Breakfast Casserole

I'm always looking for a good breakfast with a make-ahead recipe. I found this one this month in my Cooking Light magazine, and since we had house guests all weekend, what better time to try it out!

Sausage and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

12 oz turkey breakfast sausage
2 cups low-fat milk
2 cups egg substitute
1 tsp dry mustard
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
3 large eggs
16 slices white bread
1 cup (4 oz) finely shredded extrasharp cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp paprika

1- Brown sausage in a skillet over med-high heat, breaking up to crumble. Remove from heat and cool.
2- Combine milk and next 6 ingredients (thru eggs) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.
3-Trim crusts from bread and cut break into 1" cubes.
4- Add bread cubes, sausage and cheddar cheese to milk misture, stirring to combine. Pour into a 13x9" baking or 3 qt casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Spread evenly in baking dish. Cover and refrigerate 8 hrs or overnight.
5- Remove casserole from refrigerator, let stand 30 minutes. Sprinkle casserole evenly with paprika.
6- Bake at 350* for 45 minutes or until set and lightly browned. Let stand 10 minutes.
(12 servings)
This was one of Cooking Light's feature recipes where they work with a real family, take an old family favorite that really not so healthy or diet friendly and give it a revamp. I've never used egg substitute before, but by combining it with a few whole eggs, actually makes a big difference in the fat and cholesterol in this recipe. And I was game to try the turkey breakfast sausage, but the grocery store I was at didn't carry it, so I got regular pork sausage. This amount of sausage is still half (!!) the amount in this family's original recipe though. Using the finely shredded cheese helps more evenly distribute the flavor without having to use so much. I mean, this is a large casserole, and I used only a cup of cheese... it was plenty flavorful!
We all loved it. I couldn't get my kids to try it (they had had pancakes earlier), but our friends' toddler gobbled down two helpings!
This is definitely a recipe I'll be making again and again; it's a great recipe to have on hand for overnight guests, weekends at the lake, or to take to a brunch!!

Chicken Parmesan Risotto

We really like this dish, and I don't know why it's probably been years since I've made it. It's quick, it's easy and it's yummy. I'm putting it back on my regulars list.

The kids however... meh.
I planned ahead and set aside some of the chicken before I added the soup/spices/tomatoes and rice so I could offer them both the rice dish and plain bites of chicken. Savannah hates rice. But the kids both ate well... Sawyer did have a few bites of the rice, but other than that they at least both gobbled up the chicken (which is rare for Sawyer), ate some green beans and grapes and Savannah even had two helpings of asparagus.

Definite thumbs up from us and I'm counting it as a someday 'go' for Sawyer, just not for Savannah since she's anti-rice always.

Chicken Pot Pie

Kim directed me to this recipe last week, and her timing couldn't have been better as I had lost my favorite Chicken Pot Pie Recipe somewhere in all this moving over the past year. I'd been craving a good homemade Pot Pie lately, but dreaded tracking down a recipe that probably wouldn't live up to my expectations. Yes, my Pot Pie of the past was that good.
Well, I finally threw this one together last night and I have to say I was quite impressed. It was actually much easier than my original recipe and, if my memory serves me right, just as delicious!
Thanks Kim!

Here's the link to the recipe.
The only alteration I made was to add a cubed potato.
I think I'll be making this next month when my parents are here, and then I'll try it with broccoli or other veggies since my mom is not a pea fan.

Tuna Noodle

Tonight we had a quick meal of Cheesy Tuna Noodle, peas and apple slices.
Savannah ate everything (she's on a roll lately!!) and Sawyer ate nothing. Ryan had two bowlfulls even though he always tells me this is not one of his faves. I, on the other hand, who usually scarfs it down, only picked at it tonight. Role reversal I guess. I only used one can of both tuna and soup tonight to the two boxes of macaroni. I think I like two cans better.

you should try these

a couple of catch-up recipes from last week:

Wednesday we had
Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin with Apple Glaze

Ingredients
-		1 HORMEL® ALWAYS TENDER® Teriyaki Flavored Pork Tenderloin (17 oz.)
-		2 tablespoons butter
-		1 cup apple juice

Directions
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Remove tenderloin from package. Place butter in an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. When butter foams, add the tenderloin and brown it well on all sides (about 3 minutes per side). Remove tenderloin from the skillet and whisk in apple juice, stirring up browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Return tenderloin to skillet and baste with juices. Place skillet in oven and roast meat, turning every 5 minutes and until internal temperature reaches 155ºF (about 20 minutes). Remove skillet from oven and allow tenderloin to rest for 5 minutes. Slice tenderloin into ½-inch medallions and place on a serving platter. Before serving, drizzle medallions with remaining glaze.

We serve this over our favorite brown rice.
I love this dish.
Savannah even finished hers without complaining.... so you know it's okay!

Later in the week, I was going to make Beef Stroganoff, but Ryan was complaining he wasn't in the mood for more pasta. I came across this recipe I had floating around in my recipe book so I decided to give it a spin:

Beef Stoganoff Pot Pie
1 pkg Pillsbury Pie Crusts, softened as directed on package
1 lb extra-lean ground beef (I used the beef I had for the noodley stroganoff... cubed sirloin, probably just over a pound)
1 cup chopped onions
1 garlic clove minced
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1 cup chopped parsley
1/2 tsp pepper
2 eggs
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
4.5 oz sliced mushrooms
1 egg white, slightly beaten

1. prepare pie crust as directed on package for two-crust pie using 9" glass pie pan.
2. Heat oven to 375*. In large skillet, cook ground beef (or beef cubes!), onion and garlic over med-high heat until beef is browned and cooked through. Drain. Stir in all remaining ingredients except egg white; mix well. Pour into crust-lined pan.
3. Unfold second crust. Cut out shapes or vents in several places. Place crust over filling; flute edge. Brush with beaten egg white.
4. Bake at 375* for 45 to 55 minutes or until crust is deep golden brown If necessary, cover edge of pie crust with strips of foil after 15-20 minutes of baking to prevent excessive browning. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

It's definitely not low-cal, but it was really yummy! Savannah helped me bake it all, but she wasn't too interested in eating the "meat pie". It's a nice warm, homey, meal for grey days!

Cheesy Tuna Noodle

Hold on to your hats, the kids ate a meal!
Well, that may have something to do with the fact that it's little more than they're stand-by of mac and cheese, but still... they ate it! With a little extra protein!!

Here's my super quick, super not-good-for-you, Cheesy Tuna Noodle Casserole:
2 boxes of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, prepared
2 cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup
2 cans of tuna, drained
mix together
ta-da!

This is one of my favorites. Don't ask me why. And I'm not a big leftover fan, but I will eat this every day warmed over out of the fridge until it's gone.