Better then Mickey Dee's!

Usually Sunday morning Lee makes breakfast. I am thrilled for the morning off but he usually makes pancakes, waffles, etc. They always taste real good but an hour into church or so I am HUNGRY. Not too mention the sugar gives me a headache and makes me tired.

Can I tell you about my guilty pleasure? I LOVE MC D's sausage egg mcmuffin. When I saw Rachel Ray doing Chicken sausage sandwiches I thought I would have to try it on Sunday and see how it goes. We loved them. I made a triple batch of the sausage and then froze them flat so we can have them on another Sunday for a quicker breakfast. With the chicken breast sausage and egg beaters it is much lighter then Mc D's I am sure. Keaton and I didn't have cheese, but you can. My second batch of sausage I grilled a little longer. That is what is on the plate next to it.

Breakfast Chicken Sausage
-1 pound ground chicken breast (I took a whole chicken breast and took it for a spin in my food processor (Associated has boneless skinless for $1.57 a pound so it was a much better deal))
-1 small Macintosh apple peeled and finely chopped (I used a green apple stolen off the limb of my neighbors tree hanging in my yard :)
-1/4 cup maple syrup (I am WAY too poor to afford maple syrup....I used maple flavor pancake syrup)
-1 TBSP grill seasoning blend (I used Montreal...it had a bit of a bite to it, Keaton the 3 year old was fine but if your kids are picky you might want to cut it back just a bit)
-1 tsp Poultry Seasoning (seriously I have had this in my cupboard FOREVER and have never used it...yahoo I finally had a use for it)
-1/2 tsp Cinnamon
-1/4 tsp nutmeg

Combine all with your hands (I know sick make your husband do it). Patty it out into 4 patties (this was her thing, I would do them thinner next time. I still got way more out of it then her).
Cook 5 minutes on each side (I used my new indoor Food Network grill). Put on a buttered toasted English muffin with a scrambled egg, and cheese if desired (Lee melted his cheese and it was much better). Hope you like it, be sure to leave a comment if you make it (or think about making it :).

Perfect Oatmeal

This is a Tyler Florence Special. It is so good without and sweetener. It is a great idea for a "special breakfast" and is still really healthy.
Put in a pot on medium heat for 7-8 minutes until creamy and tender:
1 cup of oatmeal (I used old fashioned rolled)
2 cups unsweetened apple juice
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
2 Tbsp butter

Toppings:
banana
blueberries (I used frozen)
toasted coconut
applesauce
skim milk

It is fun for kids to pick out which healthy toppings they like. Keaton picked them all...me too :)

More great recipes!!!

We grew up in a family of 8. Convenience food was too expensive and my Mom didn't think it had the health value her kids needed. We all learned to cook from scratch and love the great flavors you can develop. My sisters are all great cooks. They all come up with great ideas. My sister Meesha asked to start posting too. I have invited all my sisters to start posting. If you see a new face around here it would be my sister :)

I have to share these "Banana crack muffins". That is Lee's name for them because he thinks they are as addicting as crack (not that he has experience in that :). I love that there is a TON of bananas in this. I usually 1/2 the recipe because we have a bad habit of eating the all up too quick.

6large or 8 medium bananas VERY ripe

4 eggs

2 cups of sugar

3/4 cup of oil

4 cups of flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup walnuts chopped (we do a cup of chocolate chips and eat them for desert :)

Grease 2 loaf pans and set aside. Mash bananas well. Add eggs, sugar, and oil mix until well blended. Add flour on top mix other dry ingredients into the flour. Mix until well blended. Add nuts or chips and mix briefly (overmixing causes tunnels and coarse texture). Pour into pans. Bake at 325 for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. I do muffins and cook them for about 25 minutes. ENJOY!!!

Bran muffins

When I was carrying Savannah I had gestational diabetes. Nothing I ate for breakfast kept my sugars down. One day my Mother-in-law made these and my sugars stayed down. For the next 3 mos I ate two of these, with a cup of milk blended with 3 strawberries, a handful of blueberries, some protein powder, and a tsp of splenda for breakfast. I also lost weight on this even though I was pregnant. They are really quite good. The best part is the recipe says the dough keeps well in your fridge for 6 weeks (although I have never tried that long). They are not terribly sweet just very filling and good.

Combine:
1 cup oil
1 cup sugar

add:
4 eggs beaten
1 quart low fat buttermilk

boil:
2 cups water
then add:
4 cups whole bran cereal (all-bran)
let sit 5 min

then add:
2 cups 40% bran flakes (I buy the cheap wal-mart bran flakes)
1 Tbsp salt
5 tsp baking soda
3 cups flour
2 cups whole wheat flour (if you want to do all whole wheat only do about 4 3/4 total since wheat is "thirstier")

You can add raisins right before cooking although I usually don't.
15 to 20 minutes 400 degrees (mine always take the 20).
This recipe makes 60.

Yummiest Cauliflower

I was telling my good friend Lisa at Gourmified about our favorite way to use cauliflower right now. I promise you will LOVE it. Keaton thinks it is the best ever.

Roasted Cauliflower

1 head of cauliflower
3T olive oil (I used less)
salt
pepper
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (remember I always use Romano....more flavor)
1/2 cup Gruyere cheese (I have never bought this...too cheap...I have used more Romano, mozzarella, cheddar, or nothing....all good)
Heat the oven to 400. Cut up Cauliflower florets and lay on baking sheet. Toss with Olive Oil and plenty of salt and pepper. Cook them 30 minutes tossing again about 1/2 way through to keep from burning. After the 30 minutes top with cheese and put back in 2 minutes for the cheese to melt. YUMMY!