Turkey Patties

Deliciously healthy! These are great hot or cold and go with just about anything! Perfect snack or addition to a meal.  (Pic coming shortly...)

Ingredients:
~ 1/2 onion
~ 2 cloves of garlic or garlic powder
~ 1 egg
~ shredded cheese of choice (I use cheddar or mexican blend)
~ 1 lb ground turkey
~ parsley
~ salt

Directions:
In a food processor, place onion, garlic, egg and cheese; process until all is chopped and blended. Transfer to a large bowl and add turkey, parsley and salt. Mix well. Take about 1/4 cup, roll into a ball and smush into a patty. These can be cooked on a skillet on low-med heat, or better yet in a George Forman grill (worth the investment!)

Recipe from: sister, Cammie

French Toast Breakfast (anytime!) Muffins

These are so moist and delicious. They're called breakfast muffins, but I don't know why you can't have tasty treats anytime of day! I like making these in the tiny muffin tins. They're almost bite-size and easier for my kids to enjoy. There was a time where I made these about three times a week for a month!

 

Ingredients:
~ 1/3 c. butter, melted
~ 1/2 c. sugar
~ 1 egg (preferably room temperature)
~ 1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
~ 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
~ 1/2 tsp. salt
~ 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
~ 1/2 c. milk

Topping (option: cut topping in half*)
~ 1/2 c. sugar
~ 1/2 c. butter, melted
~ 1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.  In a medium-large bowl, sift together all dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and stir just until combined, but still a bit lumpy. Do NOT over mix; over mixing will ruin the texture of the finished muffins. Also? Don't over mix the batter. Finally, don't over mix. Scoop batter into muffin tins that have sprayed with cooking spray. Using a large ice cream scoop, I got 8 medium-large muffins out of this batter; I think you could get 10-12 muffins by distributing the batter a little less generously. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until they just start to turn a bit golden at the edges.

For the topping, mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Place melted butter in another small bowl. Dip the warm muffins in melted butter (you can dip just the top, but it's even tastier to dip the whole muffin!), then dip/roll the muffin in cinnamon sugar. *May have left-over topping; the extra topping can be used for dipping, while eating the muffins (oh my). Another option is to cut the topping ingredients in half. CONSUME, ENJOY, GO CRAZY!
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Quick 'n' Delicious Stuffed Bread Buns

This is a surprisingly quick recipe because the dough only needs to rise for about 30 minutes. It was a hit with Shawn and the munchkins. It would make an excellent breakfast as well as a delicious dinner.

Ingredients:
Quick 'n' Easy One Bowl Dough:
~ 3 cups white flour
~ 3 teaspoons (or 1 packet) active-dry yeast
~ 1/3 cup sugar (can be reduced to 1/4 cup if desired but bread will be slightly bland)
~ 1 1/2 - 2 c. warm (not hot) water
~ pinch of salt
~ 1 Tablespoon oil

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 for 4 minutes and then turn off.
Place dry all ingredients in large bowl
Hand mix so yeast is mixed in well with other ingredients.
Create a well in the flour mixture by pushing flour up along the sides of the bowl
Add approx. 1 1/2 c. warm water and mix
As dough begin to form begin kneading. Add more water as needed, dough should be mostly dry and not sticky (add more flour if it's too wet)
Add oil and knead into dough
Place dough in a large, clean bowl and cover with a towel. Place on a towel in the oven with the door closed for at least 1/2 hour or until double in size.
Punch down dough
If you like a chewy but light dough, let rise again. This dough can rise and be punched as much as 4 times without ruining outcome. (Dough freezes well raw. Allow to thaw and rise @ room temp. before baking.)

When dough is removed from oven after rising, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle a little flour on your hands and take about 1/2 cup of dough. Roll out or use your hands to make a thin oval, as thin as you can without it tearing. Fill with:

Filling Ingredients:
~ Ground beef, cooked and seasoned (sausage for breakfast)
~ Cheddar Cheese (use a lot of cheese, this will add moistness)
~ Diced potato pieces, cooked in oil and seasoned

OR

~ Pizza Sauce
~ Cheese
~ Pepperoni, cooked sausage, etc.

I like them very, very full, as full as you can get them and still be able to seal. Otherwise, the bread is all you will taste. These may be shaped any way you like. Seal and bake on an oiled cookie sheet until golden brown. Brush lightly with butter and ENJOY! These can be dipped in ketchup or BBQ sauce.

Tip: These are not as good as leftovers as they are fresh, so whatever dough I have leftover, I refrigerate and make fresh the next day.

