Weekend Highlights {4/7} + A Veggielicious Egg Casserole
The following post is sponsored by FitFluential LLC on behalf of Daisy Cottage Cheese.
Hey, happy Monday! How was the weekend, friends? Per the usual, it totally flew by for us, but it was a great one for sure. For the first time in probably, I don’t know, three weekends(?), we actually had nobody sick which was a nice change of pace.
We spent our entire day Saturday working around the house, installing new doors, and all that not-so-fun-but-sorta-necessary stuff. I finally got a chance to clean the house up a bit too, so I feel like I’m slowly getting a leg up on life again. We left the babe home Saturday evening and spent it out with some of our friends, which was an awesome few hours out.
Sunday was another busy day. I brought the babe grocery shopping with me and had him sit in the cart like a “big boy” for the first time. He loved every second and could not keep his eyes off of, well, everything.
I also forgot to pack up a snack with us, so I grabbed that pouch pictured above right off the shelf and gave it to him. Perk of being out at a grocery store I suppose, eh?
On our way home, I stopped at DD’s to give the cookie dough iced coffee another shot…GOOD NEWS, my friends. It was freakin’ delicious. I don’t know what was wrong with the first one I got, but that thing was suuuuper. Try it.
The weekend also included a couple of good workouts (a Nike Training Club app workout on Saturday this treadmill run on Sunday) which finally (hopefully) got me back in my groove for the week ahead.
And finally, I also spent a bit of time in the kitchen. I had some more ripe bananas waiting to be used, so another loaf of Cinnamon Sugar Crusted Banana Bread was made.
Gosh, I love that stuff.
And I also experimented a bit with a little breakfast dish for me to have during the week.
I know I’ve mentioned it before, but mornings around here during the week are crazy. If I don’t have things prepped the night before, it’s even more chaotic, so I try my best to at least make sure that Lucas’s meals are packed and mine are prepped and packed as well.
Breakfast is a big thing for me. It’s my favorite meal of the day so I usually try to give it the most thought. I’ve actually really been craving eggs lately, but I’ve got just about zero time to make them fresh, it usually doesn’t happen. But then I occasionally get that big bright “ah ha” moment when I realize,”Duh, Courtney…make a casserole ahead of time.”
So that’s what I did.
I was recently given the option to try Daisy Brand Cottage Cheese and put it to use in a recipe. They’ve recently introduced a new, modern packaging that highlights what makes “The Daisy Difference” versus other brands – better ingredients.
Did you guys know that Daisy Cottage Cheese contains no more than four high quality ingredients (compared with other brands that can hold 10 or more) and is free of additives, preservatives and thickeners? And another great thing about cottage cheese is what I call the “fill factor”. Every 90 calorie 1/2 cup serving of Daisy Low Fat Cottage Cheese is packed with 13 grams of protein, to help you stay fuller longer.
Their new packaging also boasts colored lids (dark blue lids for regular, and light blue for the low fat), making it super easy to spot the variety of your choice. Next time I’m totally going to get the regular variety and have Mr. Lucas give it a whirl…I have a feeling he’ll love it (if he’s anything like his mama!).
I’ve long been a fan of cottage cheese mixed with fruit.
Especially my Taste of the Tropics Cottage Cheese Bowl…
So that’s why I decided to try it out in something savory. The combination of eggs and cottage cheese give this casserole some major protein power, and the loads of veggies mixed in just make it all that much more delicious.
The great thing with this casserole is that you could easily tailor it to your tastes – swap in some different veggies, switch up the cheese, add turkey bacon or ham – there’s loads of possibilities.
Veggielicious Egg Casserole
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: ~45 mins
Ingredients:
- 1-2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
- 1/3 cup onion, diced
- 1/3 cup peppers, diced
- 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
- 8 eggs
- 1/2 cup egg whites*
- 1 cup Daisy Brand Cottage Cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- salt and pepper, to taste
*If you don’t have liquid egg whites on hand, feel free to add 2 egg whites or just the whole egg.
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray a 9×9” or 11×7” pan with cooking spray.
- Place spinach in a microwave safe bowl and heat for about 30 seconds or until it just starts to wilt. Add remaining ingredients to bowl and whisk until eggs are thoroughly beaten.
- Pour egg mixture into prepared pan and bake for 40-50 minutes or until center is set.
*I already had my oven on 350, but you could definitely cook this at 375 degrees F and cut your cook time down slightly. If you do cook at 375, I’d say to check the casserole around 25-30 minutes.
I’m looking forward to having this for breakfast all week long, fo sho.
Alright guys, it’s about that time for me to do the work thang for today. Hope you all have a fantastic week ahead!
Oh yes, one last thing before I go…
*****
Power Your Way Through the Day Twitter Chat, hosted by FitFluential
Date: April 10, 2014
Time: 9:00 pm EST
In this multitasking, multi-device world we live in, people are nonstop and need
the proper fuel to get them through each day. Gone are the days when a caffeine
shot will do. People realize that they need proper nourishment – not a quick fix –
to give them energy. They appreciate what the power of protein can do. Daisy
Cottage Cheese is the perfect protein source. Daisy is extremely versatile and
can help power your breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack and pre/post workout.
Follow Daisy on Twitter and the hashtag #DaisyDifference
