A Healthier Egg Strata

I often make an egg strata that is delicious but has lots of saturated fat in it because it uses pork sausage. I tried this version last week when Nana was down and it was really good. I used whole grain bread instead of white and it was fine. I didn't have to fry up the sausage, which made it really quick to put together. You can use other types of chicken sausage and vary the type of cheese.

1 lb precooked chicken sausage with spinach and garlic, without casings
6 eggs beaten
2 cups skim milk
6 pieces whole grain bread, heels removed
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Cut sausage in small pieces. Remove heels from bread and cube. Beat the eggs with the milk, then add bread and sausage. Place in slightly greased casserole dish (9 x 13). Cover with shredded cheese. This must sit overnight in the refrigerator. In the morning, cook at 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. It serves at least 8 people, sometimes more.

Pasta alla vodka

This is really easy to make but it is one of our favorite dinners. It is spicy and very rich so it is a nice special meal to make every once in a while. Makes 6-8 servings.

Ingredients:
1 lb spicy chicken sausage (turkey or pork is fine too), casings removed
1 T olive oil
5 cloves minced garlic
1 t salt
1/2 t crushed red pepper
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes in puree
1 lb dry penne
1 cup whipping cream
2 T vodka
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring to break up, until cooked through (around 6-8 minutes). Transfer cooked sausage to a plate lined with paper towels. Wipe skillet out with a paper towel. Heat olive oil in same skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, salt, and red pepper and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and stir to blend. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare pasta al dente according to package directions. When pasta is drained, add sausage, whipped cream, and vodka to sauce, stir to combine, and poor over pasta and stir. Cover and let sit for 2-4 minutes to let pasta absorb the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Slow cooker Texas staple chili

This is really easy because most of the ingredients come from your pantry except the pork, which I usually buy and freeze so I can defrost whenever and make this. It is a little spicy so you can always top with cheese or sour cream and serve with cornbread to take down the heat. Makes ~6 servings.

Ingredients:
2 lb pork tenderloin (can also use 1 lb pork tenderloin and 1 lb boneless beef chuck steak), cut into 1" pieces
1/4 c all-purpose flour
2 10oz cans rotel (diced tomatoes w/ green chiles), drained
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 c chopped red onion
2 T chili powder
1 t ground cumin
1/2 t salt
1/2 t garlic powder
1/8 t ground cinnamon
12oz beer

Directions:
In a large zip-loc plastic bag, combine pork and flour, seal, and shake to coat. Mix pork with all remaining ingredients in slow-cooker. Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours or high for 3.5-4.5 hours.

Microwave mashed potatoes

Thise are a nice shortcut side dish. Peel and cut up (1" pieces) about 1.5 lbs of potatoes and place them in a large microwave safe dish (not sure if tupperware would be good for this, glass is probably best). Cover loosely with plastic wrap and cut a 1" slit in the middle. Microwave on high for 10 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes and definitely use potholders to remove. Add about 3/4 cup milk, salt and pepper to taste, and mash. You could reduce the milk slightly and add a little sour cream or yogurt, or add chives or garlic powder or anything else you would like. Makes about 4 cups.

Slow cooker chicken paprikash

This is really easy and good, and pretty healthy as well. Serve over spaetzle (German egg noodles) or regular egg noodles or rice. It makes about 6 servings.

Ingredients:
3 T all-purpose flour
2 lbs skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2in strips (I usually just use whole frozen chicken tenders from Costco that I've thawed a day ahead in the fridge)
1 large onion, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 c shredded carrot
2 T Hungarian sweet paprika (regular paprika is fine)
4 cloves miced garlic
1 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
8oz package pre-sliced mushrooms
1 small can tomato paste (tip: open both ends of the can and then push the whole thing through with one end, much easier than trying to scrape it out with a spatula)
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cups light sour cream

Directions:
Combine flour and chicken in a gallon ziploc bag, close and shake to coat well. Add chicken and all other ingridents except sour cream to slow cooker and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. Turn off slow cooker and let mixture cool a bit while you boil whatever you're serving it with. Stir in sour cream just before serving.

