Sausage, Potato & Edamame Breakfast Scramble

Sausage, Potato & Edamame Breakfast Scramble
Recipe adapted from Slim Shopping
Makes 4 Servings

1 tbsp coconut oil
12 oz. sweet potatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 cup finely diced onion
5 links Chicken sausage, cooked
½ cup edamame, beans removed
4 eggs, cracked and whisked together
Siracha, salt and pepper (to taste)

In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp coconut oil. Add onions and sweet potatoes, and sauté for 5 minutes. Add bell pepper and 2 tablespoons of water and cover for about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are softened. Add the edamame and sausage. Cook for another 5 minutes, covered. Remove from the pan, wipe it clean and cook the egg mixture. Serve on the side of the hash.

Nutritional Information: 328 calories, 23 carbs, 17 fat grams and 23 protein grams.

Review: Very good! Different, not what I would think of when I think for breakfast. You could easily sub in a lima bean or a butter bean, but the soy beans were great with the sweet potatoes. The sausage was great too, and went well with the sweet potato and beans. Definitely an easy one and it reheated well at work the next day!

Tuscan Macaroni and Cheese Bake

Tuscan Macaroni and Cheese Bake
Recipe adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Café
Makes 4 Servings

3 links Italian chicken sausage, diced and cooked for 4-5 minutes until heated
7.5 oz. elbow macaroni
6 oz. fat-free cream cheese, softened
80 grams shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tbsp light butter
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp sage
¼ tsp thyme
½ tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 ¼ cups fat-free milk
1 tomato, sliced thinly
4 tbsp Kraft parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Cook macaroni according to package directions but undercook by 1-2 minutes since it will continue baking. In a large bowl, combine sausage, pasta, cream cheese and mozzarella cheese. In a small bowl, mix flour and spices together. In a medium saucepan melt butter, then whisk in flour and spices. Allow the flour/butter mixture to cook without browning for about 30 seconds while whisking/stirring. Slowly add the milk and stir until slightly thickened, this may take 5-6 minutes. Stir constantly to prevent scorching on the bottom of the pan. When slightly thickened, pour milk mixture over pasta mixture and mix well. Pour into an 11x7-inch lightly greased casserole dish. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove cover and add tomato slices on top then sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and bake for another 10 minutes uncovered.

Nutritional Information: 456 calories, 52 carbs, 14 fat grams and 32 protein grams.

Review: We really liked this one! It was my first time cooking with fat-free cream cheese so I was a bit nervous, but loved the mix it made with the mozzarella cheese, and the milk sauce/mixture helped ensure that nothing was too dry. I also like the spices that the Italian chicken sausage added. If anything next time I may consider saving some mozzarella cheese for the top as the parm isn't very melty/pretty. All in all, I liked the bake, thought it was quick/easy to put together and it made a lot of food and is very filling!

full dish

Penne with Chicken Sausage

Penne with Chicken Sausage (on left)

For the Love of cooking Recipe

1 tbsp olive oil, divided
4 tbsp yellow onions, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
5 garlic and herb chicken sausages, chopped into ½” pieces
2 tbsp yellow baby bell peppers, diced
2 tbsp red bell peppers, diced
10 grape tomatoes, cut in half
6 oz. penne, cooked per instructions (in boiled water for 12 minutes)
Salt and pepper to taste

Spray large, deep pan with olive oil flavored cooking spray, and set a pot of water to boil. Drop in 1 teaspoon of olive oil in pan over medium heat. Once hot, add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes or until browned. Season with salt and set aside on a plate. Add 2 teaspoons of olive oil to the same skillet over medium high heat. Once hot, add minced garlic, stirring constantly for 60 seconds. Set aside on same plate as onions. Add dry pasta to boiling water for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. While pasta cooks, add sausage to skillet over medium heat and cook until brown, about 6-7 minutes then add onion, tomatoes, bell peppers and spinach to pan. Drizzle 1 teaspoon olive oil over mixture. Cook over medium heat until tomatoes are soft, about 3-4 minutes. Drain pasta and add to skillet. Stir, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix well for 1-2 minutes then serve.

Sausage and Pasta Soup

Recipe adapted from For the Love of Cooking’s Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Sausage and Pasta Soup
Makes 4 Servings
Note: with it being 4 servings it makes it very soupy like – we like that and add noodles (baby wheels!) and eat it with a spoon.

1 tsp olive oil
3 links of chicken Italian sausage, diced
1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
8 oz button mushrooms, sliced
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp of dried basil
1 tsp of fennel seeds
1/2 tsp of dried oregano
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
1 28 oz can of whole tomatoes and juices
1 14 oz can of tomato sauce
1/2 tsp splenda
3-4 fresh basil leaves
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Reduced Fat Parmesan cheese
8 oz. pasta (we used wheels!)

