Dinner Tonight

Dinner Tonight

Healthy Cooking for a Healthy Texas

Southwest Egg Muffins

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Breakfast can be hard when everyone in the family is going in a different direction in the mornings! Remember that planning is key when it comes to breakfast. Try making large batches of egg muffins on Sunday and refrigerate and freeze them until you need them during the week.


Southwestern Egg Cups
Votes: 2
Rating: 4.5
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Servings Prep Time
5 servings (2 "muffins") 10 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Servings Prep Time
5 servings (2 "muffins") 10 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Southwestern Egg Cups
Votes: 2
Rating: 4.5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Print Recipe
Add to Shopping List
This recipe is in your Shopping List
Servings Prep Time
5 servings (2 "muffins") 10 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Servings Prep Time
5 servings (2 "muffins") 10 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: servings (2 "muffins")
Units:
Instructions
  1. Wash your hands and clean your preparation area. Rinse any vegetables before sicing. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Coat a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. In a large skillet, sauté the ground turkey, bell pepper, garlic, and green onion until the turkey is fully cooked and reaches 165°F and vegetables are tender. Add the salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder; cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.
  3. In the muffin tin, evenly divide the turkey and vegetable mixture among 10 individual muffin cups.
  4. Pour the eggs evenly into the 10 stuffed cups. Top with cheese.
  5. Bake 20 minutes or until the eggs are set.
  6. Portion the egg muffins out into serving sizes and store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or in the freezer up to 3 months. If frozen, thaw in the refrigerator the night before and heat in the microwave when ready to serve. Reheat to 165°F before eating.
Recipe Notes

Naturally Occurring Sugar versus Added Sugar

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Did you know that almost half of the added sugar in our diets comes from beverages such as sodas, fruit drinks, and other sweetened beverages?

The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend limiting calories from added sugars to no more than 10 percent each day.  On a 2,000 calorie eating pattern, this would equal 12 teaspoons or about 200 calories.

Added sugars are added to a food or food product when they are processed or prepared.  They can include ingredients such as sugars (brown, raw, turbinado, granulated), corn syrups, molasses, honey, and nectars to name a few.  Added sugars contribute calories but do not provide essential nutrients.

Some foods have naturally occurring sugar like fruits, vegetables, and milk, these foods are not added sugar.  Replacing foods and drinks high in added sugars is a step to establishing a healthy eating pattern for our children and family.

You can make a few choices throughout the day by replacing foods high in added sugars.  Here are a few options:

  • Eat fruit for dessert instead of cakes, cookies, or ice cream.
  • Flavor water with fresh fruit instead of sodas or sweetened tea.
  • Try choosing a smaller size of a food with added sugar.
  • Reduce the amount of sugar in an original recipe by one third.

Making small steps to reduce the amount of added sugar is a step in establishing a healthy eating pattern.

Watch this video to learn how to limit calories from added sugars.

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September is Family Meal Time Month

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September is a special month for AgriLife Extension as we “Celebrate Family Mealtime”.  We know everyone is busy with work and after school activities, plus technology always having us “plugged in”, often times we miss face-to-face connections with our family.  Family meals provide a great opportunity for family members to connect because everyone has to eat! Throughout the month of September we are encouraging everyone to have meals as a family and here at Dinner Tonight, we will be highlighting special recipes and tips to do just that! Research shows that sitting down three times per week as a family has many benefits* among these are:

  • Reduction for the odds of overweight & potentially obesity
  • Reduction in eating unhealthy foods
  • Reduction in odds for a child to experience an eating disorder
  • Increase in eating eating healthy foods

To get started, commit to having your family sit down at least three times a week to eat together, and use this as a time to

  • share family stories,
  • learn about everyone’s day,
  • set family goals,
  • and make plans for future activities.

Remember, meals do not have to be fancy or gourmet to make mealtime special, the focus is on getting everyone together.

We hope you take the challenge to sit down at least 3x per week during the Month of September to engage in family mealtime! Share your photos with us on Facebook & Instagram by tagging us or using the #familymealtime. Check back with us throughout September to learn more on the benefits to family mealtime as well as tips and recipes to make it easy.

See our Kid Friendly Recipes here!

If you’ve got a picky eater on your hands, check out our tips and tricks to help navigate that tricky situation!

