Sunday, August 25, 2013

Oatmeal Bake

Once in a while I come across a recipe that is such a big hit that we end up eating it every weekend. Oatmeal Bake (this is what my daughters affectionately call it) fits this category. I got the Baked Oatmeal recipe from our Penzeys Spices Catalog that comes in the mail. We love Penzeys and this particular recipe was so easy to alter for our particular diets. I've made it a couple different ways, with apples, with raisins, with blueberries and even a pumpkin pie variation. All versions have been delicious and everyone in my little family digs in. Another thing we love about it is it's made the night before. When we wake up, we just throw it in the oven and bake. Breakfast is served! Especially yummy with a side of Whole Foods Blueberry Breakfast Sausage (in the deli, made fresh daily.)


Here is my variation on this delicious recipe...

• 1 1/2 Cup So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk
• 1/4 to 1/2 Cup Agave Nectar (depending on how sweet you want it)
• 2 TBS Ground Flax Seeds whipped with 6 TBS Cold Water (2 eggs replacer)
• 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 TBS Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon or Apple Pie Spice
• 1/2 Cup TreeTop Organic Apple Sauce (no sugar added)
• 3 Cups Gluten Free Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
• 1 Cup of Fruit (Blueberries, Diced/Peeled Apple, Raisins, Dried Cranberries...)

In a large bowl combine the milk, agave, flax mixture, vanilla, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and oatmeal. Mix well. Fold in the fruit. Spread the mixture into a greased 9 inch baking dish.

Cover and refrigerate overnight (or at least a few hours.)

Bake, uncovered, in preheated oven 350° for 30-35 minutes.
Serve warm with milk, coconut milk yogurt, extra fruit, pure maple syrup or a little sprinkle of brown sugar.

I promise you this recipe will not disappoint. This would also make a great snack in the school lunch box!

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Father's Day Paella BMoney Style

Anytime I can cook without dirtying every dish in the house is a win for me. Double win if my people actually eat it. Today is one of those days. It is also a yummy recipe that has pulled me out of a recipe rut we have been in here, hence the lack of posts. B is always happy with a hearty savory meal that is also something he can eat. Especially if it is something we haven't had in a while.

During a trip to Central Market, I was inspired to cook up a bit of seafood. Not to mention we live in Seattle where seafood is a plenty. They have an excellent selection of fresh and frozen seafood. We bought some smoked salmon and apples, from the deli, to snack on while dinner was cooking.

I made this dinner in the the rice cooker, you could very easily make it in one pot on the stove if you choose. Adding everything to one large sauce pan, covering and cooking for 15 minutes instead of the rice cooker.

1 Cup Uncooked Quinoa
1/4 Cup Pomi Diced tomatoes
1 1/2 Cup Home Basics Chicken Broth
1 Medium Diced Onion
2 Minced Garlic Cloves
1/2 Cup Diced Bell Pepper (I used a frozen tri color mix I always keep on hand)
1/2 lb Chicken Italian Sausage Uncased (you can also use andouille sausage or chorizo for more heat or flavor - sliced or cut into bite size pieces)
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Saffron
1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 Cup Shrimp Meat (I bought frozen because it was on sale)
1 Cup Bay Scallops (I like the little ones for this kind of recipe)
1 - TBSP Olive Oil

In your rice cooker add the quinoa, tomatoes and chicken broth.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet, saute the onion and garlic until translucent. Add the bell pepper and cook until tender. Add this mix to the rice cooker with the quinoa mix.

Saute the sausage until cooked. Add this to the rice cooker.

Add the salt, saffron, cumin, italian seasoning to the quinoa in the rice cooker and give everything a stir to mix it together.

Add the shrimp and scallops to the top of the mix, close the rice cooker and turn it on. I have an Aroma® Rice Cooker and I use the "White Rice" setting.

You could use some red pepper flakes or a spicier sausage if your family can handle the heat. I let my husband add that to his own after.

When your rice cooker is done, so is your yummy dinner!

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Menu Board

So, one of my New Year's resolutions was to be more organized in our new house. I went out and bought a big dry erase board and hung it in my kitchen. I use it to keep track of the week's menu and other lists of items we need for the week or month. So far it's working great! Here is this week's menu.

On Monday I had a very busy day. Whole Foods has their roast chickens on sale for $6.99 on Mondays, so I picked one up. WF uses minimal ingredients in their chickens, salt, pepper and olive oil,  so it is something that the whole family can have. The other varieties have ingredients we can't eat. Always read labels and check ingredients! I threw some broccoli and buckwheat into the rice cooker and 20 minutes later dinner was done! The rice cooker is my new favorite gadget.

