Breakfast....eat some!

I ran across this recipe a few weeks back and it has quickly become one of my favorites. Baked Oatmeal is fantastic for so many reasons. Oatmeal is fast, it is yummy, it is so good for our bodies, we should all be eating it everyday. Our options are to cook our oatmeal old school on top of the stove, mix it up in a bowl and pop it in the Microwave, or resort to the instant stuff from the grocery. I have tired them all, the stove top method can boil over not to mention it is boring and no mater how I tried I could not jazz it up enough to satisfy me. The microwave version just makes me mad cause it makes a mess, I have to use a huge bowl to keep it from becoming the Oatmeal Blob that takes over the kitchen while it cooks in there. Last we come to the instant stuff, it is ok but the one I like the best is really expensive.

I am so glad I found Baked Oatmeal. The original recipe is from Cooking Light, they do good stuff right? I have made it several times and tinkered with it, adding some spices, different fruits and even a scoop of flax seeds for those important Omega fatty acids. I decide I needed to post it today with my notes and photos so all of you can get on the band wagon.

It might seem like work, but keep in mind, if you bake up a batch you will have breakfast ready to go in the fridge for the rest of the work week or at least several days if there are more of you eating on it. Besides that look at the photos, it looks like desert!

Here is the recipe. I added a couple of tablespoons of flax seeds. Sometimes I dump in frozen blueberries, I like chunky applesauce, and I always use Old Fashioned oats. If you like a smoother texture oatmeal try the quick cooking oats instead. For the left overs heat a serving in the microwave for 1 min, add a little milk and eat it up!

Baked Oatmeal
(Source: Cooking Light)
2 cups uncooked oats
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup raisins (or dried fruit of your choice, frozen works also)
1 tablespoon chopped walnuts (or nut of your choice)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1½ cups milk ( I used skim milk, that is what I drink)
½ cup applesauce ( I used chunky, love the chunks)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 large egg, beaten
Cooking spray
1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine the milk, applesauce, butter, and egg in a separate bowl. Add milk mixture to oat mixture; stir well. Pour oat mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Muffins

It is just past three in the afternoon and I have been working, most of the day, sitting here at the kitchen table. First I finished some descriptions for some jewelry postings to Etsy, then I edited the photos for those listings. Next I worked on a new banner for my blog.....what do you think looks nice huh? Then I got all my listings done on Etsy and added the Etsy mini to my blog here which you will find directly to the right of this post. After that I was chatting with Amanda and she suggested I make my Etsy header similar to the one here on the blog. She helped me find a quick way to make that happen so both the Blog and the Etsy shop are matchy matchy now.



Where was I when I started this post.....Oh yes three in the afternoon. Time for a muffin!

Mexican Hot Chocolate Muffin

These are good, good, good, need I say more? I found this recipe here on the Elle's New England Kitchen Blog. Go ahead click the link and try them out. I promise they are easy and fantastic. Eat 'em up!

Clam Chowder with Greens

I visit several recipe websites and blogs on a regular basis, sometimes I find great recipes and sometimes I find ideas. One site I visit from time to time is Eatbetteramerica, their focus is making the food more healthy, lower fat and calories. When I was there the other day, they had a recipe for Clam Chowder with Greens. Now clam chowder is something I make, never the same way twice because I just wing it with what I have, but the idea of adding greens really appealed to me. After collecting a few missing ingredients during my regular grocery shopping trip, I made Clam Chowder with greens today for lunch. I have to admit because of a small fear of ruing a good pot of chowder with greens, I cooked the greens separately and then added them to each individual bowl of soup. Don't bother with doing that, it was all good and a combination, you will just have to wash an extra pot. Therefore, here is the recipe with the needed adjustments for best flavor. Keep in mind you can lighten it up with low fat substitutions, as you like, it is all up to you.

Clam Chowder with Greens
¼ pound bacon
1 med onion, chopped
1 glove minced garlic
1 bunch of greens
(make this easy look for them in the bagged salad section of the market, I found a great mix of swisschard, turnip, mustard, and turnip greens. One bag is a good amount.)
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 med Potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 cups of chicken broth
2 cans of Chopped clams, Juice reserved
1 Cup half and half
3-4 Tablespoons potato flakes
Salt and fresh pepper to taste

Cut bacon into a few pieces, just to make it easier to cook. Add the bacon to a heavy pot over med heat. While the bacon renders it's fat, dice onion and potato, mince garlic. If you didn't but ready to go greens get them ready, washed chopped at this time. Once the bacon is crisp, remove it from the pot onto some paper towels to drain. Remove some of the fat from the pan, leave as much as you like. Add the onion to the pot, cook for 3 min, add the garlic, and cook until fragrant. Now add the greens potato, nutmeg, and chicken broth, season with salt and pepper, careful the flavor will develop as it cooks, you can always adjust seasoning at the end. Now open the clams and drain the liquid into the pot as well. Give it all a stir and bring it to a simmer. Let the soup simmer until the greens and potatoes are tender. This will probably take 20 min, check after 15. Add the clams, half-and-half and potato flakes, stir, and bring back to a simmer. You can add more potato flakes to thicken to your liking. Once the soup is back to a simmer it is ready to serve.

It is easy to see adjustments to make this vegetarian or lower in fat. It general the recipe is forgiving adjust to your taste and enjoy.

A New Year, A New President

On Tuesday I listen to President Obama, take his oath to be our 44th President. I was working, I was happy to learn my manager was as interested in the event as I was, so we listened in the back room of the store to the event on the radio. It was a good speech, we all know by now that the man is an excellent speaker; I was thinking how normal it all seemed. It is a history-making event to have an African American taking the oath of the Presidency, but simply it is the right man for the job at the right time.
Since Obama is from right here in Illinois I had many opportunities to see him interviewed and whenever he was asked if he would run for the office of the President I felt as though I wanted him to say yes. I think it is even more perfect that he is of mixed race. I have often thought that as the world becomes more and more global, humans will mix races more and more and soon there will be fewer lines. I say fewer because there will still be regional and economic divisions. If you think about it, humans have the power to change the world around them in a very short period of time. So what could be next?

On the Cheap

Pinching pennies, watching your budget, or setting up a budget, generally trying to figure out how to live life without spending more then you have.

There are days when I admit not having much money to spend makes me crazy. I have begun to make being frugal, although challenging at least a new adventure. So I try to have an do all the tings I normally would but just find a less expensive way to do it. DVDs are free at the library and so are CD with new music for my ipod. There are .99 chips at Aldi's that are good. I get a 30% discount at my part time job and that is even on clearance items, can you say 4 dollar shoes. There is free TV over the antenna even free Internet at places like the Library and coffee shop at the grocery store. I find more deals everyday. Now if I could just find a cheap way to pay my car payment I would be set.........