Smoked Salmon Frittata

Last week I had scheduled in my menu plan to make asparagus frittata from a magazine recipe. However, when I opened the fridge for dinner, I discovered that my asparagus had gone off, so I had to think of an alternative at the last minute. After looking through my pantry and fridge I put together the ingredients for a smoked salmon frittata.

I didn't make any exact measurements, but the ingredients were as follows:

• smoked salmon
• eggs
• cream
• whole milk
• kalamata olives
• onion
• salt
• black pepper
• cream cheese

The recipe turned out very well. The only thing I would change would be to use less than the half package of cream cheese, the taste was too rich and I would add 3/4 to the whole package of smoked salmon (I only used half). I might add more than the 10 olives as well, as they added saltiness and tang. I baked my frittata in a cake pan, I prefer to do them that way, the eggs dont burn as easily. All in all a great new way to use some extra pantry and fridge staples!

McCormick Cinnamon-Stewed Chicken and Spicy Roasted Coriander Rice

I have tried countless product advertisement recipes found in magazines over the years and most have failed to meet my expectations. The taste ends up focusing too much on the ingredient being sold and too little on the taste of the overall recipe. I was surprised to find two recipes for McCormick in a recent issue of Bon Appetit magazine and decided to give them a try.

These two recipes use the new line of McCormick roasted spices, which were easily found at my local grocery store. They come with a bright yellow plastic seal that is easily recognizable on the spice shelf. All the ingredients involved in these recipes are easy to find, including multiple types of basmati rice available in my local Kroger. The prep time for these recipes was slightly more than the suggested 15 minutes, but no more than 5-10 minutes. Overall, the cooking and prep was simple and the dishes turned out better than expected.

My family really enjoyed these dishes. Both of my children ate the chicken contently and my husband loved the sauce around the chicken (he mixed the sauce and rice to make a wrap using lavash bread). I thought the rice had a great taste and I would definitely use the chicken recipe again (note: it was even better the next day).

For the recipe go to McCormick Cinnamon-Stewed Chicken with Spicy Roasted Coriander Rice.