Fresh Peach Bread

Ok, so it's no secret, Shawn hates peaches! BUT, this bread is his favorite. He decided last time I made it that he liked it even better than banana. Sound crazy for anyone who knows Shawn? Try it and you'll see that it's really incredible and you would never guess it was peach bread the way I make it because I blend the peaches.


Ingredients:
~ 3 eggs
~ 2 cups white sugar
~ 2 tsp vanilla extract
~ 1 c. vegetable/canola oil (or 1/2 c. oil and 1/2 c. applesauce)
~ 2 cups diced, canned peaches, drained (I've only ever made this with fresh, frozen peaches, thawed with juices and then blended in a blender)
~ 3 c. flour (or 3 c. flour & 1 c. whole wheat flour)
~ 1 tsp. baking powder
~ 1 tsp salt
~ 1 tsp baking soda
~ 3 tsp ground cinnamon
~ 1/2 c. chopped nuts (I use either walnuts or almonds...almonds are good!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour two 8x4" pans (or muffin tins, or smaller bread pans). In a large bowl, beat eggs lightly. Blend in sugar, oil and vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; mix just to combine. Stir in peaches and nuts. Pour batter into pans (fill muffin tins, etc. 2/3 full). You can sprinkle a little sugar or cinnamon sugar mix on top and crushed nuts for a nice look. Bake for about 1 hour or much less for smaller bread pans or muffin tins. Remove from oven when a toothpick comes out clean.

Oven Baked Potato Pieces

My fam loves these. They're Shawn's fav in breakfast burritos and with meatloaf. Super easy and can't really go wrong. I never buy frozen potatoes for breakfast meals anymore because these are so quick and delicious. Since my sister tried these, she hasn't since bought frozen either!


Ingredients:
~ 2-3 T butter
~ 3-4 large potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
~ Mrs. Dash
~ Seasoning Salt

Directions:
Cube butter and place in a 13x9 pan (or smaller if you want to make a smaller batch. Turn oven onto between 350 and 425 degrees depending on the hurry you're in. Place pan in oven at any time and melt. Remove from oven. Spread melted butter around bottom of pan and top with potato cubes and sprinkle a generous amount of seasoning on top. Stir well. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 25 minutes or until soft. When soft, remove cover and bake until slightly crispy. You can turn them if you like.

Whole Wheat Walnut Blueberry Banana Bread

This is very healthy if you make it with agave nectar instead of sugar. A Clean Eating recipe. I love the 3/4 cup flaxseed! You'd never guess it has flaxseed an all whole wheat by the moistness of it.


Ingredients:
~ Olive oil cooking spray
~ 1 ripe banana, mashed
~ 3/4 cup flaxseed meal
~ 2 egg whites
~ 1/3 cup agave nectar (or for a less healthy bread... 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar)
~ 1 cup buttermilk (make your own...1 cup milk, 1 T lemon juice, let sit 5 min.)
~ 1 tsp baking soda
~ 1/2 tsp. sea salt
~ 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
~ 3/4 cup spelt flour (or a total of 1 1/2 cups whole wheat)
~ 1 tsp orange rind, grated (optional)
~ 1 cup blueberries
~ 1/2 cup unsalted walnuts, chopped or crushed (I like a little more, closer to 3/4 or 1 cup and I crush them)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a nonstick loaf pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, stir together banana, flaxseed, egg whites, agave and buttermilk. In a separate bowl, mix baking soda, salt, flours and orange rind. Combine dry ingredients into banana mixture. Gently fold in blueberries and walnuts. Pour mixture into loaf pan and bake for 45-50 minutes. When mostly cooled I wrap in saran wrap and leave (what I don't chow down right away) out on the counter overnight. I refrigerate any leftovers the next day.

Nutrients per 4 x 1/2" slice: Calories: 200, total fat: 6g, sat. fat: .5g, carbs: 33g, fiber: 6g, sugars: 13g, protein: 8g, sodium: 260mg, cholesterol: 0mg

Kids Crave! Twisted PBJ

This is a yummy, healthy twist on PBJ that kids (and adults) will crave! And it's perfectly healthy in every way...whole wheat, real nut butter and fresh fruit, eliminating the sugar and salt rich traditional PBJ.




Ingredients:
~ Whole Wheat Bread (check pkg label and don't let them trick you. The first ingredient needs to be Whole Wheat Flour, nothing bleached or non bleached!)
~ Almond Butter (Pure almonds, from Costco, this is our favorite) OR Healthy Peanut Butter...NOT Jiffy or brands filled with sugar and salt. Nuts should be the only ingredient. It's fantastic!!
~ Fresh fruit, sliced (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, bananas, plums, peaches...)

