Sausage and Tomato Mini Quiches

Ok, ok, I am back to cooking real meals. I'm giving muffins and soups/chilis a break in favor of trying recipes like this amazing one. This is now officially on my regular menu. With relatively cheap ingredients, it's not too much of a stretch to do so.

Talk about delicious and healthy all at once! You would never guess that each one of these delicious quiches is less than 75 calories, nor will you guess that they are made with a sausage substitute! They are cute, yummy, and a great breakfast/lunch/dinner/party item. They really aren't that difficult to make either.

If you make them for yourself, you'll actually end up with some leftovers. I typically eat three and pair them with fruit on the side- I have found that grapes, kiwis, and strawberries compliment them quite nicely.


Ingredients:
-5 eggs
-3 egg whites
-3/4 cup 1% milk
-3 Morningstar sausage patties
-1 large tomato
-1 small onion
-1/4 cup part skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:
-Set oven to 325 (place rack in center of oven)
-In a medium frying pan, brown up sausages
-Once cooked, chop sausage up and keep on a small plate
-Chop tomato and onion and cook up in the medium frying pan (2-5 minutes)
-Add chopped sausage to tomato and onion mix and cook (2-5 minutes)
-In separate bowl, whisk eggs, egg whites, milk
-In a heavily sprayed muffin tin, dollop sausage/veggie mix
-Sprinkle cheese over sausage/veggie mix
-Pour egg/milk mixture over cheese/sausage/veggie mix
-Cook in oven for 25-35 minutes (tops should start to brown lightly)

-Makes 12 mini quiches

Nutrition (per quiche): 74.1 calories, 3.3g fat, 92.5mg cholesterol, 117mg sodium, 3.5g carb, .55g fiber, 7.5g protein

Note: These totals reflect 1 cup of milk, but I actually used 3/4 cup (you can probably use less than that!).

The beauty of this recipe is that you can pick and choose your meats, veggies, and cheese. You can also experiment with fruit! I think an apple and cheddar quiche would be delicious!

I found this on the Cooking Light site. I made many modifications though. Here is the original recipe: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/mini_mushroom_sausage_quiches.html

Basic Spice Muffin

This is another recipe that is completely my own. It has a delicious mix of cinnamon and nutmeg flavors with a blast of hearty goodness from the the whole wheat flour. Once again, these are easy and low calorie. You probably have the ingredients already! Enjoy them right out of the oven or warm them up for optimum enjoyment. :-)

Ingredients:
-2 cups wheat flour
-1/4 cup granulated sugar (you can use brown sugar, too)
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 tsp nutmeg
-1 egg white
-1 cup skim milk
-1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
-Set oven to 400 degrees
-Lightly spray muffin tin
-Whisk dry ingredients
-Add wet ingredients and pour into muffin tins
-Bake for 15 minutes (maybe less- use the toothpick test)

-Makes 12 muffins

Nutrition: 103.8 calories, .3g fat, 162.9mg sodium, 21.23g carb, 2.8g fiber, 3.65g protein

The beauty of a spice muffin is that you can add in whatever flavors you want. You can also add chocolate chips or fruit. Or you can eat them just like this!

Corn and bean chili

This snow keeps giving me soup and muffin cravings. Here is another hit soup that I concocted by grazing on a few recipes. The base recipe is linked below, but I did change it up a bit. I like mine. It's a huge protein and fiber boost and it tastes soooo good! Satisfaction guaranteed!

Ingredients:
-1 tsp onion powder
-1 tsp garlic powder
-2 tsp chili powder
-1 tsp cumin
-1/4 tsp ground black pepper
-1 can (15 oz) pinto beans (rinsed and drained)
-1 can (15 oz) kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
-1 can (8 oz) no salt added corn (do not drain)
-1 can (12 oz) diced tomatoes (drained)
-1 can tomato paste
-1 individual serving baby carrots (35 calories worth)
-2.5 cups water

Directions:
-Chop and steam baby carrots (not too mushy though)
-In a large saucepan on low heat, combine carrots, corn tomato paste
-Add tomatoes and beans and stir
-Add water and stir
-Add spices and stir
-Bring to a bowl, stirring frequently
-Simmer for 10-15 minutes

-Makes 4 servings

Nutrition: 255 calories, 2.5g fat, 800mg sodium (probably less), 52g carb, 18.375g fiber, 15.375g sugar, 14.75g protein

This is a thick and hearty chili and is just delicious on a cold day. Maybe add it to your Super Bowl menu?

Original recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Black-Bean-Vegetable-Soup/Detail.aspx