Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Peanut butter and bananas are one of those magical flavor combinations that many of us fell in love with growing up and continue to crave as adults. These muffins have great peanut butter & banana flavor and the oats give them a thicker, denser texture than your typical muffin. Make sure you use ripe bananas to maximize the banana flavor. If you use bananas the day you bring them home from the store when they still have some green on the peel your muffins won’t pack the same banana punch as if you wait a few days for them to ripen!

Sausage, Egg & Cheese Hash Brown Cups

These savory, flavorful cups combine all your favorite breakfast dishes in one! You’ll never believe they’re only 3 P+ each. Who needs a greasy sausage, egg & cheese sandwich from a fast food joint when you could grab one or two of these tasty cups instead? They’re more filling and for way less calories/fat/P+. I used Wegmans brand chicken breakfast sausage which is delicious and flavored with sage. If you don’t have a Wegmans nearby (I’m sorry, it’s amazing) I know other brands make chicken or turkey breakfast sausage. 

The photo of these was taken at my recent Eggland’s Best Pink Party Brunch and since we were anxious to eat once the food was ready, I don’t have as many nicely staged photos as I generally include. Hopefully it’s still enough to temp your taste buds!

CONTEST CLOSED: Eggland’s Best Pink Party Brunch and a Giveaway!

As many of you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. When Eggland’s Best approached me to host a “Pink Party” brunch to raise awareness I was honored. Eggland’s Best is a huge supporter of Susan G. Komen for the Cure and is donating a total of $50,000 this month to help in the fight against breast cancer. I decided to co-host the brunch with my mom and my sister and each of us invited a few of our favorite girlfriends. Eggland’s Best generously provided me with a gift card to buy ingredients for the brunch as well as several coupons for free eggs to use as well. In addition to sponsoring the brunch they also donated $100 to Susan G. Komen on behalf of my blog which I wholeheartedly appreciate.

My mom and I brainstormed a long list of brunch type items and when we were narrowing down the list I thought it would be fun to do small servings of a bunch of different breakfast treats. Everyone seems to love “mini meals” and cupcake-sized portions. We came up with what I think turned out to be a fantastic menu!

Everything turned out delicious and WW P+ friendly. We made one of my favorites (baked oatmeal!) plus a few new recipes that I’ll be posting soon:

Mini Belgian Pancakes with a Mixed Berry Compote

 Sausage, Egg & Cheese Hash Brown Cups

 Fresh Fruit Skewers

 Pumpkin, Apple & Cranberry Baked Oatmeal

Orange Cranberry Mini Muffins

My mom has a fantastic aesthetic so she was in charge of décor. The tables and the set up looked perfect. I wish I had remembered to take photos of the mimosa station and the buffet once it was all set up. I think we were in too much of a hurry to eat!

Pretty in Pink

My sister and a few of our girlfriends

My mom and some of her good friends (we didn't all fit at one table!)

Thank you so much again to Eggland’s Best for sponsoring the brunch and for all you do for Susan G. Komen. We all appreciate it!

Group shot with our EB pink ribbon eggs!

I wish I could have invited all my readers to attend the brunch, but since that would have been tough logistically, Eggland’s Best has another treat in store for one lucky reader! Enter below and you could win a box of goodies containing:

•    2 Free EB Dozen coupons (Any variety- classic, cage-free, or organic)
•    1 Free EB Hard Cooked and Peeled variety coupon
•    4 EB ramekins
•    1 EB apron
•    1 EB whisk
•    1 EB spatula
•    1 EB egg timer
•    1 EB eco bag
•    1 EB plush egg

Sounds great, right? I’m going to give you FIVE chances to win:

Entry: Leave a comment below about how you help (or plan to help) raise awareness for breast cancer. It can be as simple as tweeting about breast cancer awareness month or wearing a pink ribbon.
Bonus Entry: “Like” the Eggland’s Best Facebook Page and leave a comment there telling them you’re entering the giveaway on emilybites.com (feel free to tag my Facebook page in the post). Then post a comment below (on this post) to let me know you did.
Extra Bonus Entry: Become a fan of Emily Bites on Facebook and leave a second comment below (here, not on Facebook) letting me know you did. If you are already a fan, you can say that instead!
Double Bonus Entry: Follow @emilybitesblog on Twitter and leave a third comment below letting me know you did.
Final Extra Bonus Entry: Follow @EgglandsBest on Twitter and leave a comment below letting me know you did.

