously. It is rather creepy actually.

After one taste of our lentil chili, all we could think of was adding meat.  So much for being vegetarian.  Specifically we craved to the tips of our toes, a chili burger.  Our favorite memory of a chili burger is from a Parkland, WA restaurant called the Wagon Wheel.  Next to our grandparents house, it was an easy establishment that served hearty food and remembered your name.  It was also the place that Denise discovered her life ambition to be a waitress, because people left you money on the table.  Beside that fun flashback memory, our favorite thing on the menu was the chili burger.   A simple grilled patty, avalanched in delicious chili topped with white onions and cheddar cheese.  A gastronomical gut buster of tasty delight, we always loved the textured taste, and still crave it to this day.  When we had the lentil chili and began to crave it over a patty, we had no idea what we were in for.

Our blog has been known for not only recreating restaurant food at home, but for also making them healthier without compromising flavor.  We have had many instances of being spot on, but other times, we can taste that the foods aren't as fatty rich, though just as tasty.  Tonight however, recreating the Wagon Wheel chili burger with 4% fat beef and lentil chili, we could not believe that every bite took us back to Parkland.  It was exact.  We seriously doubt the Wheel ever used the ingredients we did, but we were shocked that it was so reminiscent of the flavor we cherish, and the times we spent with our family. 

Wagon Wheel Chili Burger

12 oz 4% fat ground beef
Johnny's Seasoning Salt (or your favorite salt blend)
Freshly ground black pepper
2 Hamburger buns, split
1 1/2 cups Lentil chili
3 Tablespoons reduced fat cheddar cheese
2 Tablespoons diced yellow onion

Heat a grill over medium-high heat.  Divide meat into two patty's, sized to fit the bun; season to taste with salt seasoning and pepper.  Grill to desired degree of doneness, about 4 minutes per side if you are us.  Warm chili to piping hot.  Place burgers on each bun bottom, top with chili, cheese and onion.  Serve warm.

Yield: 2 Servings