Egg roll in a bowl

Love egg rolls but trying to cut carbs? This is the perfect dish for a healthified Asian fix. Quick, easy and makes a big batch.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground pork sausage (you could use chicken, turkey or beef also)

1 bag (6-7 cups) coleslaw mix or shredded cabbage

4 cloves garlic minced

1 tablespoon ginger minced

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1 tablespoon sesame oil

Instructions:

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and sausage. Cook, stirring often to crumble, until cooked through. Do not drain.  Add the coleslaw mix, ginger, and soy sauce to the skillet with the sausage. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until cabbage has softened a bit. Remove from the heat and top with the green onions and drizzle with sesame oil. Serve immediately.

Optional: I also fried an egg, chopped it up and added it.

Drizzle with sriracha, sweet chili or sweet and sour sauce before serving, if desired.

Low Carb Garlic "Bread"

Today was the most Monday-est Tuesday ever. Work was a total poop show. And although every ounce of me wanted to opt for pizza and some wine I went with a treadmill workout and healthy dinner.  Baby steps. But Lyndee for the win today. I paired this with a 4 oz boneless sirloin chop and it was delicious. Not to mention, super easy to make.  18 minutes starts to finish and it tasted just like a slightly doughy cheesy bread stick from Pizza Hut.

Ingredients
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup parmesan
1 egg
Garlic powder
Italian seasoning

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Break egg into a bowl and beat.  Add a few dashes of garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Stir in the cheeses. Line a cookie sheet or pizza pan with parchment paper.  Dumb the "bread" mixture on the paper and spread into a circle.  I threw a few squirts of butter spray on top and another dash of garlic but that's optional.  Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. I did 15 minutes and then a low broil for 1 minute and 30 seconds. That's it! Remove from oven and cut. I did half of the bread for dinner which was 3 carbs.  Yes, for half of it.  6 carbs if you wanna eat the entire thing and you probably will want to.

Chocolate cake mix bars

So rich and decadent! No one will believe how easy these are to make!

Ingredients:

1 chocolate cake mix

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter softened to room temperature

1 egg

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x9 pan with parchment paper & spray with cooking spray. Combine cake mix, butter, vanilla & egg in mixer bowl & beat until mix forms into thick dough.  Press 2/3 of the dough into the prepared baking pan (it will look like there isn't enough to cover the bottom, just keep working it into a thin even layer). Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of each type of chocolate chips. Pour sweetened condensed milk over the top in a thin, even layer. Separate remaining dough into balls & evenly distribute over the top of the chocolate chips. Press down to flatten a bit. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips. Bake 27­ 30 minutes. Cool completely before slicing. 

Breakfast casserole muffins

Ingredients:

8 oz. breakfast sausage

8 eggs

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon paprika

6 Thomas’ English Muffins, coarsely chopped

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup diced green onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 12 cavity muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray, set aside.

Cook the breakfast sausage in a skillet over medium heat, breaking it up and crumbling it until it’s no longer pink. Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, dry mustard and paprika. Add the coarsely chopped English Muffins, cheese, green onions and cooked sausage to the bowl, stir to combine. Let mixture sit for 10 minutes before filling up the muffin cups evenly.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the eggs are set and cooked through. Run a knife around breakfast cups to remove from the muffin tin and enjoy warm.

*If desired, package up the breakfast cups in a zipclose bag and store in fridge. Reheat one cup at a time in the microwave before eating.

Cake Mix Peanut Butter Bars

Ingredients:

1 cup of Peanut Butter

1/2 cup water

1 large egg

15.25 ounces Yellow Cake Mix

For the frosting:

1 stick margarine (1/2 c.), softened

1/4 cup milk

1/­2 tsp vanilla (depending on your taste)

3 tablespoons of cocoa

2-­3 cups of powdered sugar

Heat the oven to 350°F.  Spray a 13 X 9­inch pan with no­stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl combine 1 cup of peanut butter, water and egg in large bowl, stirring until smooth.  Stir in cake mix until blended well. Spread into prepared pan.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until puffed and light golden brown. Cool completely.

Mix all frosting ingredients with a hand mixer until smooth. Add more powdered sugar or milk until you reach desired consistency and spread on top of bars. Or, if you’re feeling lazy, buy a can of whipped milk chocolate frosting. 

These bars were easy to throw together and smelled delicious coming out of the oven.  While they were very tasty, be warned that they are very “dense”.  I would cut them in small squares or be prepared to wash it down with a glass of milk. 

Dragon Noodles (spicy noodles)

Do you love Asian food but don’t think you have the time or skills to make it?  Just made these dragon noodles and they were phenomenal! Super easy to make and taste amazing.  Had just enough spice to  make it nice but not painful or overbearing.  Total time was just under 10 minutes and I had all the ingredients on hand except for the lo mein noodles which I found at the local Asian mart.  This recipe will definitely be going in the rotation for wonderful, quick dinners! Next time I might try adding some chopped up chicken for protein.

Ingredients:

4 oz. lo mein noodles

2 Tbsp butter

¼ tsp crushed red pepper

1 large egg

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp sriracha (rooster sauce)

1 handful fresh cilantro

1 sliced green onion

Begin to boil water for the noodles. Once the water reaches a full boil, add the noodles and cook according to the package directions (boil for 5-7 minutes).

While waiting for the water to boil, prepare the sauce. In a small bowl stir together the brown sugar, soy sauce, and sriracha.  In a large skillet melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-low heat. Add the red pepper to the butter as it melts. Whisk an egg in a bowl and then add to the melted butter. Stir gently and cook through. Once the egg is done cooking, turn off the heat.

