Muffin Frittatas (3 Kinds!)

Now that I work outside the home having quick, healthy breakfasts readily available has become essential. I no longer have 30 minutes to make something every morning, so I have started prepping meals on Sundays while watching football. This recipe is a take off the english muffin breakfast sandwiches I posted awhile ago, except these include all the vegetables and meat right in one package. This makes is really convenient because all I have to do is toast an english muffin, slice some cheese, throw one of these muffin frittatas in between and I'm good to go.

I made 3 different kinds of frittatas here: 1 only sausage (for Mark), 2 just vegetables and black beans, and 4 with everything. Having these different varieties will help from getting bored throughout the week. As for the range in the servings section, it all depends on how you are planning to enjoy these bad boys. Obviously having one with an english muffin or a bowl of cereal is plenty, but if you don't have time I would recommend eating 2 or 3 with a piece of fruit for a full meal.

Muffin Frittatas

Serves 3-7

Ingredients:

1/2 cup kale, chopped

1/4 cup broccoli florets, chopped

1/2 carrot, diced

1/2 bell pepper, diced

1/4 cup onion, diced

1/4 pound sausage

1/3 cup black beans

3 eggs

1/4 cup milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Chop up all the vegetables and onion, set aside. Heat a little bit of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add vegetables and onion and cook until vegetables are soft.

In a different pan cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink. Spray 7 slots of a muffin pan with cooking spray and set aside.

Scramble eggs and milk in a bowl. Place sausage into the bottom of 5 slots of the muffin pan. Spoon vegetable mixture equally into 5 or 6 slots and distribute black beans into all 7 slots. Pour egg and milk mixture into each slot to fill 3/4 way.

Place pan in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully fork out muffin frittatas. Allow to cool and then store either in the fridge or freezer for on-the-go meals.

Enjoy :)

Caramelized Cinnamon Apple Breakfast Quinoa

As much as I love having oatmeal or egg sandwiches for breakfast, every once in a while, like this past weekend, I want something different. The answer to this problem came rather easily as Mark and I both found the same recipe to try.

Since the recipe combined our favorite grain (quinoa) and our favorite fruit (apple) it seemed like a great thing to try. However, we didn't have the raisins or the nuts that the recipe called for so we tweaked it ever so slightly to work with what we had on hand.

We really enjoyed the end result, but agree that it is better topped with the warmed milk. This dish was a light but filling diversion from our breakfast routine that I am sure we will make again.

Ingredients needed

Quinoa boiling

Apples caramelizing

Mine topped with almond milk and maple syrup

Caramelized Cinnamon Apple Breakfast Quinoa
Adapted from here 

Serves 2

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup dry quinoa

3/4 cup water

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, divided

1/2 cup applesauce (homemade or unsweetened)

1 small apple, diced

1 teaspoon coconut oil (or vegetable oil)

1 teaspoon brown sugar

warm milk*, optional

maple syrup, optional

Directions:

Combine quinoa, water, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, cover, and lower heat to simmer for about 15 minutes or until quinoa is done.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and turn heat to low. Core and dice apple, then add to the brown sugar mixture. Cook on low for 5 minutes or until apples are starting to get tender.

Divide quinoa equally between two bowls. Top with 1/4 cup applesauce and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon each. Add apples and serve hot.

Mix and top with warmed milk and maple syrup, if desired.

Enjoy :)

*Notes:

Use non-dairy milk, such as almond or soy, to make vegan friendly.

Restaurant Review: Herkimer Pub & Brewery

Birthday girl with her birthday dessert
of carrot cake

I'm a little ashamed to say, that at the ripe age of 24, I can count on my hands the amount of times I've been to a bar. This past Friday, I fell asleep at 9:30 pm watching The Boondock Saints. Yep, that's me. So to say I'm a little excited to write this review is a bit of an understatement.

One night over the summer I (we) did the unthinkable and went to a bar to celebrate a friends birthday. Not only that but the bar of choice was actually my idea. Had I ever been there? Nope. Thank goodness for Google.

Mark's makeshift "24" birthday card

The place in question is Herkimer Pub & Brewery located in Uptown. Inside its hip and interesting, exactly what I was expecting. There was shuffleboard behind our table and a handful of board games to the left. After dinner, the birthday girl, KT, wanted to play Apples to Apples, which we did and Jessica ended up winning. But now to the drink and food.

Restaurant Review: Zelo

As much as I love spontaneous dates, sometimes I get disappointed with the way they turn out. What can I say? I'm a planner y'all. So imagine my disappointment when I took the bus downtown one summer day for an impromptu lunch at our favorite spot, just to learn it closed 15 minutes before we arrived.

After whining for about 10 minutes hunger took over and we hopped on over to Zelo. Given it was a hot summer day we chose to sit on the patio, perfect for people watching. We were given menus and brought out a bread basket to enjoy while we waited for our meals to arrive.

I ordered half a brazilian salad with salmon and a cup of tomato basil soup. The salad came with mixed greens, hearts of palm, celery, tomato topped with a lemon vinaigrette. To ensure that I got some protein I added a piece of salmon and was (pleasantly) shocked to see that it covered practically the entire salad. The salmon was seared to perfection and paired well with the lemon vinaigrette on the salad. The soup, while flavorful, was just too heavy for me. I felt like I was eating a bowl of pasta sauce, so I will skip this soup in the future.

Do you see the size of that piece of salmon?

Before I get to what Mark ordered I need to share a conversation Mark and I had while browsing the menu:

Me: Do you know what you are going to order?

Mark: I actually think I am going to get something lighter for lunch. *half a second later* I'm getting the lasagna.

That is probably my favorite quote from Mark ever. He didn't even take a breath between saying he was going light and deciding on probably the heaviest menu item. Maybe you had to be there to get why its so funny?

Anywho, on to his dish: lasagna with sausage. Overall, it was very 'meh'... The piece was enormous, more than any one person needs in a sitting. The sauce was heavy, the sausage wasn't predominate enough, and the ending impression was that he wouldn't order it again. The one positive: he was beyond full until dinner.

About to take on his lasagna, which is much larger
than this picture makes it seem

Zelo was perfect for Nicollet Mall people watching but just ok when it came to the food. I loved my salad and if I ever go back would order it again. However I'm not sure if that is because of how good it was or out of fear of being disappointed in my choice of dish.

8.21.12