Add olive oil to slowcooker over high heat. Add sausage, onion, red bell pepper and mushrooms. Add garlic, and stir for 60 seconds. Add basil, fennel, oregano, salt and pepper. Mix to combine well then add the sugar, tomato sauce and whole tomatoes and their juice; crush tomatoes with your hands. Cover sauce and cook on high for 3 hours. When you’re ready to eat, prepare the spaghetti per instructions. Taste meat sauce and re-season if needed. Add the fresh basil and parsley, stir and serve over your favorite pasta.

Nutritional Information: 380 calories, 63 carbs, 7 fat grams and 20 protein grams.

Review: So yes, a little high on the carbs but so filling! You could easily take the pasta down to 1 oz. or 1.5 oz. per serving (instead of 2) and just add more sausage! (maybe one more link!)

Crockpot Pizza Soup

Recipe from A Year of Slow-Cooking’s
Crockpot Pizza Soup
Makes 4 Servings

1 jar (14 oz) of Ragu pizza sauce
3 empty jars full of water
1 cup green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 whole tomato, diced
2 already-cooked Italian chicken sausage links, diced
20 sliced turkey pepperoni, sliced in quarters
1 tsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried oregano
6 oz. mini farfalle pasta
60 grams shredded mozzarella cheese (to add later; divided into 4 15-gram toppings)

Wash and prepare veggies. Dump them into the crockpot. Cut sausage and pepperoni into small pieces and add to crockpot. Add basil and oregano. Pour in pizza sauce, and follow with three empty jars of water. Stir, cover and cook on low for 6 hours. After six hours, add dry pasta, and turn to high for 20 minutes or until pasta softens. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Nutritional Information: 338 calories, 47 carbs, 17 protein grams and 9 fat grams.

Review: I thought it was SO good – I’m a definite fan!! (and so are Austin and Devon!). If anything, next time I’ll add salt, maybe 5 oz. instead of 6 in pasta, and add more pepperoni! Still though – loved it!

Jambalaya

Jambalaya
Inspired by a Hungry Girl recipe
Makes 4 Servings

2 links fully cooked chicken sausage, sliced into coins
6 oz. chicken cut in strips, not cooked
2 14.5-oz. cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes (not drained)
½ cup onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
2 cup low-sodium fat-free chicken broth
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 tsp hot sauce, or more to taste
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried thyme
6 oz. raw shrimp, tails removed, deveined, chopped
2 cups minute white rice, cooked
Optional: salt and black pepper

Add all ingredients except shrimp and rice to a large pot on the stove. Mix thoroughly. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low. Cover and simmer until veggies are tender and chicken is cooked, about 35 minutes. While it’s cooking, cook rice in microwave. Remove cover on pot, shred chicken, add shrimp and re-cover. Continue to cook until shrimp are tender and cooked through, about 6 minutes. Season to taste with salt, black pepper, and additional hot sauce. Serve over rice.

Nutritional Information: 389 calories, 56 carbs, 4 fat grams and 27 protein grams.

Review: Great jambayla! I enjoyed it! I do think that next time i'll add a pinch of cayenne pepper for some fire, and I also think i'll reduce or omit the celery - it's just not for me. I did love the mix of sausage, shrimp and chicken - lots of yummy meats! And the microwave rice tasted great - I just can't cook rice into recipes - it always comes out crunchy. Sad. So great - but needs some tweaks for me!

Ultimate Sausage Cheese Pizza

Ultimate Sausage Cheese Pizza
Adapted from Lifetime’s Cook Yourself Thin
Makes 1 personal pizza

4 ounces Trader Joe’s pizza dough
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
¼ cup low-calorie spaghettis sauce
1 link precooked Italian style chicken sausage, diced
2 pieces jarred roasted red pepper, diced
1 tsp reduced fat parmesan cheese
½ cup mushrooms, diced
30 g fat-free mozzarella cheese
15 g fat-free feta cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Set two medium sized saucepans over medium heat, spray with olive oil cooking spray. For one pan, heat oil, add garlic and cook for one minute. Add tomato sauce, salt and pepper, and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes. For the other pan, place sausage and bell pepper in pan. Cook 7 to 8 minutes until sausage is browned. Spray a pan with olive oil cooking spray, set dough in the center, and use your hands to stretch the dough into an 8” circle. Spread dough with sauce, layer on cheese, sausage/pepper mix, mushrooms and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until edges are crisp and lightly browned, about 12 minutes. Let pizza sit 2 to 3 minutes before eating.

Nutritional Information: 507 calories, 62 carbs, 14 fat grams and 31 protein grams. This is a little high for me, so I may only do ½ of a sausage link to take off 50 calories next time!

Review: We LOVED it – very filling and yummy. The crust was crispy, the mushrooms and sausage mixed well. I also liked how the olive oil blended in. Yum!

