Baked Oatmeal To-Go....Thank You Pinterest!

I AM ADDICTED. I have no shame in saying so either. Hi, my name is Rebekah and I am addicted to pinterest. A dear friend of mine introduced me to it and away I went; diving head first into pinterest. I find funny quips, ideas for work, gardening tips and of course my favorite thing, new recipes.
This one caught my eye right away and I thought it would be perfect to post here. Who doesn't want more quick, easy and healthy recipe ideas for busy mornings? I cannot think of one person who would fall into that catergory, I know I certainly don't.

This recipe is originally from www.fauxmartha.com and it is her version I am posting here. I cannot wait to try these!

Baked Oatmeal To-Go
adapted from Cooking Light; yields 12 “muffins”;
2 c. uncooked oats (quick-cooking or old fashioned work)
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. craisins or other dried fruit
1 tbsp. walnuts, chopped
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. skim milk (sometimes I use 2%)
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce (jarred or homemade works)
2 tbsp. butter, melted
1 large egg, beaten

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Spray muffin tin or line with paper liners and set aside.
2. Combine oats, brown sugar, dried fruit, walnuts, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Stir.
3. Combine milk, applesauce, butter, and egg in a separate bowl and stir.
4. Add milk mixture to oat mixture. Stir until combined.
5. Using a 2-ounce trigger release ice-cream scoop, add oatmeal to the muffin tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until edges begin to brown.
6. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing, using an offset spatula to loosen. Serve or store covered in the refrigerator for up to a week. Heat for 1-2 minutes in the microwave.

Dannon Pure Yogurt

I saw a commercial for this yogurt last week and found it in my grocery store. It was just as the commercial had advertised. Healthy yogurt with pure ingredients, good taste and cheap! What more could a mom ask for?

If you want to see more about this yogurt you can go to www.dannon.com and check out the product.

Quick & Easy Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

I whipped this up one Saturday morning. I will not lie, Kiddo is not a huge fan of oatmeal. I'm not really sure when this happened either. When he was little he loved it and I could not keep enough in the house. Now, he doesn't care for it at all. This recipe might have turned his opinion into a more positive one though.

Here is what you need:

2 apples chopped (I used gala apples. Use whatever kind you would like but I would stay away from red delicious, they get mooshy.)

3 tablespoons of butter (I used Smart Balance.)

1/4 cup of brown sugar

1 tsp of cinnamon

Juice of half a lemon or half an orange

1 3/4 cups of milk

1 cup of quick cooking oats

1/4 tsp salt

What you do:

Cook your apples in a large skillet with the butter, brown sugar, lemon or orange juice and cinnamon.



Keep and eye on them and stir them often. Cook them until they begin to soften.

Add milk and water. Bring to a rolling boil. Now add the oats and stir.



Cook the mixture on the stovetop for a minute. Promptly remove the pan from the heat and cover. Allow it to sit for about 2-3 minutes.



Remove the lid and stir. If you want to add a little more butter or brown sugar go ahead and adjust it to your taste/texture liking. I added a little more butter.

Now its ready to serve!



I cannot describe how warm and yummy this breakfast is.

Enjoy!

Simply Gogurt vs. Regular Gogurt

When my sister found these at the grocery store I must say I was pleasantly surprised.



For years I have seen my students bring Original Gogurt in their lunches. I cringed everytime I tore the top off and served them the watery, neon colored so called 'yogurt' substance in a tube. Therefore, I was happy when I found the Horizon Organic Tuberz and the Stoneyfield Yokids Squeezers yogurts. Now to see Yoplait stepping up to the plate and serving a healthier squeezable yogurt of their own, well its just wonderful. Now my only question is, 'why keep serving the other gogurts?'

Oh well, hopefully someday more people will jump on the healthy eating bandwagon. Until then I am grateful for strides like this. So what is the difference between Simply Gogurt and the Original Gogurt?
Let's take a look...

Simply Gogurt
Strawberry
Nutrition Information

Serving Size: 2.25 oz / 64g
Calories: 70
Calories from Fat: 5
Total Fat - Grams.5% DV Fat1Cholesterol - mgless than 5% DV Cholesterol1Sodium - mg30% DV Sodium1Potassium - mg95% DV Potassium3.Total Carbohydrate - grams13%DV Carbohydrate4Sugars - grams10Protein - grams2% DV Protein4.% DV Vitamin A8% DV Calcium10% DV Vitamin D10% DV Riboflavin4.