Directions:
Make like a PBJ, except instead of sugar filled jelly, top nut butter of your choice with sliced, fresh fruit!! YUM! Our fav is fresh strawberries. You can also drizzle a little pure honey over your fruit and toast your bread if preferred. This makes for a yummy breakfast too.

Recipe from: My sister, Tricia

Simply French Toast...FAST!

This is always a hit at our place. It's great as a last minute meal anytime of the day. This recipe is about the most simplified french toast recipe invented.


Ingredients:
~ Thick sliced white bread (can use any bread, even whole wheat if you'd like)
~ Eggs (about 1 egg per 3 pieces of bread)
~ Cinnamon (as much or little as you like)
~ Milk (About a tablespoon per egg), optional

Directions:
In a shallow dish, beat eggs, add milk and sprinkle in cinnamon. Place one piece of bread in the dish and let sit for about 20 seconds and then flip and let the other side soak. Place on a hot griddle and grill, flipping when grilled side is golden brown. Serve with plenty of butter and syrup.

Fresh Fruit Smoothie

This is great, especially for rushed mornings. Katelyn LOVES this…she thinks it’s a “milkshake”…little does she know she’s being tricked into three delicious fruits and a full serving of dairy! Ha, Ha!

Ingredients:
• about 2 cups frozen strawberries, thawed overnight in a plastic bag in the fridge
• A palm full of blueberries
• ½ banana
• 1-2 T honey
• 1 lb. low fat vanilla yogurt (you could try just about any flavor also)
• Crushed ice

Ooh La La!














Directions:
Place everything in a blender, blend well and serve immediately. Leave leftovers in the blender and place in the fridge. To drink again: Remove from fridge, place on blender bottom, add crushed ice, blend and ENJOY!

Recipe from: MOM

Ham 'n' Potatoes Au Gratin

We had friends over tonight and I served this for dinner. Katelyn’s friend said, “this is sooo good I’m going to kiss it…and he did!” The kids gobbled it up and begged for more. My adult friend LOVED it and took home the recipe! It’s easy, fairly quick, and I think it would also make a great breakfast dish as well.




Ingredients:
• ¼ cup chopped green onions
• ¼ cup chopped green pepper
(I didn’t have either of these one night and made it with just ½ cup white onion – fantastic!)
• EVOO
• 3 cups diced, peeled potatoes
• 1 lb fully cooked ham, cubed
• 1/3 cup light mayo
• 1 T flour
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1 cup fat free milk
• 1 ¼ cup low fat shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Boil potatoes until soft, drain water. Meanwhile, heat EVOO in a skillet and sauté onions and pepper with ham (ham is already cooked, this will just caramelize the surface - yum). When veggies are tender, remove from heat and add cooked potatoes along with mayonnaise to the skillet; mix well. Spoon mixture into an 11”x7” baking dish. Place the skillet back onto the stove and add flour and pepper. Turn heat to medium-high and slowly whisk in milk; bring to boil. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in cheese just until melted; pour over potato mixture. Cover & bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly. 4 servings

Recipe from: my sister, TRICIA

Perfect Omelet

This is a creation of mine that is absolutely perfect in every way…Healthy AND Delicious!!! This omelet is AMAZING!!!! I served it this morning for a friend for breakfast and she was sold on the first bite! You HAVE to try it!!




Ingredients:
• 5 slices turkey bacon
• 1-2 T EVOO
• 1 medium onion
• 1 green bell pepper
• 6 eggs
• 3/4 cup low fat shredded cheese, cheddar or any mixed blend such as “Mexican”
• 1 tomato
• Green onion
Optional garnishes: (I don’t think these are optional, I think they’re a MUST!) 
• Sour cream
• Salsa

Directions:
Fry bacon in a pan until crispy. In a separate pan, heat EVOO and fry onion and pepper until almost done and then add spinach. Stir and cook until completely wilted. Salt and then add bacon.
Crack one egg into a small bowl. Separate two more eggs, throw away the yolks and add the whites to bowl. Beat well with a fork. Spray a small frying pan with PAM and place on medium-high heat. When hot, pour eggs into pan and turn down to medium. Cook until pretty well done on one side then flip (it should flip easily and not tear at all if you let it cook enough). When you flip it, immediately spread ½ of the cheese and veggies onto one side of the omelet; fold in half and place on a serving plate. Top with tomatoes, green onion and optional garnishes. Repeat.

Makes 2 LARGE, loaded omelets