Healthified Brunch Squares

Review by Lyndee:

So Molly gave me the Pampered Chef brownie pan I’ve been dreaming of getting for an early birthday present this weekend.  And they give you some recipes to try with it.  This thing isn’t just for brownies.  You can do lasagna, muffins, cheesecakes, egg bakes, etc. and the beautiful thing is, it’s portion controlled!  I decided I would use it to make my breakfast for the week. Then I got really crazy and decided to use their recipe for Brunch Squares.  I made some substitutions to healthify it and it is excellent! 

36 tater tots (You could use hashbrowns if you don’t have tater tots)

½ package cream cheese (I used reduced fat)

8 eggs (I used 2 cups of egg beaters)

3 green onions

Diced ham or sausage (I used 1 pound of turkey breakfast sausage)

Shredded Cheddar cheese (I used 2%)

Place 3 tater tots in each well. Mix cream cheese and eggs in batter bowl. Salt and pepper to taste. Add meat and green onions to egg mixture. Use large scoop and place 1 scoop of mixture into each well. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Test with a knife to make sure eggs are set.

These are yummy and easy! I brought two for breakfast and popped them in the microwave to warm up for 2 minutes.  Delicious! I can’t wait to make them again next week. 

Super easy triple chocolate peanut butter fudge

Review by Lyndee

Ingredients:

1 container frosting

1 16 oz jar creamy peanut butter

Melt frosting in a microwave safe dish for 1 minute.  Stir in peanut butter.  Spread into a 9x13 pan lined with foil.  Refrigerate and enjoy.

The recipe said this was the simplest fudge ever and I can’t deny that.  It called for vanilla frosting to make peanut butter fudge.  I opted to make a chocolate peanut butter fudge because they are my favorite pair and I had a triple chocolate fudge frosting on hand.  This was super easy and it tastes rich and delicious.  My only compliant would be that it was still a little soft even after being in the fridge overnight. 

Easy Eggplant Parmigiana

Review by Jami:

This recipe is just like lasagna, only I’m replacing the pasta with eggplant. A lot of recipes recommend frying the eggplant, but as vegetarian who is also health conscious, I refuse to fry anything. Instead I’ve chosen to bake the eggplant, a delicious alternative, and even eliminated the flour coating for less carbs.

You can use jar marinara sauce or make your own, whatever you prefer. Add meat substitute for more protein and texture, but the recipe is just as good without.

2 medium eggplants

1 egg, beaten

½ cup breadcrumbs

Marinara sauce (jar, can or homemade)

Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Parmesan cheese

Slice eggplants about ½ inch. Dip each slice into egg, then breadcrumbs and place on baking sheet. Line sheet and bake slices until golden, about 30 minutes at 350. Meanwhile, heat sauce and add additional spices as desired. If you’re using meat substitute add it to the sauce and heat to combine flavors.

In a lasagna pan, cover the bottom with a small amount of sauce and cover with baked eggplant slices in a single layer. Cover with sauce, then mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers, ending with cheese. Top with grated parmesan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. There is no need to cover as 30 minutes is just enough time to make the cheesy melty and golden. Let the dish set 5-10 minutes for easier slicing. Serve and enjoy!

Fiesta chicken

Review by Lyndee:

Ingredients:

2 cups grilled chicken breast (or 2 cans of chicken breast chunks)

2 cups medium shell pasta (cooked)

2 cups cheddar/jack shredded cheese

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can Rotel

½ cup milk

1 can diced chilies (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix all ingredients except cheese.  Pour into a 9x13 pan, cover with cheese and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. 

My oven was full of other things when I was making this so I decided to just do it as a stove top recipe.  I halved the shredded cheese and used some velveeta to make it creamy.  I opted not to use the diced chilies and I’m glad I did.  This has some good kick to it with just the rotel.  Mine was a bit soupy but it was really good.  This is super easy to make via skillet or baking, I’m sure.  Kid and husband friendly quick recipe for dinner.  

Triple chocolate fudge cake mix cookies

Review by Lyndee

Ingredients:

1 box triple chocolate fudge cake mix

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)

2 eggs

Chocolate or peanut butter chips  or nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix butter (I melted mine), eggs and cake mix together. I didn’t add any extra chips since this was a triple chocolate cake mix, but if you’re doing a regular one you could add whatever you wanted.  Mix together well and drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes.  You can add frosting if you want but they are good as is. 

This is a very easy option to cookie baking and you could use any flavor of cake mix.  These are chewy and fun.  

Sriracha mayo dip

Review by Lyndee

I’ve seen this recipe online a few times so I decided to give it a whirl last night with my Biggest Loser sweet potato fries!   

1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used fat free)

1/4 tsp cayenne Pepper

1 tsp Sriracha Sauce

1 dash of garlic powder

This took about 30 seconds to make.  It doesn’t get much easier than that.  I used fat free mayo, sriracha and cayenne.  I decided to add a dash of garlic powder even though it wasn’t on the original recipe and I think it really added a great flavor. I ate this as a dip for my sweet potatoes but I think it would be great on many things like burgers, chicken or potato skins as well.  

Reese’s Squares

Review by Rachael:

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs

1 lb confectioner’s sugar (3-3 ½ cups)

1 ½ cups peanut butter

1 cup butter, melted

1 (12 ounce) bag milk chocolate chips

Directions:

 Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar & peanut butter. mix well.  Blend in butter until well combined.  Press mixture evenly into a 9 x 13 pan.   Melt chocolate chips in microwave or double boiler.  Spread over peanut butter mixture.  Chill until just set and cut into bars.

Step one took awhile, it was difficult to get those three ingredients to mix together. But finally I added the butter & got it to look like some form of a layer I could use. The directions didn’t say if you should spray the pan or not, but I did. I figured between peanut butter & chocolate it would probably stick. I made the mistake of letting these chill all night before trying to cut them. Once they are set all the way it’s very difficult to get them cut. They top layer of chocolate was chipping off & they didn’t look very pretty. They tasted okay, not exactly what I wanted from this recipe. I LOVE Reese’s and to me they were nothing like them. Maybe this would be good crumbled over ice cream?!