*NO High Fructose Corn Syrup, NO Artifical Colors or Flavors*

Original Gogurt

Nutrition Information

Serving Size: 2.25 oz / 64g
Calories: 70
Calories from Fat: 5
Total Fat - Grams0.5% DV Fat1Cholesterol - mgless 5% DV Cholesterol1Sodium - mg30% DV Sodium1Potassium - mg90% DV Potassium3.Total Carbohydrate - grams13%DV Carbohydrate4Sugars - grams10Protein - grams2% DV Protein4.% DV Vitamin A8% DV Calcium10% DV Vitamin D10% DV Riboflavin4.Diet Exchanges1 starch.

It seems that the big difference is NO HFCS, NO Artificial Colors or Flavors. I don't know about you but that means alot to me.

Friday Favorite~Good For You Blueberry Oatmeal

My Friday Favorite is this recipe I found on Real MOM Kitchen.

Blueberry Walnut Baked Oatmeal

http://realmomkitchen.com/7233/blueberry-walnut-baked-oatmeal/

Look at that recipe! Doesn't it look amazing? This is so healthy and so delicious. I encourage you to give Laura's recipe a try. I promise you that you will make it again and again.

Have a wonderful Friday everyone!

Pomegranate & Greek Yogurt Smoothie

Look at this beautiful fruit!



I love pomegranate but I do not love the work involved in getting these little seeds out. That's why I tend to turn to pomegranate juice instead; it can be expensive though. My favorite brand of pomegranate juice is Old Orchard. All of their juices are 100% fruit juice but they blend the pomegranate juice with other juices like blueberry and cherry.

I got this recipe from my new summer Kraft Food and Family magazine. Here it is with the changes I made.

2/3 cup bottled pomegranate juice *I used Old Orchard Blueberry & Pomegranate Juice*
1 cup frozen unsweetened mixed berries
1/3 cup ATHENOS Greek Strained Nonfat Yogurt *I used Chobani yogurt.
2 Tbsp. honey
1/2 cup ice cubes

Put everything in your blender and mix it up. This recipe makes 2 servings. Kiddo and I love it! We made it last week when my Grandma was here and she loved it too. I don't think you could ask for anything much healthier. Enjoy!

Friday Product Review: Breakfast On The Go

This week I am writing about the new Diamond Breakfast On The Go. One word: YUMMY!



Kiddo and I love nuts, you might say we are nuts about nuts. The 'breakfast on the go' product comes in three different varietys: Smore's Blend, (more of an afternoon snack in my opinion)Berry Nut Blend and Breakfast Nut Blend. I believe our favorite is the Berry Nut Blend. We have enjoyed these with a hardboiled egg and a smoothie this past week. I am giving this product a definite thumbs up.

Vanilla Dutch Baby

I got this recipe from 10 Dollar Dinners on Food Network.

The minute I saw Melissa making this I knew it was something I had to try, so I did. My family loved it. This is a wonderful and easy treat to make for breakfast. It really changed up the same old same old idea of pancakes.

What you need:

3 tablespoons butter
3 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk, heated 20 to 30 seconds in the microwave
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch salt
1 pint fresh or frozen blueberries
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

What you do:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the butter in a large saute pan and place in the oven to melt.

Meanwhile, in a blender, combine the eggs, flour, hot milk, 1 tablespoon sugar, vanilla extract, and pinch of salt, and blend on medium-high speed until uniform. Cook's Note: If mixing by hand, combine the eggs with the milk until the mixture is light yellow and no longer stringy, about 1 minute. Add the flour, sugar, vanilla, and pinch of salt, and whisk vigorously to remove the lumps, about 30 seconds.

Carefully, remove the hot pan from the oven.
***YOU want your pan REALLY HOT
The butter should be melted. Swirl the butter around the pan to coat completely, and then pour the remaining butter into the batter and whisk to blend. Pour the batter into the hot pan and return the pan to the oven. Cook the pancake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the pancake is puffed in the center, and golden brown along the edges.

*DO NOT open the oven while your Baby Bakes.

