Turkey Bacon Breakfast Rolls

Turkey Bacon Breakfast Rolls
Ingredients
1 can Pillsbury crescent seamless dough 
5 slices cooked turkey bacon, crumbled
1/2 t dried thyme

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil & spray with nonstick cooking spray.
3. Place the dough on a cutting board and unroll into a rectangle.
4. Place the bacon strips on the dough them sprinkle the thyme.
5. Roll the dough back into its original shape.
6. Cut into 1/2 inch thick slices and place on baking sheet.
7. Bake for 15 minutes or until just golden in color.

Makes 12 rolls.

Nutritional Info
Calories: 74.6; Fat: 3.5g; Sodium: 255mg; Carbs: 8g; Fiber: 0g; Protein: 1.8g

Buttery Garlic Spaghetti Squash & Turkey Meatballs in Red Sauce

Buttery Garlic Spaghetti Squash
Ingredients
1 spaghetti squash
1/4 C Brummel & Brown butter
2 t garlic powder
Salt to taste

Directions
1. Roast spaghetti squash in the oven & then use fork to "strand" it. (Cut spaghetti squash in half. Scoop out seeds. Bake in 400° oven for 40-60 minutes, depending on how large your squash is. Look for it to turn soft or brown a little on the edges. Use a fork to "scoop out" the innards. It will become strands.)
2. Mix butter, garlic powder, and salt in a bowl with the squash until butter is melted.

My spaghetti squash yielded 6 1-cup servings.

Nutritional Info
Calories: 81.1; Fat: 3.8g; Carbs: 12g; Protein: 1.5g ; Sodium: 864mg; Fiber: 2.4g

Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
12 oz lean ground turkey
2 eggs
1 t oregano
1 t thyme
1 t dried parsley
1 t minced garlic
1 t salt
1 slice of bread, crumbled

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil & spray with nonstick cooking oil.
3. Mix all ingredients together.
4. Form into little balls & place on cooking sheet.
5. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until meatballs begin to brown.

Makes approximately 32 meatballs.

Nutritional Info (for each meatball)
Calories: 22; Fat: 1g; Sodium: 89mg; Carbs: 1g; Fiber: 0g; Protein: 2.6g

Red Sauce
Ingredients
1/2 C onion
1 t minced garlic
15oz can tomato sauce
14.5oz can diced tomatoes
2 T tomato paste
1/4 C fresh basil, chopped
2 t Italian seasoning

Directions
1. In a sauce pan, cook onion until soft. Then add minced garlic and cook until aromatic.
2. Add tomato sauce, dicedt omatoes, tomato paste, basil, and Italian seasoning. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Add meatballs to sauce and allow them to simmer for 8-10 minutes before serving.

Makes approximately 6 1/3 C servings.

Nutritional Info
Calories: 53; Fat: 0.3g; Sodium: 623mg; Carbs: 12.3g; Protein: 2.2g; Fiber: 3.1g

Stuffed Turkey Burger & Breaded Yam Fries

Stuffed Turkey Burger
Ingredients
6oz ground lean turkey
2 laughing cow cheese wedges
1 egg
1 t thyme
1 t oregano
1 t dried parsley
1 t minced garlic
1 slice of bread, crumbled

Directions
1. Mix all ingredients, except cheese wedges, together.
2. Form into 2 patties.
3. Squish each cheese wedge into a coin shape. Place on top of the patties.
4. Cover the cheese wedge with the excess turkey meat from the patties.
5. Grill. Enjoy.

Makes 2 patties.

Nutritional Info
Calories: 267;  Fat: 15.1g; Sodium: 1635mg; Carbs: 10.5; Fiber: 1.7g; Protein: 24.4g

Breaded Yam (or sweet potato) Fries
Ingredients
3 small yams
3/4 C bread crumbs
1 large egg
2 egg whites

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Peel yams & then cut them into fry strips.
3. Mix the egg and egg whites together in one bowl. Have a separate bowl for the breadcrumbs.
4.  Cover a baking sheet with foil & spray with nonstick cooking spray.
5. Dip yams in the egg mixture, then in the breadcrumbs, and then lay them on the cooking sheet.
6. Once all yams have been dipped, bake them in the oven for 30 minutes on one side. Take them out, flip them, and then bake for another 30 minutes.

Makes approximately 4-5 servings.

