Slow Cooker Coconut-Banana Oatmeal

Coconut, bananas, and oatmeal, OH MY!!  And guess what – this really isn’t all that unhealthy either (as long as you don’t go too nutz-o with yummy toppings…which might actually be worth the calories if you ask me).  This is one of those really simple breakfasts that easy for a crowd, or yourself, I won’t judge you.  We’re talking, throw everything in the slow cooker, give it a good stir, turn that puppy on low for 8 hours, and BAM: Breakfast!  This is even fun group food because everyone can make it their own!!  Lay out toasted coconut, sliced bananas, chopped nuts (maybe peanuts or macadamia nuts), maple syrup, coconut milk, maybe some peanut butter (we always put peanut butter in our oatmeal when I was a kid…am I the only one that really enjoys this??) and the list goes on!  Slumber party!

So this is goooood.  Creamy, banana-y….delicious!  You will honestly feel like you’re eating something really bad for you, but this has got fiber, protein, potassium, the whole bit.  And I KNOW I’ve mentioned this before, do not, do NOT use fat free coconut milk (the stuff is gross and flavorless) – low-fat is decent and still less fattening than full fat.  If you’re looking to indulge, by all means, get full-fat!!

What are you waiting for?!?  Invite some friends over for a slumber party and serve them this party in a bowl for breakfast – you won’t even lose sleep or miss out on any party action prepping it!  WIN!

Enjoy!

• 2 medium ripe bananas, sliced (approx. 2 cups)
• 2 (14 oz) cans light coconut milk*
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup steel cut oats
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1-1/2 tablespoons butter, cut into 5-6 pieces, optional (omit or substitute margarine for lactose-free, vegan)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon ground flax seed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Coat inside of 3-1/2 quart (or larger) slow cooker with cooking spray. Add all ingredients to slow cooker. Stir, cover, and cook on low for 7 hours (it is going to look NASTY when its done and before you stir it – have no fear!!). Spoon oatmeal into bowls; add optional toppings, if desired. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

To reheat single servings: Put 1-cup cooked oatmeal in microwave proof bowl. Add 1/3 cup milk or water. Microwave on high for 1 minute; stir. Continue cooking for another minute, or until hot.

Recipe can be doubled in 6-quart or larger slow cooker. Increase cooking time 1 hour.

Recipe from The Yummy Life

BAKED Donuts

Before the recipe, I have to apologize for my haitus – we had a rough week last week with a little family emergency that left the blog on the bottom of my priority list.  I’m slowly getting back to it but really haven’t had much time to devote to my kitchen lately (and am quickly running out of stuff in my queue!).  Have no fear, I have some new recipes that I want to try soon!!

I like cake donuts a lot, but never buy them because they’re not exactly the healthiest breakfast choice.  I never make them because that requires deep frying and that’s messy (and again, unhealthy).  Recently, I’ve been seeing recipes for baked donuts as well as nifty little donut pans.  I was intrigued for sure!

I’m happy to admit that baked donuts are YUMMY!  They’re not quite the same as the fried version, but they’re comparable  (especially with the reduction in calories considered).  I have some ideas for different flavors and such now that I’ve tried these and seen how easy they are!  Stay tuned!!!

King Arthur Flour’s Baked Donuts

• 1 c. Pastry flour or 7/8 c. All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 3 TBS dried buttermilk powder (If you don’t have buttermilk powder on hand, substitute 2 tablespoons buttermilk or yogurt for the water)
• 2 large eggs
• 3 TBS vegetable oil
• 2 TBS water

Whisk together all of the dry ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, oil and water (or buttermilk or yogurt) until foamy.

Pour the liquid ingredients all at once into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined.

Butter or grease the doughnut pan; non-stick pan spray works well here. Note: even though the pan is non-stick, since the doughnuts are low-fat they may stick unless you grease the pan first. Fill each doughnut form half full.

Bake the doughnuts in a preheated 375°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes. When done, they’ll spring back when touched lightly, and will be quite brown on the top.

Remove the doughnuts from the oven, remove them from the pan, and allow them to cool on rack. Glaze with icing, or coat with cinnamon-sugar or any non-melting sugar.

