crustless sausage & cheese quiche

So, was it the sausage or the cheese that inspired you to open this post and get your mouth watering?

Quiche is one of my favorite dishes with it’s flakey and buttery crust and creamy egg filling. Oh and add cheese and game over! Nevertheless, quiche this indulgent often make me feel a bit lethargic. Hello, food coma! Why not omit the crust and make the filling a bit lighter but still flavorful?!

You’ll enjoy the health benefits of this quiche. The chicken sausage and eggs contain loads of protein. Not to mention, the spinach contains phytonutrients for anti-inflammatory and ant-cancer benefits. The vitamin K from spinach is essential for maintaining bone health. Did I mention the sharp cheddar is low fat?…Eat up!

Crustless Sausage and Cheese Quiche

Print Recipe

– 2 cups of fresh spinach
– 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
– 2 chicken sausage links, halved and sliced into half moons
– 1/2 cup cubed low fat sharp cheddar or cheese(s) of your choice
– 2 large eggs
– 1 egg white
– 1 cup 1% or nonfat milk
– sea salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a pie dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

Add the olive oil and chicken sausage to a medium or large skillet over medium heat. Cook the sausage until browned. Remove from skillet and set aside. Using the juices from the chicken sausage and olive oil, add the fresh spinach and saute until wilted. This step should not take very long, probably about 2 minutes.

Place the wilted spinach in a colander. When the spinach has cooled, gently squeeze to remove excess moisture. Lay spinach in the bottom of the pie dish. Throw-in the cubed cheddar and sausage!

In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, 2 whole eggs, 1 egg white and sea salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the spinach, cheddar and sausage. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Remove and place on a wire rack. Slice and enjoy!!

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stove top mac-n-cheese with chicken sausage

Did you grow-up with Kraft Macaroni and Cheese? I definitely did! I even took the iconic blue-boxed dinner to college with me…how could I not?! Easy to make and perfect for post party munchies! Dear god…college memories. I digress.

A fond memory I have of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese is what my sister and I like to call the “Babysitter Dinner” – Macaroni and cheese with hot dog links stirred in.

As a youngster, I loved this dinner! I loved any babysitter that could make this for me and my sister. Well…I am not a youngster anymore; I’ve kept the blue-boxed memories but not the blue box dinner.

I fully enjoy the grown-up version of the “Babysitter Dinner;” a stove top mac-n-cheese made with whole-wheat pasta, sharp cheddar and grilled chicken sausage. Divine!

You’ll like this too. Firstly, it takes less than 30-minutes to make! Take that Rachel Ray! 🙂 It contains whole-wheat goodness from the pasta, lean chicken sausage, fat-free evaporated milk rather than regular evaporated milk and reduced fat sharp cheddar that still holds it’s flavor.

Nutritional perks –

Whole wheat
Sharp cheddar
Chicken

Stove Top Mac-n-Cheese with Chicken Sausage
Inspired and loosely adapted from this recipe

Print Recipe

– 12 oz spiral whole-wheat pasta or your favorite pasta shape
– 1 cup grated reduced fat sharp cheddar
– 1 egg
– 1 (12 oz) can of fat free evaporated milk
– 1/2 tsp mustard powder
– 3 chicken sausage, grilled and sliced on the bias
– sea salt and pepper to taste
– dried bread crumbs (optional)

Cook pasta according to package, drain and return to pot. The pot should be set at medium-low heat. Stir-in the grated cheese, evaporated milk, egg, mustard powder. Continue stirring until the mixture is thick and creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Incorporate the sliced grilled sausage.

Turn on the broiler. Divide into individual oven-proof bowls or ramekins. Sprinkle dried bread crumbs and place in broiler till the bread crumbs become toasty and light brown. Dig in!

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low maintenance one-pan sliders

inspiration

Don’t you love it when you’re suddenly ignited with inspiration? Perhaps it’s inspiration to buy a new pair of running shoes and train for a 5K, learn how to speak French or take your first yoga class despite the fact that you can barely touch your toes.

My recent inspiration? Turkey burger sliders! Here’s the story…

Flashback to March 4, 2010 20 hours 12 minutes (i.e. 8:12 pm). I was at Trader Joe’s making a routine grocery trip. I was suddenly drawn to the display of slider buns. I thought to myself, “Sheesh! It’s been forever since I’ve had a slider! Sliders are good; I need one in my life!” My pilot light ignited and before I could blink, there were slider buns in my basket. I could not wait! I ate sliders every so often as a kid and I was looking forward to this inspired nostalgic project!

turkey burger sliders

The plan was to make this simple and quick. Not McDonald’s quick, but timely enough that I didn’t have to wait 45 minutes from start to finish. Juicy, flavorful, low maintenance and keeps you wanting more. You’ll enjoy these one-pan turkey burger sliders!

The one-pan method works for many variations on the slider. Try ground chicken or beef or even a combo of beef and pork. The call is yours. Topping options is a whole other story, but I decided to go with lean ground turkey, sauteed onions soaked in my favorite barbeque sauce, low fat swiss cheese and yellow mustard.

Nutritional perks –

Ground turkey breast – a good source of niacin. a very good source of protein and selenium.
Onion – a good source of dietary fiber, Vitamin B6, folate and potassium. a very good source of Vitamin C.
Low fat swiss cheese – a good source of protein, riboflavin, Vitamin B12 and zinc. a very good source of calcium.

One-Pan Turkey Burger Sliders
Makes 4 sliders. You can double the recipe to make more sliders. The more the merrier!

– 1/2 to 3/4 lb lean ground turkey breast
– 1/2 white onion, sliced
– 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
– 1/4 cup of your favorite barbeque sauce. Mine is Gayle’s Extra Sassy Barbeque Sauce
– 1 slice of Jarlsburg low fat swiss cheese; quartered
– Yellow mustard
– Sea salt and pepper to taste
– Butter
– 4 slider buns

In a medium saute pan, over medium heat, add the olive oil and saute the onion until soft and a little browned. Remove from pan and place in bowl. Pour the barbeque sauce over the onion and mix well. Allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes.

barbecued soaked onion

Add the ground turkey meat to a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Mix well but make sure not to over-mix. Over-mixing will make the burger tough, which is no bueno! Divide the meat into four patties about the size of small discs.

Spray a little bit of non-stick cooking spray in the pan. I used non-stick extra virgin olive oil spray.

Over medium heat and in the same pan the onion was sauteed, add the patties and cook five to six minutes on each side or until desired doneness. When cooking the second side of the patty, place the swiss cheese on top so it becomes melty.

savory aroma of melty swiss

Allow the patties to rest on a plate. This will ensure the meat stays juicy!

Lower the heat under the pan. Meanwhile, lightly butter the underside of each side of the slider bun. Place buttered side down over low heat in the same pan. Remove from pan when the underside is toasted to your liking.

toasty buns

Time to build! Add mustard to the bottom bun, top with a turkey patty, the barbecued onion mixture and top it off with the bun.

100% slider enjoyment

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