Donuts!

Mini and regular sized baked donuts - oh boy!!  The chocolate ones are regular sized, the pastels are mini.  They turned out pretty freaking chewy (boo), but the taste was good.  The ones with chocolate glaze were AH-MAZING.  I can't wait to try other flavors and frostings and stuff.  You can pick up the pans (below) online or even at Mollie Stones, which is where I found my mini pan and saved myself the shipping (and waiting, which I hate).

See the difference between the top of the donut (pale) and the bottom (super bronzed)?  Also, you can see that the one mini guy over on the lower left looks a bit like a little bundt - that's him upside down, and that's his brother right side up, above him.

I followed the recipe that comes on the pan (though of course there are others, even by King Arthur!) - the one on the larger sized pan was perfect to make one batch of large (6) and two batches of tinys (24).  They're a bit tricky though.  The big ones looked great, but were BROWN on the bottom and white on top.  If I wasn't frosting with chocolate that may have looked odd.  And the little guys puff up like little round topped muffins with holes in the middle or get weird ridges around the side if you're not careful.
I used nonstick on one batch of my tiny guys, and I thought those ones actually turned out worse than when I didn't use the spray.  On the non-sprayed pans, I just used a couple of toothpicks to pluck the donuts out of the pans while they were still warm - worked perfectly for me.

Donuts
2 cups of cake flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar (I used vanilla sugar, but don't know that the flavor really showed up in the finished product)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
3/4 c buttermilk (I was out and had to do the milk + lemon juice trick)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp melted butter

Preaheat oven to 425.  Spray pan with nonstick cooking spray (if you want).
In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and salt.  Add buttermilk, eggs and butter.  Beat until just combined.  Fill each large cup about 2/3 full.  Fill the minis about half full.
Bake the bigguns for 7-9 minutes or until the tops spring back when touched.  Bake the littleuns for 4-6 minutes or til the same.
Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes, or just go for it as I did.  If your donuts are sticking, let them cool a bit.

You can sub out the nutmeg for some grated lemon zest, and I imagine about a jillion other options to flavor the donuts as you like.  Once these were cooled, they did taste just like the good old cake donuts we know and love, if a bit chewy.

Variations and Frostings
Cinnamon Sugar:
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 tbsp melted butter
In a shallow bowl or plate, stir together cinnamon and sugar.  Dip the donuts in the melted butter and roll in the cinnamon/sugar mix to coat.

Chocolate Glaze:
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp butter or margarine
1 tbsp corn syrup (I only had honey and it worked a treat, though I'm guessing it didn't solidify quite as it would've had I used corn syrup)
1 tsp hot water
In a medium bowl, nuke the chips, butter & corn syrup on 50% power at 30 second increments, stirring in between until everything is completely melted.  Stir in 1 tsp hot water til the glaze is thick and smooth - add another tsp if it's too thick.  Use immediately.

Powdered Sugar:
Put 2/3 cup of powdered/confectioner's sugar in a resealable plastic bag.  Add a donut to the bag and shake the heck out of it to coat.  Don't breathe in or sneeze while eating.

Vanilla Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk (I needed to add more)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (or whatever flavor you want - almond, rum, imitation banana. . . have at it)
In a small bowl, stir together sugar, milk & vanilla (or other flavor) until sugar is dissolved.  Use immediately.

And as if that wasn't all bad enough, you can make your own custom colored sprinkles!  I can see myself getting WAY too carried away with this. . . . 

    

 

Hash Brown Quiche

Paula Deen had to take my hashbrown casserole and up the ante with a hash brown quiche.  While I got four thumbs up from my brunch guests, Paula has nearly 300 for this recipe.  What a show off.
This can also be scaled up into larger casserole dishes for larger groups, and the ingredients can be subbed out for just about any others you want to try. I agree with one reviewer though, in that I will cut WAY back on the butter - starting with maybe a quarter stick rather than a half. 
This can easily be served for any meal, not just breakfast or brunch.


