What We've Been Up To & A Recipe

It's hard to believe summer is coming to an end. I can remember back in May, when school was wrapping up, thinking that we would have a quite, relaxed summer! Well, it's been anything but quiet and relaxed, but believe me, that's a good thing!

We've stayed very busy and had LOTS.OF.FUN!

Last week, the kiddos wrapped up four weeks of gymnastics with their good friends Michael and Anna. The parents were allowed to "observe" the last day of class, and they sure put on a show for us!



Matt was out of town last weekend, so the kiddos and I enjoyed a few days at Dauphin Island. Here are Frances and Douggie post-nap...

We also enjoyed a birthday party at the Exploreum. They currently have a space exhibit, so Walker was very excited about all of the "space stuff!"

And in other news, we've got twins! Well, we don't, but the Momma Bird that's been nesting in my front porch fern sure does! She built her nest a while back and then several weeks ago she set up permanent roost there. Needless to say, I haven't been able to water it for fear of killing the baby birds. So, now I have a dead fern hanging on my porch. It's a small price to pay to look out the window and see her tending these two feathery babies (picture is blurry b/c I didn't want to get too close for fear of scaring her)....

And as promised, a recipe....

Zucchini and Onion Frittata

from myrecipes.com

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, cut in half and sliced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
8 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Garnish: chopped seeded plum tomatoes

Preparation
Melt butter with oil in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat; add zucchini and onion, and sauté 12 to 14 minutes or until onion is tender. Remove from heat, and stir in 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

Whisk together eggs and next 3 ingredients at least 1 minute or until well blended. Pour over vegetable mixture.

Bake at 350° for 13 to 15 minutes or until set; increase oven temperature to broil, and broil 5 1/2 inches from heat 1 to 2 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese and basil. Garnish, if desired.

Lauren's Variations

I only use about 2 T of butter and 1 T of olive oil. To use more is really unnecessary. I also like to bake mine in a 9x12 casserole dish. It does require cooking it longer, about 20-25 minutes depending on your oven, but it works out better for serving purposes. For example, we made this recently for a baby shower, and it was easier to cook and serve in a dish than putting a skillet on the food table! I also like to slice roma tomatoes and place on top with some extra parmesean cheese before I broil for the last few minutes!

Be creative--I really think this dish could be made with so many different ingredients. I'm anxious to try asparagus and feta, but the options are truly endless!