GREEN Cookie Dough Smoothie

Holy crap this green smoothie was SO GOOD..life changing, really. I make smoothies every morning for my fiance and I, and this morning I decided to take a walk on the wild side and try something new. Well, if you couldn't tell, the result was ahhhmazing. This recipe was adapted from Green Thickies and yields one serving.

What you need...

• 1 cup almond milk
• 3 dates, pitted
• 1 banana
• 1 cup spinach or kale
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp almond butter
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

How to make it...

1. Pour the almond milk into a blender, add the dates, and blend until smooth.
2. Add the bananas to the blender and blend until smooth.
3. Add all the other ingredients except for the spinach and, yepp you guessed it, blend until smooth.
4. Add spinach and blend until smooth.
5. ENJOY!

The recipe was so sweet and filling, it was the perfect Friday morning treat. I can see myself making this for dessert in the future. Give it a try, YOU WON'T BE SORRY. K, byeeee.

Fake Oatmeal

I like having oatmeal for breakfast because it is very filling. Instant oatmeal packets taste delicious, but they're actually disgusting when it comes down to the ingredients. Back in the day when I did the WLC, I was looking for grain free alternatives and came across this recipe for fake oatmeal. The good part about this recipe is that you can make a batch at the beginning of the week and you have an easy breakfast every morning!

What you need to make a batch...

• ½ cup + 2 Tbsp chia seeds
• ½ cup + 2 Tbsp cup golden flax meal
• ½ cup + 2 Tbsp cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1 Tbsp + ¾ tsp ground cinnamon

How to make it...

Combine the chia seed, golden flax meal, unsweetened coconut, cinnamon and store in an airtight container. It is super complicated, right?

What you need to make one serving of fake oatmeal...

• ½ cup hot water
• 2 Tbsp unsweetened coconut or almond milk
• Sweetener to taste (Stevia, honey, or agave nectar)

How to make it...

1. Scoop out ½ cup of fake oatmeal in a serving bowl
2. Pour ½ cup of hot water over the fake oatmeal
3. Add 2 Tbsp of milk and stir to combine

The fake oatmeal is very bland on its own, so I really like to add some sort of sweetener  and top it with fresh fruit to make it more enjoyable. Sometimes I'll smash up half of a banana and stir that in - it adds flavor and sweetness. Give it a try! K, byeeee.

Southwest Breakfast Casserole

My mom's breakfast casserole is one of the many things I've been missing a lot during the WLC (this is another post I wrote a few months ago and forgot to publish). I gave this southwest breakfast casserole a try and it was tasty enough, but not being able to have hashbrowns or cheese makes it really hard for me to love any breakfast dish. I'm probably not doing a very good job of convincing you to try it, but I have to be honest about my love for cheese.

What you need...

• 1tablespoon coconut oil
• half a yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 small jalapeno, seeds removed and minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 sweet potato, peeled and grated
• 1 pound grass fed ground beef or sausage
• 1 tablespoons taco seasoning
• 1/2 cup salsa verde (I used Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde)
• 12 eggs
• Sea Salt to taste

How to make it....

Preheat oven to 350. In a large saute pan, saute the onions and minced jalapeno in the coconut oil over medium heat until the onions are translucent.



Add the ground beef and cook until it starts to brown and add the grated sweet potato and garlic. Cook until the beef is completely browned and the sweet potato is soft.




Add the chili powder, cumin, and salsa, stir and cook until heated through.  Add sea salt if desired.  Transfer the meat mixture to a baking dish and spread evenly over the bottom of the dish.



In a large mixing bowl, beat together the 12 eggs add pour over the meat mixture in the baking dish.  Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.



Uncover and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the eggs are set in the middle when you jiggle the pan.



I tried the casserole topped with the salsa verde, hot sauce, and Maggie's Fresh Pico - all three options we equally tasty. What would you top it with? K, byeeee.

Debbie's Breakfast Casserole.

As of today, it is officially college football season! LET'S GO........HOKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!

[youtube=http://youtu.be/SrTmaypDWFI]

That being said, its only appropriate that I share my favorite tailgating breakfast (...slash breakfast for any occasion). I am naming this deliciously simple recipe after my wonderful mother, who so kindly prepares this breakfast casserole for my brothers and I on game weekends!

This easy breakfast casserole is extremely inexpensive - all the ingredients only cost about $9 - and did I mention its a great base for drinking?!! It's so easy to prepare the night before and pop it in the oven/reheat it on the grill in the morning so it's ready when everyone wakes up/arrives at the tailgate.

What you need....

• 1 package southwestern hash browns*


• 1 lb regular or turkey sausage


• 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese


• 1 dozen eggs


• 1/2 of a medium Onion, diced (optional, but I always add it)

How to make it...

