Recipe Tuesday: Turkey Sausage and Zucchini Pasta and No Flour Pancakes

Before I do anything I need to talk about Boston.  It is a shame that people work so hard to run a marathon and someone wanted to ruin that.  The only good thing about tragedy is the way people come together and help each other.  They are willing to sacrifice themselves by running toward an explosion instead of away.  People become selfless and helpful in times of need.  My thoughts and prayers are with the people and family of those affected yesterday.

Yesterday I did some quick meal prep and came up with two random recipes.

Meal Prep

• Boiled eggs-I add a tsp of baking soda and boil for 20 minutes, the baking soda helps the shell come off easily.  I tried that whole bring it to a boil and let it sit for 20 minutes and let me tell you the yolk will not cook!

• Chocolate chip oatmeal cookies-1 Cup Oatmeal, 2 bananas, 1/2 cup chocolate chip.  Mash the banana and oats together, add chocolate chips. Form into balls, should make 12. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. Great for a sweet tooth

• Turkey Sausage and Zucchini Pasta
• Pancakes-lots of pancakes

This took about 2 hours and only because I made 17 pancakes, 1 at a time.  I had already packed my other big pan oops! It probably would have only took me an hour otherwise.


Turkey Sausage and Zucchini Pasta

• 8 oz Smoked Turkey Sausage-Cut into quarter sized pieces
• 1 Can Diced tomatoes
• 4 Cups water or Chicken broth
• 6 oz pasta of your choice-I used Smart taste Rotini
• 1 medium Zucchini-cut up
• 1 Tbsp Pepper
• 2 Tbsp Mrs. Dash
• 1/4 Bell pepper-I had this in the freezer
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsp Onion powder

Heat Olive Oil in a big pan (it has to be big enough to fit all of these ingredients) add the garlic, bell pepper and sausage.  When the sausage starts turning brown add the tomatoes, water and spices.  Bring it to a boil then add the pasta.  Turn it down to low.  I know it is weird to add pasta then turn it down but trust me this is how you get the flavor!  When the pasta is halfway done add the zucchini.  That's it.  This should make about 6 servings at 163 calories each.

Looks yummy doesn't it?

I don't know about you but I love pancakes!  I do not like the crash I get after eating them though.  I made some cottage cheese pancakes once before and discovered they actually filled me up and kept me full! yesterday I found two different protein pancake recipes and decided to just make up my own.

No Flour, Protein Pancakes

• 8 egg whites
• 1 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 1 banana
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese- I used lactose free
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp baking soda

Blend all the ingredients together and use 1/4 cup to make your pancakes.  This made 17 for me but I also made them really big.  Feel free to half it or even freeze some of them.  This is easy to warm up in the mornings for a quick breakfast.  It has a whopping 8 grams of protein in each pancake and only 59.5 calories in each.

I am not a fan of syrup so today I warmed up 1/2 an apple, smashed it and added it to the pancakes.  Good stuff!

What is your favorite breakfast??

Pumpkin Steel Cut Oatmeal

I know it isn't fall anymore and honestly who cares??! Pumpkin should be eaten all year long!  I have a pumpkin obsession.  I put this recipe in my crock pot this morning and it smells so good I am contemplating eating it for dinner:)



Pumpkin Steel Cut Oatmeal
1 Cup Pumpkin
1 Cup Steel Cut Oats
2 Cups Vanilla Almond Milk (you can use any kind of milk or just water)
1 Cup Water
1 tsp Vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
Add sugar as needed

You can make this one of two ways.  The easy way is the crock pot, it takes about four hours on low.  Or you can make it on the stovetop. 

If doing it in the crock pot just mix it all together and let it cook.

If doing it on the stove top make it like you would rice.  Bring to a boil then let it simmer till the liquid is gone. 

That's it, easy and you can keep it in the fridge and heat it up with a tsp of milk everyday!  Breakfast for the week!

Freezer Cooking In An Hour Breakfast Style

I love freezer cooking but only for breakfast or lunch.  I enjoy making dinner every night or every other night I should say! Even when we are home I never like to make breakfast so having it ready in the freezer when all we have to do is heat it up is a life saver.  Today I made four different breakfast items in an hour.  The banana bread took 40 minutes to bake but we don't count that.  I usually get out three bowls and all the ingredients for everything I am making and put it in the bowls.  Then I plan what is going in the oven first, second,and third.  I like to bake everything all at once since I have a propane oven and it uses quite a bit.




First up were these Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

These were good but a little dry...could have been me though!

 Second were the Mini Sausage and Potato Frittatas

These were fantastic!!!

 Third was the Chocolate Avocado Banana Bread

I was hesitant about this recipe but it didn't disappoint me at all and who can go wrong with chocolate anything??!!

 Last but not least were my basic waffles..everyone needs a basic waffle recipe right?

I made these while making everything else. See how easy it is to make 2-3 weeks of breakfast??

Mini Sausage, and Potato Frittatas

Mini Sausage and Potato Frittatas

 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
 1/4 bag of frozen hashbrowns
16 oz breakfast sausage-cooked
5 eggs
 1/2 Cup Milk
 1/4 Cup Parmesan cheese
 1 tsp pepper

 Preheat oven to 375. Mix the egg, oil and milk then add the rest of the ingredients. Grease a muffin pan and add 1/4 cup of the mixture. Bake for 10-15 minutes. It makes 12.

 Eat them right away or keep them in the fridge for a couple days. These were so good I had to stop myself from eating all 12...not kidding!

Basic Waffles

After getting that waffle maker there is never a need to buy eggos again:)

Basic Waffle Recipe

2 eggs
2 Cups Flour
1 3/4 Cup Milk
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp Vanilla

Mix them together, add 1/3 cup and keep them cooking until they are how you like them!  Simple and delicious!

