Oatmeal Breakfast Bake

I haven't posted a recipe in a while so I thought I'd change it up a bit today.  I've had this in my drafts (you can tell because it's my old house, man I do miss those granite counter tops) and I could really go for this right now.  This is a semi healthy breakfast (it does have chocolate chips, but that makes it fun). 

This recipe comes from Inspired Taste. 

Baked Oatmeal with Bananas, Strawberries and Chocolate Chips.

Ingredients
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats (not the instant ones)
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 teaspoon Chinese five spice (They have this in the spice isles, but you can use cinnamon and cloves if you can't find it.)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup walnut pieces, chopped (I left these out)
1 cup sliced strawberries
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups milk
1 large egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ripe banana, peeled, 1/2-inch slices

Instructions-
Preheat oven to 375°F and generously spray the inside of a 10-1/2 by 7 inch baking dish with cooking spray and place on a baking sheet.
In a large bowl, mix together the oats, sugar, baking powder, orange zest, Chinese five spice, salt, half the walnuts, half the strawberries and half the chocolate. (Save the other half of strawberries, walnuts and chocolate for the top of the oatmeal). In another large bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, butter and vanilla extract.
Add the oat mixture to prepared baking dish. Arrange the remaining strawberries, walnuts and chocolate on top. Add the banana slices to the top then pour the milk mixture over everything. Gently shimmy/shake the baking dish to help the milk mixture go throughout the oats.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until the top is nicely golden brown and the milk mixture has set. For an extra tasty top, sprinkle a tablespoon or so of extra brown sugar on top then place back in the oven under the broiler and broil for 20-30 seconds. Serve warm with an extra sprinkle of sugar or drizzle of maple syrup.

She has great tips for the recipe on her site for making this ahead of time and other substitutes if you want less sugar or no eggs.

Green Fruit Smoothie

As the new year gets underway I know a lot of people have been trying to eat healthier (our family included) so I wanted to share this smoothie recipe that we've been enjoying. I adapted the recipe a little from Whole Food Mommies (great site if you haven't been). The proportion sizes of all the fruits/veggies you put in will vary depending on your blender. I used our magic bullet, but the bigger container (but it's not the size of a full blender) so keep that in mind. The one on Whole Food Mommies is a HUGE blender so I basically cut the recipe in half.

Green Fruit Smoothie-
1/2- 3/4 cup red grapes
1/4" slice of lemon, peel and all (you can leave this out if you don't have it, it can be a little strong if you use to much and make you want to add vodka to the smoothie. Then again that might not be a bad idea, kidding.)
1/4 of cup canned or fresh cut pineapple
1/2 of a banana (I freeze my banana halves and then just pop them in)
1 cup frozen fruit (I use strawberries, but the mixed bags would be great too)
1-2 TBSP of ground flax seed
1 cup of almond milk
Spinach- Fill the rest of your smoothie up with spinach

*A few notes: I also threw in fresh blueberries so you really can't go wrong with the fruits you are choosing. For a richer more nutrient dense smoothie you can use kale instead of spinach, I haven't been brave enough yet (I've never had kale). Don't be afraid of the color, depending on how much spinach you put in, it will be green. Put it in a cup that you can't see through if your mom kids refuse to try it.

I love that I can make a batch and have enough for me to put in a big cup to go, give some to Max and have some left for my mom (David leaves too early to share). You also get a lot of servings of fruit and veggies right at breakfast. It keeps me pretty full (about 2-3 hours or so) before I want another snack (I do munch on toast with it).

Flax seed is very good for you, there’s some evidence it may help reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. It has Omega-3 essential fatty acids, Lignans, which have both plant estrogen and antioxidant qualities and fiber. Another interesting fact about flax seed that I just read was that it has been reported that 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed mixed into cereal, juice, or yogurt twice a day cut women's hot flashes in half.

Almond milk- This fortified beverage, made from almonds, has a surprisingly rich and creamy taste. Lower in calories and fat than regular cow's milk, it is high in vitamins, such as vitamin E. It also has just as much calcium as cow's milk. Here is an interesting article about the diff. types of milk out there. This has definitely peaked my interest in making my own almond milk and learning about kefir.

