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Asparagus & Hashbrown Egg Casserole

on February 19, 2017April 28, 2021 By Kelley

Start your weekend off right with this flavor-packed, delicious, and gorgeous Asparagus and Hashbrown Egg Casserole! It’s super easy and quick to make, yet fancy enough to serve for Sunday brunch. Grain free, gluten free, and has a paleo recipe option.

I am big on breakfast. For some reason when I wake up in the morning I am starving and feel as if I could eat an elephant. Really.

I know that some people have no appetite in the morning and are satisfied with a coffee or tea. I just don’t get how that is possible.

Didn’t we just fast for, like, 10 hours? How on Earth can you not be hungry? Heck I’m h-angry!

Well, does this picture make your mouth water? I bet you’re getting your appetite back, yeah?

Well, that is good, because this casserole is so worth it….

This egg casserole happens to be on top of an ultra crisp potato hashbrown crust, topped with fresh asparagus, a bit of parmesan cheese (if you eat dairy), and a sprinkle of chives. The eggs are cooked to perfection, with the yolks, just a tad still runny, so you can use the hashbrown to sop it all up. Yum!

The first step is just to cook the hashbrowns/tater tots until the are golden and crispy, just like this picture. If you are feeling adventurous you can even make them yourself from scratch!

Next, you crack a few eggs, lay down some lovely asparagus, a little bit of cheese, and pop it in the oven. After it’s done baking sprinkle chives, and viola, it’s finished!

And, as many of my followers know I am a huge proponent of pasture-raised eggs for their superior nutritional value and their exceptional taste.

This is my go-to breakfast on holidays when you are going to slaving all day long cooking and baking (and not to mention ALL those dishes!). You do not need an super involved and time consuming breakfast recipe to add to your cooking duties, am I right!? …making this recipe the best option. You can even make it the day before and reheat.

Slice it up and serve…..

It can even be made to suit a paleo diet- sub sweet potato tater tots for the crust, see recipe here: Paleo Grub’s Sweet Potato Tater Tots, and omit the cheese.

Enjoy 😉

Asparagus & Hashbrown Egg Casserole

12 pasture raised eggs
1.5-2 cups tater tots (or as many hash browns needed to cover the bottom of your casserole dish)
1 bunch asparagus (preferably the thin/skinny kind)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
salt and pepper (to taste)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. (or whatever temperature the directions on the hashbrowns say.)
Grease the bottom of your casserole dish with ghee or oil of choice.
Cook the hashbrowns until they are golden and slightly crispy. Just slightly underdone. Then turn down the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.
Place the hashbrowns or tater tots into the dish, using a spatula to smoosh them to cover the bottom of the dish.
Crack your eggs on top of the hashbrown crust. Lay asparagus on top and sprinkle the entire dish with the cheese, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. (If you are using thick asparagus, blanch them first.)
Place the casserole into the oven at 375 degrees F for about 20 minutes, or until the eggs whites are fully cooked, but the yolks are still soft. You will need to cook longer if you want the yolks firmly set.
Remove from the oven, sprinkle with chopped chives, slice and serve.

Dark Chocolate Coconut Cream Cups

on July 19, 2016August 13, 2021 By Kelley

These creamy, rich, and chocolatey Coconut Cream Cups are the ultimate decandent (and secretly healthy!!) treat. Pop one of these into your mouth and the rich chocolate melts away to reveal silky, smooth, snowy, and sweet coconut cream. They are easy-peasy to make, and be sure to make extra, for they won’t last long!

Oh, chocolate. My true love.

Ode to chocolate:

Creamy, smooth and sweet.

Your rich flavor makes my heart skip a beat.

Sends tingles down from my head to my feet.

You make it so hard not to eat!

I mean, what is it about chocolate that makes it SO GOOD, and SO ADDICTIVE!? Really!? It really should come with a warning label that reads something like this: “If you are eating this for the first time, be warned, that you may never be the same again and find yourself craving chocolate for the rest of your life.” lol.

Cricket and I love to make healthy treats, so we can indulge in the good stuff, without all the guilt. Although Cricket can’t eat chocolate, because she is a dog, I always make her some thing special when I’m making a treat for myself. So today I made her some bacon jerky while I made these easy chocolate coconut cups all for myself! Oooh- maybe I should have made chocolate covered bacon cups?? Maybe next time….

So many flavors go great with chocolate. The best ones I can think of are peanut butter, almond butter (see my Chocolate Almond Butter Cups), and coconut! I always loved Mounds candy bars when I was a little girl, and now I can recreate that amazing flavor combination without having to leave my kitchen. Even better, the ingredients used to make THESE Coconut Cream Cups are healthy, all-natural, and good for you! Hip-hip Hoorah!

