Spaghetti Squash Breakfast Bake

So a few weeks ago while I was at the doctor's office, it was suggested to me that my normal breakfast (banana, 1 Tbsp nut butter, and a whole wheat wrap) was too carb heavy and I should switch to 2 eggs and citrus fruit instead. *note: the nutrition facts below were created at http://www.caloriecount.com/. I am making the assumption they are correct and haven't bothered to double check their numbers. 

Current breakfast

Proposed breakfast

While I didn't necessarily agree with their proposed breakfast, I tried. I really did. But it turns out eating citrus every day seemed to aggravate my stomach. A lot.

So I set out to find a different breakfast that was lower in carbs, but didn't bother my stomach. And if I could add in some nutrients, that'd be cool too. So for the first try, I wanted to keep the eggs as they suggested, but add in some veggies, and I didn't want to have to make it every day. So I came up with a breakfast bake I could make over the weekend, portion out, then freeze for a grab and go breakfast.

New breakfast

It was pretty easy to make over the weekend. I roasted a medium spaghetti squash in the oven (400 degrees for about 45 minutes), sauteed the tomatoes and peppers, chopped the kale and green onions, cooked the bacon (then chopped it), and then grabbed a big bowl to mix it all together, along with the shredded cheese and some salt and pepper. Why only 3 pieces of bacon? Well, it's all I had. And to be honest, I don't think I would have noticed if it wasn't there. But I did sautee the peppers and tomatoes in the bacon grease so.....

Then spread that out into an 8x8 pan and pour over 7 beaten eggs. 

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, then drop the heat down to 350 and continue baking until eggs are set, which was about another 10 minutes for me. That gets cut into 9 pieces and frozen. To reheat, cover and microwave on about 50% power for a minute or two.

If I kept it at 2 eggs per day, that would be 18 eggs and I'd probably need a bigger pan to bake it in, but here's what the nutrition would look like:

Salisbury Steak With Onion Gravy

Ok, so I know what you're thinking when I say Salisbury Steak. It's probably the mental image of the mystery meat you had in your elementary school cafeteria. Or maybe you are picturing some sort of frozen dinner with a meat like product. But let me assure you, this recipe is far from your childhood memories of bland, unidentifiable meat. It's time consuming to make the onion gravy, but it's all worth it!

It all starts with the onion gravy.

1 cup shredded or finely diced onions
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 c red wine
2-3 c vegetable or beef stock
2 Tablespoons flour
salt and pepper

Melt the butter in the pan and add in the onions.

These will need to caramelize, so it's going to take a bit. Keep an eye on these and add in broth as needed to prevent onions from burning. While these are cooking, mix together the steaks.

1 1/2 lb lean ground beef
3 Tablespoons parsley
1/4 c diced onions
1 Tablespoon diced garlic
Salt and pepper
1/3 c Bread Crumbs
2 eggs

Mix everything except the bread crumbs and eggs together and let that sit for a few minutes so the flavors have a chance to set in.

Add in the bread crumbs and eggs, then form into steaks about 3/4" thick.

By this time, your onions should be carmelized, so it's time to add in the red wine. Simmer the wine and onions until it's reduced by half,  and then whisk in the flour.

Let the flour cook into the wine and onions, then gradually whisk in more stock. By this time, the gravy should be starting to thicken. Finally-it's time to cook the beef!

Preheat a skillet on medium high and cook the steaks for 6 minutes, then flip and cook an additional 6 minutes. Remove steaks from pan and add them into the simmering gravy and cook 3-5 minutes longer. Don't mind the steamy pic below-I was having a rough time with the camera!

Remove from heat and allow the gravy to do its final thickening. The gravy should be a nice dark brown and should coat the back of a spoon. Salt and pepper as needed.

You'll have plenty of gravy in the pan, which will be perfect over mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or rice. Side note-that would have made a pretty picture too, but I didn't make it that far. I was lucky to get the bag of frozen steam fresh broccoli in the microwave and the box of garlic bread into the oven. Sigh....maybe another night I'll be able to pull off a perfect 50's style dinner.

Philly Cheese Steaks

Peppers and onions are definitely a weakness of mine. I can eat them by the plateful. Unfortunately, the husband requires a little more at meal time. So when I'm craving peppers and onions, we have Philly Cheese Steaks. They're super easy to make and OMG....delicious!

In large pan, saute 1 Tablespoon (more or less) minced garlic, one bell pepper (sliced into strips) and one large onion (also sliced) in about 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Saute until onions are softened, but not mushy-usually takes only a couple of minutes.

 Add in thin strips of steak. I usually buy the thinnest cut of whatever steak is on sale. Salt. Then salt again.

Cook until meat is to your preference. Again, just a few minutes with these thin strips. Pile onto a toasted bun and add some provolone cheese.

I top mine with a few extra peppers :)