Ham, Cheese, & Veggie Frittata

My mom, me and Abbie, and my dad on-board Kiss Me Kate

My parents' 28th anniversary was Saturday, September 1, 2012.  On the night of Sunday, September 2, 2012, they invited their friends Dr. Sam, Melynda, and me to have dinner with them at the Fort Worth Boat Club.  We had a little happy hour with wine and boiled shrimp at Cabana #3 before walking up to the club for dinner.  The Boat Club recently hired a new chef, and my parents have been raving about her culinary skills for the past couple of weeks.  Dr. Sam was wanting to apply for membership, so we thought it was a perfect culmination of reasons to have dinner at the club.

This was me... not having any idea what was going on.

I had peppercorn tuna, and it was absolutely amazing! It was cooked just right- not too well done, and not too raw for my liking.  It was atop a spread of green pepper hash, which I'd never had before, but my mouth is watering just thinking back at it.  Everything was delicious, and it is a HUGE improvement from the Boat Club's more recent meals.

When my dad told us the news, my mom had to sit down and I was puzzled...
we weren't sure if we believed him!

After we ate dinner, my dad started acting super weird.  He was hopping around and saying, "Just follow me, let's go see what we find, come on!"  He walked down towards the boat ramp where there are about 30 covered boat slips and started trying to jimmy the locks open.  All I could think was that security was going to show up at any minute and arrest us for attempted trespassing.  My dad couldn't open any of the doors, so back to Cabana #3 we went... but he didn't stop there. 

My dad looked like a kid on Christmas morning

He went inside and got a key that he said was "to the tuff shed" out back.  "Maybe this will open one of the doors!" he said with a crazy, goofy look in his eye.  'Maybe his fish wasn't cooked all the way... or he'd had more wine than I realized,' I thought.  He loaded us up in the car- Sam, Melynda, my mom, me, and my dog, Abbie.  'Oh great, back to the whole getting arrested plan.'

The (very 80's'ed out) interior of Kiss Me Kate

Well we got back to the boat slips and my dad unlocked the door.  "Let's look at this one!" he said.  My mom rolled my eyes and said, "This is the one his friend told him about that's for sale.  He keeps talking about it."  Suddenly we heard an "Aha!" come from my dad as he opened the hatch to go inside.  'OH MY GOSH, what is WRONG with him?!' I thought.  I seriously thought he'd lost it.  He starts looking around the boat, smiling, laughing like a loony person, and saying, "Well, what do ya think?" 

Kiss Me Kate!

"About what?" I asked.  "What do you think... about the fact that I bought this boat?! Welcome aboard the Kiss Me Kate!"  My mom sat down on the steps, trying to process, and I just looked around puzzled.  "For real?!" I asked.  I couldn't believe it.  Well, yes, as it turns out, my dad had bought it for their anniversary.  She's a 28 foot 1980 Cris-Craft... my dad has always wanted a Cris-Craft. 

Kiss Me Kate

We took her out on Labor Day, and what an adventure that was.  He'd never even driven her! Turns out a dual-engine is a little bit more difficult to drive than we'd planned... but 20 minutes later we were out on the lake, puttering around.  I'm definitely looking forward to Andy learning how to drive her, and I know we will have many stories (and blog entries!) to come! That night, I prepped breakfasts for the next week.  I had this recipe for Frittatas from Weight Watchers, but the original ingredients didn't yield much product, so I modified it a bit myself.  It's a perfect breakfast to have premade- just warm it up and take out on the water to watch the sunrise... hmm... not a bad idea!  But until then, I'll be zapping it in the microwave at work in the mornings.

Andy and my dad trying to figure out just how she operates

Ham, Cheese, and Pepper Frittata
Adapted from Weight Watchers by Kate Strickland
Servings: 8; Weight Watchers PointsPlus Value: 3

Ham, Cheese, and Pepper Frittata

• 2 spray(s) Cooking spray
• 1 pound(s) Potatoes, hash brown, raw, thawed
• 20 large Egg(s), raw, beaten
• 1 Tbsp fat-free milk
• ⅛ tsp salt
• ⅛ tsp pepper
• 2 oz lean ham
• 1/2 sweet red pepper, chopped
• 1/2 sweet orange pepper, chopped
• 1/2 sweet yellow pepper, chopped
• ½ cup fat-free cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Coat a deep casserole dish with cooking spray
3. Spread potatoes around bottom and press potato up sides of tray
4. Place in oven and cook for 10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, beat eggs and milk together in a medium bowl
6. Season with salt and pepper
7. Add ham, peppers, and cheese to bowl; mix to combine.
8. Remove potatoes from oven (after cooking for 10 minutes)
9. Pour mixture atop potatoes.
10. Return dish to oven and cook until potatoes are crisp and golden, and the egg mixture is set, about 40 minutes.
11. Remove from oven and let sit about 5 minutes before serving.