Nutritional Info
Calories: 149; Fat: 2.4g; Sodium: 414mg; Carbs: 24.3 g; Fiber: 2.2g; Protein: 7.5g

Butternut Squash Mac 'N Cheese

Ingredients
1 small butternut squash (about 1 pound), peeled, seeded, and diced (about 3 cups)
1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
1 1/2 cups unsweetned original almond milk
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
12oz Brown Rice Pasta
1 cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon olive oil
Olive-oil cooking spray, for baking pan

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
3. Combine squash, stock, and milk in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until squash is tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Add noodles to boiling water; cook according to package instructions, about 8 minutes.
5. Mash contents of saucepan; stir in nutmeg, cayenne, and salt, and season with black pepper. Stir to combine.
6. Drain pasta, and transfer to a large bowl; stir in squash mixture, cheddar, ricotta, and 2 tablespoons Parmesan.
7. Coat a 9x9 inch baking dish with olive oil spray and pour in the noodle mixture.
8. In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs, remaining parmesan, and oil; sprinkle evenly over noodles.
9. Cover with foil, and bake 20 minutes.
10. Remove foil, and continue baking until lightly browned and crisp on top, 20 to 40 minutes more. Serve immediately.

Serves 8.

Calories		178.1
Total Fat		4.7 g
	Saturated Fat	1.9 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.2 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	1.3 g
Cholesterol		9.5 mg
Sodium		349.3 mg
Potassium		324.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate		25.3 g
	Dietary Fiber	3.0 g
	Sugars	0.4 g
Protein		9.0 g

Energy Cookies

Ingredients
 2 whole ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 C nut butter
2/3 C unsweetened applesauce
1 scoop whey protein powder (vanilla & chocolate are the best)
1 t Vanilla extract
1 t butter extract (optional)
1 1/2 C oatmeal, uncooked
1/4 C dark chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°
2.  In a large bowl, mix mashed banana and peanut butter until completely combined. Then add in the applesauce, vanilla protein powder and vanilla and butter extracts. Mix again until completely combined.
3.  Add in the oatmeal and chocolate chips to the mixture and combine.
4. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.
5. Drop cookie dough, by spoonfuls, onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and flatten cookies into circles. 
6. Bake cookies approximately 30 minutes, or until golden brown and done. Remove from oven and let rest on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then move to cooling rack.
7. When cookies are completely cool, store in a covered container.  

Protein Balls

You see that plate of little chocolate balls?  Yeah, they're delicious and the perfect preworkout or just plain snack item. I tend to munch on 2 of those with an apple as a morning snack.

Adapted from Fitnessista.
Ingredients
2 T protein powder
2 T creamy nut butter (i prefer almond)
2 T shredded coconut (if you're not a coconut fan, like me, I can assure you that you can barely taste it!)
1 T agave
1 packet of stevia
Pinch of sea salt
1 T dark chocolate chips (look for the Hersheys' Special Dark in the baking section)

Directions
1. In a small food processor, pulse protein powder, nut butter, and coconut until thoroughly combined.
2. Add agave, stevia, and salt and continue to process until a dough forms.
3. Add in chocolate chips and pulse to chop them up and mix them in.
4. Roll into balls. I use a small scooper and then I'll pack them and roll them in my hand.

1 ball = 1 serving
70 calories, 6g carbs, 4 g fat, 3 g protein, 18mg sodium, 5g sugar.

Easy-peasy slowcooker meal

Don't you just love it when an experiment goes right? Yeah, me, too!!
Ingredients
1lb chicken breast (about 4 thin breasts)
13.25oz package of noodles (I used whole wheat linguine)
1 jar of pasta sauce (I had butternut squash pasta sauce)
2 cups chicken broth

Directions
1. Mix pasta sauce with broth. Pour into slow cooker.
2. Place noodles into slow cooker. Break up if needed.
3. Layer chicken on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Cook on low for 3-4 hours.

*almost*healthy EZ chicken dinner

4-6 chicken breast, diced
1-2 lbs green beans
2-3 lbs new potatoes
1 stick butter, melted
1 packet Italian seasoning dressing

1. Preheat oven to 350*
2. Put chicken, green beans, and potatoes into a 9x13 baking dish.
3. Pour butter on dish. Sprinkle Italian seasoning on top. Mix a little to cover all foods.
4. Cover dish with foil.
5. Bake for 1 hour.

Stuffed and baked avocado

This came out spectacular!!

Ingredients
1/2 avocado
1/4 c shredded parmesan
Squeeze if lime wedge

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350*
2. Stuff avocado with parmesan cheese and then squeeze some lime on it.
3. Bake open faced for 15-20 minutes, until cheese melts and begins to brown.
4. Allow to cool and then dig in!

Homemade Larabars

Well, I got the blogger phone app and should be able to update a little more often. With that being said, I present to you....