Note: Please make sure you enter your name and email address when commenting so I will have a way to contact you if you win! Also, be sure to leave a separate comment below for each entry to maximize your chances of winning!

That’s five potential chances for each of you to win! Winners will be selected by random.org on Saturday, October 30th at 12:00 NOON EST. Enter below and it could be you – good luck!

The winner has been chosen! Congratulations to Heather F who said "I do several things to support breast cancer awareness but my favorite so far this month was a 2 hour Zumbathon last weekend. I supported a good cause AND sweat a lot!" Thank you to everyone who entered for the great things you all do for breast cancer awareness!

Buffalo Chicken Chili

There’s a chill in the air, the leaves are falling and football is in full swing (Go Bills). You know what that means? It’s chili season! I’ve been searching for a perfect chili recipe and this one spoke to me right away. I can never seem to find breast-only ground chicken at the supermarket, so I almost never use it. When I saw this recipe created its own by tossing some chicken breasts in the food processor I couldn’t believe how simple and genius that was. How did that never occur to me before? It worked perfectly and I loved knowing exactly what was in my ground chicken. Thank you to Biz at My Bizzy Kitchen for introducing me to this easy trick!

Since I’m a Buffalo girl, I’m sure none of you are surprised to see I chose a chili recipe that uses Frank’s Red Hot. I’m so glad I did. The chili doesn’t have an overt “Buffalo Chicken” taste, but I could definitely pick out the Frank’s flavor. I brought some chili to my parents and they both loved it. My mom loved that it was plenty “zippy” but not over-the-top spicy. My dad liked that it’s thick and chunky. We don’t do watery chili in this family.

This was a hearty, filling, comforting, spicy, warm bowl of deliciousness. It’s quick to throw together and perfect for those cold days when you just want something that warms you from the inside out. It might be your new favorite chili recipe. Cook it to find out!

Creamy Lemon Tortellini Bake

Sometimes you just want comfort food. When that craving strikes, nothing hits the spot like pasta pockets stuffed with cheese and smothered in a creamy sauce with little bits of bacon throughout. Is your mouth watering yet? Wait, there’s more. This isn’t your average Alfredo sauce. This cheesy sauce is brightened up with fresh lemon and it packs a slight hint of heat from the crushed red pepper. It’s a great combination of flavors. You’ll feel like you indulged but your waistline won’t show it! Now that’s comforting.

Pepperoni Pizza Mini Puffs

I found this recipe a few weeks ago on Pinterest and the photos sold me right away. I actually made these for the first time last week but I was bummed because they were way overcooked. I made them again this week with a reduced oven temperature and cook time and they came out perfect! These little puffs are chock full of pepperoni and cheese. If you love pizza flavors, these will be right up your alley! The puffs come together really quickly and they’re perfect as a snack or an appetizer for anything from book club to the big game. Let me know where you choose to serve them!

Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit Cups

I have a love/hate relationship with my snooze button. I love pressing it, but I hate having to rush to get ready for work in the miniscule amount of time I end up leaving myself. Unfortunately, my morning snooze-fest also doesn’t afford me the best conditions for making a big healthy breakfast. One of the ways I’m still able to eat a tasty hot breakfast on the go is by making a big batch of something at the beginning of the week that I can just grab and heat up each morning. Baked oatmeal works great for this, but sometimes I want a more savory breakfast. These breakfast cups are perfect because they combine several of my favorite breakfast foods into one. They’re easy to put together and unlike a traditional bacon & egg breakfast, they’re hand-held, so you can eat them on the run!

I used center cut bacon, which is a leaner cut of pork than traditional bacon. If you prefer turkey bacon that’s fine, it will not affect the points+ value.