Time to Start Eating Healthy!

And I have the perfect way to start!

I was giddy with excitement when Ashley from Applegate contacted me again! Back in July I had the opportunity to try and then review their Super Natural Beef Hot Dogs.  I was not disappointed.  I'll never eat another brand of hot dog.

But this isn't about hot dogs.  Or beef.  This is about BACON people.  Yummy bacon goodness.  

Applegate's Sunday Bacon was all that I expected it to be.  Hickory smoked with just the right ratio of contents.  Let's begin by what you get with the pork Sunday Bacon.

• Casein Free
• Gluten Free
• Dairy Free
• Antibiotic Free (Applegate's family of farms never use antibiotics with their animals!)
• No Nitrites or Nitrates added
• 2 pan fried slices yield about 60 calories
• Ingredients: Pork, Water, Sea Salt and less than 2% of Evaporated Cane Syrup and Celery Powder.

Take another look at those ingredients.  Five.  Five ingredients, all of which we can pronounce.  All of which we know what they are.  I feel you can tell this in the flavor.  Everyone in the house must have felt the same way because I could barely keep it cooked fast enough!

I like to slice the bacon in half because it allows it to cook more evenly.

Now let's take a look at their Natural Turkey Bacon.  I've tried several brands of turkey bacon in the past.  I'm supposed to be on a low cholesterol diet and that just doesn't include bacon, but like most other people, I cheat.  I've been forced to cheat because all the other turkey bacons are quite frankly gross.  The consistency and flavor just isn't comparable.  This is NOT the case with this turkey bacon. 

Let's take a look at what you get with this product.

• Casein Free
• Dairy Free
• Gluten Free
• No Nitrites or Nitrates added
• Antibiotic Free (Applegate's family of farms never use antibiotics with their animals!)
• One slice yields about 35 calories
• Ingredients:  Turkey, Water and contains less than 2% of Sea Salt, Celery Powder, Maple Sugar, Onion Powder, and Spices (cayenne pepper).

Just seven ingredients!  Now I will admit that this isn't pork bacon.  There really is no substitute for that.  HOWEVER, I could definitely see myself eating this turkey bacon on a regular basis.  It has a wonderful flavor and the consistency is more like "regular" bacon.  Everyone agreed that it was better than we expected.  The lone hold out was my 11 year old daughter.  I won't put much behind that though because she's picky, that one is... but still the turkey bacon gets a 4 out of 5 in our house!

Aren't sure if Applegate products are sold in your area? Click here for their store locator. In addition to bacon, Applegate also has hot dogs, sausage, chicken, cold cuts, and cheeses!  I highly encourage you to try out this brand!  You will not be disappointed!

What a great way to start your new year off by eating healthier!  To give you an extra incentive, Applegate is giving three lucky readers free product coupons!  Just enter the giveaway below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*I was given a sample of this product for review. All opinions are my own.

Bacon and Cheese Quiche

Super easy recipe folks!  I made it Monday morning before anyone else got out of bed!

What you'll need:

-- 12 slices of bacon
-- 4-5 green onions
-- tomato
-- a dozen eggs
-- 1/3 cup of sour cream
-- 1 cup of mushrooms
-- 1 cup of cheddar cheese
-- 1 cup of mozzarella cheese

As with any recipes these ingredients are more of just a guideline of where to start.  I use a smaller tomato because we don't care for tomatoes and I use a little more mushrooms.  For this time I also used Monterrey Jack cheese.

How to make:

-- Heat oven to 325F.
-- Chop up the onions and tomatoes.  Set aside a couple of tablespoons of the onions and tomatoes.

-- Cook bacon in skillet until crisp.  Remove the bacon from the skillet, reserving the drippings.  

-- Add mushrooms to skillet, cook for 2 mins or until tender.  Remove from heat.

-- Crumble up bacon, add to skillet along with remaining onions and tomatoes.

-- Mix eggs and sour cream together on bowl with a whisk.  Spray a 13 x 9 in baking dish with non-stick spray.  

--Pour in egg mixture.  Top with bacon mixture and cheese.  Bake in 325F oven for 30 mins or until the center is set.  Top it with remaining tomatoes and onions and let stand 5 mins before cutting.

This is a nice filling meal that can be made for dinner or breakfast.  Serve it with some fruit on the side and yum-o!

Sticky Buns for Breakfast

Pre-baked goodness...