Homemade chocolate chip Larabars
1.25 c pitted dates
1 c almonds or walnuts
2 T cocoa powder
1 c special dark Hershey chocolate chips

1. In a food proccessr, process nuts, cocoa powder, and dates until sticky dough forms.
2. Add chocolate chips and pulse so as not to dice them up too much.
3. Empty contents into a 9x9 baking dish. Squish it all down until evenly distributed.
4. Place in fridge for 30 minutes to harden. Then cut into sections and wrap in plastic wrap.

These should hold in fridge for about a month.... That is if you don't devour them first!

It's Nomi-licious time!

Lots of food and fun this weekend!

On the menu

• Oreo Fluff
• Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese (Hungry Girl inspiration)
• Lasagna Cupcakes (Hungry Girl inspiration)
• Cheese Chicken Enchilada Casserole (Hungry Girl inspiration)

Oreo Fluff

This stuff is amazingly good and amazingly easy to make. Unfortunately, it does not top the "healthy eats" list. But, we gotta indulge every once-in-a-while!!!

Ingredients

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 package cream cheese, softened at room temperature

1 package oreos

16oz tub of cool whip

Directions

1. Mix cream cheese and condensed milk with a hand mixer (or by had with a fork, whatever works...).

2. Fold in cool whip

3. Break oreos up.

4. Fold in oreos into mixture.

5. DEVOUR!

Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese

Ingredients

2 C Rotini pasta (or elbow macaroni), cooked al dente

8oz cooked & shredded chicken breast

1 t chopped garlic

1/4 C Hot Sauce (my favorite is Frank's RedHot original or thick)

1/2 C plain greek yogurt

2 wedges of Laughing Cow light cheese wedge

2 t yellow mustard

1 1/2 t grated parmesan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat. Add chicken, garlic, and 3 T of hot sauce. Mix thoroughly and set aside.

3. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine greek yogurt, cheese wedges, mustard, and 1 T of hot sauce. Mix well and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds.

4. Spray an 8x8in baking pan with nonstick spray. Evenly place half of the pasta into the pan. Evenly top with the chicken mixture followed by the remaining pasta.

5. Add the greek yogurt mixture to the pan in an even layer. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

6. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly.

7. DEVOUR!

Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional Info (1 servings): 288 calories, 25g carbs, 3g fat, 18g protein, 560mg sodium, 4g sugar

Lasagna Cupcakes

I've made these before and received so many questions on the recipe. So, here ya go!

Ingredients

1 package ground turkey (the leaner, the better)

1 package of sliced mushrooms

1 14.5 C of diced tomatoes (crushed will work as well)

1 1/2 t chopped garlic

1/2 t Italian seasoning

9-10oz package of fresh baby spinach

1 1/2 C fat-free ricotta

2 egg whites

24 small square wonton wrappers (find them in the tofu section at the grocery store)

1 1/2 C shredded park-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. Bring a large skilled sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat. Add turkey and season with 1/8 t salt and pepper. Cook and crumble until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.

3. Add mushrooms and stir often until mushrooms are soft and turkey is cooked through, about 6 minutes.

4. Reduce heat to low. Add crushed tomatoes, 1 t garlic, and Italian seasoning to the skillet. Stirring occasionally, simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside.

5. Wilt spinach in a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray on medium heat.

6. In a bowl, combine spinach, ricotta cheese, egg whites, 1/8 t salt, and 1/2 t garlic. Mix well & set aside.

7. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray, and press wonton wrapper into each cup of the pan. 

8. Evenly distribute about half of the spinach-ricotta mixture among the cups, smoothing the surfaces with the back of a spoon.

9. Evenly distribute about half of the turkey mixture among the cups, smoothing the surfaces with the back of a spoon.

10. Top each turkey layer with 1 T mozzarella cheese.

11. Place another wonton wrapper into each cup, lightly pressing it down on the cheese layer and along the sides of the cup, letting the edges fall over the pan.

12. Repeat layering by evenly distributing remaining spinach-ricotta mixture and turkey mixture among the cups. Top each cup with 1 T mozzarella cheese.

13. Bake for about 10 minutes, until cheese has melted and edges are browned

14. Allow to cool before you DEVOUR!

Makes 24 servings.

Nutritional Info (per cupcake): 78 cals, 6g carbs, 2g fat, 9g protein, 178mg sodium, 1g sugar

Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

6-8 oz cooked and shredded chicken breast

1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 C green enchilada sauce

1 1/2 - 2 C cooked brown rice OR quinoa (or both!!)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Spray an 8x8 baking pan with nonstick spray and set aside.

