Hashbrown Egg Nests

When you need a good hearty breakfast, full of protein, potatoes, and eggs, but don’t have time to sit down to a big plate full of food…Hashbrown Egg Nests are the way to go.  You can even make these ahead and just reheat when you’re ready to eat.  And they’re the perfect size to grab and go for a quick breakfast on the run.  You can change up the ingredients to whatever meat and veggies you happen to have in your fridge. 

Hashbrown Egg Nests

• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 1 cupfrozen hashbrown potatoes, thawed
• pinch of garlic powder
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper
• 1 cup egg substitute (or 4 eggs, beaten)
• 2 tbsp diced green onion
• 1/4 cup finely diced bell peppers and/or other vegetables of choice
• 1/4 cup shredded cheese
• 1/4 cup meat of choice – diced ham, diced turkey, crumbled bacon, etc

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray muffin pan with nonstick spray.  combine potatoes, 1/2 cup minced onion, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Fill each muffin cup with about 1/3 cup potato mixture and press into bottom and up sides of cup to form a nest.  Bake for 35 minutes, or until godlen brown and crispy.

In bowl, combine egg substitute, green onion, bell peppers (or other veggies), cheese, and meat(s).  Fill each hashbrown nest with about 1/4 cup of egg mixture.  Return to oven and bake another 15-20 minutes, or until eggs are fully cooked.

Serves: 6

 

 

 

Stevie’s Triple Decker Sammie

One day at work, the subject of sandwiches came up.  I mentioned that I love a good BLT sandwich.  A coworker asked me if I’d ever had one with peanut butter, onion, and a fried egg – the way his mom had always made them.   My response?  “Um, no!  That sounds nasty!!”  He tried his best to convince me that it was the best sandwich you’ll ever eat.  I didn’t believe him.  I went on my merry way and forgot all about that conversation.  Except not really.  Every once in a while I’d think about that nasty sounding sandwich.  Would it really be that gross?  Well, I finally decided about a week ago that I’d give it a shot.  Only I eliminated the onion.  I don’t do raw onion.  Otherwise, I followed his intructions exactly – I mean, you have to put the ingredients together in the right order for it to REALLY be Stevie’s Triple Decker.  So if you make this sandwich, please, for the love of all things holy, put it together in the right order! 

Stevie’s Triple Decker Sammie

• 3 slices bread, toasted
• mayonnaise
• lettuce
• fried egg
• tomato
• bacon
• onion
• peanut butter

Okay…start with a slice of toast.  Spread on a layer of mayo.  Then add a few pieces of lettuce.  Top with a fried egg.  Spread a layer of mayo on a second piece of toast and place it mayo side down onto the sandwich.  Spread a thin layer of peanut butter on the top of the toast.  Top with tomato slices.  Then add bacon.  Finally, add the onion.  Take your last piece of toast and spread a thin layer of peanut butter on one side, and place it peanut butter side down onto the sandwich.

You’re ready to eat! 

Serves: 1 or 2, depending on how hungry you are!  I could only eat half!

Spinach Bacon Pasta

Last time I posted (which has been a while, I know…and I’m sorry!), I posted a recipe for Spinach Dip.  That dip is super delicious with crackers or chips, but you can also use it as a pasta sauce!  How cool is that?  I threw together this pasta dish with that spinach dip, some bacon, and parmesan cheese.  That’s it.  Super simple, but so full of flavor!

Spinach Bacon Pasta

• 8 oz pasta of your choice
• 8 strips bacon, cooked crisp
• 1/4 cup Spinach Dip
• Fresh parmesan cheese, grated

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and toss with spinach dip.  Chop or crumble the bacon and toss with pasta.  Place into serving dishes and top with fresh parmesan cheese.

Serves: 4

Skinny Bourbon Grilled Chicken (Or Pork)

We eat a lot of chicken in this house.  And so I’m always on the lookout for new ways to prepare it and for different flavor combinations.  I stumbled upon a recipe for Bourbon Pork Skewers and decided to adapt it just a bit to use with chicken.  I decided not to mess with the skewers and just grilled the chicken tenders instead.  Everyone in my family loved it!