Blueberry Pancakes…from Scratch.

So I’m 12 hours late but its still Friday!!  Can I make it up to you by showing you something super yummy you should make for breakfast tomorrow morning?!  I mean, seriously, what says Saturday morning better than Blueberry Pancakes.  And no, put down the Bisquick!  These are SO much better and honestly, just as easy!  Promise!

Happy Weekend!

• 1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 TBS sugar
• 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt
• 1 3/4 c. buttermilk (plus more as needed)
• 2 large eggs
• 3 TBS unsalted butter, melted (plus more for serving)
• 2 c. blueberries
• Pure Maple Syrup for serving

Preheat oven to 200°.  In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, and salt.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the 1 3/4 cups buttermilk, the eggs, and 3 TBS melted butter.  Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until combined.  Fold in the blueberries.

Place a griddle over high heat until hot.  Lightly oil the griddle.  For each pancake, pour about 1/2 cup of the batter onto the griddle and cook until bubbles form on the surface (about 2 mins).  Flip the pancakes and cook until the bottoms are golden brown, 1-2 minutes more.  Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven.  Repeat until all the batter is used.  If the batter begins to thicken, thin it with a bit more buttermilk.  Serve pancakes hot, with plenty of butter and syrup.

Recipe courtesy of Rick Rodgers

Dark Chocolate Waffles with Orange Syrup

I literally woke up over the weekend thinking about chocolate waffles for no apparent reason (and after reading this, you might too tomorrow).  Seriously, I don’t know where this notion came from.  But what to top them with?  Oh, oh I know, I know!!  Pick me!  ORANGE SYRUP.  Again, no idea where this came from but I was pretty excited…and on a serious mission to make my dreams come true.  Should I note that I’ve never had chocolate waffles let alone with orange syrup?  That should further prove how random this was.

I fumbled down the stairs, leaving Branden asleep in the bed, determined to find a starting point.  I stared at my cookbook bookcase (yes, we have an entire bookcase) when I had an epiphany.  The Ghiradelli Cookbook I brought back from San Fran last spring was sure to be promising.  B.I.N.G.O.

I’m not a fan of overly sweet breakfast foods so trust me when I say that neither the waffle nor the syrup were overly sweet.  I mean for one, the waffle has very little sugar in it.  The only significant sweetness is from the dark chocolate chips should you choose to add them (and I suggest you do).  And the syrup only had enough sugar in it to ensure it didn’t come out bitter after being reduced.

These waffles would also be beautiful topped with fresh berries and whipped cream for dessert.  Or breakfast – whatever your fancy.

Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Waffles (makes 8 waffle squares)

• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 TBS baking powder
• 1 TBS granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 c. whole milk
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 2 TBS canola oil
• 3/4 c. Ghiradelli 60% Cocoa Chocolate Chips

Preheat a waffle iron.

Sift the flour, cocoa, and baking powder into a bowl.  Add the sugar and salt and whisk to thoroughly mix.  In another bowl, whisk together the milk, egg yolks, and oil. Add to flour and whisk gently until just conbined.

In a clean, dry bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric beater at medium speed until they form soft peaks.  Fold into the batter and mix in the chocolate chips.

Ladle 1/2 of the batter onto the center of the waffle iron.  Close the top and cook until waffle is crispy on both sides.  Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for cooking time.  Serve immediately with orange syrup (recipe follows).

– Waffle Recipe from The Ghiradelli Chocolate Cookbook

Orange Syrup

• 1 c. orange juice
• 1 TBS granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. corn starch

Whisk ingredients together in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.  Simmer until thick enough that it coats the back of a wooden spoon.  Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before topping waffles.

Fall has arrived and with it comes Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

I love fall but hate it all at the same time.  I love the cooler evenings and the changing leaves, but I hate that winter is literally looming around the corner.  I feel like its going to come sooner than normal this year as we’re trending about 10 degrees cooler than average right now (secretly I’m still rooting for an Indian Summer, but that’s just me).  I’m not ready for 30 degree mornings yet – yes I said it, 30 degrees…we’ve already had one and it was awful!

