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I ran across this recipe in an advertisement on the inside cover of a foodie magazine.  Like many other "simple" recipes I find, I knew I had all the ingredients on hand and decided to whip it up for lunch one day.  A nice warm quick and easy meal that would be perfect for a lunch guest or a brunch.

Cheddar Green Chile Egg Casserole
(6 servings)

1 tbsp. butter, melted
5 eggs, beaten
1 cup 2% milk cottage cheese
1/2 cup 2% milk shredded cheddar cheese
4 oz. can diced green chilies, drained
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, chilies, flour, baking powder, salt and butter.  Pour into an 8x8 inch baking pan coated with cooking spray.  Bake until set and browned around the edges 35-45minutes.

Per Serving: Calories 157; Fat 8.9 g (sat 4.1g); Cholesterol 168.9 mg; Sodium 832.5 mg; Carb 6 g (dietary fiber 0.1 g); Protein 13.2 g

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I love the ease of freezer meals.  I've said this a thousand times.  Marinated meats seem to be one of my most favorites.  Freezing meats in marinades, locking in some amazing flavors, pulling it out effortlessly and tossing it on the grill (or the broiler, the oven... really your preparation of choice... mine is the grill :) How much easier can it get?  Effortless gourmet!

I served these with baked potatoes and veggies.  But steamed snap peas and soba noodles would have been a great accompaniment to the asian flavors.

Recipe courtesy of Fix Freeze Feast by Kati Neville and Lindsay Tkacsik

Asian Pork Chops 
(makes 2 entrees, 6 servings each) 


12 pork chops
1 1/3 cups low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
3 tablespoons minced ginger
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 one-gallon freezer bags, labeled

Divide chops evenly among bags.  Combine soy sauce, sugar, vinegar and oil.  Divide evenly between the two bags.  Into each bag, measure 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic, 1 1/2 tablespoons ginger and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne.  Seal and freeze.

TO COOK: Thaw completely.  Remove chops from marinade and grill as desired, basting with remaining marinade (or use cooking method of choice!)

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First and foremost, I'm sorry for the lack of recent posts.  Life has been getting in the way and I miss this with a passion.  I'm backed up with recipes to share and want to get them all out there!  I want you to enjoy these as much as I have :)

I made these muffins last week for some friends who came to visit.  Between the combined 5 kids and the 2 of us mommies, these didn't stick around long, especially warm from the oven!

The original recipe (courtesy of Cooking Light) calls for apricot jam but there really isn't any jam that wouldn't go well with white chocolate (strawberry? raspberry? blackberry?) so substitute if you like and let me know what you think!

Apricot White Chocolate Muffins

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 ounces white baking chips (almost a 1/2 cup)
3/4 cup milk (I use nonfat)
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup apricot jam
1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Lightly spoon the flour into measuring cups; level with a knife.  Combine flour and next 4 ingredients in a medium bowl; stir well with a whisk.  Make a well in center of mixture.  Combine milk, butter and egg; stir well with a whisk.  Add to flour mixture, stirring until just moist.

Spoon about 1 tablespoon of batter into each of 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray.  Spoon 2 teaspoons preserves into center of each muffin cup (do not spread over batter); top with remaining batter.  Sprinkle evenly with 1 tablespoon sugar.

Bake at 400 for 22 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center.  Remove muffins from pan immediately; place on wire rack to cool or into towel lined bowl to serve.

Serving size: 1 muffin
Calories 199; Fat 5.3 g; Protein 3.3 g; Carb 35.3 g; Fiber 0.7g; Cholesterol 27 mg; Iron 1.2 mg; Sodium 212 mg; Calcium 72 mg

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