While the Dutch baby bakes, in a small bowl combine the fresh blueberries, 1 teaspoon sugar, and lemon zest. Stir to coat, and set aside to marinate.

Using a spatula, remove the entire Dutch baby from the pan and place on a cooling rack for a few minutes to allow the steam to escape without condensing along the bottom and rendering the pancake soggy. Slice the pancake into wedges on a serving platter or cutting board and sprinkle with the confectioners' sugar through a sieve. Serve with the marinated blueberries.

Here is the link to the Food Network Site...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/vanilla-dutch-baby-puffed-pancake-recipe/index.html

Enjoy!!! I follow the directions to a T and it was wonderful. We had ours with maple syrup though because I didn't have any berries at the time.

I am linking this up to Mommy's Kitchen Potluck Sunday.

Sunny Carrot Muffins

Kiddo and I just whipped these up for breakfast this morning, we can smell them in the oven right now. These tasty little muffins would make a great quick breakfast or a delicious lunch box treat. The recipe is from the Southern Living Kids Cookbook.



Sunny Carrot Muffins

What you need:

2 cups of self rising flour *I used non self rising and used 1 cup of regular flour and 1 cup of wheat flour. To make your own self rising flour add 2 tsps of baking powder and 1/2 tsp of salt for ever cup of flour*

1/3 cup sugar *I also added 1/4 cup of brown sugar*

1/4 tsp nutmeg

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1 cup milk

1/4 cup veggie oil *I used canola*

1 large egg

1/2 cup shredded carrots (I used matchstix cut carrots)

1/2 cup raisins

*I added 1/4 cup of chopped apple

What you do:

Mix together your dry ingredients, set aside.

Mix together your wet ingredients then combine with your dry ingredients. Now add your fruits and veggies. Mix well.

Spray muffin tins (this recipe makes 1 dozen muffins) and pour the batter in the tins. We use an ice cream scoop to put our batter in the tin.

Bake at 400 degrees for 18mins.

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits for Christmas Morning

I have made these several times and they are always a hit. I think they are the perfect recipe for Christmas Morning because they are so easy to make. I found the recipe on www.tammysrecipes.com, I found several recipes while searching and this one is by far the best.

Homemade Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits

What you need:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup butter
1/2-1 cup milk* (you may need less than this, just enough to make a biscuit consistency)
1 cup raisins

What you do:

Mix together your dry ingredients and cut your butter into them. I like to dice my butter up then use my hands to mix it in the dry ingredients. I just work it in until the butter bits are the size of peas.

Now add your milk and mix, then stir in your raisins.

Put your dough on a flour service and pat it with your hands out till its about 1/2 inch thick. Use a floured biscuit cutter (or a glass in my case) and cut out your biscuits. Place them in a sprayed baking pan (be sure they are touching)

and bake them at 450 degrees for 10-13 mins.

Mix up this yummy glaze and drizzle it over cooled biscuits.



*Glaze

3 Tablespoons softened butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
2-3 Tablespoons milk

Mix together 3 Tablespoons softened butter and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Add 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar and stir. Add about 2-3 Tablespoons of milk and beat with electric mixer on HI for a minute or until light and fluffy.

These are so yummy, so light and so fluffy.
Enjoy!

The Southern Living Cookbook for Kids

Kiddo loves being in the kitchen with me. Everytime I am cooking he always comes in and says 'Momma do you have anything I can help you with?' He tells me all the time that he wants to be a chef when he grows up and that we will own a restaurant together. This past Monday was his 10th Birthday. Ten years old, how did that happen? Where did the time go? My Mom gave him two cookbooks for his birthday, one was a Pillsbury cookbook and the other one was 'The Southern Living Cookbook for Kids.'



Both have some great recipes but he picked two to try from the Southern Living one first. The other night for dinner we made the Chunky Cheese Soup and for breakfast this week we made the Banana Roll Ups, twice. Don't worry I am going to share them both with you, but in this post I am going to share the breakfast recipe.

Banana Roll Ups-Breakfast

What you need:

1/2 banana sliced

1 whole wheat tortilla (we warmed ours up a bit)

Peanut butter

Honey

Chocolate Chips

What you do:

Spread the peanut butter on one side of the tortilla. Place your banana slices in a row on the peanut butter. Drizzle honey over the bananas and sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. Now roll it up, cut it in half and you have a delicious breakfast wrap!