When the noodles are tender, drain the water and then add them to the skillet with the cooked egg. Also add the prepared sauce. Turn the heat on low to evaporate excess moisture, and stir until everything is coated well with the sauce. Sprinkle the sliced green onions and cilantro leaves (whole) on top and serve. 

Low carb egg muffins

15 eggs (for silicone muffin pans, use 12 eggs for metal muffin tins)

1-2 cups grated low fat cheese (I like sharp cheddar or a blend of cheddar/Jack cheese, use less cheese if using meat)

Optional, but highly recommended, 3 green onions diced small.

Optional: chopped veggies such as blanched broccoli, spinach, red pepper, zucchini, mushrooms, etc.

Optional: diced Canadian bacon, lean ham, or crumbled cooked turkey sausage

Preheat oven to 375 F. Use regular or silicone muffin pan, 12 muffin size. If using silicone pan, spray with nonstick spray. If using regular muffin pan, put two paper liners into each slot, then spray liner with nonstick spray.

In the bottom of the muffin cups layer meat, vegetables, cheese and green onions. You want the muffin cups to be about 2/3 full, with just enough room to pour a little egg around the other ingredients. Break eggs into large measuring bowl, add salt and pepper and beat well.  Pour egg into each muffin cup until it is 3/4 full.  Bake 25-35 minutes until muffins have risen and are slightly browned and set.

Muffins will keep more than a week in the refrigerator without freezing. Egg muffins can be frozen and reheated, but I like them best when they're just refrigerated. For best results, thaw in refrigerator before reheating. Microwave on high about 1-2 minutes to reheat.

I used egg beaters, ground turkey breakfast sausage, shredded cheddar, minced garlic and green onion.  I put a few dashes of hot sauce in the sausage when I was cooking it.  These turned out great! A super easy breakfast to grab and go.  Warmed up well.  And only 130 calories per serving in my Pampered Chef brownie pan! 

Pepper jack and bacon omelet - 150 calories

Want to spice up your morning breakfast but keep it healthy?  How about 150 calories and 11 grams of protein?  This quick and easy omelet is my new favorite breakfast meal.  

Ingredients:

1 egg, scrambled

1 slice bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 wedge Laughing Cow Pepperjack cheese

1 tsp garden fresh salsa or pico di gallo 

Cook bacon and set aside on a paper towel to cool.  Pour egg into heated pan.  When first side is done, flip.  Spread crumbled bacon and chunks of cheese onto one half of the egg.  Let set for a minute.  Flip the empty side of the egg over the bacon and cheese.  Cook a bit longer so that the cheese begins to melt.  Top with fresh salsa or pico and enjoy! 

Lazy cake cookie bars

Review by Lyndee:

It was a crazy, busy week with lots of travel, tragedy and heartbreak.  But the bright spot of my weekend was a visit from an old friend that I adore.  She was coming Saturday afternoon and I wanted to make a dessert to have on hand, but didn’t want to spend all afternoon doing it. So I found this recipe and gave it a try.

Ingredients:

1 box yellow or white cake mix (I used yellow)

2 eggs beaten

5 T melted butter

2 C M&M’s or mini chocolate chips (I used regular size chocolate chips)

Mix all ingredients together.  Put in a greased 9×13 pan and bake at 350 for 20 min or until golden brown.  Cut and serve once cool. 

These were definitely easy to make and tasted pretty good for as little effort as they took.  You can never go wrong with chocolate chip cookie bars.  

Cheesy Ham Biscuit Pull Aparts

Review by Lyndee:

Ingredients:

1 egg

2 T. milk

1 (16.3 oz) Pillsbury Grands Flaky Layers Biscuits

3/4 cup diced ham pieces

1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion

3 oz. (3/4 cup) finely shredded Mexican-styled cheese

1/2 t. granulated garlic

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 11 x 7 or 12 x 8 glass baking dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl, beat egg and milk with a wire whisk until smooth. Separate dough into individual biscuits and cut each biscuit into quarters. Gently stir biscuit pieces into egg mixture to coat evenly. Fold in ham, cheese, onions and granulated garlic. Spoon mixture into prepared dish, arrange biscuit pieces in a single layer.

Baked at 350 for 23 - 25 minutes or until golden brown. You can either cut into squares or just pull apart and serve.

This was ok. Not my favorite breakfast ever.  I think I would try it again but use 2 eggs and bacon instead of ham.  

Healthified biscuit egg casserole

Review by Lyndee:

Original Ingredients:

1 can of 8 count buttermilk biscuits

1 pound of any breakfast sausage roll

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese  

1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

5 eggs, beaten

2 egg whites

3/4 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Ingredients that I used to healthify:

1 can of reduced fat buttermilk biscuits

1 pound of Fareway ground turkey breakfast sausage

2 cups of colby jack shredded cheese

2 cups of egg beaters

Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 °F. Crumble and cook sausage in skillet over medium heat until browned. Drain.

Line bottom of greased 8 x 8 inch baking dish with biscuit dough, firmly pressing perforations to seal. Sprinkle with sausage and cheese.  Whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a medium bowl until blended; pour over sausage and cheese.

Bake 30 minutes or until set (A knife should come out clean when inserted in the center). Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into squares; serve warm.  **To Avoid burning or excessive browning on top of casserole, cover with foil for half of cooking time (first 15 minutes)**

The healthified version of this was really good. I did not cover the casserole with foil while baking so mine got a little more brown than normal but I will remember to do it next time.  This was cheap and super easy to make for a warm, healthified breakfast.