Delicious Kale, Red Pepper, and Goat Cheese Frittata: Your Perfect Healthy Meal for Any Time

This vibrant Kale, Red Pepper, and Goat Cheese Frittata offers a delightful and light vegetarian option, ideal for any meal of the day – be it breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Packed with essential protein and an abundance of fresh vegetables, it’s a truly satisfying and wholesome choice.

Happy New Year, friends! I hope you all had a wonderful and restful holiday season. It’s truly incredible how quickly time flies, and here we are, embracing a brand new calendar year. There’s something profoundly invigorating about the fresh start that a new year brings, filled with endless possibilities and exciting prospects to anticipate.

Some time ago, my friend Kristen introduced me to the thoughtful practice of choosing a “Focus Word” for the upcoming year. Over the years, I’ve often considered this idea, selecting a word but perhaps not truly integrating it into my daily life or “focusing” on it as deeply as the intention suggests. However, just last month, while immersed in a project, a particular word spontaneously came to mind. As I scribbled it down, I immediately realized that this was precisely the word destined to be my guiding focus for the entire year.

My Guiding Focus Word for the Year:

LEARN

This year, my deepest desire is to immerse myself in learning. I’ve always cherished the role of a student, not necessarily in the conventional academic sense, but with a genuine curiosity for all things. While I didn’t always mind being in a classroom, eager to take notes, my current obsession revolves around acquiring new knowledge and skills. This craving spans a wide array of interests, from hands-on crafty and DIY home projects to significantly enhancing my food photography, delving into the intricacies of running my blog as a sustainable business, relearning crocheting, and confidently experimenting with cooking dishes outside my usual comfort zone. My mind feels incredibly active these days, and sometimes I feel like it might just burst from the sheer volume of information I’m eager to absorb.

In the past couple of years, major life events have largely occupied my attention and energy – pregnancies, family illnesses, moving into a new home, and the arrival of a new baby. These significant moments naturally kept me incredibly busy, consuming a considerable amount of my physical and mental capacity. And truly, that’s perfectly fine; that’s just life unfolding! Life, in all its beautiful chaos, is good. Things have gradually settled down over the last few months, and it’s during this calmer period that my intense craving for learning truly shifted into high gear. My “mommy brain” felt a bit hazy this past year, so now it’s time to consciously replenish it with new insights and skills. I’m actively retraining myself to approach challenges with an open mind, ready to learn how to overcome obstacles rather than defaulting to an initial “ugh” reaction, hoping someone else will handle it for me, or abandoning the task altogether. Of course, some tasks will still be best entrusted to those more qualified and capable, but my primary aim is to transform my attitude towards learning and problem-solving.

So, what exactly do I want to learn? My goals are a diverse blend of personal growth and professional development related to my blog and business. Here are my specific learning aspirations for the year:

My Key Learning Goals for the Year:

1. Learn (or rather, Relearn) How to Crochet: I spent countless hours crocheting as a young girl, always creating blankets for my baby dolls. Recently, my daughter has shown a keen interest in crocheting, alongside other creative pursuits like sewing. I am dedicated to setting aside dedicated time to learn and master these crafts alongside her. This isn’t just about picking up a skill; it’s invaluable quality time that we both need and cherish. Furthermore, there’s an immense sense of satisfaction and happiness that comes from creating something beautiful and tangible with my own hands. To support this journey, I’ve started a crochet Pinterest board, which I plan to fill with inspiration and patterns for all things crochet. On a broader note, I also aspire to become more generally crafty and adept at DIY projects. Recent projects with my daughter have vividly shown me how much joy I derive from being creative, especially when it involves collaborative time with my little girl. She possesses a wonderfully creative spirit herself, so I’m committed to carving out more time for these enriching activities for both of us.

2. Learn How to Operate My Blog as a Sustainable Business: This is a monumental goal for me this year. For those of you who know me personally, you’ll recall that I launched this blog as a simple hobby over six years ago. For the vast majority of that time, I’ve continued to treat it as such – albeit a very time-consuming hobby at times! While I have generated some income through advertisements and collaborations with brands, I’ve always viewed it more as supplemental earnings rather than a core business venture. However, it’s incredibly inspiring to witness the numerous opportunities now available for bloggers to transform their passions into thriving businesses, enabling them to work from home full-time. The dream of working remotely, doing something you genuinely love, is a reality for so many, and I feel profoundly blessed and fortunate that this opportunity is right before me. I am ready to seize this chance and develop my blog to its fullest potential, benefiting both myself and my family. That being said, I openly admit I’m still navigating the complexities of running a legitimate business. Concepts like accounting feel daunting, I’ve never been comfortable with negotiation, and despite working in advertising sales for a major newspaper for three years, I confess I know surprisingly little about digital ad strategies. I’m also not particularly skilled at consistently tracking charts, statistics, or managing social media schedules. I know how to cook, and I know how to blog creatively, but it’s clearly time to delve deeper into the business side of things. I need to discern what tasks I can effectively manage on my own, what I should strategically outsource, and rigorously evaluate what strategies are truly working versus those that aren’t yielding results. To aid this learning process, I’m currently reading How To Monetize Your Food Blog (affiliate link!). Additionally, I’ve signed up for Freshbooks to streamline my invoicing and accounting, which already appears to be incredibly user-friendly and efficient.