One of the many things that I'm crushing on Pinterest for is the ability to find a plethora of recipes.  Recipes for just about anything you might want to cook, bake, broil, fry, and eat.  This week is full of people cooking turkey, dressing/stuffing, pumpkin pies and all things Thanksgiving dinner related.  But what about Thanksgiving breakfast?  Oooo do I have the PERFECT recipe for you.

Found on Pinterest, this recipe for sticky buns is so super easy and oh my gaaawwwd yummy.

Breakfast Sticky Buns
via All Things Delicious
Print it here!!

Here's what y'all need:

-1 tube of the large biscuits, think Pillsbury Grands biscuits (I used Great Value brand buttermilk biscuits)
-3 Tbsp butter, melted
-1/2 C syrup
-1/3 C brown sugar, packed
-1/2 tsp cinnamon
-1/4 C chopped pecans, optional (I used these)
-1/4 C chopped almonds, optional

 Here's how y'all make it:

-Spray a bundt pan with some non-stick cooking spray (or do like my Mama taught me and give it a thin coating of Crisco!).  In a bowl, mix together the butter and syrup, set aside.  In a separate bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts (if ya want 'em).

-Pour half of the syrup/butter mix into the pan, then sprinkle half of the sugar/cinnamon/nut mix on top of that.  Next, lay the biscuits on top of the mix, making sure that the sides overlap each other (like a wreath).  Pour the rest of the syrup/butter mix, followed by the rest of the sugar/cinnamon/nut mix on top of the biscuits.

-Bake in a 375F oven for 20 minutes (or until they are golden brown, I had to cook mine for 22 mins.).  Remove from oven and let it sit for a few minutes before inverting on a dish.

This was so easy! Perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas morning when you want something warm and yummy, but you don't want to spend all of your time in the kitchen.  They were just sweet enough to be called "sticky buns", but not so much that you (or your kids) will be bouncing off the walls.

Mother's Day Breakfast Idea: Spinach & Ricotta Frittata

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Spinach and Ricotta Frittata
via Food Blogga
Makes 8 servings
Print it here!

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups white mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 cups baby spinach, thinly sliced
8 large eggs
4 ounces (1/4 cup) whole milk ricotta cheese, drained
4 ounces (1/4 cup) grated Grana Padano cheese, divided
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg or fresh grated nutmeg
a liberal helping of salt and freshly ground black pepper


Melt butter in an 8-inch non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Add mushrooms; saute 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add spinach and cook just until wilted. Season with salt and black pepper.


In a medium bowl beat eggs. In a small bowl, mix the ricotta, 1/2 of the Grana Padano, nutmeg, salt, and black pepper. Add to the eggs and lightly mix. Pour into the skillet.
With a fork, gently move the egg mixture from side to side allowing the egg to seep to the bottom of the pan. Do this for 5-7 minutes, until the eggs start to solidify and a crust begins to form around the edges. Give the pan handle a jiggle, and when the eggs appear nearly set, evenly sprinkle the second half of the cheese over the top of the frittata.


Remove the pan from the stove top and place under the broiler for 4-5 minutes, or until the top puffs up and turns golden brown. Keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t burn. Let cool for a couple of minutes before slicing into wedges. Serve hot or at room temperature.


Optional garnish: In a small bowl toss 1 cups of halved cherry tomatoes with a little extra virgin olive oil, salt, black pepper, and fresh herbs such as basil, dill, or parsley. Serve atop the frittata.

Breakfast Cookies

via simplerecipes.tumblr.com

Cookies and breakfast aren't two words you normally see in the same sentence. These cookies look so good that I couldn't pass up sharing the recipe!




Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
1 egg
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup of peanut butter
1 1/2 cups of white whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 1/4 cup of whole oats (not the quick kind)
3 cups of Cheerios cereal
1 cup of walnuts
1/2 cup of raisins
1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips (the higher the cacao content, the better)
How-to:
1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cream butter& sugar. Add egg & vanilla and then the peanut butter.
3. Sift in the flour, baking soda & salt.
4. Add oats and stir very well. Add water.
5. Add the cereal. Your batter will be very difficult to stir. That’s good.
6. Add walnuts, then the raisins and finally the chocolate chips.
7. Your gonna get dirty now. Form golf-ball sized balls out of your dough with your hands and place them on a cookie sheet.
8. Flatten your golf-balls with the palm of your head, not too much. Think hockey puck.
9. Bake for approximately 12 minutes.
Enjoy!

Posted via web from shinypeas's posterous

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