Place hash browns in a 9x13 greased pan.

*I use the Simply Potatoes brand found in the refrigerator section (near the eggs in most grocery stores). If you are using frozen hash browns, place hash browns in a 9x13 greased pan and cook in 350 degree oven for 30 min or until all the water is absorbed and they are turning brown.  Otherwise, you can skip this step.

Cook the sausage in a saute pan until browned. Add the onion and cook until they have softened. (You can obviously add whatever other veggies you'd like to this casserole, but I like to keep it simple.)


Spread crumbled sausage and onions on top of the hash browns. Layer cheese over sausage. Whip together eggs with a little milk (not a lot otherwise your casserole will be soupy...speaking from experience here) and pour over casserole.



Bake at 350 for 30 mins or until browned.



If you're feeling REALLY lazy, you can buy Jimmy Dean fully cooked sausage crumbles, skip the onions, and you'll have a breakfast casserole in no time.  With or without onions, pre-made or freshly prepared, it is going to be delicious (and I have about a dozen friends who can vouch for this statement). K, byeeeee!

Breakfast Sammy.

I love breakfast sammies - they are, in my opinion, the best way to start out the day. That being said, I work from home and I am not willing to leave my apartment for breakfast in the mornings (or wake up early enough to make it) when I could just be lazy and eat some cereal instead.  And on weekends I am RARELY awake before most places stop serving breakfast. However, considering the McDonald's Sausage & Egg McMuffin is 450 calories  (and that's without cheese), I think I'm better off sleeping through fast food breakfast. The breakfast sandwiches in this post are only 250 calories! You can make as many or as few as you like, but I always make 6 and freeze the leftovers!

What you need...

• 1 package of English Muffins


• 1 package of turkey sausage crumbles


• 6 slices of cheese


• 3 eggs


• Cooking spray


• Milk (optional)

How to make them...

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grab a muffin tin and lightly spray 6 cups with cooking spray. Crack your eggs and scramble them in a bowl with a little bit of milk, then pour equal parts in each muffin cup; add the sausage crumbles to the eggs.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. [Sidebar: If you like your eggs runny, instead of scrambling 3 eggs, use 6 and crack one egg in each muffin cup and bake for 10-15 mins. Also use sausage patties instead of crumbles. I've made the sandwiches both ways and each one turned out wonderfully.]

If you'd like your English muffins toasted, slice them in half and place them all out on a baking sheet. Put them in the oven with your eggs and let them toast for a few mins (I put them in when there is 10 mins left).

Once everything is baked and toasted, assemble your sandwich! (I don't have to explain how to do that, right? K, good.)

Save them for later....

If you decide to make more than you  can manage to eat, let your sandwiches cool completely, then wrap them individually in plastic wrap and store them in a freezer-safe plastic bag.

To reheat the sandwich, remove the plastic wrap and wrap it in a paper towel; zap it in the microwave for a few mins. Then (if you have a toaster oven) toast them for a few mins  to make the bread crunchy again.



Okay, I feel like I've taken entirely too much time to explain one of the simplest things to make. My bad. K, byeeeeeee.

Egg Muffins.

My brother and I are very devoted Virginia Tech football fans. We hardly (if ever) miss home games. We always tailgate in the same spot, with the same people, year after year. Soooo I guess you could say we're pretty good at tailgating? (We are.)

The best tailgates start with booze and breakfast (my interpretation of kegs and eggs - who wants to limit themselves to just beer and eggs? There needs to be a little room for creativity). Personally, I like to kick my day off with a nice, cold bottle of Andre (keeping it classy). On the other hand, consuming a pre-noon beer has become a time-honored tradition for my brother and his friends (they take this very seriously).

[slideshow]

Obviously we have the booze part covered, but we often forget the breakfast portion of this formula. When I came across a recipe for Egg Muffins, I knew it would be a perfect breakfast for our tailgates. They are really easy to make...

What you need:

• 1 pound Italian Sausage


• 8 large eggs


• 1/4 cup milk


• 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil


• 1/2 tsp baking powder


• salt & pepper to taste


• Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese as needed

How to make them:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.


2. In a large saute pan, over medium high heat, brown Italian Sausage until it is no longer pink. Remove from heat.


3. Whisk together eggs, milk, oil and baking powder.  Season with salt and pepper.


4. Lightly spray a 12-cupcake pan. Spoon out the sausage evenly into each cupcake.


5. Ladle the egg mixture over sausage and broccoli.


6. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.


7. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Oh, and when you make them, don't forget to take them with you to your tailgate....

Because I forgot to take them to our tailgate...so once again we failed to include the breakfast part. Woopsie. K, byeee!