* Pediatrics Journal – Official Journal of the American Association of Pediatrics

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Kids in the Kitchen

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Kids in the Kitchen

Today, more and more children are diagnosed with childhood obesity. According to Obesity Action Coalition, childhood obesity affects more than 30% of children, making it the most common chronic disease of childhood. This number has tripled since 1980.

Getting kids in the kitchen is an exciting way to teach them about nutrition and help them gain the skills and knowledge to prepare their own meals all while teaching them about important food safety.

Food Safety

As kids get older they get more and more independent in the kitchen. Its important to teach them about food safety to keep them safe when they’re preparing their own snacks and meals. Fight Bac! is a partnership to prevent food poisoning and they have lots of fun activities to teach kids about food safety and safely preparing their own meals and snacks. Check out their website for:

  • Interactive activities
  • Computer Games
  • Coloring pages
  • Fun placemats

Cooking with your Kids

Get them involved in the kitchen! Family meals are important for children and teens because it allows families to grow closer together and eat nutritious foods. This month focus on getting your children or even a spouse to help you prepare meals. View the video below for tips on how to include your family in the cooking process. Click below for kitchen activities for 2-5 year olds from the USDA.Kids in the Kitchen activities for ages 2-5 years old from the USDA

Get your preschooler to try new foods by having them help you in the kitchen. Kids feel good about doing something “grown-up.” Give them small jobs to do. Praise their efforts. Children are less likely to reject foods that they help to make.

As preschoolers grow, they are able to help out with different tasks in the kitchen. While the following suggestions are typical, children may develop these skills at different ages.

At 2 Years Old:

  • Wipe tables
  • Hand items to adult to put away (such as after grocery shopping)
  • Place things in trash
  • Tear lettuce or greens
  • Help “read” a cookbook by turning the pages
  • Make “faces” out of pieces of fruits and vegetables
  • Rinse vegetables or fruits
  • Snap green beans

At 3 Years Old:

  • Add ingredients
  • Talk about cooking
  • Scoop or mash potatoes
  • Squeeze citrus fruits
  • Stir ingredients in a bowl
  • Knead and shape dough
  • Name and count foods
  • Help assemble a pizza

At 4 Years Old:

  • Peel eggs and some fruits, such as oranges and bananas
  • Set the table
  • Crack eggs
  • Help measure dry ingredients
  • Help make sandwiches and tossed salads

At 5 Years Old:

  • Measure liquids
  • Cut soft fruits with a dull knife
  • Use an egg beater

Got picky eaters on your hands?

Check out our tips on dealing with your picky eater.

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Help Wanted: Menu Planning

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Cooking nutritious meals for your family may seem like a daunting task but with menu planning and time management you CAN do it.

Menu planning does not have to complicated. What it does need to be is realistic for you and your family.

Start with these tips:

  1. Write down some of your favorite meals and ask for input from family members. If you can’t think of any ideas, look for recipe ideas on the Dinner Tonight website, Pinterest, or recipe magazines.
  2. Plan a week’s worth of meals at a time. Don’t forget to include side dishes (which can be as simple as a frozen bag of veggies).
  3. Find Balance. If you have veggies, dairy, and protein at one meal, include fruit and grains in the next to cover all 5 food groups.
  4. Vary protein foods. Choose a variety of protein foods throughout the week. If you have chicken one day, try seafood, beans, lean meat, or eggs other days.
  5. Designate meals for each day. If you know that Wednesday nights are hectic with after school activities, make that night grab-and-go style. For example, you could make turkey wraps with low-fat cheese and spinach, carrot sticks, and use Greek yogurt as a dessert.
  6. Take a quick inventory of your pantry and fridge then go grocery shopping based on your menu. Remember to make a list.
  7. Love your leftovers. Prepare enough of a dish to eat multiple times during the week. Making leftovers part of your plan can save money and time.

Try menu planning this month. To get you started, here are a few favorite recipes from the Dinner Tonight archive to give you a one-week menu.  Practicing menu planning can lead us down the path of healthy living.  Let us know what you use to menu plan and share your helpful tips.  Enjoy!

Monday- Easy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Tuesday- Black Bean Rice Salad

Wednesday- Pork Street Tacos (use leftovers from Monday)

Thursday- Oriental Lettuce Wraps

Friday- Family Night Out

Saturday- BBQ Pepper Steak (prepare extra steak)

Sunday- Roast Beef and Blue Cheese Salad (use leftover steak from the day before)

 

Source:

Learn more about MyPlate, MyWins tips here 

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