Breakfast--Fast, Filling & Frugal

I love breakfast, but I also love sleeping until the last possible minute. I know I need a good breakfast to function well at work, though, so I've found a hearty sandwich that I can make in about 5 minutes and eat in the car if necessary. Sausage, egg and cheese on an english muffin costs about 50 cents a serving, has 282 calories, 14.5 fat grams, a very respectable 5.5 grams of fiber and 16 grams of protein. I calculated the cost and nutritional info based on the following items:

Aunt Millie's whole grain English muffins .90/6 pack
Banquet brown & serve sausage .90/10 links
eggs 1.69/dozen
8 oz block of Kraft 2% cheddar cheese 1.66

The sausage and english muffins regularly go on sale as part of Meijer's 11/$10 promotion, and we always stock up when they do. Eggs are regular price, and Kroger frequently has their brand of cheese or Kraft available at that price.

Here's my workflow to make a sandwich in 5 minutes:

• heat small nonstick skillet over medium & spritz with nonstick spray
  
• put muffin in toaster
• put 1 link of sausage in microwave for 1 1/2 minutes on medium
• crack egg directly into skillet and stir to scramble (I see no need to dirty up an extra bowl for this! I use a small plastic fork so it won't scratch the pan when I stir.)
• put a lid on the egg and get sausage out of microwave and cheese out of fridge
• chop or crumble sausage
• slice or shred cheese if using a block (I use my veggie peeler to shave off a few thin slices. I calculated based on 1/2 oz of cheese.)
• sprinkle sausage and cheese over egg
• cover pan and finish cooking until egg is set and cheese is melted
• remove muffin from toaster, top with egg, and enjoy!

If you're really pressed for time in the mornings, you could make these ahead and just reheat in the microwave. At my local McDonald's, a sausage egg & cheese mcmuffin is $2.19, so you can make these at home for a family of four for less than you'd pay for one! And it really doesn't take any longer to cook these than it does to go through the drive-thru. A homemade mcmuffin also has 1/3 fewer calories, 1/2 the fat, and almost three times more fiber than one from McDonald's. You can view their nutrition info here.

(I really need to work on my food photography skills! Anyone have any tips?)

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Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

Homemade pizza is one of our staples. It's fast and easy, with a little advance prep in the slow-cooker and bread machine, and it's a hit with everyone in the family. It's also a great way to use up little bits of leftover meats and veggies hanging around in the fridge. Got a few mushrooms left in the package? A single slice of ham? A couple of bites of pineapple? You've got pizza toppings!

I've shared my slow-cooker sauce recipe before. We always keep some on hand, since it freezes well. I've recently discovered that I can stir a little carrot puree into it and no one is the wiser, so it's also a great way to sneak in some veggies.

If you don't want to bother making your own pizza crust, english muffins, pita breads, or even flattened refrigerated biscuits work just fine. However, we really like the crust made in the bread machine. This recipe comes from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger and yields enough for two 12-inch pizzas. Leftover dough can be wrapped in Saran Wrap and refrigerated for a day, or frozen for up to 3 months.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
1 1/3 cups water
1/4 cup olive oil
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, preferably unbleached
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp bread machine or instant yeast

Combine all ingredients in the pan according to the instructions for your bread machine. Program for the dough cycle. When it's ready, the dough will be soft. Preheat your oven to 450. Place the dough on a work surface dusted with cornmeal and divide into the desired number of portions. Using your hands or a rolling pin, stretch or roll into the desired shape. Place in an ungreased pan dusted lightly with cornmeal. (I use my hands and just stretch it out directly in the pan. Using cornmeal and not greasing the pan gives a nice, crisp crust.) Bake crust for 7-8 minutes, then remove from oven and top with sauce and desired toppings. Return to oven for an additional 7-8 minutes. Eat hot and enjoy!