Hash Brown Quiche
3 cups, shredded frozen hash browns, thawed and drained
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup half-and-half
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
1/2 cup diced green onions
1 cup shredded Cheddar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Gently press the drained hash browns between paper towels to dry them as best as possible. In a 9-inch pie plate, toss the hash browns with the melted butter into the plate. Press them into the bottom and up the sides to form a crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and starting to crisp.
Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. When the hash brown crust is ready pour the egg mixture over it and return to the oven.
Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for about 30 minutes until the quiche is light golden brown on top and puffed.

Hash Brown Casserole

It was at a diner in. . . .Florida maybe?, where I had a life altering breakfast.  You know the type - you take a bite and think, "OMFG, why doesn't EVERYONE serve this EVERYWHERE?!"  It was basically all my brekkie favorites - eggs, cheese, meat and hashbrowns - cooked into a casserole dish.  Soft, ooey, gooey, flavorful HEAVEN.
I've only dreamed of it for oh, four years or so and have yet to try to make it on my own.  Between Paula Deen (my arteries slammed shut just thinking of what her version would be like), Cooks.com, and everywhere else  you can find a recipe, you're sure to find some variation (bacon!  sausage!  ham!  potato chips?!) you'll be dying to try.  I'm tempted to give it a whirl now because I just had my step grandmother's amazing scrambled egg Christmas morning casserole and thought I could try out the hashbrown version for a hungover January 1st.

Breakfast Casserole
3 cups of potatoes O'Brien, thawed  (you can use the cubed type hash browns if you can't find O'Briens)
1/2 cup milk - I used heavy whipping cream because I had it and also because wow, but I wouldn't normally!
5 eggs
1/3 cup chopped onion (use 1/2 cup if you're not using O'Briens)
1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese (I have a swiss and Gruyere mixture ready to go, but use your fave)
sliced ham, cooked & crumbled bacon, or cooked & crumbled sausage
breadcrumbs
salt & pepper

Beat the eggs and milk and season with salt & pepper (feel free to try paprika, onion or garlic powder, or celery salt here as well).  Stir in onions, 1 cup of cheese and the ham or sausage (the bacon I'd keep to crumble on top so it stays crispy, but you could stir it in if you'd prefer).
Put the hash browns into a baking or pie dish and pour the egg mixture over the top.
Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and put into oven.  Turn heat on to 350 and allow to cook for 35 minutes or until set.  About five minutes before it's done, add the bread crumbs and bacon to make a nice crispy crust.

Puffcakes

I'm gonna have to go ahead and name these puffcakes.  Although puffins is cute too.
Mini Maple Chocolate Chip Pancake Muffins
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 egg
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. Sift together with a wire whisk.
• In another bowl, stir buttermilk, egg, maple syrup and melted butter until just combined.
• Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir with a spoon until combined.
• Stir in chocolate chips.
• Spoon into muffin tins, either minis or regular - no need to spray them if they're nonstick.  The butter in the batter will keep them stick free.  We did spray ours and they ended up a little bit greasy.
• Bake for 8-9 minutes for mini muffin pan, or 10-12 minutes for regular muffin pan.
• Makes 24 minis or 9 regulars sized muffins.

Let cool slightly and remove from the pan. You may need to use a toothpick around the edges to separate the pancake muffins from the pan.
Serve immediately with more maple syrup for dunking.

Sticky Buns

The other day I almost made cinnamon rolls for breakfast. The recipe looked fab, and got rave reviews from the food network community, plus it seemed pretty easy. Until I saw Ina do this. Holla!

Easy Sticky Buns
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup pecans, chopped in very large pieces
1 package (17.3-ounces/ 2-sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted nocoupons
Filling:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the 12 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute the pecans evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture.

Lightly flour a wooden board or stone surface. Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with the melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of the raisins. Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down. Trim the ends of the roll about 1/2-inch and discard. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make 12 sticky buns.

Bake for 30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Be careful - they're hot! Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, invert the buns onto the parchment paper (ease the filling and pecans out onto the buns with a spoon) and cool completely.

