Breakfast—

Egg Sausage & Hashbrown Bake

1 lb sausage (browned), 10 eggs, 3/4 C milk, 5 C frozen hash browns (thawed), 5 green onions (chopped), 1 C shredded cheese, salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 casserole dish with nonstick spray. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and milk. Add all the remaining ingredients and mix together. Pour into the prepared casserole dish. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the center does not wiggle when you shake the dish.

Banana Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal Cups

4 overripe bananas mashed, 2 large eggs, 2 C low fat milk, 1/2 C packed brown sugar, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 tsp cinnamon, 4 C rolled oats, 1 C dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray or line 2 muffin pans with liners -- I highly recommend using silicone muffin cups as they come out so easily (I got mine off amazon and love them)! In a large bowl, combine bananas, eggs, milk and brown sugar with a whisk until smooth. Add baking powder, vanilla, and cinnamon and whisk until smooth. Stir in oats and chocolate chips. Fill muffin cups ¾ full (try to make sure you have the same amount of liquid in each) and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown on top. Serve warm (alone or with milk) or cool completely to store: in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for 3-6 months.

Sides—

Honey Balsamic Roasted Brussel Sprouts

1 1/2 lbs fresh brussel sprouts, 3 tbsp olive oil, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 2 tsp honey

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Trim off the outer, dry leaves, cut the bottom off and slice sprouts lengthwise. In a large bowl, toss brussels sprouts with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to coat thoroughly. Transfer the brussels sprouts to baking sheet and roast until tender and caramelized, about 20 minutes. Place brussels sprouts back in bowl. Add remaining tablespoon olive oil, balsamic vinegar and honey and toss to coat evenly. Taste and season with kosher salt if necessary.

Apps—

Taco Dip

8 oz pkg cream cheese, 8 oz pkg sour cream, 2 tbsp taco seasoning, 1 1/2 C shredded lettuce, 1 1/2 C shredded cheese, 1 1/2 C chopped tomatoes, bag of tortilla.

Mix one 8 oz pkg cream cheese, one 8 oz pkg sour cream and 2 tbsp taco seasoning. This blends much more smoothly if the cream cheese is room temperature. Spread in a 9″ x 13″ dish. Top with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes and cover with shredded cheese. Refrigerate until ready to be served. Serve with tortilla chips or pita chips.

Creamy Siracha Dipping Sauce

1 C mayo (I do a little less and add plain greek yogurt)
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika
4 tbsp sriracha (a little more if you like it spicier)

All you do is mix those ingredients together and enjoy! I love this dip with pretzels, crackers, and most veggies. It doesn’t get much easier than this.

Main Dish—

Baked Dijon Salmon

4 (4 ounce) fillets salmon, 1/4 C butter, 3 TBS dijon mustard, 1 1/2 TBS honey, 1/4 C dry bread crumbs, 1/4 C finely chopped pecans, 4 tsp chopped fresh parsley, 1 lemon for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl stir together butter, mustard, and honey. In another bowl mix together bread crumbs, pecans, and parsley. Brush salmon with honey mustard mixture, and sprinkle the tops with the bread crumb mixture. Bake for 12-15 minutes in the oven or until it flakes easily with a fork. Season with salt and pepper, and garnish with a wedge of lemon.

Baked Honey Mustard Chicken

1 tbsp dijon mustard, 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard, 1 tbsp honey, salt and pepper to taste, 1/4 tsp paprika, juice from 1/2 lemon, 1/2 tbsp oil (or butter),

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease an oven-proof dish with the oil or butter and place the chicken in there. Season well with salt, pepper and paprika. In a small bowl, combine the dijon mustard, wholegrain mustard and honey. Pour the mixture over the chicken breasts and bake in the oven for about 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken. You may add 1-2 tablespoons of water in the pan if needed to prevent the edges of the dish from browning. Once the chicken is cooked through, squeeze lemon juice over and serve. Super good with broccoli, rice, mashed potatoes, etc.

Deserts—

Eclaire Cake

1 package graham crackers, 2 packages 3.4 oz instant French Vanilla pudding mix, 8 ounces Cool Whip thawed, 3 C milk, 16 ounces chocolate frosting

In a large bowl, mix together the pudding mix, cool whip, and milk. Beat well. Arrange graham crackers in a single layer on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Pour half of the pudding mixture over the graham crackers. Add another layer of graham crackers and pour remaining pudding on top. Add the final layer of graham crackers and spread with chocolate frosting. You may need to soften the frosting up a bit in the microwave to help it spread easily. Refrigerate for at least four hours before serving.

Snacks—

Easy White Chocolate Party Mix

16 C popped popcorn, 3 C Frosted Cheerios, 1 package (10 ounces) fat-free pretzel sticks, 2 C dark chocolate M&M's, 1-1/2 C pecan halves, 1 package milk chocolate English toffee bits , 2 packages white baking chips ( I use yogurt baking chips), 2 tbsp canola oil

In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In a microwave, melt baking chips with oil; stir until smooth. Pour over popcorn mixture and toss to coat. Immediately spread onto two baking sheets; let stand until set, about 2 hours. Store in airtight containers. This is a not the healthiest treats but it makes for a great special treat for the kiddos and yourself;)

Spicy Seasoned Pretzels

16 oz (1 lb) bag tiny twist pretzels, 1 C vegetable or canola oil, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp lemon pepper, 1 tsp cayenne pepper

Pour oil and spices into a gallon ziploc bag. Seal and shake to evenly combine oil with spices. Add in pretzels, seal up ziploc bag, and gently shake to combine. Leave them in the ziploc bag and allow pretzels to soak up the seasoned oil for at least 6 hours, or ideally for 24 hours. Turn bag to shake up pretzels every few hours. Pretzels will keep in an airtight container for 3 weeks.

Energy Balls

*This is a double batch! We eat them so fast at our house but it’s such an easy and overall healthy on the go snack. I’ve also posted this recipe before but because so many people ask for it I’m posting it again!

2/3 C honey, 2 C old fashioned oats, 1 C peanut butter (I do half or 1/3 almond butter), 1 scoop of protein (I use Isagenix), 1/2 C flaxseed, 1/2 C chia seeds, 1/2 C shredded coconut, 1/2 C dark chocolate chips

Mix honey, PB, and protein powder together first. Then add all ingredients and stir! I leave the bowl in the freezer for about 15 minutes and then form them into small balls and put them in an airtight container and pop them back in the freezer.

Hope you all try and enjoy some of these recipes:)

xoxo,

MRS T