Skinny Bourbon Grilled Chicken (or Pork)

• 12-16 chicken tenders (or 4-6 pork chops)
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3 tbsp bourbon (I only use Makers Mark!)
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp pepper

At least 30 minutes, or up to 4 hours before cooking, place all ingredients in ziplock bag.  Refrigerate until ready to cook, turning occasionally.  Heat grill (or heat a skillet over med-high heat), and cook chicken on both sides until cooked through.

 

Fire Island Pasta

This slightly spicy dish goes great with the Monterey Cheese Bread I posted about Wednesday! 

Fire Island Pasta

• 2 lbs plum tomatoes, halved
• 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 8 uncooked ziti (or your favorite pasta)
• 2 cups fresh broccoli florets
• 1 lb. Italian sausage links, sliced
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (more or less, to taste)
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Toss the tomatoes with 2 tbsp of the oil.  Place on a large baking sheet and toss with garlic and salt.  Bake at 450 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until tender.  Let cool and chop into bite size pieces.

Cook pasta according to package directions, adding broccoli during the last 4 minutes of cooking.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook sausage in remaining oil until no longer pink.   Add red pepper flakes; cook one minute longer.  Stir in tomatoes and heat through.  Drain pasta mixture; toss with sausage mixture.  Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Skinny Jamaican Grilled Pork Chops

We eat a lot of chicken at our house, so I’m always on the lookout for new ideas for other meats.  I love the flavors in this Jamaican spice blend, and it is so simple to prepare.  Just rub the spice mixture on the meat, grill, and baste with a honey mixture.  That’s it.  Super quick.  Super easy.  Super duper yummy!

Jamaican Grilled Pork Chops

Serves:  4      WW Points Per serving:  3 pts

 

• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• Pinch ground cloves
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 8 oz. pork chops, boneless (4 chops)
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/2 tsp ketchup
• 1 tsp white vinegar

In a bowl, combine the dry spices.  Place meat on a plate and rub spice mixture over meat.  Let stand for 10-15 minutes.

Heat an outdoor grill (or heat a griddle or grill pan) to medium high.

In a small bowl, combine honey, ketchup, and vinegar.

Place meat on the grill and cook, turning several times until browned on each side, about 3 minutes per side.  Move to cooler part of grill (or turn down griddle/grill pan).  Cook another 5 minutes, or until cooked through, basting occasionally with honey mixture.  Cook until chops reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees.

BBQ Pork Ribs

Now that the weather is starting to warm up, it’s time to start firing up the grill!  Today I’m going to share with you our favorite way to make BBQ Pork Ribs.  Now, for my Weight Watchers friends, I must say – “This is NOT something we eat often!”  It really is like a special treat to us, something we fix for special occasions.  I save up my weekly points when I know we’re going to be having ribs!

These ribs are super delicious.  The beefed up barbecue sauce is wicked good and the ribs will just fall off the bone when you prepare them this way.  It takes some time, so you do have to plan ahead, but trust me…it’s SO worth it!

To get started, you need to place your ribs in a large pot and cover them with water.  Place a lid on the pot and bring them to a boil.

Now, turn the heat down to low and cook, covered, for one hour. 

At this point, the meat will look plain gross.  But, don’t give up!

Now, let’s make our barbecue sauce.  I just use a bottle of honey flavor barbecue sauce and beef it up.  Here’s how.

Start by dicing up an onion and a garlic clove.  Saute these in one tbsp of oil until softened.

Now, add a bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce – I like the honey flavor, because I like sweet barbecue sauce.  But use what you like.

Now this is where the good stuff comes in.  I add either a 1/2 can of beer, OR a couple ounces of whisky (only Maker’s Mark around here!).  This really intesifies the flavor of the bbq sauce, and you get nice subtle undertones of the alcohol.

I add the beer or whisky to the barbecue sauce bottle and shake it, so that I get every last drop of sauce out of the bottle.

Now, add this to the sauce in the pan.  Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.  It will thicken as it cooks.

Now, you’re ready to fire up the grill!

Pat the ribs dry and lay them on the grill.  Baste with the bbq sauce.

Let them cook about 3-4 minutes and turn.  Baste again.

Repeat the cooking, flipping and basting every 3-4 minutes.  If you don’t flip the ribs often, the sauce will burn.  Nobody likes burned bbq sauce!  So, flip and baste, flip and baste, until the ribs are cooked through.  It should only take about 20 -25 minutes total. 