3. In a bowl, add chicken, 1/4 C cheese, and 1/2 C enchilada sauce. Mix well and set aside.

4. Evenly distribute rice in the baking pan. Top the rice layer with the chicken mixture.

5. Sprinkle 1/4 C cheddar cheese on top of the chicken mixture.

6. Bake for about 10 minutes, until cheese has melted and starting to bubble.

7. DEVOUR!

Nutritional Info: 219 cals, 19g carbs, 7g fat, 15g protein, 316mg sodium, 0g sugar

It's been a wee-bit too long!

I truly apologize, from the bottom of my heart, for the extremely long lapse in posts. I was busy studying for a very important certification relating to my career. Good news though... I passed.

Well, I don't want to bore you all too much so here's what's on the menu this week...

• Butternut Squash & Chicken Foil Pack (adapted from Hungry Girl)
• Zucchini Foil Pack  (adapted from Hungry Girl)
• Taco Tilapia/Chicken Foil Pack  (adapted from Hungry Girl)
• EASY Homemade Strawberry Jam
• Mini Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Muffins
• Pizza "loaf"

Butternut Squash & Chicken Foil Pack

Ingredients

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 C greek yogurt

1 t chopped garlic

2 C peeled and chopped butternut squash (about 1 squash)

1 C chopped onion (about 1 medium onion)

10-12oz chicken breast, diced

salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°

2. In a bowl, combine soup, greek yogurt, and garlic. Mix well. Then add squash and onion. Stir to coat.

3. Last a large piece of heavy-duty foil on a baking sheet and spray with nonstick spray. Lay veggie mixture on the foil.

4. Season chicken with salt & pepper and lay on top of the veggie mixture.

5. Place another large piece of foil on top. Fold together and seal all four edges of the 2 foil pieces, forming a well-sealed packet.

6. Bake for about 40 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

7. Mix well & serve. Season with additional salt & pepper if you would like.\

Makes 4 servings

Nutritional Stats: 340 cals; 32 carb; 6 fat; 42 Protein; 347 Sodium; 1 fiber

Zucchini Foil Pack

Ingredients

2 zucchini (one regular, one yellow)

1/2 C onion, diced

1 t light whipped butter (like Brummel & Brown... yum!)

1/8 t dried oregano

Dash of salt & pepper

1/2 t chopped garlic

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°

2. Thinly slice each zucchini lengthwise, forming wide flat strips. Cut strips in half width-wise and set aside.

3. Lay a large piece of heavy-duty foil on a baking sheet and spray with nonstick spray. Place sliced zucchini and onion int he center of the foil.

4. Top veggies with 2 evenly spaced dollops of butter. Sprinkle with oregano, salt, and pepper. Top with garlic.

5. Place another large piece of foil over the veggies. Fold together and seal all four edges of the 2 foil pieces, forming a well-sealed packet.

6. Bake for about 20 minutes, until veggies are soft.

Makes 4 servings

Nutritional Stats: 66 cals; 11 carb; 2 fat; 3 Protein; 50 Sodium; 3 fiber

Taco Tilapia/Chicken Foil Pack

Ingredients

2- 4oz tilapia fillets

2- 4oz chicken breasts

1 medium onion, chopped

2 t taco seasoning mix

4 t lime juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°

2. Place fish/chicken and veggies in a bowl (2 separate bowls), spray with a light mist of nonstick spray. Sprinkle with taco seasoning and lime juice. Toss to combine.

3. Lay a large piece of heavy-duty foil on a baking sheet and spray with nonstick spray. Transfer fish/chicken and veggie mix to the center of the foil pieces (you may wan to separate fish & chicken foil packs)

4. Fold together and seal the top and bottom edges of the foil, and then the side edges, to create a well-sealed packet.

5. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

Makes 2 servings of tilapia  & 2 servings of chicken

Nutritional Stats: 126 cals; 3 carb; 2 fat; 23 Protein; 135 Sodium; 0 fiber

EASY Homemade Strawberry Jam

Ingredients

2 cups of strawberries

2-3 packets of truvia

2 T chia seeds

(seriously, that's it!)