Loving the latest Food Network Star

I caught the premiere of Melissa D'Arabian's new show on the Food Network this weekend and it was tasty.
She thinks she can help me make Ten Dollar Dinners and WE WILL SEE ABOUT THAT MS. D'ARABIAN. Who do you think you are? Sandra Lee? (who by the way you guys has made it clear to me that I can only have you over for brunch or breakfast type foods because omg, she made a multicourse meal for 4 for a few bucks per person, versus the $30 I'm usually spending BECAUSE I LOVE MY FRIENDS).
In any case, chairs on tables and cocktail time aside; Melissa's French bistro menu looked omg so good and not South Beachy. Wait, the salad was South Beachy. The torte, not even a little bit. Seems I'm not the only fan because her first show was on Sunday and her recipe already has almost 300 reviews with a four star rating overall. That spells delicious in my book. The dressing she uses on the green salad is a great basic vinaigrette and I can't wait to try it out - the addition of soy sounds fun (again, not alone here; nearly 100 reviews with a FIVE STAR rating). Plus, her little granita could not be easier to make, just don't forget it's in there until it's a solid brick like someone may have done when she made granita with her leftover popsicle fixins.

Now that I'm dying for potatoes and thyme cream and gruyere and flakey, delicious pastry, I'm wondering if there are any South Beach options that come anywhere near this. I'm going to guess no, but a search for "South Beach torte" brings up a few options anyway.

Flourless Chocolate Orange Torte - I am so wary of the SB desserts that I say you are on your own if you try this; but please let me know how it turns out
Asparagus Shallot and Spinach Torte - now we're getting somewhere. . . . I'm a little afraid of the crust and I'm thinking you might be better off buying something ready made from a low-carb outlet like the Brazilian Cheese Bread Company, or maybe using the Carbquick.
More desserty options here that use beans as the base. Um. ?
This one here is just for my mom, even though she doesn't really read my blog. Rude.

All in all, I think if I want that delicious salty, creamy, potatoey torte, I'm just going to have to go for it and you'd better believe I will enjoy every second of it. Until then, maybe I can satisfy my craving with SB Pot Pie?

Blueberry Banana Muffins

Something you should know about me: I love blueberries. Like, an insane amount.
BUT! Sometimes blueberries themselves kind of suck. I suppose it's seasonal and berry specific. Sometimes I prefer the smell and taste of blueberry "flavor" whatever that is. And the color. I definitely like the color.
Right now though? Blueberries are freaking awesome and you'd be a fool not to take advantage. I think I see another farmer's market and a few punnets of blueberries in my very near future. Keep an eye out on my desk at work for baked goods. Even Sprinkles tried to get in on the action with lemon blueberry cupcakes. And this is the second recipe they've clearly stolen from my blog which is full of recipes I steal from all over, but that is entirely beside the point.

I'm not the only one in blueberry mode it seems; SELF Magazine just sent me this scrummy sounding little tidbit:

Makes 6 muffins (ie, you might want to triple the recipe)

Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 large egg
2 tablespoons fat-free sour cream
2 tablespoons lowfat buttermilk
1/2 cup oat bran
1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 3 medium)
2 tablespoons brown sugar (or brown sugar substitute - keep in mind that the substitute requires half the amount as regular, so this would be 1 tbsp of substitute)
1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen, unsweetened * note to reader; frozen? Now? Be serious. Do NOT use frozen fruit right now. If you're reading this in December though, please feel free.*
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest (optional) *note to self; get a zester! *

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a standard muffin pan with cooking spray. Whisk egg, sour cream and buttermilk in a bowl. Mix oat bran, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a second bowl. Combine banana and sugar in a third bowl. Stir in buttermilk mixture. Sprinkle in flour mixture and stir gently. Fold in blueberries and zest, if desired. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full with batter. Bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes.

Plus? Get a load of THIS (this is with regular sugar, with substitute it'll be even lower)!!

130 calories per muffin
1.8 g fat (0.5 g saturated)
29 g carbs
3.8 g fiber
4.4 g protein

Thank me later. I think I might make these tonight. They're like, way SB friendly.

** Delicious Update:
OMG SO GOOD. I doubled the recipe and ended up with 20 muffins, not 12 as one might expect from the whole "makes 6" nonsense.
Also, I used the silicone cups for my first twelve, and paper for the rest. The muffins do stick to the paper quite a bit, so you might want to use foil or just spray your muffin pan.