Spinach- Low in calories and high in vitamins, spinach is one of the most nutrient-dense foods in existence. One cup of the leafy green vegetable contains far more than your daily requirements of vitamin K and vitamin A. Read more.

Give it a try!

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes & Cinnamon Sugar Donuts

Over Christmas I tried out a few recipes that I saw on Pinterest. Lacey and Leah had both made one of these before so I knew they were good. They were both not very hard and tasted delicious.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes by Recipe Girl-

PANCAKES:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten

CINNAMON FILLING:
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

CREAM CHEESE GLAZE: (since I don't like cream cheese I substituted for a plain vanilla glaze)
4 Tablespoons butter
2 ounces cream cheese
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Prepare pancake batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in milk, oil and egg, just until batter is moistened.
2. In a medium bowl, mix butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Scoop the filling into a small zip baggie and set aside. You don't want this to remain super-liquidy. It's best if it becomes a consistency similar to toothpaste.

3. Heat large skillet or griddle over medium-low heat (I set my griddle to 350). Spray with nonstick spray. Scoop about 3/4 cup batter onto the skillet. Let the batter sit for a bout a minute. Snip the corner of your baggie of filling and squeeze a spiral of the filling onto the top of the pancake. When bubbles begin to appear on the surface, flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook until browned on the underside, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a baking sheet or platter and keep in a warm oven until ready to serve.

As you can see my pancakes weren't perfect spirals, but they still taste good.

4. In a medium, microwave-safe bowl- heat butter and cream cheese until melted. Whisk together until smooth; whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla extract and top your pancakes.

I don't have a photo of my icing because we probably ate these so fast. We made them a second time and had no leftovers each time.

The 2nd recipe I tried was Cinnamon Sugar Donuts that I found via pinterest as well.

Cinnamon Sugar Donuts
Ingredients-
-Canned biscuits (anything BUT the flakey layer kind).
-Melted butter in a shallow bowl (4 tbls per 8 biscuits give or take) 
-Sugar & Cinnamon in a shallow bowl (mixed together in your favorite proportions...I like a nice medium brown mixture.)
-Veggie oil to fill your pan up to about 1/2in or so. 

Heat up oil for a few minutes on medium heat. While it is heating up, cut holes in the donuts with a cookie cutter or some other circular object. Save the holes, I just made donut holes. 

When one side is golden brown, flip with tongs.  When that side is golden remove from oil and place on a paper towel lined pan or plate. When the donuts have cooled enough to handle...using your fingers dip one side in the melted butter, let the excess drip off, dip in cinnamon and sugar mixture.  Get it nice and coated.  Flip over and repeat for the other side.  

As you can tell I made a double batch and we ate for 2 breakfast meals. The donut holes would be great with a strawberry or raspberry filling. These were so simple and so delicious so give it a try!

Crib Update and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

This weekend I did a lot of cooking while David was studying so nothing too exciting, but I did get the baby crib!

We went with crib #1. I had my 20% off coupon and we headed to babies r us on Saturday night. We thought we were going to have to order it, but she came back out and said they had a few in stock! Their customer service is horrible though, I'd go right when they open or closer to close time because it was hard to find anyone who would help us order the crib and bring it up from the back. I think it was about an hour from when we decided on the crib to actually getting it to our truck.

We didn't have time to set it up this weekend so I just had David take it out so I could look at it and inspect it. There are a few imperfections (I am super picky about quality) that I am going to try to email the manufacture about (they put a form in there so you can send it with pictures) so we'll see. Okay on to a recipe.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins from Good (cheap) Eats.
Ingredients-

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 bag Mix and Match Muffin Mix (the dry team)
• Dry team:
  3 cups unbleached flour
  1/2 cup whole wheat flour (I just used regular flour since I didn't have any)
  4 teaspoons baking powder
  1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  1/2 teaspoon salt
  1 cup sugar, brown sugar, or sucanat (I used regular sugar)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
• extra chocolate chips for sprinkling

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine the oil, buttermilk, eggs, and pumpkin. Whisk until well blended.

3. Line 2 12-cup muffin cups with muffin papers.

4. Add the muffin mix and the spices. Stir gently to combine.

5.Fold in the chocolate chips.

