The Spicy Bird

A friend and I used to go to a NY style deli during our lunch at work and they had a sandwich called "The Spicy Bird."  It was your typical sub sandwich with turkey and pepperoni.  I don't think I've made a turkey sandwich without pepperoni since. I love deli turkey but the pepperoni gives it that little kick.

Today for lunch I made a Spicy Bird panini with mayo, Havarti and mozzarella cheese, lettuce, turkey, and pepperoni.  I would have included some pickle slices but we didn't have any around.

This isn't the only way to enjoy a Spicy Bird.  Try your own combination and share it with us!

Baking Bacon

Everybody loves a good piece of bacon, right?  I always liked it but hated making it.  It always turns into a hot mess.  If only there were an easy way...and there is!

Baking Bacon


Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Place bacon on aluminum foil in a single layer.

Bake 10 minutes, remove from oven, flip bacon, and return to oven for an additional 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and place bacon on paper towels to remove excess grease.

Enjoy!


Making the bacon in the oven clears up room on the stove to make whatever else you are making.  There really isn't any fuss besides flipping it once and you really don't even have to do that if you don't want to.  The best part is the cleanup.  All you have to do is wrap up the foil and throw it away!

Perfectly cooked every time!

Bring Home the Bacon

Instead of bringing home a pound of Oscar Mayer's shrink wrapped pork product check out the butcher's case at your local grocery store.  They may have a better product for less money.

Here in San Diego, CA a pound of regular bacon (not on sale) cost around $8.49.  That is RIDICULOUS!  I used to only buy it if it was BOGO or a great sale/coupon.

Before going grocery shopping one day I was looking in the store ad and saw that the butcher's cut applewood smoked bacon was $1.99/lb.  I thought it had to be a typo so I had to investigate.

Sure enough, when I went up to the butcher's case there was a sign for $1.99 on the bacon.  What surprised me even more was that the normal, non-sale price was only $3.99!  I have been paying more for bacon that isn't as fresh, has more preservatives, and doens't taste as good.  Unbelieveable.

Buying the  bacon this way also gave me a great idea of how to stretch my dollar even more.  When we buy the pre-packaged stuff I just throw it in the freezer until we need it.  I cook the whole package and that's the end of it.  Since this bacon wasn't prepacked I decided to layer it between sheets of parchment paper/aluminum foil (it's double sided).  I put 4 pieces on one side then folded the paper in half and added 4 more.  I continued wrapping and stacking until I had all 3 lbs wrapped.  I wraped it again with press and seal plastic (you want to keep as much air out as possible to prevent freezer burn) and placed it in a flat, open spot in the freezer.  Once frozen, it will keep it's shape so you can put it anywhere.

This keeps the bacon slices completely free from one another so you can take out exactly as much as you need even when it's still frozen.  Now, instead of cooking up 16 pieces like I used to, I only take out 6-8 pieces that we need and put the rest in the freezer.  Not only is it saving money, it's also saving the extra calories from when I'd graze on the extra bacon througout the day.

Breakfast Burritos (6 P+)

My husband loves to take these with him in the morning because he can throw them in the microwave before he goes to work.  This recipe makes 10 at a time but you could easily make a double or triple batch.

Frozen Breakfast Burritos
10 Servings, 30 Minutes
PRINTABLE

Ingredients:

8 eggs

4 egg whites

¼ c milk

salt

pepper

10 flour tortillas

1 lb ground sausage, browned and drained

12 oz hash browns, prepared

1 c cheddar cheese

Instructions:

Beat eggs, egg whites, milk, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. 

Spray skillet with cooking spray.  Cook eggs over medium heat until cooked through.

Put tortillas in microwave for 15-30 seconds to slightly warm them (this prevents them from cracking when folding).

To build burritos spread tortillas out flat on counter top.  Start with eggs and then add sausage, hash browns, and cheese.

Roll burritos up and wrap each one in plastic wrap.

Freeze up to 1 month.

TO REHEAT:  Remove plastic wrap and wrap burrito with paper towel.  Microwave one burrito at 50% for 60 seconds then 100% for 60 seconds.

Notes:

This is another easy recipe to modify.  You can substitute bacon, ham, or even a soy product for the sausage.  You could also use all egg whites, Mexican cheese, or whole wheat tortillas.


Add sauteed mushrooms, onions, peppers, or other vegetables for something different.

The Beginning

My family and friends have asked for some of my favorite healthy recipes so I am going to use this blog as a way to share them.


My husband and I track points from the Weight Watchers system so every recipe has the point value listed. If you aren't using WW simply ignore the P+ values.


I'd love to hear feedback if you try any of the recipes and any variations that you have made.