** Soggy Update:
Eat them within a day or two of baking - they spew moisture out into their container (plastic bag, tupperware, whatever) and get a bit soggy, and actually, a little bitter somehow. Weird. So yes, eat them quickly.

Zucchini Bread French Toast

Take your zucchini bread and slice it thinly - 1/4" or so.
Mix up a standard french toast batter - for 12 thin slices of zuke bread, I used 3 eggs, 1/4 c ff half and half and a tsp of vanilla. You can add cinnamon as well if you like.
Quickly dunk the slices of zuke bread into the batter, coating both sides, and cook over med-hi in your "attempt at healthy" butter flavored spray/Pam, or butter if all pretenses of health are out the window.
Keep warm in the oven until all slices are cooked.

Serve with your preference - maple syrup, vanilla cream, or what we used - Mitchell's Black Walnut ice cream. Yum.

Yet another frittata

My mom was kind enough to drive me all the way home rather than shoving me onto BART as she could've done. To thank her, I told her I'd make her some brunch. Well, what do you know, but I decided to do a frittata. Can't imagine why. I know we were calling those others quiches, but lets call a spade a spade. Without a crust, it's a frittata.
In any case, I have all my delicious South Beachy ingredients hanging out, hoping to be used before I leave for two weeks and they all spoil. Mom doesn't do mushrooms so those were out, but I had plenty of other produce hanging around. . . Perfect for a whatever frittata.

Whatever Frittata
1 tbsp olive oil
1/3 of a bunch of asparagus
1/2 medium Vidalia onion
two tomatoes
5 eggs
1/4 cup fat free milk
s&p
1 tsp sriracha
2 tbsp basil
1/4 cup shredded low fat cheese







I steamed the asparagus for a few minutes until it was just fork tender.
In the meantime, I pulled out my trusty cast iron skillet and sauteed the onions in the olive oil until soft and browned (though I think I should've gone all the way and caramelized them. I also think I'd use the whole onion next time as you couldn't actually taste onion in the finished dish).
Beat the eggs with the milk, and salt and pepper.
I cut one tomato into slices for the top of the fritatta and seeded & diced one for the filling. Once the asparagus was done, I cut it into bite sized pieces. I threw the tomatoes and asparagus in with the sauteeing onions to cook some of the liquid out, and added the Sriracha.
Then I poured the egg mixture over the veggies, gave it a quick stir to distribute everything and let it cook a bit on the stove top until the edges were beginning to set.
I popped it into a 350 oven and cooked it for 10-15 minutes, then pulled it out and sprinkled the top with cheese. Back in for 5 minutes to melt the cheese and finish cooking through.
I took it out and sprinkled the basil on top and let it sit for a few minutes to set up and cool down.
Then I cut it into quarters and we dove in, leaving a piece for each of us to have for breakfast tomorrow.

I'd like to tweak it a bit as there just wasn't enough depth of flavor for me. I mean, cooking it in butter would've been awesome, but I'm not cooking it in butter, so I have to come up with something else. I think upping the onions and making sure they're nice and darkly caramelized could help. Also, the addition of lean ham would've been a nice touch. I need to be sure to have some yummy Morningstar sausages on hand too as they would've been a fantastic complement.

Quiche crazy!

As I was looking for the real recipe for those little South Beach quiches, I stumbled across a forum where Ami from Ohio unleashed on the quiche. She had several good suggestions that I'd like to try out. I have tweaked them a little to my own tastes, but you can check the forum for the originals if you don't trust me as much as you trust Ami. She IS from Ohio after all.