We wont eat a whole chicken in one sitting so on Tuesday I picked the rest of the meat off the chicken and made soup. I sauteed onions, garlic, carrots, celery and pancetta in a 3 quart pan. Added chicken broth (Kitchen Basics All Natural Chicken Stock is the brand my family can use,) a bag of frozen veggies I had on hand and the chicken. I also added a little salt and thyme for taste. The girls like it with crackers or over noodles.

Wednesday is my favorite this week. Avocado Salmon with Pan Roasted Zucchini, Squash & Onion served with Mexican Quinoa (not shown)

On a small sheet pan, I lightly dusted the salmon filets with salt, garlic powder, onion powder & chili powder. I sliced zucchini and squash with onion, tossed them with garlic powder, salt and olive oil. I put them in a separate pan and put them both in the oven at 375° for 20 minutes.

In the rice cooker I put uncooked quinoa (two cooker scoops,) about 1/2 tsp. of garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 cup salsa (mild for the girls) and chicken broth to the liquid line per the cooker's instructions, pushed the go button and walked away. Did I mention I love this thing? While those items were cooking I diced up two avocados, one tomato, gently mixed them together so the avocado didn't mush too much. I added a little salt and garlic powder to taste. I served the salmon with a heaping spoonful of avocado on top.

Everyone in the family loved this dinner. I hope you try it. It was easy and healthy.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Muffins in the Morning

I make these muffins at least once a week. We always have bananas in the house. My husband wont eat them if they are ripe or brown, which is perfect for us girls. We make our muffins, we love them, obviously. They are super easy to make and the girls love helping with the measurements. I have a couple variations on them, which I will share.

I found this banana muffin recipe on About.com


3 very ripe bananas
1/4 cup oil or vegan margarine, softened
1 cup sugar  1/2 Cup brown sugar (one cup was too much and brown sugar gives is a nice flavor)
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup of Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips (a little bit goes a long way) 


Preheat oven to 360° 


In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork till soft. Add the oil or vegan margarine and sugar and cream together.

In a separate bowl, combine together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Combine with the banana mixture, stirring gently just to combine.
Grease or line a muffin pan, and fill each muffin about 2/3 full with batter. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

PUMPKIN MUFFIN VARIATION: 

substitute one 12oz. can of pure pumpkin purée for the bananas. 
Add 1.5 tsp of Pumpkin Spice. 
Sometimes I add chocolate chips to these muffins. 
They are good with raisins or dried cranberries, also. 
I make them in the mini muffin pan, making 2 dozen mini muffins. We take these to school for snack day, they are always a hit. 

If you want to be extra fancy, make them in a donut pan! 

Friday, January 25, 2013

Valentine's Cookies

Long time no post. It has been a while since I have had a moment to sit down and actually write a good post. We moved to a new house and it has taken a while for me to get used to the new kitchen, get unpacked and get into a routine again. Once I had gotten into a groove, we were busy with Christmas and holiday events. Then we had the January Plague. By that I mean we were sick ALL of January. Ick.

Now all is well in our home. Back to normal, back to writing menus and trying to keep to our new budget. Which brings me to this small post.

These are my mom's sugar cookies. As a kid we would make these cookies every year at Christmas while my dad and uncle put up our huge Christmas tree. This recipe is a great recipe for roll out cookies and easily doable for any holiday. I make these with my girls and they love them. They have a shortbread/sugar cookie flavor and take me back to my childhood. We will make a heart shaped version for Valentine's Day as well.
My aunt gave me this recipe card that my mother wrote out for her. It is one of my cherished items. This is my altered version of mom's cookies...

Preheat oven to 400°
3/4 Cup Earth Balance Butter
1 Cup Sugar
Flax Egg Substitute (for two eggs - mix 2 TBSP Ground Flax Seed and 6 TBSP of Cold Water with a stick blender until frothy and thick)
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 1/2 Cups Flour
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Baking Power

Cream the Earth Balance Butter, Sugar and Flax mixture. Add Vanilla. Then blend in the dry ingredients. Wrap in plastic or wax paper and chill for 1 hour.

Roll out and cut with cookie cutters or you could make a pinwheel with food coloring like we did in this picture.

Bake for 6-8 minutes and enjoy!

This is not something that my husband can have. I am working on finding a recipe that I can alter for him to enjoy. But this is a tradition I really want to share with my girls.