3. Learn to Manage My Time More Effectively: This isn’t a new aspiration, but I am more determined than ever to master time management in a way that allows me to genuinely enjoy life more fully! There are always tasks that need to be accomplished, and I need to stop squandering precious time simply figuring out what those tasks are. This means I must commit to diligently using my planner, calendar, and lists to maintain organization and maximize productivity. While this isn’t rocket science, it’s a skill I absolutely need to hone. The adage “work smart, not hard” truly resonates here, doesn’t it? And crucially, it involves not constantly misplacing the notebook containing your crucial to-do lists and brilliant ideas! A structured approach will free up mental space and allow for more spontaneous enjoyment of life.

4. Learn to Take Better Photos: My nephew, a talented photographer, and I have discussed collaborating this year. Our plan is to spend time together in the kitchen, cooking delicious dishes, and simultaneously honing our photography skills with our cameras. I recognize I have a tremendous amount to learn when it comes to the art of photography. It has never come naturally to me; my usual approach involves simply clicking the shutter and hoping for the best. However, I am now fully committed to understanding more about working with natural and artificial light, as well as mastering the capabilities of my camera and various lenses. Currently, I’ve been using a 50mm lens for years, but my nephew has generously allowed me to experiment with his 24-70mm lens. My ambition for this year is to upgrade my camera body and invest in a new, versatile lens. I’m actively working towards achieving that goal. In addition to learning from my nephew, I am diligently reading the e-book Tasty Food Photography (affiliate link!), which provides invaluable insights into capturing delicious-looking food images, an essential skill for any successful food blogger.

5. Learn to Cook with New Ingredients: There are so many intriguing foods that I absolutely love to order whenever I spot them on a restaurant menu, and I’m determined to start preparing them more frequently at home. I am making a conscious and consistent effort to experiment with something new in the kitchen regularly, whether it’s incorporating an unfamiliar spice, trying a different type of grain, or tackling a dish that is typically outside my culinary comfort zone (hello, pork tenderloin, which I successfully made recently!). I know, for instance, that my husband adores short ribs, and I’ve long wanted to create more recipes utilizing the jar of tahini that has patiently resided in my refrigerator. Expanding my culinary repertoire will not only make cooking more exciting but also introduce new flavors and textures to our family meals.

Well, there you have it – my ambitious learning goals for the year. I would genuinely love to hear about your plans for the upcoming year. Do you have a specific focus word, inspiring goals, or meaningful resolutions that you are actively working towards? Sharing our aspirations can be incredibly motivating!

Now, shall we shift our focus to this absolutely gorgeous Kale, Red Pepper, and Goat Cheese Frittata? It’s a true star!

It feels like ages since I last prepared a frittata. A couple of weeks ago, I found myself wanting to whip up a quick and delicious lunch for my little boy and me. He has a great love for eggs, and I’m discovering that he’ll pretty much eat anything that’s thoughtfully mixed in with them. So, why not seize this opportunity to make frittatas a more regular fixture in our meal rotation? It’s an excellent way to keep things interesting and ensure we’re getting a variety of nutrients.

And let’s be honest, you simply cannot go wrong by adding creamy, tangy goat cheese to any frittata. It elevates the flavor profile to an entirely new level!

This particular Kale, Red Pepper, and Goat Cheese Frittata presented such a festive appearance, especially since I made it just before Christmas. You can’t help but adore the beautiful medley of colors! Frittatas truly are remarkably simple to prepare and offer an incredibly healthy and versatile option for breakfast, lunch, or even a light dinner. I’m definitely planning on making many more of these throughout the month to brighten up our meals and keep things nutritious. They are perfect for meal prepping, as they taste just as good cold or reheated.

Looking for more delicious frittata ideas? Here are some other recipes you might enjoy trying:

Garden Black Bean Frittata

Parmesan Potato Frittata

Bacon, Broccoli and Potato Frittata | Foodiecrush

Broccoli Asparagus Frittata | A Mind Full Mom

Southwestern Frittata | Belly Full

For even more inspiring breakfast and brunch ideas, be sure to follow along on Pinterest. Follow Aggie’s Kitchen’s board Breakfast on Pinterest.