Keep on cookin'!
-Katherine

Key Lime Pie



My dad and me at Epcot Center, November 2003

 The only pie I liked when I was younger was my Granny Strickland's Cherry Pie with Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream on top.  I certainly wanted nothing to do with anything that was greenish-yellow and of a think, custard-like consistency.  Senior year, my dad and I went on a "college visit" to Disney World.  See, when I was a senior, it was considered an "excused absence" to miss school, if one was visiting a college/university.  Lucky me, there is a college associated with Walt Disney World called the Disney Institute. (For real, click the link).  My dad had a lawyers convention on the beach in Florida, so he stole me away for a week and headed to Orlando.  I mean, we went on a college visit to the Disney Institute.

Me and my dad on the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ride-
we started making funny faces in all of the pictures on the rides

Now, my dad has always had a way of making the most out of our Disney World vacations.  We have been five times, and each time he gets better and better at planning our adventure.  I kid you not, my dad will copy the "ideal itinerary" from the Unofficial Guide to Disney World, minimize the pages, laminate them, and provide each person in our party with a copy of the game plan.  Sometimes they have wrist straps attached to them.  When I was younger, I hated how strictly he adhered to the schedule ("We have to be at the gates when they open so we can be in the Space Mountain line by 8:04, so we can be in the Splash Mountain line by 8:52.")  Senior year, I loved our punctuality.  We did more in three days at Disney World than we had done when we'd spent seven days there in the past.  It was a whirlwind trip, but it was so fun being a kid again at 17. 

Me and Dopey at Magic Kingdom, November 2003

My dad and me on the Rockin' Roller Coaster

After our Disney visit, we went to my dad's lawyer conference on the beach.  I don't remember where we were, but I do know that I had just figured out how to text message.  I sent my mom a message saying, "I think I belong on the beach.  How about the Disney Institute instead of UT?"  It was at this conference that I tried key lime pie for the first time.  How had I never tried it before?!  It was light, tangy, and very refreshing! You mean my mom had been baking this pie for the past 10 years, and I had been leaving it up to my dad to consume the whole thing?!  Well, there would be no more of that, sorry Pop.

My dad and me at Rainforest Cafe at Disney World, November 2003
This was also the night I got a text from my mom telling me I'd received my first college admittance letter!

My mom's key lime pie is made with full-fat ingredients because desserts are made for indulgence (and my dad is picky).  I wanted, however, to find a lighter recipe for the pie.  I came across one on Weight Watchers last week, and I made it for Andy's fantasy football league draft party at my house.  I totally forgot about it during the party, so I took it to our friends, the McDaniels', house that night when we went over to watch True Blood.  Per my dessert eaters, and per myself, this lighter version is just as good as the full-fat, but without the guilt.  Guilt-free indulgence? Count me in.

Andy and his KA buddies at my house for their 2011 Fantasy Football Draft
Andy, Matt, Adam, Derek, Thomas, & Caleb

Key Lime Pie
Weight Watchers
Servings: 12, Weight Watchers PointsPlus Value: 5

Key Lime Pie

• 6 oz graham cracker pie crust
• 14 oz sweetened, condensed milk
• 8 oz fat-free egg substitute
• 3/4 c fresh lime juice
• 3/4 c fat-free whipped topping

1. Preheat oven to 325
2. Place crust on baking sheet, set aside
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, egg substitute and lime juice- pour into crust
4. Bake about 15 mins, until center looks set, but still shakes a little when you tap it
5. Remove to a wire rack and cool completely
6. Transfer pie to a refridgerator and chill for 1-2 hours
7. Slice into 12 slices & garnish each slice with 1 tbsp whipped topping

Key Lime Pie

Keep on cookin'!
-Katherine