Happy Monday all! I LOVE LONG Weekends and this weekend felt long in the sense that I got soooo much done! I feel like I really set myself up for success this week by taking today to do a little prepping for it. I bought a Veggie Tray and portioned it into baggies for grab & go snacks. I boiled eggs, prepared breakfasts & lunches. I filled our kitchen with power foods and now I am ready to make MY BIRTHDAY WEEK a fantastic, on track kind of week!
This morning started off when The Husband brought me a Grande FF Decaf Latte (3 points+)
I actually put together a “crockpot” Egg, Sausage & Potato Casserole yesterday at the request of one of my really great friends to have some slow cooker breakfast recipes.
I pondered what to include and then I remembered this Texas-Style Breakfast Casserole that I had made awhile back for a holiday party. It has potatoes, sausage, veggies, eggs and cheese ~ all of my favorite goto breakfast things whether I am eating them straight up or in a burrito.
After spraying my slow cooker with cooking spray (a must with ANY egg dish), I added 2 cups of Ore Ida Western Potatoes. To help reduce the water, thaw them out first.
For a little spicy kick, I added 1/2 cup chopped Sweet Cherry Peppers.
2 Smoked Mozzarella Chicken & Artichoke Sausages, quartered.
1 ear of corn ~ you could add 1 cup of frozen corn, thawed
4 eggs, 3 egg whites, plus 1 cup FF milk seasoned with sea salt, black pepper and a few dashes of hot sauce.
1/2 cup Reduced Fat Sharp Cheddar Cheese…..Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours.
It doesn’t look pretty, but, it tastes awesome. You get a little heat from the peppers, followed up with the smoky chicken sausage and cheesy potato goodness.
SLOW COOKER EGG, SAUSAGE & POTATO CASSEROLE (print it!)
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cup Western Style Hash Browns, (thawed if frozen)
- 1/2 cup cherry peppers, roughly chopped
- 2 chicken sausage, quartered
- 1 ear corn or 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
- 1 cup fat-free skim milk
- 4 eggs plus 3 egg whites
- sea salt & black pepper to taste
- dashes of hot sauce, optional
- 2 oz low-fat shredded Cheddar cheese
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Spray your slow cooker with nonstick spray. Add potatoes, peppers, sausage and corn to the slow cooker.
2. Whisk together milks, eggs, salt, pepper and hot sauce. Pour over mixture in crockpot. Top with cheese and cook on low for 5-6 hours, until the eggs are cooked through. The mixture may have water on top and that is ok.
Makes 6 servings, 5 points+ each
Nutritional Information per serving calculated using calorie count.com
Lunch was at Panera ~ I got the half salad and soup!
1/2 BBQ Chicken Salad
"All-natural, antibiotic-free chicken, romaine lettuce, roasted corn, black beans, tortilla strips & BBQ ranch dressing, drizzled with BBQ sauce”
French Onion Soup
Plus an apple as my side…..over chips or BREAD!
The REALLY cool thing about Panera aside from being absolutely delicious, fresh and good for you….you can plug in your meal in their online nutritional calculator to determine the nutrition to calc the points+. My entire meal was 12 points+.
I was originally planning on making this Spaghetti & Meatball Casserole until I saw this Light Baked Spaghetti Recipe in Food Network Magazine. It totally reminded me of a dish my mom used to make for us as kids. The first night was always spaghetti, then, the 2nd night, she would combine the noodles with the sauce, cover it in cheese and bake it into a Spaghetti Pizza.
What can I say ~ I am easily influenced by pictures and recipes at any point during the day. It’s actually a pretty easy recipe to put together.
Saute an onion in olive oil until softened.
Add the garlic and Hot Spicy Turkey Sausage (my substitute).
Once browned, add bell pepper, mushrooms, Italian Seasoning, a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper. Cook until slightly softened.
Instead of crushed tomatoes, I used Trader Joe’s Arrabiata Sauce ~ This is one of the few jarred sauces that tastes homemade.
Add basil and simmer for about 15 minutes to thicken the sauce.
Instead of using shredded mozzarella, I decided to use the Mozzarella Balls I had on hand for big chunks of cheesy goodness!
Layer it up starting with half your pasta….
Half your sauce….
Half your cheeses….
Repeat with the remaining ingredients, tent with foil and bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake 5 additional minutes.
Allow to site for 5 minutes before slicing into 8 slices.
8 points+ and a total WIN for both of us. I LOVE the spicy kick of the Hot Italian Sausage with Arrabiata Sauce and all the cheesy goodness from both cheeses. This honestly needed nothing else and was completely satisfying.
You can print my version of this recipe along with the nutritional information here.
Served with simply side salads topped with Newman’s Lite Lime Vinaigrette (3 points+)
Oh and I totally set myself up for success this week by preparing breakfast, lunches and snacks for the week…..
Lunches will be……Baked Bacon, Butternut Squash & Polenta Casserole ~ interested? 
Quick summary:
- B ~ Slow Cooker Egg, Sausage & Potato Casserole (5)
- S ~ Grande Nonfat Latte (3)
- L ~ Panera French Onion Soup, 1/2 BBQ Ck Salad, Apple (12)
- S ~ a few veggie tray veggies and pineapple as I prepped for the week
- D ~ 1 svg Baked Spaghetti (8), 2 cups tossed salad with 1 Tbsp Sunflower Seeds (1), 1 1/2 Tbsp dried berries (1) & 1 Tbsp Newman’s Light Lime Vinaigrette (1)
- DS ~ 3 Dove Chocolate Caramels (3)
- Total ~ 34 Points+
Night all!
