Leftover Ham and Cheese Frittata

 

Welcome to our Sustainable Pinterest Challenge Blog Hop hosted by Julie  @Sum of Their Stories. This month it's all about sustainable recipes or related projects! I was originally inspired by this pin and switched it up a bit to suit my family.

We all need to be a more earth friendly cook by using up what foods we buy! I truly get disgusted by the amount of food that I throw away each week. And it's always best to get the most from every dish we create so we can save money and eat well - especially during these times! 

And it's so easy to incorporate leftovers into new dishes! Plus, you can simplify your breakfast/dinner routine and cleanup with a favorite recipe made in just one dish or skillet, like a frittata - a tasty crust-less egg dish! 

Ham is frequently served on dining tables during Easter and Christmas. However, it’s almost impossible not to have some leftovers. Actually, I think everyone looks forward to eating leftovers in favorite special ways! So what do we do with all that leftover ham from this past Easter? One way is to make a delicious frittata. I especially love this recipe since you only need two eggs. Most frittata recipes usually call for at least 6 or more eggs! So this recipe is another way to save!

 Ingredients

• 1 cup diced cooked ham
• 3/4 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 5 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
• 3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 3 tablespoons chopped onion
• Parsley flakes
• 1 cup milk 
• 1/4 cup Bisquick baking mix
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Step 1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Dice enough ham to fill one cup.  Cook and crumble five bacon strips. I like to cook bacon in the microwave - it's quick and easy!  Then chop three tablespoons of onions. 

Step 2 Layer the ham, mozzarella cheese, bacon, cheddar cheese, and onion in a greased 10" pie plate.  The original recipe called for swiss cheese - which I didn't have, so I used mozzarella instead which I always keep on hand for pizzas! 

Step 3 Place the remaining ingredients - milk, baking mix, eggs, salt and pepper in a blender or food processor in the order given; cover and process for about a minute. Pour over the meat, cheese and onions. Then sprinkle parsley over mixture.

Step 4 Bake, uncovered for 30-35 minutes  until the frittata is light golden on top and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting. The frittata will probably deflate a little, so don't get upset it falling.

Don't you just love the ease of preparation! I sure do!

So versatile - adding your favorite leftovers to the mix!

And quite tasty, too!

Great for breakfast, brunch or any time of day!

Now, it's time to meet the other participants and their recipes or related recipe projects!

Julie | Sum of their Stories
Gail | Purple Hues and Me
Terri | A Good Life
Lydia | Life Beyond the Kitchen
Marianne | Songbird
Julie | Just Winging It
Ann | The Apple Street Cottage
Mel | Decor Craft Design

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Easy Apple Raisin Fritters

Apple Raisin Fritters are luscious fried pastries filled with apples, raisins, and cinnamon, drizzled with a flavorful glaze. They're my hubby's favorite pastry! So naturally, you understand why I'm sharing this recipe for this month's Fall Recipes Blog Hop Challenge hosted by Beverly @Across the Blvd. 

These easy to make homemade apple fritters are packed full of fresh apples - perfect for the fall season - and raisins - along with a few other simple ingredients. Truly a quick and delicious recipe that's filled with fall flavors! And the best part, you can be tasting these warm apple fritters in less than forty minutes.

Let's start with peeling and dicing the apples into small chunks. Granny Smiths are the preferred apple for pastries, tarts and pies. They're incredibly crisp, firm, and juicy. Once diced, sprinkle a bit of lemon juice to prevent them from browning.

Next, blend in the dry ingredients in a large bowl - flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with a folk, then add applesauce, and milk.  Add to the dry ingredients and stir together to combine. Then fold in the apples and raisins.

Heat a couple of inches of vegetable oil in a heavy skillet to 375 degrees. It's important that you maintain this temperature. Too hot and the fritters will burn. Not hot enough and they'll be soggy in the middle.

Drop about 1/4 cup of batter into hot oil .  .  .

and cook each side 2-3 minutes until golden brown.

Remove to paper towels to drain, then move to cooling rack to air dry and to drizzle the glaze on.

 

To make the glaze, whisk the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract together in a 2cup+ measuring cup until smooth. Use the cup to drizzle the glaze on top of the apple raisin fritters while cooling. 

 Easy Apple Raisin Fritters 

Ingredients                                                     Prep & Cook time: 40min approx.

• 1 ½ c diced apples  

• Lemon juice 

• 1 ½ c all purpose flour 

• 2 tsp baking powder 

• ½ tsp salt  

• ¼ c granulated sugar 

• 2 tsp ground cinnamon 

• pinch of nutmeg 

• ½ c unsweetened applesauce 

• ½ c whole milk 

• 2 eggs 

• ½ c raisins 

• Vegetable oil for cooking

•  

Directions 

1. 1. Blend in the dry ingredients in a large bowl - flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg. 

2. 2. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with a folk, then add applesauce, and milk.  Add to the dry ingredients and stir together to combine. Then fold in apples and raisins. 

3. 3. Heat a couple of inches of vegetable oil in a heavy skillet to 375 degrees. 

4. 4. Drop about 1/4 cup of batter into hot oil, and cook each side 2-3 minutes until golden brown. 

5. 5. Remove to paper towels to drain, then move to cooling rack to air dry and to drizzle the glaze on. 