Rotini Italian Sausage Pasta

Rotini Italian Sausage Pasta
Recipe from Aggie's Kitchen
Makes 4 servings

8 oz. rotini
4 links of al fresco chicken sausage (Italian flavored), chopped
4 servings of fat-free mozzarella cheese
2 cups low-calorie spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper
2 tsp olive oil

Set water to boil. Once water is close to boiling, set small/medium-sized skillet to medium and pour in olive oil. Once water is boiling and pan is hot, drop pasta in water and sausage in pan and cook simultaneously for 7 minutes. Turn sausage often and stir pasta often. Heat pasta in a covered medium-sized bowl in microwave until hot, rinse and chop basil and measure out cheese. Drain pasta and place pasta, sausage, cheese and basil in the bowl with sauce and toss. Season with salt and pepper; serve hot.

Nutritional Information: 462 calories, 58 carbs, 11 fat grams and 32 protein grams

Review: It was SO good, friends. Very filling though – I actually couldn’t eat the last 6-7 bites it was so filling. Loved it though, wouldn’t change a thing and it made the house smell fabulous!

Chicken Sausage Farfalle

Chicken Sausage Farfalle

For the Love of Cooking Recipe
Makes 2 Servings

2 tsp olive oil
4 tbsp yellow onions, diced
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
4 garlic and herb chicken sausages, chopped into ½” pieces
2 tbsp yellow baby bell peppers, diced
2 tbsp red bell peppers, diced
10 grape tomatoes, cut in half
Handful of baby spinach leaves (about 20)
5-6 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1.5 oz. fat-free feta cheese
4 oz. farfalle, cooked per instructions

Salt and pepper to taste

Spray large, deep pan with olive oil flavored cooking spray, and set a pot of water to boil. Drop in ½ teaspoon of olive oil in pan over medium heat. Once hot, add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes or until browned. Season with salt and set aside on a plate. Add ½ teaspoon of olive oil to the same skillet over medium high heat. Once hot, add mushrooms. Stir for 3-4 minutes, then season with salt and add minced garlic, stirring constantly for 60 seconds. Set aside on same plate as onions. Add dry pasta to boiling water for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. While pasta cooks, add sausage to skillet over medium heat and cook until brown, about 6-7 minutes then add mushrooms, onion, tomatoes, bell peppers and spinach to pan. Drizzle 1 teaspoon olive oil over mixture. Cook over medium heat until tomatoes are soft and spinach is slightly wilted, about 3-4 minutes. Drain pasta and add to skillet along with basil and feta cheese. Stir, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix well for 1-2 minutes then serve.

Nutritional Information: 495 calories, 54 carbs and 17 fat grams.

Review: We LOVED it – so light! We even think it would taste good cold as a pasta salad. This will definitely be one we take for lunch and we think it will become a family favorite!

Sausage Skillet Scramble

Adapted from Real Mom Kitchen
Sausage Skillet Scramble
Makes 6 Servings

7 eggs
1 tbsp light butter with olive oil
1/3 cup fat-free milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 package reduced fat Jimmy Dean sausage
2 cups frozen cubed O’Brien hash brown potatoes, thawed
1 cup cabot 75% cheddar cheese, shredded

6 small flour tortillas OR 6 medium-size carb balance flour tortillas

Whisk together eggs, milk, and salt; set aside. In a large skillet, cook sausage until no longer pink; remove from skillet and drain. In the same skillet, cook potatoes for 5-7 minutes or until tender. Remove from the pan. Add butter to skillet and melt, then add egg mixture to skillet; cook and stir until almost set. Mix in sausage and potatoes. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and cook for 1-2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Nutritional Information (with small flour tortilla): 292 calories, 10 carbs, 17 fat grams and 22 protein grams.

Nutritional Information (with taco size flour tortilla): 393 calories, 28 carbs, 20 fat grams and 26 protein grams.

Review: Great recipe! The cheese really melted well into the mix and almost made the eggs taste runny - fab. While I thinks a small tortilla would work and would lower calories, you would probably need to eat it more like a tostado with fork and knife. With the larger shell, it could be eaten more like a taco, how I prefer it!

Scrambled Egg & Sausage Pizza

Adapted from Recipe Girl

Scrambled Egg & Sausage Pizza

Makes 4 Servings

10 oz. TJ’s plain pizza dough
4 links TJ’s Italian chicken sausage, diced
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
¼ tsp pepper
12 tbsp salsa
½ cup fat-free grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roll out pizza dough. Brown sausage in large nonstick skillet, stirring until it it’s fully cooked. Set aside. Wipe skillet clean. Whisk together eggs and pepper; cook eggs in lightly greased skillet over medium heat, stirring and breaking into small pieces until cooked. Remove skillet from heat. Once crust is how you want it, spoon and spread salsa evenly over the top, then add sausage, scrambled eggs, and cheese. Bake for 8 to 10 more minutes- until crust is golden brown.

Nutritional Information: 388 calories, 39 carbs, 13 fat grams and 25 protein grams.

Review: Fabulous and filling! Love the flavor the sausage gives and the idea that you can use different kinds of turkey sausage for different taste. Like the idea of using dough - it was really crispy on bottom but then soft on top - great breakfast pizza.