Sweet Potato Waffles and Strawberry Syrup

I am one of those crazy ladies that loves to go Black Friday Shopping.  Every year I have a game plan.  This year I wasn't able to make it but I still had a friend of mine and my mom pick me up a couple things.  One thing I have wanted for years but never buy (who knows why?) was a waffle maker.

Isn't she pretty???
As soon as I got it home I had to start making waffles. Marcus is a waffle freak, he will eat 6 of them if you let him. I had some pureed sweet potato in the fridge so I got to work!  

Sweet Potato Waffles

 2 eggs
 2 Cups Flour
1 3/4 Cups Milk
1/2 Cup Sweet Potato Puree
 1 Tbsp Sugar
 1/4 tsp salt
 1 tsp Vanilla
 1/8 tsp cardamon
1/8 tsp cloves
 1/4 tsp nutmeg
 1 tsp ginger
 1 tsp cinnamon

Whisk it all together and put 1/4 cup for each waffle in the waffle maker. I can't tell you exactly how many this will make. We have kept it covered in the fridge so we can make some every morning. Yum! It tastes like fall!





 Now to my favorite part....I do not like maple syrup. Anyone that knows me knows that I love sugar! But maple syrup is too sweet for me...weird I know. So I started making my own fruit syrups, or compote they could be called. It is so simple and probably a tiny bit healthier than maple syrup.  

Strawberry syrup

 1 Cup Frozen Strawberries
1/2 Cup Water
 2 Tbsp Sugar

Put it on high heat and leave it until the strawberries are soft.

Mash it down and let it cook a few more minutes. Puree it or leave it chunky. Then put it over your waffles!

Anyone have any foolproof waffle recipes?? I would love to go waffle crazy, breakfast, lunch and dinner! HAHA

Ham and Kale Quiche

When I think of quiche I think...gross.  Ok so I used to.  A friend of mine mentioned that she made a bunch of pie crusts to put in the freezer and that she was making quiche out of them.  I gave her that "gross" look and she told me they don't have to be that way!  So I thought I would give it a try.  It was a good idea because man were we missing out!  Marcus even had seconds, that's when you know it is a keeper!  I made the Pioneer Woman's pie crust.  Took it out of the freezer last night.  I know she says not to thaw it too much but for me it was much easier to roll out.

I admit I didn't roll it out to it's full potential but for good reason.  I don't like burnt crust!  I know you can put foil around the edges and all that but this morning I was feeling a little bit lazy.  So it was lower than the top of my pie pan.  It didn't make a difference in the taste or affect the dish in any way.

Anyway Preheat the oven to 400 and put the crust in it for five minutes, otherwise it won't cook all the way.

Take 1 cup of Ham (I used lunch meat, again lazy lol), 1 cup of Kale, 1 Tbsp of Garlic Powder (1 Diced Garlic Clove if you are feeling motivated), and 1Tbsp of Onion (1/8 onion chopped) and put it in a skillet on medium heat for just 2 to 3 minutes.  It just brings the flavors out.  While that is cooking beat 3 eggs with 3/4 cup of milk in another bowl.  Add some salt and pepper, it really depends on your tastes.  Pull the oven rack with the crust out and add the ham and kale mixture then the eggs.  I added some cheese on top because Hey everything tastes better with cheese!  The reason I didn't take the crust out completely is because I didn't want to splash the egg all over.  It keeps the stove top clean!  Bake at 400 for 12 minutes or until it isn't jiggly anymore (That's my technical term haha).

Ingredients:
1 Pie Crust
1 Cup Ham
1 Cup Kale
1 Tbsp Garlic powder (1 clove Garlic diced)
1 Tbsp Onion Powder (1/8 Onion diced)
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup milk
salt
pepper
1/2 cup cheese, any kind

Yum Yum!  This makes a great dinner too!  Anyone have any great quiche recipes they want to share??

Pineapple Upside Down Muffins

My Aunt has been telling me about these pineapple upside down muffins that they used to have at Perkins. All of our Perkins have closed in Colorado so I never got the chance to taste these creations she talks so highly about! She told me about the topping so I searched and searched for a copycat recipe and found nothing, so here I am blindly copycatting (Is that a word?)a recipe I've never tasted. I don't know how Perkin's muffins taste but these are definitely yummy and I will be making them again!

 Pineapple Upside Down Muffins
 Servings 10

10 Pineapple Rings
10 Stemless Cherries
 6 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
 4 Tablespoons Butter, Melted

 2 Cups Flour, whatever you prefer
 1/2 Cup Sugar
 2 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
 1 egg
 1 Cup Milk
 1/4 Cup Butter, melted or Coconut oil to make it healthier

 Melt the 4 Tablespoons of butter and mix in the brown sugar. Grease the muffin pans really well and add a spoonful to ten of them. Lay the pineapple rings down and put a cherry in the middle. Mix the rest of the ingredients and add to the top of the pineapple and cherries. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Check with a toothpick to make sure they are all the way done. These are what they look like...yum

Strawberry-Pineapple-Banana Smoothie

My son and I love smoothies for breakfast, especially when we have fresh fruit. I also like to make up my own random smoothies and sometimes they come out bad and sometimes they come out delicious, like this one.

1 Cup Vanilla Soy Milk

1 fresh or frozen Banana

1 cup fresh or frozen Strawberries

1/2 Cup Pineapple (we buy it fresh and freeze it)

1-2 teaspoons Honey (depending on how sweet you like it)

1 teaspoon of ground flax seed

If you are using all fresh fruit then you may need to add some ice. Makes 2 servings.

We just throw it all in our Ninja and enjoy breakfast!