Bacon Cheeseburger Quiche - Phase 1
(She adapted this one from lowcarbluxury.com)

1 lb. very lean hamburger or ground turkey
1 small chopped onion
4 slices crisp-cooked turkey bacon
3 eggs
1/2 cup fat free half-n-half
8 oz. low-fat shredded Cheddar or Swiss cheese
garlic powder to taste (optional)
pepper
(Ami's recipe called for mayo which I took right the hell out. I haven't made these yet to see if I need to sub the mayo with something else, but I usually go with plain yogurt that I've drained the excess moisture out of; I'd guess 1/4 cup would be sufficient)

Brown hamburger in skillet with onion.
Remove and mix in bowl with bacon pieces, breaking up any larger clumps with a fork or pastry
mixer until you have a fine mix. Drain well of any excess grease and press into the bottom of a deep-dish pie pan. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Combine remaining ingredients in mixer bowl and whip well.
Pour mixture over beef "crust" and bake 40-45 minutes until top is browned and "set".
Cool 15-20 minutes before slicing.
This can be packaged in Ziplocs or plastic containers for quick reheatable meals over the next 3-5 days though it does not freeze well.

===========
Mini Frittatas with Ham and Cheese
Source: (c) Cooking Light Magazine
8 servings (serving size: 3 frittatas)
Bake these bite-sized frittatas in a muffin pan. They taste great hot or at room temperature, so you can make them in advance.

Cooking spray
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
2/3 cup reduced-fat ham (about 2 ounces), chopped
1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat extra-sharp cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
4 large egg whites
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add ham; sauté 3 minutes. Remove from heat; cool 5 minutes. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Add ham mixture, stirring with a whisk. Spoon mixture into 24 miniature muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until set.

Nutrition Facts
8 servings (serving size: 3 frittatas)
Facts per Serving
Calories: 39
Fat: 1g
Carbohydrates: 2g
Cholesterol: 32mg
Sodium: 121mg
Protein: 4g
Fiber: 0g

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Spinach and Feta Quiche (mmm, Spanikopita-y)
10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed and very well drained
1/2 c onions, diced
1/4 eggbeaters OR 1 egg
1/2 c fat free Half and Half
6 oz low fat crumbled feta cheese
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp minced garlic

Place spinach in greased pie plate. Beat eggbeaters. Mix in cheese, half and half, and seasonings. Pour over spinach in pie plate.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Eat 1/4 for breakfast each morning.

South Beach

Follow me along as I South Beach my life, won't you?
Most of the recipes in these books are fantastic (except the desserts - don't go there) and even when I'm not "following" the diet, I tend to grab a lot of inspiration from them.
As I struggle through Phase 1 there are some definite misses. Again, with the desserts - don't bother with those ricotta things. They are so gritty and weird. I mean if you absolutely have to have something sweet and that's what you think you need to do, okay, but don't say I didn't warn you.
I made these little quiche cups the other night to take into work with me for breakfast and to keep in the freezer for quick and easy reheatable breakfasts at home. They're good, though I modified the standard recipe a bit, but the problem is they stick to the paper like the two have become one. To eat them, you fold them back in the middle and scrape your teeth all over the paper like a sea turtle scraping algae off rocks. Not surprisingly, I'd prefer not to do that next time, though I still have 8 mini quiches to get through before there is a next time.
I can't decide if I'd rather just spray the hell out of the muffin tins with Pam, or bake them in one large dish and cut them up into smaller pieces. In any case, if this is a recipe you're trying, that's my suggestion.

This makes 12 mini quiches, which is 6 servings.

1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach
4 eggs
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat cheese
1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup diced onion (I probably used more than 1/4 cup, I used half of a small onion)
Sriracha to taste preference, I used a couple of teaspoons and can't really taste it or feel the heat

Microwave the spinach for 2 1/2 minutes on high to thaw it. Drain the excess liquid.
Line a 12-cup muffin pan with foil baking cups (NOT PAPER!) and spray the cups with cooking spray. You can also try cooking this in one large dish. I hear that a loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray should take 30-35 minutes at 350, and then the loaf can be sliced into 8 slices. Each slice is the equivalent of 2 1/2 of the little guys (rather than the serving size of 2), so keep that in mind.

Combine the eggs, cheese, peppers, onions,spinach & Sriracha in a bowl. I set some of the cheese aside to sprinkle on top.
Mix well. Divide evenly among the muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

• Quiche cups can be frozen and reheated in the microwave. Any combination of appropriate vegetables and reduced-fat cheeses may be used.