To Make the Glaze: whisk 1¼ c powdered sugar, ¼ c milk and ½ tsp vanilla extract together in a 2cup+ measuring cup until smooth. Use the cup to drizzle the glaze on top of the apple raisin fritters while cooling.   

ENJOY!

Beverly | Across the Blvd

Gail | Purple Hues and Me

Carol | Comfort Spring

Joanne | Slices of Life

Marci | Stone Cottage Adventures

For more delicious recipes, check these out:

Baked Donuts with Caramel Topping

Easy Apple Raisin Fritters

Slow Cooker Turkey & Pumpkin Chili

Pumpkin Scones with Chocolate Glaze

Lemon Ginger Cookies

All Things Fall Link Party

Happy Fall! We're excited to be joining a group of bloggers to bring you a link party for all things fall! Share your crafts, diy projects, decor, recipes, and activities! We're looking forward to seeing fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving ideas!

11 talented bloggers are co-hosting the party! That means lots of ideas & exposure for your posts!

Meet the Hosts!

Across the Blvd | Purple Hues & Me

 This Autoimmune Life

Stone Cottage Adventures | Two Chicks & a Mom

Our Unschooling Journey | Domestic Deadline

Sew Crafty Crochet | Comfort Spring | Cookies, Coffee, & Crafts

As one of the co-hosts joining the all things fall festivities, I'm sharing a tutorial - Add Diy Burlap Leaves to Purple Pumpkins - it's a step by step tute on how I combined purple burlap ribbon and jute twine into lovely dimensional leaves! An adorable way to dress up purple pumpkins or any pumpkins for Fall! And a fun way to bring an exciting autumn atmosphere using purple to your fall decor!

To kick off the party, all of the hosts are sharing a fall post today. You'll find their posts in the first link up below. You're sure to find lots of inspiration! Please visit their links and check out their posts. We would all appreciate your support by pinning our projects.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Now it's your turn! By adding your link, you give the co-hosts permission to use one photo with a link to your post on social media or in round up posts, including our featured posts from the party. Posts that are not related to fall will be deleted. The party will be open through October 18. Each co-host will share a features post of their favorites from the party on October 23.

We can't wait to see your Fall, Halloween, & Thanksgiving ideas!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Liquored-Up Lollipops - A 21 & Over Treat!

Just in time for a Fourth of July party. While looking for a hostess gift to make I came across this cute idea.  These home-made lollipops  with your choice of liquor, opens up a whole new world of pretty, tasty and boozy treats.   They are the perfect before or after dinner dessert or an excellent treat to give as a hostess gift.  












The liquored lollipops took almost no time to make.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp liquor (vodka, gin, rum,scotch,tequila)
2 tbsp cold water
3/4 c sugar
3 tbsp corn syrup
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp food color (optional)




Here's how:

In a small saucepan, mix together 1/4c of alcohol (I used Smirnoff Whipped Cream Vodka) with the water, sugar, corn syrup and salt. Stir together using a heatproof spatula and bring to a slow boil over medium heat. Using a candy thermometer, bring mixture to 300F without stirring.  It may take 15-20 minutes to reach this temperature which is the hard crack candy stage.

 The hard-crack stage is the highest temperature you are likely to see specified in a candy recipe. At these temperatures, there is almost no water left in the syrup. Be careful not to go too much higher. The liquid begins to turn darker in color and if the temperature gets too high, say, 338 degrees, it will turn brown and the sugar will caramelize. Watch out if you hit 350 degrees. The sugar begins to burn and develop a bitter and burnt taste.

*A word of caution. Use a small saucepan.  I didn't realized my pot was too big for the amount of ingredients.  The candy thermometer barely touched the mixture.  I had to tilt the pot to get an more accurate reading. I didn't realize how long it would take for the water to boil off.

Once you reach 300 degrees, remove from heat and work quickly to add any additional alcohol or food coloring.  I didn't add any more alcohol - I actually forgot to, both times I made them. 

Drop by the tablespoonful onto a silicone pad or mold.  Insert a lollipop stick after each one, turning the stick so that it's covered in candy syrup. This recipe makes about 20 lollipops depending on the size of your spoon drop.

                                                                           

Don't know what happened here with that odd shape

Let the lollipops cool completely until they are hard. *Be careful when removing from the silicone pad.  Mine stuck (suction) to my granite countertop and I had to first lift up the silicone and then remove the pop which was really easy to do.

Store between sheets of parchment paper in an air tight container. The flavor develops more if left for the next day. 

                                                         

 

As for adding the food color, I think the amount stated is too much.  I wanted blue lollipops for that red, white and blue effect so I added 1/4tsp of blue food coloring.

These were shaped a bit better

The pops were too dark, looking more like a dark green than blue  and they took on a funny taste even though I had made them the same way, only using a smaller pot. My son (33) said they tasted like cough syrup - yuk!!! 

Oh, and I ran out of sticks to make red lollipops.

For a more decorative look, you can wrap individually in plastic wrap or cellophane and seal with ribbon or twist ties and store in a cool, dry place.

To my surprise, these lollipops tasted better than a lot of hard candies. They have a subtle and intriguing flavor. One that I enjoyed sucking on. Lick, lick. Crunch, crunch!  Yummeeeeee!

                             The most sophisticated sucker ever!  

 Enjoy your Fourth!  I know I will!










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