Directions

1. Cut stems off of strawberries & pulse to break them up (but not puree them)

2. Place in container. Stir in truvia & chia seeds.

3. Allow to sit in fridge for at least an hour before digging in (overnight for best results)

4. Enjoy it over the mini protein muffins. mmmm.

Makes ? servings (i'll work on that this week)

Mini Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Muffins

Ingredients

3 egg whites

1/2 C canned pumpkin

8 Truvia packets

2 Scoops protein powder (preferable chocolate, but anything you have will work as well)

2 t coco powder

10 T PB2

1/2 t baking soda

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°

2. Mix eggs, canned pumpkin, and truvia together.

3. Add protein powder, coco powder, PB2, and baking soda.

4. Spoon into mini cupcake pan (you can use a regular cupcake pan as well, but the nutritional stats will be doubled)

4. Bake for 13-15 minutes.

Makes 24 mini servings

Nutritional Stats: 25 cals; 3 carb; 0 fat; 3 protein; 64 Sodium; 0 fiber

Pizza "Loaf"

Ingredients

1 can pillbury pizza crust

1/2 C pizza sauce (or more to taste)

1/2 C shredded pizza cheese (or more to taste)

2oz of mini turkey pepperoni (or toppings of choice)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to temperature stated on the can of dough.

2. Roll out dough into a rectangular shape

3. Spread pizza sauce into the middle of the dough

4. Sprinkle cheese on top of the sauce.

5. Sprinkle pepperonis (or topping of choice) on top of the cheese

6. Cut slits on the long sides of the dough (like ribbon), equal amounts on each side

7. Braid the slits down the pizza to close it at the top

8. Bake for the recommended time on the can (usually 12-15 minutes).

9. Allow 5-6 minutes to cool.

10. Cut into 6 pieces and devour!

Makes 6 servings

Nutritional Stats: 185 cals; 19 carb; 9 fat; 8 Protein; 706 Sodium; 2 fiber

The Perfect Fluffy Scrambled Eggs

Ok, well this particular blog post isn't so much a recipe as it is a cooking method. But I promise you, these will be the fluffiest, creamiest and best tasting scrambled eggs you've ever had!

Ingredients: 

3-4 Eggs

1 Heaping Spoon of Butter

1 Tablespoon of Crème fraîche (can sub sour creme)

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

This is where it gets different than your typical scrambled eggs that you are used to making. Its all about on again and off again heat.  

First thing you do is add the butter to a saucepan. Thats right, no skillets here!

Next you are going to add your eggs right into the saucepan, don't premix them either. 

Then over a medium high heat we will put it on and start stirring for about 30 seconds.

Then we are going to take them off the heat for about 30 seconds, never stopping stirring.

Now we are going to repeat this a few times until the eggs start to ribbon up and solidify.

On heat...

Off again.....and repeat. The eggs will continue cooking due to the heat in the pan so pull them off before they are what you could consider fully cooked but close to it. 

Now once they are off the heat for good they will still be cooking in that hot pan, this is when you add your spoonful of Crème fraîche. This obviously adds to the flavor and helps the creaminess but the coolness will stop the cooking process of the eggs as well. 

At this point you can go ahead and add your salt, pepper, maybe some chives or bacon bits. Whatever strikes your fancy!

And there you have it, one hell of a scrambled egg dish! Serve it with some toast, eat by itself, however ya like it, but I promise, you'll love em! 

Roasted Garlic Pods with a KC Strip

So keeping with my style I decided to try my luck at a dish I had at my favorite restaurant out in St Louis called Prime 1000. This is a simple, inexpensive and yet amazingly tasty way to really fancy up a plain old steak!

Now for those of you who are not huge garlic lovers let me just tell ya....try this and you may change your mind! Roasting the garlic really changes the flavor versus the fresh chopped and minced garlic you are used to eating! Its very subtle without any harsh bit or crunch that is typically associated with garlic.

Ingredients:

1-2 pods of garlic per steak (dependant on how big the pods are and how much you want)

However many steaks you want. I used a nice KC Strip but it will work on any.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Thyme

Preperation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut about 1/2" off the pointed side of the garlic pod to expose the garlic cloves underneath. They should look like this....

Place pods into a muffin tin with cut side facing up and generously apply olive oil making sure it makes its way down into the pod itself. (if you don't have a muffin tin just make some "cups" out of foil.)

Sprinkle some Thyme over the top of them and then cover with foil.

Insert into oven for 35-45 minutes or until the garlic is starting to kinda caramelize and brown around the edges like it looks here.

At about the 30 minute mark take out your steak and cook it for about 6 minutes per side over a medium fire grill. (for med rare)

To serve just place the pod directly on the top of the steaks and there ya have it, a classy looking out of the ordinary steak dish with an amazing taste and gourmet presentation. Now I didn't take photo's of it but the other thing I really enjoy with this dish is to make some hollandaise sauce to drizzle over it as well. The creamy hint of lemon mixed with that roasted garlic sets it off to even a higher level!

Anyways, as I always I hope this helps you make something a little fancier than normal for yourself or your family and I hope you enjoy!

-Ryan