Zucchini Bread

While we're talking zukes, who doesn't freak out over a scrumptious slice of zucchini bread? No one I know!!! Well, once you've convinced them to try it if they're all veggie averse. Next experiment might be a recipe for white cupcakes that's been healthified by using zucchini to moisten the batter rather than oil. Even I am skeptical, but I'm willing to give it a shot.

Zucchini Bread
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar
2-3 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F ( 165 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8x4 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and frothy. Mix in oil and sugar. Stir in zucchini and vanilla. Combine flour, cinnamon, soda, baking powder, salt and nuts; stir into the egg mixture. Divide batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until done.

To healthify this one or just jazz it up, you can do the old applesauce (oooh, or cinnamon applesauce!) in place of oil trick (I'd only do half though - if you try to go with NO oil you won't be that pleased with your results), and try adding other favorite dried fruits or coconut, additional spices like nutmeg, and even chocolate chips. Mention of streusel topping ran rampant on the review boards, but since I'd be trying to go healthy with this, I'd personally skip it.
Many of the reviewers on Allrecipes suggest using more zucchini than is originally called for - up to as much as a full extra cup in fact.
A vegan chimed in as well, suggesting substituting 3/4 cup of applesauce for the 3 eggs and using whole wheat pastry flour instead of white flour, and then just using 3/4 cup of oil because of all the applesauce (she used safflower). I am certainly going to go with the whole wheat flour.
So many options!!!

07/05/09 UPDATE *******
2 c wheat flour
1 c AP flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 1/2 c sugar
3/4 c apple sauce
1/4 c Canola oil
1 c toasted walnuts & pecans, chopped

* half of this batter went into a loaf pan

With the remaining batter, I halved that again and to one portion added 1 tsp orange juice (freshly squeezed - I wanted zest too but don't have a freaking zester, can you believe that crap?); to the other portion I added one quarter of a Granny Smith apple, chopped small. I put these into mini muffin tins and topped the orange side with vanilla sugar, and the apple side with cinnamon sugar. And crossed my fingers because I know baking is finicky and I completely screwed with the recipe above. . . .
The minis were done in 20 and I let the loaf cook for another 40.
The orange version wasn't orangey enough for me, so I made up a quick glaze using freshly squeezed orange juice that I cooked down with a pinch of vanilla sugar, and then, because I have NO icing sugar in my house, but luckily some Pillsbury vanilla frosting, a good glop of that until I had a nice smooth and thin orange glaze. I drizzled this over the top and called it done.

Mini frittatas

I do not know why I own any cookbooks. I can't even remember the last time I opened one of them (though I do love my BH&G and Southbeach ones). In fact, I think I might need to get rid of them. Yay spring cleaning!
Anyway, I get enough inspiration from tv and the internet, as is evidence to the number of references I make in this here blog. Giada did it again and enticed me with something tasty and so very, "Duh, why didn't I think of that?" Mini. Frittatas. People please. Tiny things are cute and think of how many different flavors I could make! Man, I can't wait to host a brunch at my place. I am READY. 10 minutes effort for 40 frittatas? Hell, I won't even have to get up early.

Close

Times:

Prep

12 min

Inactive Prep

--

Cook

10 min

Total:

22 min

Mini Frittatas

• Nonstick veg oil cooking spray
• 8 large eggs
• 1/2 cup whole milk
  
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces thinly sliced ham, chopped
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray 2 mini muffin tins (each with 24 cups) with nonstick spray. Whisk the eggs, milk, pepper, and salt in a large bowl to blend well. Stir in the ham, cheese, and parsley. Fill prepared muffin cups almost to the top with the egg mixture. Bake until the egg mixture puffs and is just set in the center, about 8 to 10 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, loosen the frittatas from the muffin cups and slide the frittatas onto a platter. Serve immediately.

My head is swimming in an endless possibility sea of flavors: gruyere, ham, bechamel (Croque Monsieur!); classic tomato and basil; leek, shallot and bacon!; zucchini and goat cheese and herbs de Provence!; caramelized onion and blue cheese! Oh my goodness, I could do this forever. Do you think 40 different flavors all at once would be excessive?