Naturally Gluten-Free: South Beach Turkey Sausage Egg Muffins

Because every once in a while, when you feel like starting a new diet, it's fun to try the recipes first (before the "hangry" fits begin). My husband and I are hoping to start the South Beach Diet soon. You know, "soon" - meaning sometime in the next twelve months so I can attempt to loose a bit of my midsection before we attempt to conceive a child, where I will assuredly gain back said midsection. It's been reported that a protein-heavy breakfast can not only help you stave off cravings but also help you maintain energy throughout the day. Thus, before changing our whole diet to see results, we're easing into it with a protein-rich start to the day.

I snagged this recipe from Taste of Home and adapted to fit our South Beach-like breakfast. You'll note how I changed the ground sausage to turkey and the shredded cheese to mozzarella to lower the fat content. The egg whites are used so that the muffins are high in protein but low in cholesterol. I also used red bell pepper instead of green, as the South Beach diet often matches turkey with red bell pepper (and my husband and I like it better). I also decreased the onion to a quarter cup because it tends to be really potent, and I'd rather have an overabundance of red pepper. I also increased the amount of shredded cheese to a full cup due to a half cup looking meager to spread around in 12 muffins.

For the recipe, I've also included the calorie count, so you can more easily incorporate it into your own diet.

South Beach Turkey Sausage Egg Muffins

½ lb. Ground Turkey Sausage (300 cal.)

1 cup shredded low fat, part skim mozzarella (280 cal.)

1 1/3 cup Egg Whites (175 cal.)

6 Eggs (420 cal)

1/4 cup chopped onion (approx. 17 cal.)

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper (approx. 24 cal.)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon pepper

*Olive Oil Cooking Spray for the muffin tin (add 7 cal. per muffin)

Preheat oven to 350º. In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.

In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and egg whites. Mix in the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Add onion, pepper, and cheese.

Spooning the turkey sausage in first ensures every muffin has enough protein and calories.

 Spoon cooked turkey sausage into muffin tin coated with cooking spray (you should have enough for one spoonful in each tin). Then spoon egg mixture into each tin, making sure there is cheese in each one, filling about 90% full.

Bake for 20-25 minutes (I did mine for 24 minutes) or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. The egg muffins will puff up high during baking, but they'll flatten back out as they cool. They are a great hand-held meal, especially for those who are attempting a high-protein diet on-the-go! Maybe a can of your favorite vegetable juice to go with it to keep up your veggie intake?

Total Calories = approximately 108 calories per muffin

You could easily have two egg muffins and two strips of turkey bacon and your coffee (without sugar, of course) for your full South Beach Breakfast! I think I'll have one tomorrow with a little yogurt and high-fiber granola - Yum!

Let me know how your Egg Muffin works out for you!

*~K~*

"Hobbit Day" Sweet Treat: Gluten-Free Orange Cranberry HOBBIT Honey Cakes

Yes, I make fun treats for "Hobbit Day", though this year I did so on September 23rd, since the Autumn Equinox fell on the 23rd. It's a lot easier as celebrations go than, say, traveling. For dinner we made a Chicken Corn Chowder with carrots, zuccini and potatoes to round out all the Hobbit favorites. Of course, we had fresh, hot bread with butter and hard cider to complete the meal (maybe I'll try making homemade gluten-free bread next).
But you don't want to know about that, do you? You want to hear about the dessert.

More like sweet bread or loafs, this twice baked cake is great for dessert or second breakfast! This first round came out a little underdone with 12 + 12 minuntes of baking.

Well, I kept hearing about these honey cakes, and finally I tried to make them this year. Yes, I used a cake mix as my base; don't judge. Sometimes those of us who don't have all day to cook use short cuts, especially when wheat or gluten consumption is an issue.

Someday I'll purchase Xanthun Gum and make the mix myself.

Originally, I looked up Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Recipes to see what they had available. The gluten-free carrot cake recipe is one my husband and I have attempted before, but it tasted more like a spice cake than a true carrot cake. However, I found another recipe from Kitchen Overlord for Beorn's Honey Cakes in honor of Hobbit Week. This is the basis for my adapted recipe. You'll notice the Betty Crocker's Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake Mix covers flour, baking powder, and salt in the original recipe. Also, since I had craisins already, I switched the dried fruit to cranberries instead of blueberries.

A very versatile household staple.

With that choice, I decided to go with orange zest instead of the original lemon. I also included 2 teaspoons of vanilla as recommended in the carrot cake recipe, and added 8 ounces of sour cream to ensure the cake would be moist. For the milk, I used vanilla almond milk instead. You may also notice I increased the walnuts to 1/2 cup, but that's just because chopped walnuts come in 1/2 cup bags.

Gluten-Free Cranberry Orange “Hobbit” Honey Cakes

-       1 Box Gluten-Free Betty Crocker Vanilla Cake Mix

-       ½ cup room temp butter

-       ½ teaspoon Cinnamon

-       ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg

-       2 teaspoons Vanilla

-       Zest of 1 medium Orange

-       ¾ cup of milk or milk alterative

-       1 egg

-       8oz. Sour Cream

-       ¾ cup honey + ¼ honey reserved (a 12oz. bottle will just barely make do)

-       ½ cup chopped walnuts

-       ½ cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 400º

Mix butter and cake mix until crumbly, then add orange zest, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Make sure it is all well mixed.

In another bowl, beat milk, egg, vanilla, sour cream, and ¾ cup honey until a sloppy mess. Pour that into crumbly cake blend and mix until batter is just barely free of lumps. Fold in dried cranberries and walnuts.

Generous butter, and as evenly spread as possible

Scoop about 1/3 cup of batter into well-greased muffins tins. You’ll want to use a generous amount of butter instead of liners in order to achieve a nice, crispy crust.For the first baking, leave them in a 400 º oven for 12 minutes.

Fill muffin tin 2/3rds full

Take the cakes out of the oven. If you insert a toothpick in the middle, a little batter may still stick. That’s all right. If it spurts out when you press on the top, put them back in for another 2-4 minutes. *I would suggest the full 16 minutes, unless you like your baked good a little underdone.

If you used enough butter, the cakes should slide right out of the muffin tin. Arrange them 1inch apart on a greased cookie sheet.

Generously drizzle the rest of your honey on top of your cakes. It helps to heat your honey in the microwave for 15-20 seconds to thin it out. Use enough to coat the top and drip down the sides. This creates a nice crispy glaze on your honey cakes.

Let the honey cakes sit for at least 5 minutes so the honey can soak in.

Drizzle honey, and let sit for 5 minutes.

Put the baking sheet back in the oven for 10-12minutes, or until the tops are a deep golden honey brown. *I would suggest the full 12 minutes.

With the honey absorbed and baked into the cake, the final product looks more like a muffin than a cake. But don't let that fool you. It's mighty sweet, and particularly tasty with a little whipped cream!

Hope y'all enjoy this Hobbit-inspired fall treat!

*~K~*

Honey on the cookie sheet will be a little sticky to clean.

Cleaning warning: With the honey dripping down the sides, you will have burnt honey on your cookie sheet. Best to let that stuff soak.