Maker Monday: Fast, Healthy, and Flavorful Breakfast Ideas - Protein Tubs

I saw the video below on Facebook showing how to use Greek yogurt and protein powder to make  breakfast bowls. I am not much on breakfast. I'm not awake enough most weekday mornings to appreciate a good breakfast, and if I am not going to have a good breakfast I'd rather skip it. And let's be honest, for a lot of us, the extra half hour of sleep we can exchange for the time it would take to prepare and eat breakfast is worth skipping the meal. I usually toss a protein bar or an apple or banana in my bag and head to work.


When I saw this video, I instantly thought it was a great idea. I have tried so many different brands and flavors of meal replacement shakes. Some of the pre-mixed ones are okay, but they are really expensive. The cost is lower if you just buy the powder and add your own liquid, but the consistency is just awful. No matter how thoroughly or long I mix the powder into the water or milk, it seems to be both watery and clump. The powder settles to the bottom so that occasionally you will get a big mushy clump of protein powder with barely flavored milk/water. It is not pleasant. I like the idea of an almost instant meal, but the texture inconsistencies get me every time.

So, when I saw that they mix the protein powder into plain Greek yogurt, I saw that this very well might solve my texture issue while helping me create a very fast, flavorful, healthy breakfast alternative. Last night I decided to put together a couple just to try. I already had some slim fast breakfast shake mix in my cupboard, and I picked up some fresh  yogurt on our grocery trip earlier in the day (I love plain yogurt on pretty much anything you would normally use sour cream or Miracle Whip).

Once the scoop of protein shake mix is added to a cup of Greek yogurt and mixed well, the yogurt has a very fluffy, whipped texture. It's almost like a dense chocolate mousse. I really like the extra tang that the yogurt adds to the flavor too. I have never liked any of the flavors of protein shakes other than chocolate for drinking, but I could see really enjoying vanilla, strawberry, or caramel as a yogurt/mousse flavor. I slice two to three strawberries to go with each serving and stored them in my Rubbermaid Takealong containers that have the removable trays to keep the fruit from getting soggy. I think I might try some almond slivers, granola, or maybe some dried fruit as mix-ins for some later in the week.

Maker Monday: Ode to the 1950s - Cheesy Surprise Hash Brown Casserole

 

Cheesy Surprise Hash Brown Casserole

Half a Bag of Ore-Ida Hash Browns, thawed (approximately 15 oz)

1 can cream of chicken soup (cream of mushroom works good too)

1 can cheese soup

1 can SPAM luncheon meat (the Bacon flavored one works the best)

1 small onion diced

½ cup sour cream

½ cup frozen peas

1 cup shredded cheese of your choice

2 cups crushed sour cream and onion chips

Spices to taste (salt, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, Cheyenne pepper)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter or spray a 9x11 casserole dish and set aside.

In a mixing bowl combine thawed hash browns, cream of chicken soup, cheese soup, sour cream, shredded cheese, and frozen peas together folding gently until fully combined. Add spices now as well keeping in mind you may not want to add much salt at all because of the SPAM and canned ingredients sodium content. If you stir, it has a tendency to break up the hash browns too much, and then they become mushy.

Open and cut up the loaf of SPAM into small cubes. Dice the onion. Very lightly coat your skillet with olive oil (or if you prefer a bit more spicy chili oil works great.) Fry the onions and SPAM on medium heat, flipping two to three times until meat is crispy and onions are just starting to caramelize.

Drain excess grease and then mix in the SPAM and onions with the rest of your ingredients. Move mixture into your prepared casserole dish and spread out evenly. Cover the top with your crushed potato chips.

Maker Monday: Steffie's "No Ricotta Zesty Lasagna" Recipe

 

1 24 oz container of cottage cheese
1 bag shredded mozzarella cheese
1 bag pizza blend shredded cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb hot Italian sausage
1/2 medium sized onion diced
1 jar Newman's Own Sockarooni spaghetti sauce
1 jar Classico Organic Tomato, Herbs, and Spices spaghetti sauce
1 box lasagna noodles
Spices & Herbs (italian blend herbs, red pepper flakes, seasoned salt, Garlic Garlic, cheyenne pepper)




Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat water in large pot until boiling. Added a teaspoon salt along with 12-15 lasagna noodles (12 if you want fewer layers and 15 if you want more). Follow directions on box for cooking, but remember to stop a bit short of done because they will continue to cook in the oven. It is best to drain right away and pour in cold water over the noodles to stop  cooking and keep noodles from sticking together until time to layer ingredients.

Mix onion, beef, and sausage in a skillet and brown. Add full jar of Sockarooni and half of the Classico THS sauce to skillet and let simmer. Add in spices and herbs to taste.

In medium sized mixing bowl, mix half a container (12 oz) cottage cheese with Parmesan cheese and two eggs. Stir until thoroughly blended and set aside.

In a 9x11 oven safe pan, begin layering your ingredients. First layer should be meat sauce to prevent noodles from sticking. The sequence goes as follows: red sauce, noodles (3 or 4 across depending on your preference), cottage cheese mixture, noodles, red sauce and cheese, noodles and so on until your layers near the top. The top layer should be meat sauce topped with a layer of shredded cheese. Sprinkle on additional herbs and spices as desired.

Cook for 30 - 40 minutes until cheese on top is lightly browned.

Some other ideas for ingredients to include would be spicy pepperoni, switching out half of the beef for turkey, and swapping out sauces for whichever sauces you and your family like best.

Maker Monday: Ode to the 1950's - Philadelphia Cream Cheese Polynesian Cheesecake

 

Semi-Homemade Philadelphia Cream Cheese Polynesian Cheesecake

8 oz package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese softened
1 package of Pillsbury pie crust from refrigerated section
1 jar maraschino cherries
9 oz crushed pineapple
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbs. corn starch
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Butter
Pecans finely chopped and/or toasted coconut (optional)

Blend 1/3 cup sugar with 1 Tbs. corn starch and add 9 oz. can of crushed pineapple with juice. Chop about 10-12 maraschino cherries and add to mixture as well. Cook over medium heat until corn starch has been activated and sugar is melted. It should be thickened and clear. Set aside to cool.

While fruit  mixture is cooling, blend softened cream chease, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 tsp. salt. Add two eggs, one at a time, and stir into mixture gently. Blend in 1/2 cup of milk and 1 tsp. vanilla.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Butter a 9 inch round pie pan put in one of the pre-made Pillsbury pie crusts. The butter is important because it will keep the pie crust from getting soggy. Perforate the crust multiple times with a fork to prevent bubbling during cooking. Pour in cooled Fruit mixture and spread evenly. Top with cream cheese mixture and sprinkle with pecan/toasted coconut (optional).

Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 and bake for an additional 40-50 minutes. Cool and enjoy!