morning breakfast casserole

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 This is what I had made for Christmas morning, I had many people staying at my house and instead of making Eggs, hash browns, and sausage I made it all into an easy casserole. I made it the night before and on Christmas morning just threw it in the oven.  Perfect and easy.  This would be great for any brunch or Easter morning or any morning you want a yummy filling breakfast.
I made this in a 10x15 dish and it fed 10 big eaters with leftovers.  So you may want to cut in half for your family.

Ingredients
1 pound Italian sausage it is just what I had,  but breakfast sausage would be good too, or even ham.
16oz O'Brien hash brown (with onions and peppers mixed in)
12 eggs
1 -2 cups cheese depending how cheesy you like it
8 oz sliced mushrooms ( I used baby bellas)
1 onion chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped

3/4 cup favorite salsa
2 cups spinach. chopped

 Instructions
1. Saute in a lightly oiled pan onions, mushrooms and pepper until a soft.
2.pour hashbrowns into buttered dish, place sausage on top, mushrooms onion pepper mixture
half of cheese.
3. Beat all the eggs together in a separate bowl then add salsa it flavors the eggs nicely.  add a little salt and pepper and stir in spinach.  Then pour egg mixture over casserole.  Top with remaining cheese.
Bake at 350 covered tightly with foil. For this many eggs I baked it for 80 min. then removed foil and baked for another 10-15 minutes.  Until middle is set. A tooth pick comes out clean
 For a smaller amount one hour should be plenty.
  Let cool for 10 minutes then sliced it and top with salsa or ketchup.

Balsamic roasted pork Lion

 I feel like so many of us my self included when we think of healthy meats we think only fish or poultry... but there are so many lean cuts of pork.  This pork tenderloin in one 4 oz serving has only 154 calories, 6 grams of fa,t and 23 grams of protein.   Sounds good to me!!  It was so tender and juicy as well!   I served this pork lion along side raviolis at my Christmas dinner it was so effortless, but everyone really enjoyed it.

  Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons steak seasoning rub
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 pounds boneless pork loin roast

Directions

1. Dissolve steak seasoning in balsamic vinegar, then stir in olive oil. Place pork into a resealable plastic bag and pour marinade overtop. Squeeze out air and seal bag; marinate 2 hours to overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Place pork into a glass baking dish along with marinade. Bake in preheated oven, basting occasionally until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F (65 degrees C), about 1 hour. Let the roast rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.   One the package of the roast it said 22-25 minutes per pound so figure your time accordingly.

  I like to slice mine thin and on a bias it help with the grain of the meat and having the most tender slice.

recipe source allrecipes.com

garlic lime chipotle pork chops.

The other night I was making dinner for a dear friend of mine who had surgery. She and her husband eat low calorie low fat foods. I knew it was very similar to Weight watchers diet. So I began searching for recipes and I cam across this one from Ginas weight wathcers recipes.
I mainly stuck to the recipe but I wanted a bit more spice so I added one chipotle pepper in adobo sauce chopped up finely and mash it with my knife until it creates a paste. They are really hot but if you create a paste of it it adds a nice heat and smokey flavor. Also I had some orange pineapple juice in my fridge so while I let it marinate I decided to add that to give some more liquid so it would cover the surface more evenly.
Garlic Lime Chipotle Pork Chops
The lime zest gives these chops an extra zing. Adjust the seasoning to your liking. Make these in the broiler or on the grill. Serve this with cilantro lime rice on the side.
Servings: 4 • Cook Time: 8-10 minutes • Points: 6 ww points

• 4 (6 oz) lean boneless pork chops
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
  
• 1 lime, juiced
• chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, mashed into a paste
  
• lime zest
• 1/3 cup citrus juice ( I used orange pineapple juice)
  
• salt and fresh pepper

Trim any fat off pork. In a large ziploc bag season pork with garlic, cumin, paprika, juice, chipotle pepper paste, salt and pepper. Squeeze lime juice and some zest from the lime and let it marinade at least 30 minutes.

Line broiler pan with foil for easy clean up. Place pork chops on the broiler pan and broil about 4-5 minutes on each side or until nicely browned.
my pork chops had bones in them and took a bit longer to cook, but I kept waiting for it to really brown and that did not happen for me, do not wait for them to look like a steak.. it will not happen and if it does you sure will be sorry and so will your jaw.

