freezable mini frittatas (frittate) :)

For those of you that know her story, my precious Momma has had a really, REALLY hard last couple years. Cancer... a car wreck... open heart surgery... she's basically been to Sheol and back.

 

Anyway, she really needed a BREAK, so my sister and I planned a trip and took our Mom to her favorite place on earth: Disney World. :)  It was REALLY fun (we hadn't been there in over a decade!)-- but I still wanted to be a blessing to the dear doctor while I was gone for a week.

check us out with The Mouse himself! :)



I made a ton of meals and stuck in the fridge/freezer, and here is one of my creations: Taking a good old recipe for Breakfast Casserole and modifying it for muffin tins!

 

The muffin tins not only take far less time to bake, but when done, you have individually-sized frittata's (frittate is probably the correct Italian plural form!) :) that can be frozen and microwaved later! :)

These were soooooooooooo easy to make, I'm not even going to write a recipe for them because the possibilities are ENDLESS!  

Here are the ingredients I used--just a teeny bit of each!  OH and first, remember to give a quick spritz of oil to each little muffin cup (it's worth it!).  After you oil your cups, I layered the ingredients in each cup, in this order =

• frozen hash brown potatoes (you can use either cubed or shredded)
• cooked turkey sausage crumbles
• diced bell pepper
• diced onion
• salt & pepper
• baby spinach leaves (torn up a little!)
• 1 egg went in each cup; I chose to use a fork and scramble each egg around a little, but you don't have to do that if you don't want to!  You probably *should*, though, at least use a fork to make sure the egg gets down in all the cracks and helps the other ingredients stick together...!
• NOTE: the reason they look so bright yellow/orange on top is because when they were done (after about 15-20 minutes on 350*F)... I took sharp Cheddar cheese in little slices and put it on top, and put the muffin tin back in the oven, but this time under the broiler, until the cheese was melted (about 5 min?)

But for goodness' sakes don't be limited to what I did here------ You could use an.y.thing!!!!!!!! Like....

• tomatoes
• any meat you wanted (bacon, ham, smoked salmon, Chorizo, even ground beef crumbles--like taco meat-- for a Mexican-inspired frittata, heck even shredded chicken... whatever you like!)
• zucchini / summer squash
• chopped asparagus
• eggplant (however my husband thinks it smells like cadaver from his med school days, so we don't eat eggplant at my house.  sorry if I just ruined anything for anyone). :)
• any herbs in the world (I was just lazy today)--- but gosh, anything would work depending on what you put with it!..... parsley, oregano, basil, sage, etc. etc.!!!
• any cheese you like

These mini frittatas are awesome and SO versatile: you could easily do egg-whites only to lower cholesterol, and you could of course make them vegetarian very easily (like subbing Quinoa for the Hash Browns to give it a protein boost) ..The list of options goes on and on!

Have FUN with this-- SORRY I didn't take pictures of the assembly-- but hopefully that encourages you in the fact that they came together **so quickly**... it was over before I could grab my camera! 

I love being able to cook homemade things, freeze them, and eat them later!  The ultimate package, in my mind!! = Convenience PLUS Homemade! :)

If you try these, feel free to leave a comment and share with everyone the great combinations that you try!!!!  Buon appetito! :) 

Shea Moisture - LOVE!

SheaMoisture:
Oh how in loooove I am with this company!!!




I first learned about SheaMoisture from my sister-in-law, Sarah, who bought their amazing leave-in hair treatments for her daughter.  I thought these products were for sure purchased in a fancy salon or natural health foods store since they are just SO AMAZING, but turns out-- Sarah told me she got them at TARGET! :)

The SheaMoisture Company makes products for babies and adults both = shampoos, conditioners, leave-in conditioners/styling products, bar soaps, shower gels, bubble baths, lotions, hand creams, etc... Basically everything wonderful you'd want to get ready!

