Archive | February, 2011

Weekend Company: Breakfast Frittata

By on February 7, 2011 in Recipes, Survival Guide for Busy Moms

Need an easy breakfast for surprise weekend company?  I do.

This hearty one-dish breakfast is so easy to make.

Toni’s Breakfast Frittata

Ingredients:

You can use any combination of the sausage, mushrooms and spinach below.

  1. Breakfast sausage- 1 lb
  2. Sliced mushrooms- 1 pint
  3. Spinach leaves- 1 small pre-cut ready to eat bag
  4. Eggs- 1 dozen, scrambled, or 1 large carton of Egg Beaters
  5. Shredded mozzarella cheese- a couple handfuls
  6. Tomatoes- 1 or 2, sliced
  7. Dried parsley for garnish

Cooking Instructions:

  1. In paella pan or any large skillet that can be transferred to the oven, cook sausage with a meat masher in a couple tablespoons oil until just beginning to brown
  2. Add mushrooms and saute with sausage until mushrooms are tender and sausage is completely brown
  3. Throw a handful or two of spinach leaves on top
  4. Sprinkle cheese on top of spinach
  5. Pour egg mixture over the top
  6. Lay sliced tomatoes on top of egg
  7. Sprinkle with dried parsley
  8. Heat oven to Broil
  9. Let egg cook until it begins to set; the sides will begin to firm, approximately 6 minutes
  10. Transfer to oven and Broil until top begins to brown, approximately 4 minutes
  11. Slice like pizza to serve

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Slummy Mummy

By on February 7, 2011 in Busy Mom Living The Dream

Last week for Groundhog Day I wrote about using organization as a tool to “Living The Dream” as a busy mom and what my life would look like if I lived each day as I dreamed.  What I forgot to consider when I wrote this is what I would look like in that vision.

For a decade I was a busy corporate gal; and with a career that entailed public relations duties, I had to dress the part.  While the weekends were reserved for a more relaxed au naturale look, I still kept it chic.

After the twins were born followed by my surprise baby (I say this in part because she was a wonderful surprise and also because she was born on my birthday, New Year’s Day), I, like many moms, barely had enough time to wash my face let alone throw on some makeup.  Now that the kids are older and in school I have no excuse.   But without a day full of meetings and clients I didn’t understand my motivation for taking the time to style myself.  I had the “go-to” sweats, ponytail, sunglasses…and yes, sometimes a baseball cap- the mom uniform (ugh).  I only dressed myself on days with scheduled events.  After all, who did I need to get all primped for, anyhow?  The answer to that question came after too much time passed where I was brushing past other moms at school with a quick “hi” and ducking out of Starbucks as quickly as possible.  I realized I was actually avoiding human contact!

On the days when my schedule demanded that I actually take the time to get myself ready, I felt better.  I chatted with friends, made eye contact and smiled more.  I looked better so I felt better.  I realized that the only person I needed to dress for in the morning was myself.  Now I’ve organized my schedule to choose outfits for the next day with mornings arranged for a few more minutes for myself.  So, if anyone out there is feeling a bit sluggish today, for goodness sake- put on some lip gloss!

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Reincarnated Chicken Parmesan

By on February 6, 2011 in Making Dinner

Remember those yummy Crunchy Chicken Tenders?

Toni's Crunchy Chicken Tenders

Reincarnate any leftovers into Chicken Parmesan.  Simply place chicken in casserole dish, cover with marinara sauce and shredded Parmesan cheese.  Bake on 350 degrees until hot, approximately 10 minutes.

Voila!  Chicken Parmesan.  Serve with pasta.  Enjoy.

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Photo Of The Week- My Archaeologist

By on February 6, 2011 in Eye Dream Gallery

I’ll never forget the day I received my camera.  From my home office I can see the entryway to our house and watched as the FedEx truck pulled up.  To say I was a novice at photography is an understatement; I had never even been interested in this hobby.  But now I figured it was a good idea to begin to do my own food photography.

Until now the most sophisticated camera I owned was a Kodak point-and-click.  I was nervous and a bit intimated when I opened the package and lens, especially when I realized that I didn’t even know how to attach or change the lens.  Thankfully, my oldest daughter had taken some photography classes and was able to run down the (very) basics with me.  That very same day I shot my Sparkling Cranberry Punch, and although the shots came out beautiful, it’s evident that I needed some more practice in setting my shutter speed.

I soon shot this impromptu piece when my youngest daughter, Brooke, decided to go on an archaeological dig in our courtyard looking for fossils and bugs.

I had no idea what lens to use, so I just guessed.

Halfway through this shoot I realized that I would never go back to a point-and-click camera again.  Thank you, Noelle, my friend and producer for doing the research and recommending the Canon T2i.

After a bit of work, Brooke did find her fossil.

And I found a new passion.

I understand technically, this photo has too much light; but creatively, that’s what I like about it.  It gives it a dream-like feeling.  Yes, I’m working on mastering the aperture!

And she found her bugs too (ugh).

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