Never Go Hungry Frittata: Backyard Chickens Save the Day
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It has been a little over two years since our family grew to include an average of five chickens. Having hens means there is always something to make for dinner. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought there was nothing to eat in the house and was able to pull something delicious together thanks to our eggs. Backyard chickens really do save the day–or at least dinner.
Occasionally I will have dough for a single pie crust (either homemade or store bought) in the freezer and will make a quiche, but I most often make a frittata or tortilla española. Both of those are simply different names (Italian and Spanish, respectively) for the same thing, which is essentially a crust-less quiche. Without the crust it is a little healthier and definitely faster, easier and potentially more affordable (especially if you buy the crust or crust dough.) We also do a lot of scrambles, but a frittata or tortilla just seem a little more “dinner.”
Between baby and work I don’t always make it to the grocery store before the fridge starts looking empty. This week was no exception so I picked a few veggies and herbs from the garden and collected a few more eggs. Zucchini goes particularly well with eggs. :)
I also found a few potatoes and snap peas in the fridge. I don’t have a picture of the frittata fully completed since a little Baby bird started getting cranky, but here it is nearly done:
Never-Go-Hungry Frittata Recipe
This is more of a template than a recipe. Feel free to improvise with the ingredients and make it your own!
Step 1: Pre-cook hard vegetables like potatoes or broccoli (boil, roast, etc.) Please also clean out your fridge of any already cooked leftovers. Oven roasted veggies are awesome, as is any leftover meat. This is a great use of a little meat that would be less than a full serving if eaten alone. (My husband finds it more substantial when I use potatoes.)
Step 2: Sauté aromatics, like onion, in a healthy amount of olive oil or coconut oil (it will also be keeping the egg from sticking) on medium heat. Season with salt and pepper. Add other veggies and cook until soft. (Options are endless, but try zucchini, mushrooms, garlic, bell pepper, kale and other greens…)
Step 3: Beat eggs with a fork vigorously until light and fluffy. Use at least 2-3 eggs per serving. You want to have enough eggs to cover all the filling that is in the pan. If you need to use more eggs than you will eat that night, do it. Leftover frittata is great. If you run out of eggs and need a little more volume, add in a little milk. Season with salt, pepper and spices and then pour into the pan. Turn the heat down to low.
Step 4: Finish by adding fresh herbs, tomatoes and cheese. (All I had was my truffled goat cheese. Cooking it essentially wasted the truffle salt. Adding any kind of heat takes away the flavor of truffles which is why they should be used only as a finisher. But, hey, I needed the cheese!)
Step 5: There are at least three options for cooking it all the way through:
Cover the pan with a lid and cook on super low heat until the top appears set.
If you have an oven proof pan (i.e. the handle is entirely metal and not covered in rubber) you can transfer it to the oven and broil a few minutes to cook the top.
If you are daring, try the Spanish method. Once the bottom half of the tortilla is cooked, take a large plate and flip the entire tortilla onto the plate and then slide it into the pan so that the other side is now down. Finish cooking until the center is done. (This is heavy and awkward for me personally, so I use one of the first two methods.)
Serve cut into wedges. Goes great with a green salad.
Notes:
If your zucchini grow a little too big, like ours often do, I recommend peeling them and cutting out the seeds at the core. The rest of the flesh will still be good.
Want to know a trick for fluffy eggs I learned in Spain? When I was an exchange student I watched the señora I lived with make tortillas like this: she tipped a bowl so that all the yolks drifted to one side. Then she beat the side with the whites with a fork vigorously until they were completely broken up. Next she incorporated one yolk at a time. Essentially, she beat the whites alone without going to the trouble of officially separating the eggs. I’ve done the same ever since.
Tips for cooking for baby:
Pediatricians recommend avoiding egg whites until baby is one year old. We have given her plenty of egg yolk since around 7 months but we still do not feed her whole eggs. I often reserve the filling just before pouring the eggs in. Potatoes, zucchini and other sauteed veggies make great homemade baby food! In our case this week I wasn’t fast enough. She was getting super tired and the only thing done was the boiled potatoes. Lucky for her she likes baby mashed potatoes….