Check out the list of what is NOT included in SheaMoisture products!!! =

• No Parabens
• No Phthalates
• No Paraffin
• No Gluten
• No Propylene Glycol
• No Mineral Oil
• No Synthetic Fragrance
• No Synthetic Colors
• No PABA
• No DEA
• No Sulfates
• No Animal Ingredients

Doesn't that make your heart skip a beat?! :)  If not, listen to the company's story printed on the back of the bottle:
"Sofi Tucker started selling Shea Nuts at the village market in Bonthe, Sierra Leone in 1912. By age 19, the widowed mother of four was selling Shea Butter, African Black Soap, and her homemade hair and skin preparations all over the countryside. Sofi Tucker was our grandmother and SheaMoisture is her legacy. With this purchase, you help empower disadvantaged women to realize a brighter, healthier future."

Doesn't that make you SWOON?!? :)

Additionally, you know your bath and body products are FRESH and REAL when they have an **expiration date** on the bottom of the bottles!  Haha! :)  Along with being so fresh and good for you, SheaMoisture products are never tested on animals, and only use ethically traded, sustainably produced ingredients.

So far, I've tried several products from SheaMoisture.  I LOVE their Organic Raw Shea Butter Hand Cream with Frankincense & Myrrh.  I even bought it for the women who are in my Bible study to make their times connecting with the Lord even sweeter-- to be able to put on this hand cream and smell fragrances that were around at the time of Jesus-- how COOL! :)



My favorite thing about the Olive & Green Tea Body Wash is that a little bit goes a LONG way!  I can sometimes be a product hog and use WAY too much-- but I've seriously been using that bottle for months and it's taking *forever* to deplete!  Awesome!

The "African Black Soap" is so worth it-- if you want somewhere to start with Shea Moisture but don't want to spend $10 on a body wash or lotion, spend $3 and grab a bar of this magical soap.  It has oats in it to naturally exfoliate and my mind never ceases to be blown that the soap suds are grayish/black from this soap and I actually wash my face with it-- haha-- but it is WONDERFUL stuff!!!! :)



The Coconut & Hibiscus Body Lotion smells SO YUMMY especially for summertime-- and it is SO moisturizing!

Lastly, the Yucca & Baobab Thickening Shampoo is delightful, too, *but* I think this product would probably be best on hair that is VERY dry and needs extra moisture.  My hair tends to get greasy somewhat easily and isn't brittle or dry.  But if your hair constantly needs more moisture-- due to your natural texture and/or color treated reasoning-- I'd *definitely* check out this shampoo! :)  It smells GREAT and is super moisturizing (but for me, I only use it a couple times a week... if I use it every day, I get too greasy).

Like I said, I always buy my SheaMoisture stuff at Target, but according to the company, you can buy their products at all Walgreens stores, as well as select Target, CVS, Bed Bath & Beyond, Buy Buy Baby, Christmas Tree Shops, Harmon Face Values, Duane Reade and Meijer stores. (info via their website)

Why I LOVE SheaMoisture in a nutshell: Easily available bath & body products that are good for me (very affordable! fantastic ingredients!), good for the environment (sustainable & organic ingredient production!), and good for others (fair trade!).

Check out SheaMoisture for yourself- let me know what you think! :)

dressed-up ice

my sister is so smart.

and a total joker, too. :)

she told me that sometimes, she takes lemon and freezes it in her ice to make lovely little ice cubes (that have a hint of flavor as they melt in a glass of water or sweet tea or whatever)!

i just had lemon "cubes" but Kayla's are even prettier: she thinly slices the lemon in little circles, and puts 1 circle in the bottom of a 12-cup muffin tin... puts a little water on top of each lemon disk... and BOOM: her ice is even prettier than mine!  Isn't she a genius?!???!

just thought i would share her tip with you--- it's such an easy thing to do (and cheap!!) and gives you some points in your "i'm a cool hostess" bank!  haha! :) 

happy parties! :) and enjoy the lemony goodness as a farewell nod to summer! :)  (and let's be real, lemon in your water is good 365 days a year!) ;)