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I’m beginning to realize that breakfast is my love language.

Seriously – pour me a cup of coffee and dish out some eggs and you’ll have a piece of my heart.

Even though we don’t have chickens of our own (hopefully our municipality changes its chicken ordinance in the future), I love starting the morning off with an egg dish. Today began with a frittata, of sorts.

Frittatas are Italian egg dishes filled with meats, cheeses, and vegetables. Traditionally, these dishes begin by cooking your fillings in a skillet on the stove, top with eggs and cook for a minute or two, and then move your frittata off the stove and into the oven to bake completely. Seeing as I don’t own a cast iron skillet – or any oven safe skillet, for that matter – I decided to modify the traditional methodology to work with what I had.

All I needed was a regular ‘ol nonstick skillet and a fitted lid. So much easier, and all I needed was my stove top!

From the piece of my heart dedicated to breakfast, I present for your breakfast delight: spinach, cheddar, and bacon frittata, of sorts.

Begin by whisking up your eggs and pouring them into skillet. As your eggs begin to set on the bottom, add your fresh spinach and cooked bacon. Cover the skillet with a fitted lid and watch as your delicious breakfast magically cooks before your eyes. Once your egg is cooked all the way through and the top center is set, add freshly shredded sharp white cheddar cheese to the top of your masterpiece. Recover with the fitted lid for a minute or two to make sure the cheese is nice and melted.

There you have it – the easiest frittata ever!

I can’t wait to make this again with new ingredients: asparagus, squash, artichoke, peppers, ham, sausage – the possibilities are endless!  

Until next time, may your heart and your breakfast table be full!

A Frittata for Two:

• 5 eggs, whisked
• 1 splash of milk
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• 5 pieces bacon, cooked
• ½ cup shredded white cheddar cheese

1. Grease your nonstick skillet and place on medium-high heat.
2. Toss your spinach into the skillet and allow to cook. Once slightly wilted, whisk together eggs and milk; pour into skillet.
3. Allow eggs to cook until the edges start to bubble, indicating that the bottom of your eggs are beginning to set.
4. Add cooked bacon to your spinach and eggs. Cover skillet with a fitted lid.
5. Cook until the center of eggs are firm.
6. When eggs are set, remove from heat and sprinkle shredded cheese on top of your frittata. Recover with lid and allow cheese to melt.
7. Serve with a cup of coffee and enjoy your breakfast!

 

The homestead way has always placed emphasis on preparing and utilizing the entirety of whatever plants or animals the good Lord has blessed you with.  One way our family lives this out is with some good ol’ fashioned bone broth.

If there’s anything everyone needs to have in their kitchen at all times – besides a working coffee pot – it’s a stockpile of homemade bone broth.

Bone broth is the backbone (pun intended) of homestead cooking. This broth is the essential ingredient for making soups, sauces, cooking grains, and making comfort foods. True bone broth is made from collecting leftover bones and small amounts of meat and slowly simmering them overnight. The results are a delicious and nutritious broth.

By slowly simmering the bones overnight, you are able to create a broth that’s rich in protein, gelatin, which supports digestive health and healthy skin, and calcium. Also, it tastes delicious and isn’t chock full of sodium, like the store bought broth alternatives. The best part? Anyone can make bone broth. All you need are chicken bones, vegetables, water, and a large stock or crockpot.

The first – and most difficult – step: cook and enjoy eating a whole chicken. I know, torture, right? How horrible it will be to fill your house with the scent of baking chicken and then enjoy that fall off the bone, melt in your mouth goodness.

Once you’ve enjoyed a hearty dinner, collect your leftover chicken bones and scraps and throw them into the cooking pot of your choice. We typically simmer our bone broth overnight, so a crockpot is ideal – no one wants to leave the stove on all night long. Although, if you’ve feasted on your fresh chicken for Sunday luncheon, then by all means, use your large stockpot and cook on medium heat for a couple hours.

Bones in? Good. Now for the vegetables! We’re using the harvest, baby! Slice up your carrots, celery, and onion and toss them in.

Top off your bones and vegetables with water, a bay leave, and a dash of parsley. Now you’re all set to simmer away and wake up to the best smelling kitchen you’ve ever smelled before – you know, except for the smell of your first brew of coffee. Or brown sugar rising in your homemade wheat bread. Okay, I guess there is more than one way to fill your kitchen with sweet aromas. A homestead kitchen is a little piece of heaven on earth, y’all.

With your nose leading the way, you stumble toward the kitchen after a peaceful night’s rest. Peaceful meaning your baby only woke up twice for late night snacks – And behold! The ordinary kitchen scraps from last night’s delicious dinner has become a magical bone broth.

Take a few moments to lift off your pot’s lid and breath in deep. That’s the smell of sustenance. Strain out the bones, vegetables, and herbs and you’re left with the only broth you’ll ever need.

(Bonus – you can throw your cooked down carrots and celery into your backyard compost – food for you and your plants!)

The broth is best stored frozen. Grab your extra mason jars or plastic tupperware and fill, leaving an inch at the top for the broth to expand when frozen. Keep the jars in your freezer until you’re ready to prepare you next delicious homemade meal.

What you need:

• Bones from a whole chicken
• Carrots (2-3, chopped)
• Celery (3-4 stalks, chopped)
• Onion (½ an onion, keep in rings)
• Bay leaf
• Parsley

Fill crockpot with ingredients above. Cover all ingredients with water – fill just up to the top of your crockpot. Turn on “keep warm” and let simmer overnight (8+ hours). Strain out bones and vegetables. Fill mason jars with broth, leaving an inch of headspace. Freeze. Take your cooked down carrots and celery and throw in the compost bin.

And may this bone broth fill your hearts – and your bellies.