Chocolate Coconut Cream Cups

1 1/4 cups dark chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life brand
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut butter

Melt the chocolate chips plus 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in a saucepan over low heat.
Grease the mini muffin tin with a little bit of coconut oil.
Pour a teaspoon of melted chocolate into each compartment. Chill in the fridge or freezer for 10 minutes.
Melt the coconut butter, maple syrup, and 1 tablespoon coconut oil in a saucepan over low heat.
Once melted mix in the shredded coconut, and remove from heat.
Spoon a heaping teaspoon of coconut cream mixture into each compartment (on top of the chilled chocolate layer).
Spoon the remaining chocolate on top of the coconut cream layer and chill in the fridge until set, about 1/2 hour in the fridge or 10-15 minutes in the freezer.
Carefully pop the cups out of the tray using a fork or butter knife.

What’s in my coffee that may be the FOUNTAIN of YOUTH!

on May 28, 2016December 5, 2020 By Kelley

This coffee tastes just like regular joe, but it’s hiding something very special. You can’t see it, you can’t taste it, and you can’t smell it, but the special ingredient to THIS coffee helps reduce wrinkles, makes your hair shine, your nails grow strong and long, and also can help keep the weight off! Any guesses on what this magical addition is? Keep reading to find out!

I’m not the kind of person who takes a lot of supplements. It’s not because I don’t want to, or that I don’t believe in the efficacy of certain supplements, but simply because I forget. I just can’t remember to take herbs, vitamins, powders, etc. I’m just not wired that way. BUT there is one exception- COLLAGEN PEPTIDES. I add a scoop of this fine powder to my coffee every single morning. I remember to do so because I have seen the benefits first hand in my body and how I feel. Second, you can’t taste that it’s in there, not one bit. I PROMISE 😉

So what is the deal with collagen peptides, you ask? No worry, I am hear to give you the quick and dirty low down on why this stuff is so great. There are so many reasons you should add it to your morning coffee…. or tea, or shake…..

Collagen is an vital building block for our bodies’ skin, hair, cartilage, bones, and joints. It is quickly becoming the star of the multi-million dollar anti-aging industry. Collagen is what makes our skin look full, plump, elastic, and wrinkle-free. If you are a believer that healthy and beauty starts with what you eat, then ingesting collagen would be a great foundation to your beauty regime.

The benefits aren’t just superficial. Collagen is also a super source of easily digestible protein. It’s high levels of the amino acids glycine, lysine, and proline generate cell growth, support cynical fluid, and connective tissue repair to keep our joints healthy and well lubricated.

Gelatin is basically the cooked form of collagen. You know the jelly stuff left in the bottom of the pan after you have cooked a while chicken or turkey? Well that’s it! Collagen Peptides (or collagen hydrolysate) has the same amino acids as gelatin, but it has been processed/ broken up into smaller segments that allow it to not form a gel and dissolve completely in cold or hot liquids. It’s also easier for our bodies to digest.

I do try to consume a decent amount of gelatin and collagen via bone broth in homemade soups and stews, and whole roasted chicken, but sometimes in my busy life I just can’t find the time to cook.

Enter collagen peptides! To ensure my body is getting these essential amino acids to support my health I start every single day with a collagen coffee! I stir in a heaping scoop of these collagen peptides into my morning caffeine. One scoop provides with with 9 grams of protein which helps me feel satiated and provides me with energy for the day. It helps me control my hunger, and therefore helps to keep me at a healthy weight.

It also plays a big role in the health of our gut. I am sure you have heard the buzz about bone broth and all it’s benefits, right? This is why chicken soup is prescribed by moms everywhere when their loved ones come down with a nasty flu or cold. If the broth is made from bones (preferably from grass-fed animals), it will give our immune system a boost (immunity starts in the GI tract) and decreases inflammation. HERE is a medical journal abstract that studied chicken soup’s effect on inflammation.

Bone broth takes all day and then some to make in your slow cooker or on the stove top. If you have a pressure cooker, it’s under 2 hours, but still that’s a long time, right? So save yourself some time, and a mess that you;d have to clean up, and get yourself some Collagen Peptides. I recommend the brand Vital Proteins. They offer high quality collagen and gelatin from grass-fed animals. You can find Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides by clicking HERE to go to “MY PANTRY” page.

FOUNTAIN of YOUTH Coffee

1 cup of organic coffee
1 scoop of Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides
coffee creamer (almond/coconut/dairy milk of choice)

Simply stir the collagen peptides into your morning cup of coffee, stir, and enjoy! Add coffee creamer of choice if you’d like.