Pop Tart Toast

A healthy(er), quick version of pop tarts!!

Ingredients:

2 slices of bread

butter

your favorite jam

Spread a thin layer of butter on both pieces of bread, leaving a little bit of room around the edges. Spread jam on one of the pieces, making sure not to get too close to the edge. Put the pieces of bread together, butter- and jam-side in. Trim off the crusts with a knife and fork the edges (like ravioli!) so that the bread stays together. Then...put it in the toaster!

I tried this twice today (with one piece of bread cut in half, which is perfectly snack-sized) with butter and strawberry jam and then with peanut butter, cinnamon and sugar. It's so fun! I was a little worried it wouldn't actually stay together in the toaster, but it was fine.

One word of warning, though--since it's thicker than one slice of toast would be, the bread is much closer to the coils inside the toaster. Don't toast it for as long as you would a single slice--it'll burn!

Dinner Omelet

The other night Sushi and I made one big omelet for both of us for dinner. We used:

4 eggs

2 egg whites

1/2 can canned chicken (they sell it at Costco; I wouldn't eat it plain but it works well as an ingredient)

1 tomato

1/4 cup mushrooms

1/4 onion

fresh cilantro

spinach, cut into pieces

garlic powder

shredded cheese

We sauteed the mushrooms and onions first and put them aside in a bowl. Then we beat the eggs and egg whites (using just the egg whites for a few makes it fluffier) and poured it into a dinner plate-sized frying pan. We added all the ingredients and let it cook. Because we didn't want to deal with flipping it, we just covered the pan and cooked it on a lower temperature for longer--and then we were able to just remove it from the pan when it was done, without worrying about making a mess of turning it over. Then we just cut it in half. It was the perfect amount of food for 2!

Pasta Vazule (or Pasta Fagoli)

So we say it the first way but it's really spelled the second way. This is a very cheap and tasty soup that will last several days. I'm going to estimate amounts because I don't really use a recipe.

2 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic crushed (or 2 large ones)
salt (at least one teaspoon) and pepper
1 teaspoon each oregano and basil
1 to 2 cups tomato sauce (depending how "red" you want it)
1 15-ounce can cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed
12 cups water or 4 cups chicken broth and 8 cups water
1 pound pasta, preferably elbows and whole wheat

Heat oil in large stock pot. Saute garlic on low and add spices. Then add  the tomato sauce. Let simmer for a few minutes, then add beans. Simmer a few minutes more, then add broth/water. Bring to a boil. Boil pasta until al dente. Serve with grated parmesan cheese. Good left over!

I've always wanted to add some veges to this, like leaf spinach, to make it a little healthier. I'll let you know if it works next time I make it.

Mixed Vegetables

Frozen vegetables are perfect for one person -- they never go bad, so a good variety can be kept on hand at all times. I've been using them a lot. These days, the "mixed vegetables" packages have my attention. It's basically a great way to add a healthy assortment of veggies to any meal, salads especially. And you don't have to chop or wash anything. Steam a quarter to a half a bag, drain them and pour over the whole salad and you instantly add nutrition and taste. I'm sure there are more applications. Think about wraps, soups, etc.

Greek Yogurt Substitutes

I bought some Greek yogurt the other day and the back of the container had this website. It has a bunch of recipe ideas for yogurt and Greek yogurt substitutes. I mentioned it to Mom, and she suggested I post it. Check it out! The stuffed French toast looks pretty good to me...

Easy and Tasty Couscous

You can do just about anything with couscous, but over the summer Laura and I devised a nice little combination of ingredients for a fast, easy, and very tasty couscous casserole. Also, it's very likely that you will already have the ingredients at home. Just combine:

-Couscous
-Corn (we used frozen corn)
-Spinach (we used chopped frozen spinach, too)
-Craisins

Steam the corn and the spinach and add them to the cooked couscous along with some craisins and you're all set. We just eyeballed it on the proportions -- use your judgment there.