WOW, Danica!! Just found your site yesterday (via Pinterest)! And I’m already loving it! I am definitely going to try the slow cooker breakfast casserole and the spaghetti. Both sound wonderful…and anything that can be made in the crock pot is our friend! LOL I am also going to try Panera’s…have not eaten there in a long, long time, but luv their French onion soup! TY for all the PP info…was NOT understanding it at all. I did the old WW about 5 years ago (and lost 23 lbs…WOOHOO!) b4 my son’s wedding. Put some of it back on over time due to pain issues and lack of exercise. I am diligently trying to make it work for me again. Have lost 8 lbs since Christmas! I have 8 months to lose about 30 lbs. My youngest son & our DIL are taking us on an all-expense paid cruise to Hawaii in Sept for our 40th anniv. I don’t want to don a bikini, but I want to look GREAT on the dance floor in evening wear! LOL
Bacon, butternut squash, and polenta! You sure better share THAT one! Everything looks delish!
I concur with Gail! 🙂
Are you on Pinterest? Can’t seem to find you, but I’m new at this addiction 🙂
Yes, my name is danicasdaily.
https://pinterest.com/danicasdaily/
I don’t know if you mentioned this before but I was wondering how long you been doing weight watchers?
Hi Andrea,
Honestly off and on my entire life since I was 15 years old. I’ve never been that naturally skinny person and I have lost and found my weight several times. I need to add that to my new about page when I update it.
Thanks for asking!
Danica
Ive gained and lost weight several times as well and it’s becoming frustrating and the more frsutrated I get the more discouraged I get and the more weight I gain ugg!!!
Love all the recipes! The baked spaghetti looks fantastic. Can’t wait to try it. Also can I just say seeing that orange tree in your first pic makes me homesick. 🙂 Grew up in Fl…and had one in my backyard.
Panera rocks! I did the 1/2 sand and salad Friday for my “treat” lunch. I was totally satisfied with just half the sandwich instead of a whole one.
Always love the French Onion Soup at Panera’s 🙂 Love the breakfast casserole you just made and goes on the list to make & the Polenta one sounds awesome too.
Good job on all your planning for the week!
Holy Crap, I’m hungry! These look fabulous and CANNOT wait to try them. Thank you so much for the slow cooker additions as well. I feel motivated to plan and prepare for this week. Thanks again, Danica. You need to write a book!
Can’t wait to try your breakfast casserole! I tried one that wasn’t WW I found on pinterest and it was gawd-awful. I just repinned your recipe to pinterest!
Love your newest recipes! Can’t wait to try them out! Thanks so much for sharing…
Happy Birthday WEEK! HA! 😀
Hi Danica
Found you last year, when was checking out for info on the new WW Point program.
Busy year so I wasn’t here that often but came back again in January to see what was new with WW again. I guess January feels like a great time to recommit to myself.
I find this place fascinating. Your recipes and your energy are contagious.
I did start to track more diligently. I want to loose 15-20 pounds and have been struggling with this for the past 10 years. Since I will be 53 next month and have been following my diet forever, I need to be very structured or I don’t loose weight..
I tried out your mini coconut muffins and they are delicious. Since you mentioned that you were thinking about lightning the recipe, I am sending you my lightened version.
It probably doesn’t change the 2 point value because we can’t go in between.
Still came out great and are a great solution to going for these 100 cal pack snacks that are going around and cost a fortune and don’t taste great anyway!!!
Mini coconut muffins (2 points) and so great tasting)
Makes about 60+ mini muffins
• 1 cup butter or margarine
• ½ c. applesauce (to replace the butter)
• 2!/4 cup of sugar (from 3 c.)
4 eggs at room temperature (from 6)
• 3 cups flour (not heaping, replaced by oatmeal for fiber)
• ½ c oatmeal
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda (from 1/4 tsp)
• 8 oz 0% greek vanilla yogourt ( instead of sour cream)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 6 oz flaked coconut
Instructions
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees and spray two loaf pans or 8 mini loaf pans with nonstick spray.
• Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.
• Combine flour, salt and baking soda. Add flour and sour cream, alternating and beating well. Add vanilla and beat well.
• Stir in coconut. Pour batter into prepared pan(s). Bake for 15minutes or until the crust is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Those menu suggestions and recipes are great.
P.S. Still have to figure out what changed in the WW + 2012 program!
Wow Danielle ~ you are awesome! Thanks for coming back to say hi and for sharing your lightened up version ~ YUM!
Both baked dishes look fabulous! I love how all the flavors and textures blend together in baked dishes… They scream comfort food to me 😀 And huge perk, yours are healthy comfort!
Your food looks great! I can’t wait to try the Crockpot breakfast casserole.
Great job setting yourself up for success this week, Danica! I feel like planning definitely makes weight loss easier. There are less excuses for the wrong foods when hunger strikes if you have a plan and healthy options in place. Keep up the great work!
Your recipes look yummy! I’m definitely going to have to give them a try. Thanks for sharing!
The slow cooker breakfast looks delicious! I must try the baked pasta dish too, it looks like a great pot-luck dish….something different. So many recipes to try and so few hours to make them.
c
Oh man, I just pinned the slow cooker breakfast casserole, I can’t wait to make it!!!!
I forgot to ask you these questions so I hope you see this: What size crock pot did you use for your breakfast casserole, and do you think regular hash browns would work (the shredded ones, instead of the cubes)?
Hi Gail,
I used a 3 quart Crockpot and I definitely think this would work with shredded hashbrowns. Can’t wait to hear what you think.
Danica
I have one of the best slow cooker book’s by Cook’s Illustrated. Its called Slow Cooker Revolution. Anyway, in a lot of their casserole recipes, they suggest making a foil sling. It insulates the sides so they dont burn. I made a meatloaf that way and it worked great. It might be worth a try with the egg dishes. Also, the new reynolds cooking paper is awesome. Its foil on one side, parchment on the other and it molds to any dish.