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. (After about 45 minutes, place a piece of aluminum foil lightly over the top of the bread to prevent over browning.) Makes one loaf.
For muffins: Increase oven temperature to 375*. 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. (Sometimes, I add a 1/2 teaspoon of rum extract to the water.)

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.

Nine year old granddaughter Alaia
helped bake cranberry bread and wrote
the recipe in her own cookbook. 💗

 

Optavia Eggnog (Vanilla Shake Fueling Hack)

 

You either love eggnog or you hate it. I personally love it. My coach, Myca King, created an eggnog recipe that is 5&1 plan approved. It’s a perfect treat for the holiday season❣ 🎄

Recipe:

1 Vanilla Shake Fueling

4 oz. Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

3/4 teaspoon rum Extract

3/4 cup crushed or cubed ice

Sprinkle of Nutmeg (optional)

Method:

Add all of the ingredients, except nutmeg, to a blender.

Blend until smooth.

Sprinkle with nutmeg.

Equals: 1 Fueling ~ 1 Condiment ~ 1/2 snack

Lean & Green Spinach Salad With Garlic & Dill Chicken Tenders

This is a delicious & moist chicken
and salad meal!

Ingredients: 

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup pickle juice

1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried dill

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon dried chives

avocado oil cooking spray

8 cups baby spinach leaves

2 cups chopped red, yellow and/or orange bell peppers

1 avocado sliced or chopped

4 - 6 tablespoons Walden Farms O Calorie Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

Method:

Cut the chicken breasts into large chunks or strips. Place in a bowl or dish and cover with the pickle juice. Allow to marinate overnight.

Drain the juice from the chicken pieces. Season the marinated chicken with the garlic, dill, pepper and salt. Lightly spray a large nonstick skillet with the cooking oil spray and place over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces and sprinkle with the chives. Cook, turning to cook all sides. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook for 15 minutes or until cooked through and no pink remains in the meat. 

While the chicken is cooking, arrange 2 cups of spinach leaves onto each serving plate. Top with 1/2 cup of bell pepper and 1 1/2 ounces of sliced avocado. Drizzle 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of dressing over the salad. Arrange 6 ounces of cooked chicken on top of the salad. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving equals: 1 lean, 3 greens, 1 healthy fat and 3 condiments

Nutritional info per serving, approximately: 575.5 calories ~16.6 grams fat ~ 27 grams carbs ~ 14 grams net carbs ~ 83 grams protein

Notes: A pickle juice marinade produces a very moist chicken with a delicious and subtle flavor. (Even though my husband is not at all fond of vinegar, he thought that this chicken was quite good.) 😀

🍋 Low Carb Lemon Cheesecake Squares ~ Sugar & Gluten Free

 

These cheesecake squares are light
& creamy and similar to lemon yogurt

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups ultrafine almond flour

1/4 Lakanto Baking Sweetener**

1/4 teaspoon pink Himalayan or sea salt

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 - 2/3 cup Lakanto Powdered Sweetener (based on desired level of sweetness)

2 teaspoons lemon zest (finely grated peel) 

3 tablespoons fresh Meyer lemon juice***

2 tablespoons canned coconut milk, coconut cream or heavy whipping cream

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 to 3 tablespoons Lakanto Powdered Sweetener (for dusting)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350*. Sift the almond flour, Baking sweetener and salt together into a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and mix until well combined. Pat the crust mixture evenly into the bottom on the pan. Bake for 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Reduce oven temperature to 275*. Add the cream cheese, powdered sweetener, lemon zest, juice and coconut milk to a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until the ingredients are creamy and smooth. Mix in the eggs. Spread the batter over the cooled crust. Bake for 30 minutes, or just until the filling is set. (A knife inserted in the center should come out clean.) Cool on a rack for 20 to 30 minutes and then refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. Sprinkle the top with a light dusting of powdered sweetener. Cut into 16 squares. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container.

**I use Lakanto Baking Sweetener because it has a finer texture than  regular substitute sweeteners. If you do not have the Baking Sweetener in your pantry, you can process the Classic Sweetener (or other granulated sweetener) in a food processor, to create a finer texture.

***If you do not have Meyer lemons, regular lemons will work.

Notes: Very Simple to make! ~ The flavor of these light & creamy cheesecake squares is best when they are refrigerated overnight. (My husband liked this treat frozen.)

Nutritional info per serving, approximately: 188 calories ~ 18 grams fat ~ 3.76 grams carbs ~ 2.6 net carbs ~ 4.4 grams protein

Lean & Green Italian Style Stuffed Chicken & Cauliflower Rice

This simple chicken is gourmet
quality ~ it's so moist and flavorful!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon red or white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon Lakanto Monkfruit Baking Sweetener* (optional)

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon pink Himalayan or sea salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

three 6 ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts (18 ounces total)

4 ounces part skim mozzarella cheese (Full fat may be used if you are not on a lowfat meal plan.)

2 cups baby spinach leaves

toothpicks

avocado oil cooking spray

two 12 ounce bags frozen riced cauliflower**

Method:

Preheat oven to 350*. In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, sweetener, olive oil, Italian seasoning, red pepper, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Slice each chicken breast through the middle, but do not slice all of the way through. (This is called "Butterflying".) Brush the inside and outside of the butterflied chicken breasts with the sauce mixture. Stuff each chicken breast with 1/3 of the of the cheese (1 1/3 ounces) and 2/3 cup of the spinach leaves.

Close the stuffed chicken breasts and secure with toothpicks inserted at a diagonal. Spray an ovenproof skillet with the avocado oil and place over medium high heat. Add the stuffed chicken breasts and cook until each side is golden brown. 

Two Lean & Green portions & one
  larger one for my husband. 😀

Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven. Bake for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. While the chicken is baking, add the riced cauliflower to a saucepan with 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook over medium-high heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn heat to low until ready to serve.

Remove the chicken from the oven and allow to rest for 3 minutes. Add 1 cup of the cauliflower rice to each serving plate. Top with a stuffed chicken breast and drizzle the pan juices over each serving. Makes 3 servings.

*I use Lakanto Baking Sweetener because it has a finer texture than  regular substitute sweeteners. If you do not have the Baking Sweetener in your pantry, you can process the Classic Sweetener (or other granulated sweetener) in a food processor, to create a finer texture.

**I always keep bags of Walmart Great Value riced cauliflower (found in the freezer section) or of Trader Joe's riced cauliflower (found in the refrigerated vegetable section) on hand, in my freezer.

Each serving equals: 1 lean, 3 greens, 2/3 a healthy fat & 2.55 condiments

Nutritional info per serving, approximately: 488.5 calories ~ 17.34 grams fat ~ 15 grams carbs ~ 9.68 grams net carbs ~ 67 grams protein

Notes: This delicious meal is very quick and simple to make ~ my husband and I both loved it❣