Bite Size Meals ... Sausage, Egg & Cheese Hash Brown Cups

Saturday morning after I finished up work I had to make something for my boys and our guest.  I went on a Google search for something lighter and found these Sausage, Egg & Cheese Hash Brown Cups on Emily Bites.  The boys loved these and they were so light and fluffy!

Simple easy and won't way you down for the day!

INGREDIENTS:

• 20 oz shredded hash brown potatoes
• 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 ½ t salt (plus a little more to taste for the eggs)
• Black pepper, to taste
• 4 chicken breakfast sausage links (I used Turkey Sausage and removed from casings)
• 6 large eggs
• 4 egg whites
• 6 T shredded 2% cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat the oven to 400. Coat a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray
2. In a large bowl, combine the hash browns, olive oil, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly. Scoop the hash browns evenly into each of the muffin tins and then press the hash browns down into the cups and up the sides to form a well. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until edges are browned.
3. Cut the sausages up into small bite sized pieces. Mist a skillet with cooking spray and brown the sausage pieces over medium-high heat.
4. In another large bowl, combine the eggs and egg whites and whisk together until thoroughly beaten. Add a bit of salt & pepper to taste.
5. Evenly sprinkle the shredded cheese and browned sausage pieces into each hash brown cup and then spoon the egg mixture into each hash brown cup as well. Place the cups back into the oven and bake for another 15 minutes or until the eggs are set. To remove from tins, run a large spoon or butter knife along the edges of each muffins cup.

WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PLUS:3 per cup(P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

NUTRITION INFORMATION:
123 calories, 10 g carbs, 3 g fat, 7 g protein, 1 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)

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Getting our Eggplant on!

I saw some great eggplant at the store the other day and wanted to make it with the chicken I had marinated for dinner.  I knew I needed a clever way to prepare it so ALL the boys in the house would at least try it before giving me that face!  Cole even turned to me after eating a few bites this is really good mom ... yup score for mom!  I went on a Google search and found on Food.com a  Recipe for a Easy Cheesy Eggplant Casserole and ran with it.

1 cup spaghetti sauce Barilla 

3/4 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese 

3/4 cup nonfat cottage cheese 

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese (grated) 

3/4 lb eggplant (slices 1/2-inch thick)

Grill eggplant on George Foreman Grill for about 5-10 minutes until soft. Spray 8x8 baking pan with nonstick spray. Put eggplant on bottom of pan. Spread spaghetti sauce over eggplant. Mix cottage cheese and mozzarella, and spread it over sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350º for 30-35 minutes and serve hot. 2 Serving Size : 4

Alexis Notes:  I used my inside grill to grill the eggplant.  I also doubled the recipe in hopes that everyone would eat more :).  I used a low fat marinara sauce I love.  It is thicker and not so runny like regular spaghetti sauce.

A yummy way to get your family to eat Eggplant.

I’m a Green Smoothie Snob! hehe

Well guys I’ve been doing very well with my weekly work out.  I’ve been doing the DVD 5 to 6 times a week and last week I did add in an 1 1/2 hours walking in a pool.  I’ll give you a weigh loss when I see one (I finally stepped on a scale last week … ugh).  On the doctor side I went yesterday it was a community clinic so I had to WAIT 2 HOURS past my appointment time to see her.  She laid into me about not taking my thyroid … I deserve it.  She gave me 6 weeks of my pills and then wants me to come take a blood test to see what level I should be at.

On the breakfast time I’ve been sticking to a smoothie every morning even on the weekends.  I’ve been trying different ones and have found 2 more (I’m still a fan of the first Green Monster I made).  Last week I made the blueberry one that was just ok so I switched in the middle of the week to this Green Monsta!  I never thought I’d be eating let alone drinking anything with Tofu in it but it was actually good.  This one cost a little bit more with the cost of OJ and the Tofu and the Avacado.  It had an ok taste to it but then I added in my raspberry Emergency C and it was good.  I probably won’t make it a lot due to the cost.

The Green Monsta

Ingredients

• 1 cup of fresh baby spinach (rinsed)
• 1/2 of a whole avocado (peeled and sliced)
• 1 package of silken tofu
• 1 honeycrisp apple with the skin (rinsed, cored, and sliced)
• 8 oz of orange juice (calcium fortified)
• Honey or agave nectar (to taste)
• Ice

Directions

1. Blend all ingredients in a blender or smoothie maker until completely smooth (about 5 minutes)
2. Makes about 4 (8oz cups)
3. Enjoy!

Recipe from: http://keepyourdietreal.com/food/drinks/a-green-smoothie-and-an-update/

This week I thought I’d try one Kale Spinach and Apple Smoothie.  Another thing I didn’t think I’d be eating let alone drinking is Kale!  Now this is an OK one the Kale is prominent in the flavor even with my Emergency C you can taste it.  NOW it’s not like eating grass but it’s still not going to trick your brain into this being fruity .  I bought enough kale for the whole week so I will have to drink it until I’m out of it.

Weight Watchers Kale Spinach and Apple Smoothie (3pts)

Ingredients
1 cup lite vanilla soy milk
1 heaping cup spinach leaves
1 heaping cup chopped kale leaves
1 frozen banana (quick tip – freeze them without the peels for quicker use)
1/2 granny smith apple
1 tsp honey

Instructions
1. Blend the spinach, kale, and vanilla soy milk on high in the blender until well blended without chunks.

2. Add the frozen banana, apple, and honey and blend to your desired consistency.  Drink up!

Now to make you laugh today (Valentine’s Day) I’m laying in bed forever not wanting to open my eyes finally do to look at the clock to see I’m 1 1/2 hrs late for work … Caden turned off my volume! UGH.  Then when I clocked off to get Cole out the door I made my smoothie, went to poor it and the bottom exploded from my smoothie maker!  Oh yes I was green, the walls, the counter top and the floor!

Rick had the day off so I found a new machine printed it out and put it by his phone when he woke up.  Being the amazing guy he went and bought it for me!

YES this is a wedding present that I JUST opened almost 9 years later … lol.  So it was very nice to make smoothies in.  SADLY it lasted about a week … ugh.  Today it died a sad and messy death!

Happy Valentine’s Day to me from my hubs.  Roses and a Ninja!  Of course I had to try it out after my work out (yes I did my work on Valentine’s day, no excuses).

So there you have it two new green drinks and a funny green mess.  When they say egg on your face, I can now say no green on me !  Hope you had an amazing Valentines day!