Brinner... without syrup????

Brinner (breakfast for dinner) is such an awesome cushion when we've had one of those days that just hasn't allowed time to cook a meal. While Brinner typically involves syrup for us, I decided to bake up a little frittata action this week to satisfy our needs, accompanied by the beautiful green smoothie you see to the right. :) The frittata was a combination of recipes - I have one in my recipe box from my Mom that I used for the baking time, oven temp, cheese, and overall process; I also just got my Everyday Food magazine and it had several frittata recipes, which inspired the idea. And the green smoothie... per a friend's recommendation (thanks, atlanta!), I picked up some fresh kale instead of spinach last week. Well, wasn't I surprised! Kale is so much tougher than spinach, with thicker leaves, but it blends up beautifully in a smoothie. I actually think the taste is milder, as well, so we've been drinking kale all week!

Ham, Leek, and Potato Frittata

• Cut potato into small chunks (1-inch or smaller) - I used one large organic russet potato. Toss chunks in olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt, and bake until a nice crisp edge forms all around. I started the oven at 350°, then increased to 400°, and up again to 425°, finishing by turning the broiler on to really brown up the tops
• Chop 1 large organic leek and saute in olive oil
• Cut antibiotic-free ham into small pieces
• Mix together:
• 6 organic, cage-free eggs
• 1/2 C. organic cottage cheese - I tossed the cottage cheese in the blender first until it was smooth. I haven't blended cottage cheese before, but the girls have never been a huge fan of the texture. It blends up to an extremely creamy consistency
• 1/2 C. shredded cheese
• Salt and pepper
• Butter a 9-inch pie plate; cover bottom with pre-baked potato pieces, sauteed leeks, and chopped ham; pour egg mixture over the top
• Bake uncovered at 350° for 30 minutes

Kale Smoothie

• 2 C. fresh organic kale; chopped
• 1 fresh organic pear (without skin)
• 1/2 organic banana
• 1/2 C. organic yogurt
• Frozen organic blueberries and strawberries (the frozen fruits help smoothie-it up; without it blends to more of a juice consistency)
• Orange juice

Last night for dessert, I served a green milkshake. Yes, I am admitting right here that I placed kale in the dessert category. I know - seriously? Abby is an eating machine right now and after polishing off seconds at every meal, she looks up, tilts her head to the side, puts her hands up and says "Something else?". I made homemade vanilla ice cream over the weekend, so I tossed that in the blender with kale, OJ, and frozen fruit. Totally sounds like a dessert item, right? It was just the "something else" that Abby needed and, upon polishing off her portion, Elise inquired "vitamins in here?". Now how often can you answer "YES" to that question when you're talking about dessert??? Pat on the back, Momma. Pat on the back!