Breakfast for Dinner

I was looking in the fridge last night for dinner.  We went out of town for the weekend- and have yet to hit the grocery store...here is my story:

So... what's in the fridge that I can conjure up into a fabulous meal???
Let's see- we have eggs, 7...and goat cheese...some spinach- half a sweet onion...garlic...yes- I see where this is going...and some deli salami...hummmm- can you say frittata??? But I don't want to make a plain boring frittata...plus my kids take one look at a regular size frittata and turn and run- so I am going to make mini's...like cupcakes but all savory and hearty goodness! How hard can it be???

So- I took my standard recipe- (I mixed together a few recipes that I have tried over the years and kinda made my own favorite) and added hard salami, about 8 deli slices-chopped
half a tomato-chopped
spinach and my 7 eggs...oh and I threw in a little serving of mashed potatoes from the night before...it actually made them fluffy and a little less egg-y, which is good for the kids!

Ok- Sorry- I should probably do the main recipe in full huh...might be helpful!
So we have onions, garlic, salami, spinach, seasonings..add one at a time to skillet and cook accordingly until spinach is cooked! Let cool for a minute. You are going to add this to the eggs in a bit.

Whisk the eggs with tomatoes(and if you have any left over mashed potatoes- I whisked them here with the eggs)...pinch of salt and pepper (one thing I learned watching Top Chef is you can never forget salt/pepper- or Tom Colicchio might bust in a give me a scolding) add the cooked ingredients to the eggs...pour half into a greased muffin tin (I used cooking spray- but if you want to be really naughty you could use butter) then put a blop of goat cheese...or two- depends how much u like the stuff...then top with remaining egg mixture and top off with goat cheese again...we like the stuff!
***I did do a few minus goat cheese- instead added some mozzarella- kids choice***

I tried the oven at 350 for 20 minutes- but they were not browned up enough...so total cook time about  30 minutes till brown and scrumptious! Holy Cow- what a great dinner!!! My husband even packed the remaining 3 for lunch today at work! Excellent!!!
(ps- this made 12 cupcake frittatas)

Happy Breakfast for Dinner!!!

Best Chocolate Cupcakes ever!

That's right. I have found my keeper recipe for chocolate cupcakes. My husband is a chocolate purist. He believes the best and only way to eat chocolate anything is just straight up...no mixed in ingredients, no funny stuff as he calls it. So if you are looking for a purely delicious dark chocolate cupcake- look no further...this is IT! I found this recipe on the cupcake project. (recipe reprinted from her site below) It was called the "Better than Sex Cupcake" but my kids will know it as the Super Dooper Dark Chocolate Cupcake! A little easier to explain I think!

Cupcake with Chocolate Chips Recipe:

This recipe will make flat cupcakes, not rounded ones. Do not try to overfill your cupcake liner.  I only filled mine about 1/2 way.

Makes 16 regular cupcakes.

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
• 1-1/4 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoons vanilla
• 2/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Beat butter until softened. 
2. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined. 
4. Measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a small sized bowl and whisk to combine.
5. Measure out the milk and vanilla and stir to combine.
6. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk/vanilla and beat to combine. 
7. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry. 
8. Stir in chocolate chips.
9. Scoop batter into cupcake cups about 1/2 full.
10. Bake at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. 

 Here is the batter- the kids were so patient...but if I had blinked too long I'm sure some little fingers would have been in that bowl!

fresh from the oven- cooling while I make the ganache

Dark Chocolate Ganache:
4 oz dark chocolate
1/3 cup heavy cream plus a splash
-melt chocolate (I did mine in the microwave) then add the heavy cream and mix.
I used a spoon and just smeared the ganache over the tops of the cupcakes- it will harden up as it cools.

....and TADA....magnificent!

I plan on testing this baby out a few more times, but with added "funny stuff" I have a Dutch seasoning my Mom sent me for speculaas cookies that has cinnamon and cloves, cardamon, ginger...well you get the idea- it's loaded with yummy baking prospects. That will be my next round- or maybe chocolate/orange for Tina...the possibilities are endless I think!
Cheers!