6. Divide the batter amongst all 24 cups.

7. Sprinkle additional chocolate chips over the tops of the muffins.

8. Bake the muffins for 25 to 30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

9. Cool the baked muffins on a wire rack.

Blueberry Muffin Recipe and Day 2 in Texas

I got up on Saturday morning to make us Blueberry Muffins. I made a really healthy version a few weeks back (whole wheat with apple sauce) but they were too healthy and tasted bland. So I went for the real deal this time. This recipe comes from The Simple, Sweet Life.

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

Muffin Batter

3/4 c. milk

1/4 c. vegetable oil

1 large egg

2 c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. fresh/canned/frozen blueberries

Streusel Topping

1/4 c. all purpose flour

1/4 c. packed brown sugar

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 tbs. firm butter/margarine

1. Mix milk, oil and egg until blended.

2. Add flour, sugar, salt and baking powder at once. Mix until moistened. (make sure not to over mix)
3. Fold in blueberries
4. Combine dry streusel ingredients in small bowl.
5. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two table knives in opposite directions. Should be clumpy.
6. Fill muffin cups with batter and sprinkle each with about 1 tbs. streusel mix. 

7. Bake at 400*F for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

8. Remove immediately from pan and let cool

We enjoyed them for a few days!

We also tried the best burger place in Abilene, Heff's burgers with twister fries (chips). It really was one of the best burgers I've ever had.

After we went to do some shopping. This is me "trying" on a dress I liked.

For dinner we went to Bonzai Japanese and had our avocado rolls with vegetarian hibachi.

It's fun to hang out and go to dinner together. Shell is way better at chopsticks than I am!

Stuffed French Toast

This is definitely a food posting week. I made stuffed french toast over the weekend and it was amazing!! My pictures can't compare to the ones from the Pioneer woman,'s blog, but it tasted so good. The original recipe calls for cream cheese, but I used strawberry yogurt instead (since I don't like that cheese) and it worked perfectly and was more healthy. You have to try this for a breakfast where you have guests or a special occasion. A few tips: Get a big loaf of french bread, Sam's Club has huge ones for like 2.50 for 2 loaves. I froze the second loaf because the one made so much. I also didn't use the jam, just fresh strawberries and yogurt. Here is official recipe since you just have to see their pictures.

You slice the bread into about 2 inch pieces (mine are a little larger), then you slice a pocket where you stuff your strawberry mixture inside.

You soak them for 20 seconds in the egg mixture to sop up all the liquid and onto the griddle it goes

Look how yummy it all looks cooking!

So nice and golden brown

Mmmm the filling was goo-ing out

The complete breakfast meal with yummy bacon and fresh strawberries

This is David's fancy restaurant style presentation. The stuffed french toast was so good, it takes a little time and patience, but so worth it in the end.

David's Birthday Goodies

I forgot to post this a few weeks ago, but I just looked at how yummy everything was. For David's birthday breakfast a few weeks ago I got up early and made these delicious crepes with a cream cheese filling (frosting from the carrot cake, which I talked about in the Easter post) and a fresh strawberry topping. Here is the recipe I got from allrecipes.com:

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.
3. Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.

The strawberry topping comes from Our Best Bites.

I decided to also make the carrot cake from the Pioneer Woman's blog.

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook Time: 50 Minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 12

Ingredients- FOR CAKE:

• 2 cups Sugar
• 1 cup Vegetable Oil
• 4 whole Eggs
• 2 cups All-purpose Flour
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• 2 cups Grated Carrots
•  
• For Icing
• 1 stick Regular Butter, Softened
• 1 package (8 Oz) Cream Cheese
• 1 pound Powdered Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla
• 1 cup Pecans, Chopped Finely

Preparation Instructions

Cake:
Mix together the sugar, oil and eggs in a large bowl. In another bowl sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add to first mixture and combine. Then add carrots and mix well. Pour into a greased and floured (Baker’s Joyed) pan (bundt, sheet cake, 9 x 13 pyrex) and bake until done, 25 to 50 minutes, depending on the pan you use.
Cool completely.
Icing:
In larger bowl, cream butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and vanilla and blend, then mix in the nuts. Spread on cooled carrot cake.

I had never made a carrot cake before and it was very fun! I just love to see the little carrot pieces that I grated. I made some for me without the cream cheese frosting.