A Taste of Tuesday

On occasion, I like (well, "like" is a bit of a strong word -- more like "tolerate") using that big heaty thing in my kitchen... oh, what's the technical term for it... oh yeah! The stove! I use the Stove on occasion. The fact that there really aren't a lot of lap band specific recipes out there, coupled with the fact that I don't like any that I've found, have caused me to create some lap band friendly recipes of my own. Now, by lap-band friendly, I mean stuff that generally has some nutritional value, tastes good, and doesn't make me throw up.

I created the following recipe while trying to make chicken pie. Most chicken pie recipes call for some kind of dough or pastry, which isn't particularly lap band friendly. So I wanted to make a crustless chicken pie. But crustless chicken pie is chicken stew, which I didn't want either. So, I came up with this casserole that firms up. Then I got sick of making it with chicken, and threw in some sausage. Now I usually leave the chicken out all together, but you can do what ever floats your little boat. So I now present to you:

Dee's Not Chicken Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 packages of Adel sausage (I usually use the chicken and apple one, but any will work), chopped (or 2 packages of cooked chopped chicken (I use the boneless skinless thighs) or 1 package of each chicken and sausage)
• 1 bag frozen veggies, thawed or nuked for a few minutes (I like the pea, carrot, corn and green bean mix, but use whatever you like)
• 1 container ricotta cheese (I use fat free -- I don't remember the size, but it's bigger than the small one)
• Shredded cheese to taste (I use 1/2 bag of Sargento low-fat cheddar or the 4-cheese blend. The Kraft Free cheeses are less expensive but they don't melt well and generally taste like ass.)
• 2 eggs or 1/2 cup egg beaters
• Black, white and red pepper to taste (I tend to use lots being the spicy chick I am.)

Directions: Beat the eggs and mix in the ricotta, shredded cheese and spices. Fold in the veggies and meat. Spray a casserole dish with Pam and dump the mixture into it. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes or until the ricotta is set.

Note: I usually break this up into 4oz servings and freeze, it freezes and nukes really well.