All that babbling aside, the cooler temps and the county fair last week made me crave one of my favorite fall baked goods: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins.  I’m seriously nuts about them!  I love them so much that I used to hide them under my bed in college so my roommates wouldn’t know I had them (so horrible, I know!).  I personally like these muffins better after they’re a day old because they settle and become more dense (personal preference).  And of course, what’s a Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin without a warm glass of Caramel Apple Cider (really simple, pour some caramel – think quality ice cream topping- in apple cider and pop in the microwave for a few minutes)?

Enjoy!

• 1 2/3 c. all purpose flour
• 1 c. granulated sugar
• 1 TBS pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup pumpkin
• 1/2 c. butter (1 stick)
• 1 c. mini chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350°.

Grease mini muffin pans.  Mix flour, sugar, spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.  Break eggs into another bowl.  Add pumpkin and butter; whisk until blended.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Pour over dry ingredients and fold in with a spatula until moistened.  Scoop into cups and bake for 20 minutes.

Cool on wire rack and store in a covered container.

– Courtesy of my Momma

Breakfast Twist: Bacon Maple Waffles

I’m always up for new breakfast ideas, so when I stumbled upon this recipe that offered combining salty bacon and sweet maple syrup I was intrigued.  These were really yummy and I think I’m going to use them next time as a base for Chicken ‘n Waffles – I just need to master the art of fried chicken first!

Eat these up fresh as Branden informed me that they were awesome the first day and not so awesome the second day.  He said they had a “weird” taste?  I don’t know, but that’s the rumor on the street so eat them while they’re hot and you won’t be disappointed.

Tip: Only use real maple syrup.  Honestly, once you start using real maple syrup, you’ll never want to go back to Mrs. Butterworth EVER again!  Promise!

And a final side note…a Belgian waffle maker is optimal for these waffles, but we only have my parent’s waffle maker that they got when they got married…30 years ago.  It still works (it heats so hot you could fry an egg on the lid!), so I can’t really justify replacing it yet.  When the time comes, I definitely have my eye on a Cuisinart waffle iron/griddle/grill!  Christmas is coming (hint, hint)!

Enjoy!

• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 TBS baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/4 c. 2% milk
• 3 TBS maple syrup
• 2 TBS butter, melted
• 4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten

Place flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; stir with a whisk.  Make a well in the center of mixture.  Combine milk, 3 TBS syrup, butter, bacon, and eggs, stirring with a whisk.  Add milk mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moist.

Preheat a waffle iron.  Coat iron with cooking spray.  Spoon 1/3 c. per waffle (in the case of the old school waffle iron, I did 2/3 cup to cover my iron more evenly).  Cook 4 to 5 minutes or until steaming stops; repeat procedure with remaining batter.  Serve waffles with fresh butter and maple syrup.

Cooking Light

Cleaning out the Fridge: Egg White Frittata with Summer Vegetables & Goat Cheese

I had some leftover veggies in the fridge from dinner earlier this week and some leftover egg whites from making homemade ice cream (at least my diet is balanced, right?), so I whipped up this dish which turned out quite delicious…in fact, I may intentionally make this again in the near future.  This was obviously super easy and great for a weeknight dinner.  Added bonus?  You’re looking at around 230 calories for the whole thing…and look at the portion size!

In case you haven’t picked up on it yet based on a lot of my meals being healthy, my doc changed my diet again recently due to high cholesterol thanks to my not-exactly-working thyroid.  That being said, I’m now supposed to be eating only 1,400 calories a day (yikes!) for the next few months.  Its been a week and I haven’t passed out yet, but there are some days that I’m absolutely starving!  I’m really trying to skinny down my meals and portion sizes to make sure that I have a balanced diet without sacrificing my favorite foods.  Wish me luck!  I think stepping up my calories burned might help me so I can splurge every once in awhile…look out gym, I’m going to be becoming a permanent fixture…

• 1 TBS olive oil
• 3/4 c. chopped zucchini
• 1/4 c. chopped red onion
• 1/2 small red pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. white pepper
• 5 egg whites
• 1 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add vegetables and spices and saute until tender.  Set aside.
2. In a non-stick skillet, add egg whites and cook until almost set before flipping.
3. Plate finished frittata and pour vegetable mixture over top.  Sprinkle with goat cheese.