And here it is:
Baby’s First Mashed Potatoes Recipe
Scrub organic potatoes until clean. Potatoes are a priority to buy (or grow) organic, even if you don’t normally do, since they are sponges for pesticides. Roughly chop and boil in water until they are fork tender. Drain and let cool. Pull off the skin. Mash them in a baby food mill, with a potato ricer, or with a fork. Add a good helping of breast milk until they are smooth and creamy.
Cauliflower is also yummy mashed, either alone or mixed with potatoes.
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Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Miramonte California
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Typically hatcheries online offer both standard breeds
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Baby Chickens Outside in
Miramonte, California
Quantity - you must order a certain number of chicks. Typically hatcheries
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choose to go with a hatchery you have to wait until they are ready to ship
and then wait for the chicks to arrive. Ordering baby chicks online in
Miramonte California is easy and has always been a very pleasant
experience of me. It can be a little frustrating waiting for the chicks
but it's so worth the wait. When the post office calls and you hear all
those little "cheeps" or "chirps" in the background you'll know the wait
was worth it! How to Care for your new baby chickens in Miramonte,
California Baby chicks are quite
charming as well as
challenging to stand up to,
yet it's finest to prepare for their
arrival prior to you get them. Prepare first
by collecting not just the
correct materials, but
additionally the appropriate
expertise to take care of
them. Raising baby chicks is relatively
easy, you merely should give them with the following: A tidy and also warm and comfortable
environment Plenty of food as well
as water Interest as well as
love Habitat Your habitat could be an easy box, fish tank,
cat carrier, or guinea
porker cage. Line it with old towels and
coverings (with no loosened
strings!) to begin, and after a few weeks make use of straw over paper.
Keep in mind: Avoid making use of only
paper or various other sandal
surface areas-- or your chicks legs can expand
misshapen. You likewise need
something to serve up food as well as
water in, such as a chicken feeder as well as water
dish from the feed shop, or a pickle jar
lid for food as well as a pet bird water dispenser from a family pet shop. Likewise, as the chicks age you can introduce a perch
right into the habitat to get them
trained on perching. Warmth To
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supply them with a warmth resource.
This can be as simple as a 100 watt
light bulb in a reflective clamp style light from an equipment store, or an infrared reptile heat
bulb likewise function extremely well (my
referral). Chicks require this
heat 24/7 until their downy fluff is
replaced with feathers (which can use
up to two months). The recently
hatched require a temperature level
in between 90 as well as 100 degrees,
as well as each week this can
be decreased by
approximately 5 levels or
so. The heat resource must get on merely one side of the cage
to enable chicks a variety of
temperature levels. The chicks are your ideal
thermostat- if they are concealing in the
opposite corner of your warmth
lamp, you have to
reduce the temperature. If
they are surrounding each various other under the
warmth (not merely snuggling),
you should add some warmth.
Home cleaning
Sanitation is essential and also it keeps your chicks healthy and
balanced. Make certain to transform
the bed linen
usually and
consistently supply tidy
food and also water Food and also water.
Chicks expand really quickly
which calls for a lot of tidy
food and also water. Offer
enough in any way times and also inspect
usually to
stop parched as well as
hungry chicks. Chick food is various compared
to adult chicken food, and also it comes
in both medicated as well as non-medicated varieties. Feed chick food for the
very first two months, after that
change to a grower food (~ 17 %
protein) for an additional 2 months,
and afterwards to a somewhat
reduced healthy protein feed or a level feed
(if you have levels). Dirt Some chicks want
to obtain a head start on taking
dust baths, while others won't occupy that activity till they are
older. If you have the area in your chick
unit, introduce a tray of sand or
filth for them to wash in.
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not escape as adults. Second, if you
analyze your chicks daily and also
watch their behavior, you could
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other undesirable
indications. Make certain to
also take a look at
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to matted feathers as well
as clogged cloaca.
Lastly, it is necessary to watch out for social concerns, such as the
smallest chick getting teased. Empty nest disorder So your
chicks are now totally feathered
and its time for them to leave the
safety of your house
and also relocate outside right into a cage. Have a look at our
part on chicken coops to find out
more
regarding cages and
proper cage habitats.
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