A LITTLE BIT OF TURKEY SAUSAGE SANITY DURING A SUGAR FILLED SEASON.......

We take a break from our regularly scheduled December programming of sugah, sugah and MORE sugah....................

To bring you a little much needed lean protein break. Believe it or not, girls cannot survive on foods like this, all December long..............

Well, as much as we WANT to, anyways! I must confess that my sweet tooth has gone SUPER bonkers lately, probably because I can't drink any more Moonshine. The body craves what it craves, and mine craves the sweet stuff. More than ever. It's an endless battle, let me tell you, to keep my fingers out of the batter, each and every time I whip up a batch of cookies. BUT, I'm maintaining my almost 40 lb. weight loss, thank you very much, and have no desire to gain even a pound of it back, no siree BOB!

One of my tried-and-true weight loss /weight maintainence secrets? Protein, for each and every meal. Especially for breakfast--if'n (that's country speak)  I eat carbs in the morning, I get all jittery and such, and I get hungry fast. So, my normal breakfast is a few eggs, but sometimes I get sick sick sick to death of eggs, morning in, morning out, and will eat a piece of leftover salmon or chicken or something like that, instead.

Recently I was inspired by a recipe I saw on one of my favorite blogs, Tales From The Coop Keeper (if you want to laugh, check this blog out. Jayme lives in rural Indiana, and is just soo funny and inspirational, and I really want her farmhouse!). Jayme has lost over 100 lbs. recently, and swears by her Turkey Sausages for breakfast. If you get the ground turkey breast the meat is super lean! I changed her recipe up a little bit, adding my own spice mix, and plan on making these every few weeks, when I have the time, to keep on hand for easy breakfasts. To begin, dump about a pound of ground turkey into a bowl, and shred into small bits with your fingers or a fork......

(Don't forget--whenever you touch raw poultry, it is especially important to wash your hands, thoroughly, afterwards! Hey, don't you like my pretty little dish soap dispenser, and my little Mary Oliver quote that I also keep next to my sink, to inspire me?.....

I chop up about half an onion, and mix into meat with an egg or two, about 1/ 3 cup old fashioned oats, spices, salt and pepper. You can use whatever spices you prefer...sage is always good....today I used cinnamon, because this IS breakfast sausage, and a few Herbs Du Provence, because I'm in a Frenchie state of mind......

Mix everything well, then form into as many patties as you like. I usually make about 6--that way I can freeze a few for later. I adore my super large Calphalon non-stick pan for this job, because you hardly need any oil at all to brown the patties nicely. I browned mine for about 5-7 minutes on each side...make sure to peek inside one or two to make sure no pink remains!.........

I let mine cool, then either refrigerate or freeze them until I want them. What a wonderful and filling breakfast idea, no?

Sorry, I don't even have a recipe for these to print out....you'll just have to wing it!

TODAY I'M SO GRATEFUL FOR.....

***The fact that B.A. has listened to reason and FINALLY bought himself his first pair of Levi jeans in over THIRTY years~! He is a khaki pants kinda guy, but I think his new jeans make his butt look reallllll cute like (more country speak).....

***That my parents' (and girlfriend Lisa's) power finally came back on out in California, after their freak windstorms last week. And, grateful that no trees fell on their houses...

***The cookie party a bunch of us are attending tomorrow night. Like I need an excuse to bake more cookies......