Now, dig in!

Baked Meat Pies

Several years ago, while on vacation in Texas, we took a day trip to Natchitoches,  Louisiana.  You’ve probably never heard of the town, but they are famous for their meat pies.  Naturally, we had to have one, so we headed over to Lasyone’s Meat Pie Restaurant downtown.  The meat pies are basically a pastry dough jam packed with a ground beef and pork mixture and deep fried until golden brown.  Delicious?  Yes.  Good for you?  Not so much.  I decided to try to make my own version, that would be a little less artery-clogging.  Here’s the result.

You need 1-1/2 cups of cooked meat.  For this healthier version, I used ground turkey.  You can use any type of meat you desire – ground beef, ground pork, chopped up steak, shredded chicken, sausage, etc.  And of course, you can use a combination of meats. 

To make the filling mixture, in a large bowl, combine the cooked ground turkey(or whatever), 1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry, 1/4 cup finely diced sundried tomatoes, and 1/4 cup egg substitute.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Set this aside while we prepare the crust.

I used frozen puff pastry to make it quick and easy.  Thaw the puff pastry according to package directions.  Unfold the patry and cut it into thirds along the fold lines.

Place 1/4 cup of the meat mixture on one half of each rectangle.   Sprinkle a tablespoon of fat free shredded cheese on top of the meat.

Moisten edgess of pastry dough with water.

Fold dough over filling and press the edges with tines of a fork to seal.

Spray the tops of the dough with cooking spray, and cut a few slits in the top for the steam to release.  Bake at 350 until golden brown.

These things are SO flippin’ good.  They are 9 points each when made with ground turkey (or 95% lean ground beef or shredded chicken), so while I wouldn’t exactly call them a super low point food, they’re not extremely high in points – like the original would be!  Pair one of these with a nice salad and you’ve got a great meal.

BAKED MEAT PIES

• 1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, finely diced
• 1-1/2 cups cooked ground turkey (or other meat)
• 1/4 cup egg substitute
• 6 tbsp shredded fat free cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed

Unfold pastry and cut each piece into thirds along folds. 

Combine remaining ingredients in bowl.  Place 1/4 cup of mixture on one half of each pastry rectangle.  Moisten edges of pastry with water and fold over filling.  Press edges with tines of a fork to seal.  Bake at 350 until golden brown. 

Serves 6

Points per serving:  9 (Made with ground turkey, 95% lean ground beef, or chicken)

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Smothered Pork Chops

Okay, people.  If pork chops smothered in caramelized onions and ooey gooey cheese doesn’t get your fire started, then your wood is wet!  These are oh so delish, and really easy to prepare. 

To get started, grab yourself a large ziplock bag.  Dump in 1/2 cup olive oil.  Zest one lemon and add that to the bag.

Then squeeze the juice from half the lemon into the bag.

Mince up 3 garlic cloves and throw those in.

Add 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp basil, 1/2 tsp parsley, and 1/2 tsp rosemary.

Use your hand to squish it all around and it will look like this.  Which, frankly, looks pretty gross, but it will make your pork taste awesome.  And that’s what matters here folks.

Then, put your pork chops into the bag.  I like boneless chops that are cut around 1/2″ thick.  Turn the bag and massage it a bit to make sure that the chops are well coated with the marinade.

Now just toss the bag in the fridge to hang out for a couple of hours, or even overnight.  I usually do this in the morning sometime and let them chill out (get it, *chill* out?  Okay.  Never mind.) until supper time.

About 30-45  minutes before you’re ready to eat, slice up a nice onion.

Put some butter in a saute pan to melt.  Then add the onions.

Cook the onions over a medium heat for the first 10-15 minutes to soften them up some, stirring here and there.

Then reduce the heat to low and let them slowly start to caramelize.  Again, stir them every once in a while.  Just let them cook until they turn a nice dark golden brown.

Now, take your chops out of the fridge.  Remove from bag and place in a baking dish (discard marinade).   Broil for about 5 or 6 minutes on each side, or until done.

Then, place caramelized onions on top of each chop.

Top with some shredded colby-jack cheese.

Broil for another couple minutes until the cheese gets all melty and yummy and dreamy. 

Now, stuff your face.

Printable Recipe: Smothered Pork Chops