*Here is the link to the cookbook for sale on Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Southern-Living-Cookbook-Recipes-Hardcover/dp/0848731786

Johnny Appleseed Toast

This is another Kids in the Kitchen recipe and of course another apple themed recipe for apple month. The recipe is from 'Cooking with Kids Can Be Easy' and it has always been a winner around here.

What you need:

1 apple

Honey to drizzle

2 slices of cinnamon raisin bread

Butter to spread

Cinnamon to sprinkle


What you do:



Slice your apples thin and spread butter on your bread. You can use any kind of apple you like.



Place your apples on your buttered bread like so. Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Place your bread slices on a baking sheet and toast them under your broiler for about 30 secs. Keep an eye on them!



Don't they look yummy? Believe me they taste yummy too!



Do you have a yummy apple recipe of your own posted to your blog? Link it up here!

Applesauce Parfaits

YAY for Apple Month! This is one of my favorite apple recipes. It is so quick and easy. It is a great afternoon snack or breakfast. My son loves it for breakfast with his hardboiled eggs. I hope you and your kids like it too.
By the way, this is a great recipe to get your kids in the kitchen and helping.

Applesauce Parfaits

What you need:

*Applesauce

*Cinnamon

*Honey

*Graham Crackers

What you do:

Crush your graham crackers until they are fine. I love using my rolling pin for this but a glass would work. I use 4 crackers for one parfait. My son loves this part. Pour part of the cracker crumbs in a glass.

Add a few tablespoons of applesauce to the glass.


Sprinkle with cinnamon and drizzle with honey, looks good so far. Now keep layering until your glass is full. Top with the rest of your crumbs, honey and cinnamon.

Here is the finished product...

So fun to look at, fun to make and fun to eat! Now get your kids in the kitchen and start cooking!

Linking this up to Mommy's Kitchen Potluck Sunday. Come on over and share a dish!





Got some of your own yummy apple recipes? Link em' up below!

Leggo My Eggo for Breakfast...So Many Possibilities!

I love making things from scratch, I do. I prefer having something homemade instead of something store bought. But I'm a realist and I know I don't always have the time, or let's face it the movitivation, to pop out something homemade all the time. If I can't get something homemade for breakfast I love turning to the NutriGrain Whole Wheat Eggo Waffles.



Here are some of my favorite ways to serve them for breakfast. My son loves them all!

Eggo waffle toasted, spread Nutella on the top and slice bananas, top with another waffle and make a sandwich.

Eggo waffle toasted and topped with peanut butter and bananas or apple slices, top with another one to make a sandwich.

Eggo waffle topped with syrup and bananas.

Eggo waffle topped with cream cheese and strawberries.

Eggo waffle topped with cream cheese and jelly.

Eggo waffle topped with peanut butter and jelly.

Eggo waffle topped with bacon, apple and a slice of cheddar cheese, put another waffle on top for a sandwich.
*You could even use sliced ham with this, but we use turkey bacon.

So yep, leggo my son's Eggo because he loves them almost anyway!
I hope this gave some other mom's some great ideas on how to mix breakfast up with a simple Eggo waffle.

Sausage Cornbread Breakfast Muffins-Vegetarian

In my last post I rambled on and on about 'Back to School'. Being a working mom with a kiddo in school and trying to get something good in his tummy every morning, well it can be a challenge sometimes. I can only imagine what moms of more than one kid go through! My rules are simple, it has to taste good, it has to stick to his gut, be healthy and I like for it to be something warm, especially when cold weather comes.

I came upon this recipe a few months ago and we have had is several times since then. I found it in one of my little Everyday Food magazines. I did make a few changes to the recipe, but I will post the original recipe here as well.

What you need:

1 8oz package of Morning Star Veggie Breakfast Sausage Patties Cooked and Crumbled (**I did not use Morning Star. I actually bought uncooked turkey sausage, cooked it and crumbled it up) But I think it is a great idea for a vegetarian meal if you use morning star.

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted

1 cup of frozen corn, thawed

3/4 cup of pepperjack cheese (I used cheddar)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 12 muffin tins w/ papers and spray with non stick spray.


