Jan's Breakfast Casserole (Family)

This breakfast casserole is tasty 

and very simple to make!

Ingredients:

8 slices white or sourdough bread

1 16 ounce package Jimmy Dean regular pork breakfast sausage

butter or avocado oil spray

1 dozen eggs

2 cups milk

2 cups (8 ounces) grated cheddar cheese

Method:

Preheat oven to 350*.

Trim the crust off of the bread and cut the bread into 1 inch cubes and set aside.

Cut sausage into 12 slices. Fry the sausage slices over medium/high heat for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, or until fully cooked.** Drain and pat dry with paper towels.

Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan with butter or avocado oil. Arrange the cooked sausage slices in the prepared baking dish.

Whisk together the eggs and milk until well blended. Stir in the bread and 1 1/2 cups of the grated cheese. Pour over and spread to evenly cover the sausage slices.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the casserole. Bake for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let sit for 10 minutes. Cut into 12 portions and serve.

**Alternate Method:

Crumble the sausage and fry until fully cooked instead of slicing into patties. Add 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper to the egg mixture. Sprinkle the top with smoked paprika before baking.

Notes:

There is a recipe on the sausage package, but Jan's version is better! She served this casserole to her family every Christmas morning.  Sadly, for us, Jan is now in Heaven, Her son-in-law, Bill, continues the tradition and makes the casserole at Christmas in honor of her. ❤

Son-in-law Bill, Jan, husband Randy

& daughter Shanna

Optavia Decadent Chocolate Brownie Valentine Fueling Hack

Something Simple, Tasty & Pretty ~
A Valentine enhanced chocolate brownie fueling

Ingredients:

1/2 ounce light cream cheese

1/4 teaspoon sugar free raspberry skinny syrup

1 envelope Optavia Decadent Chocolate Brownie fueling

3 tablespoons water

Method:

Heat a Mini Dash waffle iron. 

Place a 1/2 ounce of light cream cheese into a bowl. Use a fork, or small whisk, to mix in 1/4 teaspoon of sugar free raspberry skinny syrup. Set aside. 

Empty a decadent chocolate brownie fueling powder into a bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of water to the mix. Stir until well blended. Lightly spray the top & bottom of the iron with coconut oil cooking spray. Pour the brownie batter onto the waffle iron. Cook 2 to 4 minutes, until it reaches the crispiness that your prefer. Carefully remove from the waffle iron. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes. 

Place the tinted cream cheese in a small baggie. Use scissors to clip a tiny corner off the bag. Squeeze the cream cheese from the bag into a heart shape onto the center of the brownie. Enjoy.

Equals: 1 fueling, 1/8 lean & 1/24 condiment

 

Famous Cranberry Bread & Muffins (Family)

This recipe comes from a children's story book,
"Cranberry Thanksgiving", that I read to my oldest
son, Sean, in 1986, when he was just 5 years old. 
Every year, since then, he has helped by baking
the cranberry muffins for Thanksgiving Day.

Ingredients:
2 cups sifted all purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup orange juice
1 cup currants (or raisins**)
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, chopped and seeds rinsed off
1/2 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350*. Sift first five ingredients into a large bowl. Cut in butter with two knives, until mixture is crumbly. Use fingers to continue mixing until mixture resembles cornmeal. Add egg and orange juice all at once; stir just until mixture is evenly moistened. Fold in cranberries, currants and pecans.

Bake:
For 1 large loaf: Spoon batter into a greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pan and bake for 70 minutes or until top is browned and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Makes one loaf.
For muffins: Spoon batter into a greased muffin pan and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until browned and toothpick comes out clean. Makes 1 1/2 dozen muffins.
For mini loaves: Spoon batter into 3 greased 6 inch mini loaf pans and bake for 40 minutes or until browned and toothpick comes out clean. Makes 3 mini loaves.
Cool on wire rack for at least 10 minutes or longer, before removing from pan. Serve or store in refrigerator. May be eaten cold, sliced and lightly toasted in toaster oven or under broiler, or heated, wrapped in foil, in a 350* oven.

**I plump the raisins, by soaking them in enough hot water to cover, for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside in a paper towel lined bowl until ready to add to the batter.

Notes:

This recipe may be doubled. I like muffins for home and mini loaves to give as gifts. You can use dried cranberries instead of fresh, but our family greatly prefers the fresh. (Dried cranberries produce a much sweeter bread.) You can use paper muffin liners, but we prefer the nice crust you get when you don't.