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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Chicks Information in
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Feeding Baby Quail Chicks in
Menahga, Minnesota
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Menahga Minnesota
catalog is a yearly traditions in many houses. My kids and I eagerly await
the Murray McMurray Hatchery catalog. We love looking at all the cool and
different chicken breeds available. Catalogs are free so head on over to
their site and request one if you are interested.
Typically hatcheries online offer both standard breeds
and bantams. Bantams are fun hardy little chickens, they lay tiny eggs
that kids especially love collecting. Bantams typically weigh less than 2
pounds when full grown. Just like ordering anything online there are pros
and cons to ordering baby chicks online. Pros of buying baby chicks in
Menahga Minnesota * Big Selection - If you are wanting a large
variety of different chicken breeds and egg colors, you will find the best
selection at an online hatchery. * Both Bantams and full sized chickens
available * You get to choose what sex you want. If you want a mixture of
both male and female then choosing a "straight run" will save you money
and you will get a mixture of male and female chicks. You can also choose
all males or all females too. * Weekly specials. Hatcheries have sales on
chicks, you are likely to get a good deal if you are flexible with the
breeds you are wanting. Cons of buying baby chicks in Menahga
Minnesota * Order early to get the best selection. Certain breeds sell
out fast, sometimes as early as 6 months in advance of shipping! If you
are wanting a certain breed it's best to order your chicks in the fall
before their orders sell out.
Baby Chickens Breeds in
Menahga, Minnesota
Quantity - you must order a certain number of chicks. Typically hatcheries
will require you buy a minimum of 25 chicks at a time. The number is
necessary for the chicks survival during shipping. All 25 chicks are put
in one small box without heat. They are crowded in the box and produce
enough body heat to arrive in good shape. * The wait - If you choose to
buy chicks from a feed store you will have them the same day but if you
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
Menahga Minnesota 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 Menahga,
Minnesota Baby chicks are very
cute as well as
challenging to resist,
however it's finest to prepare for their
arrival prior to you get them. Prepare first
by gathering not only the
right materials, but
additionally the proper
knowledge to take care of
them. Raising baby chicks is fairly
simple, you just need
to provide them with the following: A tidy and warm
habitat Plenty of food and water Focus and
love Habitat Your habitat can be a basic box, fish tank,
pet cat provider, or guinea
pig cage. Line it with old towels and also
coverings (with no loose
strings!) to start, and after a
couple of weeks utilize straw over newspaper.
Note: Avoid utilizing only
paper or other sandal
surface areas-- or your chicks legs can grow
misshapen. You also need
something to serve up food and
water in, such as a chicken feeder and water
dish from the feed store, or a pickle container
cover for food as well as a pet bird water dispenser from a family pet store. Additionally, as the chicks grow older you can introduce a perch
into the environment to get them
educated on perching. Warmth To
keep your chicks warm you have to
give them with a heat resource.
This can be as straightforward as a 100 watt
light bulb in a reflective clamp style lamp from a
hardware store, or an infrared reptile warmth
bulb also function extremely well (my
referral). Chicks need this
heat 24/7 till their downy fluff is
replaced with plumes (which could use
up to two months). The newly
hatched out need a temperature
in between 90 as well as 100 degrees,
and each week this can
be lowered by
roughly 5 levels or
so. The warmth source should get on merely one side of the cage
to allow chicks a range of
temperature levels. The chicks are your finest
thermostat- if they are hiding in the
contrary edge of your heat
lamp, you should
minimize the temperature level. If
they are smothering each other under the
heat (not merely snuggling),
you should include some heat.
Housekeeping
Tidiness is key as
well as it maintains your chicks healthy and
balanced. Make certain to transform
the bed linens
often and also
consistently provide tidy
food as well as water Food and also water.
Chicks expand extremely quick
which needs a lot of tidy
food as well as water. Supply
enough in any way times and examine
frequently to
stop parched and
starving chicks. Chick food is different than grown-up chicken food, and it can be found in both medicated and non-medicated ranges. Feed chick food for the
initial 2 months, then
switch over to a raiser food (~ 17 %
protein) for one more 2 months,
and after that to a somewhat
lower healthy protein feed or a level feed
(if you have levels). Soil Some chicks like to obtain a running start on taking
dust baths, while others will not use up that task up until they are
older. If you have the room in your chick
enclosure, present a tray of sand or
filth for them to bathe in.
Focus and also love There are a couple of advantages to spending time with your chicks. Firstly, they will most
likely bond with you and
not flee as adults. Second, if you
examine your chicks daily and also
watch their habits, you could
catch disease or other troubles previously. Keep an
eye out for wheezing, hopping, or
other undesirable
indications. Be sure to
additionally take a look at
their poop, as looseness of the bowels could result in matted plumes and also blocked cloaca.
Last but not least, it is very
important to look out
for social problems, such as the
tiniest chick getting badgered. Vacant nest syndrome So your
chicks are currently totally feathery
as well as its time for them to leave the
safety of your house
and relocate outside right into a
coop. Check out our
part on chicken cages to find out
more
concerning cages and
proper coop environments.
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