Remember when we had too many tomatoes? Sadly, it looks like our tomato stash is dying down. Our basil plants are still going strong, and when I saw this recipe for Roasted Tomato Basil Pesto from OhSheGlows, I knew that I had to make it. I went out and gathered a bunch of tomatoes and whipped up Angela’s recipe.
I followed all of her directions, except I omitted the almonds since we didn’t have any on hand. I also roasted the garlic during the last 15 minutes of cooking time. I also didn’t use roma tomatoes, I just used this gigantic bowl of tomatoes that I had just harvested from our garden.
Three simple ingredients that pack TONS of flavor!
The finished product: Roasted Tomato Basil Pesto
We used a *few* more tomatoes than in the original recipe, hence the rusty color! I was a little bit underwhelmed by the flavor- perhaps I didn’t roast my tomatoes long enough? I started searching for ways to incorporate the pesto into our weekly meals.
On Sunday night we topped some tilapia fillets with the pesto, but the winning combination happened when I whipped some of the pesto into our weekly frittata.
Check it out! This frittata was made with 3 eggs, 3 egg whites, 3 TBSP tomato basil pesto, about 1/3c. of cooked spinach, some chives, salt and pepper. I sprinkled mozzarella on top for a final garnish and voila!
Anotherfrittatarecipe (yes, those are all links to 3 other frittata recipes). I know, I know. Boring, redundant, not exciting. Would you rather hear about my poison ivy? I could post some gross pictures, or I could tell you about all of the calamine lotion I’ve been dabbing on. Not fun. Somehow I had made it 23 years without ever getting poison ivy, and then when we went to the Gorge 2 weeks ago, things changed. Oh well. Maybe I’ll get lucky enough to go another 23 years without another splotchy red patch. My fingers are crossed.
I can tell you about something awesome that I did with my sis last night- Maggie got her first tattoo! Our cousin, Anthony Hall is an AWESOME tattoo artist. So, if you’re here in Lexington and need some ink, I’ll gladly give you his number! Here is a link to his profile- Reigning Ink. And here is my baby sister getting her first tattoo!
The flower is actually a Paw-paw flower. Our wonderful grandfather, whom we lovingly called Pawpaw passed away almost a decade ago. Maggie searched for a flower that she liked online, and amazingly enough, the one she liked happened to be the Pawpaw flower- how cool is that? Here’s a great post that Maggie did about the significance of the phrase “Breathe the world in” (which is also the title of her blog!)
Another fun fact before I bore you to death with a frittata recipe- I have a tattoo as well! I got my first (and only, for now) tattoo from Anthony as well back in 2009. It’s done with UV ink, so it’s pretty much invisible in plain light. BUT, when you put it under a black light, it GLOWS! (I haven’t even told my parents, Hi Mom, Hi Dad! See, Maggie isn’t too rebellious!)
It’s on the inside of my right calf. The phrase says “I surrender my life”, written in Hebrew. After seeing Maggie get her AWESOME tattoo, it really makes me want another, so I’ll definitely be thinking long about my next piece.
Daniel has a tattoo too, but for whatever reason, I cannot find a good picture of it! I’ll post it as soon as I can snap a pic!
Onto the recipe!
Squash Blossom Frittata
Ingredients
4 whole eggs (or 3 eggs and 2 whites)
3 small zucchini (from the garden)
5-7 squash blossom flowers (from the garden)
1/4 c. milk
1/2 pint mushrooms (about 10)
2 tsp. butter
Fresh Parsley and Chives, chopped (1 TBSP total)
Salt and Pepper
Directions
Preheat broiler
Chop your veggies- thinly slice mushrooms and zucchini. Chop your squash blossoms (after removing the centers (aka the stamen and pistil (the part with all of the pollen))
Melt butter in a skillet with a metal handle (or put 2 layers of foil around a plastic handle)
Sauté mushrooms until brown, add sliced zucchini and cook until they are tender (add a little bit of salt to season your veggies)
Add your chopped squash blossoms and sauté just until the blossoms are warmed
Pour in egg mixture and LEAVE IT ALONE! (make sure your veggies are distributed in the pan before adding your eggs)
Let mixture cook on the stovetop for 3-5 minutes, or until the center is starting to set
Put your pan into the broiler for 3-5 minutes so that the eggs set and the top gets lightly browned and puffed
To be honest, you can’t taste the squash blossoms at all. This would have been REALLY good with some sharp (asiago or parmesan) cheese, but we didn’t have any. A creative recipe indeed, but you really won’t know that there’s a strange ingredient in there!
We eat frittatas a lot. There are some past frittata recipes on here (a hash brown Qui-ttata and a Greek frittata).
This week’s frittata included a special ingredient: turkey bacon. It’s also packed with nutrient-rich broccoli, and there’s even a little cheese sprinkled on top for pizzazz.
Served with roasted potatoes (we opted for sweet potatoes) and some fresh fruit, this combo would be a winner for a brunch or for a simple supper!
Turkey Bacon and Broccoli Frittata
Ingredients
2 whole eggs
2 egg whites
1 tsp. olive oil
1/4 c. finely chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped broccoli (cooked, we just thawed some frozen broc.)
8-10 slices of turkey bacon, cooked
1/3 c. 2% cheddar cheese, shredded
Directions
Preheat oven to 375
Lay 8-10 pieces of bacon on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes (or until bacon is crisp). Let bacon cool and chop/break into small pieces.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. If your skillet handle isn’t heat proof, wrap it in 2 layers of aluminum foil. Sautee onions until they are soft (about 5 minutes).
Add broccoli, let excess water cook out.
Add bacon. Season with salt and pepper (I didn’t need to add any salt).
Whisk your eggs together, pour over your frittata filling, stir to distribute broccoli and bacon evenly in eggs.
Remove skillet from heat, sprinkle cheese on top.
Place skillet in preheated oven for 5-10 minutes or until frittata is firm in the center and the cheese is starting to brown.