What you do:

combine dry ingredients and set aside



combine wet ingredients then fold in cheese, sausage and corn, add to the dry ingredients.





spoon into muffin tins and bake for 18-20mins. These were super good and super easy! They keep for up to 3 days in the fridge or you can freeze them.



They keep in the fridge really well. We popped them in the microwave for about 15 secs and they were even better the second time!

Linking this post up on Potluck Sunday! Come on over and see what everyone else is bringing.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Look good?



Believe me they are! I found this recipe on Jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com, the linked tag is over on the right.
-> -> ->

These are easy to make and easy to eat. I am not even a huge fan of bananas but even I put away a few of these.

What you need:

1 1/2 C flour
1 C sugar
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 egg
1/2 C Mayo
3 ripe bananas (I used ones that were starting to spot, a great way to use them up!)
1 C chocolate chips

What you do:

Mash your bananas up in a med. bowl then add 1 egg beaten

Add the mayo and mix for 30 secs. (You can use an electric mixer, or do it by hand. My electric mixer recently passed away and I haven't bought a new one yet.)

Mix your dry ingredients together in another bowl and then add to your banana mix.

Mix until moist then pour into your lined muffin tins, about 3/4 full.

Sprinkle the top with chocolate chips. :)

Bake at 375 for 20-25mins.

*Once everyone had tasted these yummy muffins I told them what the secret ingredient was, mayo. They were so shocked. But I believe the mayo is what made these as moist as they were.

Mickey Mouse Waffles

I have to admit this first and foremost, this is NOT a healthy recipe. It is loaded with eggs, butter and just lots of 'not-so-good-for-you' goodness. But these are some SUPER YUMMY waffles! We topped ours with fresh strawberries and fresh whipped cream.

*This recipe was found on www.cooks.com

3 eggs
1 c. milk
1/2 c. melted butter
1 tbsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. baking powder
2 tsp. sugar

Beat eggs until thick. Beat in milk and butter. Sift remaining ingredients together and then add to liquid mixture. Follow directions according to your waffle maker - these are the best waffles ever!!!



On a side note, my Hydrangeas are blooming! Blue, purple and pink hydrangeas surround both sides of my garage. Of course I could not resist and cut a few for my dining room table, bedroom and kitchen shelf.



Have a wonderful day!

Grilled Dinner & Breakfast Bruschetta

Sunday was my first day of grilling dinner and boy did it turn out great! We had steak, corn on the cob, potatoes and cucumber dill salad. I got my cucumber dill salad recipe from Siggy Spice:

http://siggyspice.blogspot.com/2010/05/creamy-dill-cucumber-salad.html

This is a really yummy one; go on over and give it a try.

Ok now on with the dinner recipes.

I had a great find at Publix on Sunday. I got 3 New York Strip Steaks for $14.00, great deal!

*Marinate your Steaks in Balsamic Dressing and 2 tblsp of Worsteshire Sauce for 1 hour.



*Grill to your liking, my husband likes his cow still mooing. My son and I prefer our steaks actually done however.

_____

Potatoes

*I peeled and diced 3 baking potatoes in small pieces



*Coat your potatoes in Olive Oil, Italian Seasoning and Garlic Salt

*Tear a large piece of foil, spray with non stick spray

*Put potatoes in the middle of the foil and make a packet

*Grill for about 30 mins on Med-Med High, until tender



______

Corn on The Cob

My son did these all by himself and was very proud.

*Shuck your corn

*Tear pieces of foil to wrap your corn in

*Spray your corn with olive oil non stick spray



*Sprinkle garlic salt and pepper on each corn cob

*Wrap your corn cobbs and cook them on the grill for about 30mins on Med-Med High heat.

______

Last is my yummy breakfast recipe. I got this from a Kraft Food and Family Magazine I have had for years. It is called 'Breakfast Bruschetta' and very healthy as well as tasty.

*1 piece of whole wheat/ whole grain bread toasted

*Spread cream cheese over toast, then spread orangle marmalade or jam over the cream cheese

*Top your toast with sliced strawberries and bananas



I am sure you could mix this up all kinds of ways. I put strawberry preserves on my husband because he prefers strawberry to orange.

______

I hope you enjoy these yummy recipes! I know our family did.



This is kiddo's plate; he came back for his second corn on the cob and more steak.