Layered Chicken/ pork and Black Bean Enchilada Casserole

I got this original recipe from this site and I made it last night and it was so yummy.
http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com/2009/04/layered-chicken-black-bean-enchilada.html
Be sure to use the corn tortillas (don't substitute flour tortillas).

This is the original recipe written below. I did not do chicken we have eaten so much of it lately I used a pork sirloin roast instead. I made it very similar to how I do my cafe rio pork, but with out the sweetness. I put a 2 pound pork roast in my crock pot with enchilada sauce and let it cook on low for about 6-7 hours. then I removed the roast left the sauce in the pot and shredded it. This was enough meat for two dishes or one very meaty dish. then I followed the rest of the recipe except I used half a bunch of cilantro and a few green onions and a can of corn mixed in with the meat, bean, cilantro, green onions and bit of lime juice. I know it seems like I changed a lot but the basic idea was the same. we really liked it and it was very easy. and adaptable to Parker I just did a portion with no cheese or sour cream.
Layered Chicken and Black Bean Enchilada Casserole
submitted by Erin

2 cups diced chicken breast meat
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground coriander
2 Tb chopped fresh cilantro
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (4.5 oz) can diced green chili peppers, drained
1 (10 oz) can red enchilada sauce – MILD
8 (6 inch) corn tortillas
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 (8 oz) container low fat sour cream

Preheat the oven to 375°. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and spray with vegetable cooking spray. Sauté chicken with cumin and coriander until chicken is cooked through. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in the cilantro, black beans, and green chili peppers.
Spread half of the enchilada sauce over the bottom of an 11x7 inch baking dish. Place 4 tortillas over the sauce, overlapping if necessary. Spoon half of the chicken mixture over the tortillas, and sprinkle with half of the cheese and half of the sour cream.
Spoon the remaining enchilada sauce over the cheese, and make another layer of tortillas. Layer the remaining chicken mixture over the tortillas.
Cover dish with a lid or aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven.
Remove the cover, and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and dot with sour cream. Continue cooking, uncovered, for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese melts.
Let stand 10 minutes before serving

Shredded Pork Taquitos

I got this recipe from
For The Love of Cooking


Shredded Pork Taquitos
I had a pork roast to cook and decided to cook it slow and low in the oven with green chiles, to make shredded pork. I thought I was going to make tacos or a taco salad with the pork but at the last minute I decided to try making baked taquitos. I was worried they wouldn't be as good as fried taquitios but I was pleasantly surprised because they were amazing. The pork was tender and juicy while the tortillas were very crispy. I made some salsa, guacamole and a cilantro and lime sour cream to dip them in. I loved these taquitos and so did my entire family.

Side note: I don't have exact measurements of the seasonings because I just sprinkled them all over the roast.

Shredded Pork:

2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 - 2 lb pork roast (I used pork sirloin because it's lean)
1 7 oz can of whole green chiles
5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
Dried oregano, to taste
Cumin powder, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
2 cups of chicken broth

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Season the entire pork roast to taste. Heat olive oil in a small Dutch oven over medium high heat. Once hot, add the seasoned pork roast and sear on all sides. Add the chicken broth, chopped garlic and whole green chiles.

Cover with a lid and place in the oven for 2 hours then turn roast over. Cook for an additional 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the meat shreds easily with a fork. Shred the entire roast and mix meat with the juices then let simmer in the oven for 10-15 more minutes.

Additional Ingredients:

10 corn tortillas
Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Olive oil cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Wrap 10 corn tortillas in damp paper towels for 1-2 minutes in the microwave to soften. Place a bit cheese in the center of the tortilla then top with a bit of shredded pork and roll. Place, seam side down, on a baking sheet that's been coated with cooking spray.

Finish rolling the rest of the taquitos, then spray each of them with cooking spray and bake for 5-6 minutes then turn over and cook for an additional 5-6 minutes or until crispy and golden brown.

Cilantro and Lime Sour Cream:

1/2 cup sour cream (I used non fat)
1 tbsp sweet yellow onion, diced finely
1-2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1/2 a lime

Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Dips:

Guacamole
Salsa
Cilantro and Lime Sour Cream

Serve the taquitos immediately. Enjoy.