Oatmeal Goodness

As a working mom finding time to make and eat breakfast is very hard! One thing that I found that I really like is baked oatmeal. I make one batch for the week, cut it into small squares and wrap it in aluminum foil. I keep it in the fridge and grab one on my way to work. I heat it up in the microwave and top it with plain Greek yogurt. It is a great breakfast that keeps me full for several hours. Here is the original recipe and here is my take: 

You can make different flavors depending what ingredients you put in the oatmeal. I have made cinnamon apple by boiling 1 apple on the stove (to soften it) and adding 2-3 tsp. cinnamon. I've also made blueberry vanilla by adding 1-2 pints of washed blueberries and 1-2 tsp vanilla.

Ingredients:
1 c. unsweetened apple sauce
4 eggs
1 tsp. salt
6 cups of quick cooking oats
1/2 c. white sugar
2 cup milk
2 tbl. baking powder

Directions:
1. Beat together applesauce and sugar. Mix in eggs, milk, salt, baking powder, and oatmeal. Mix in flavors you want for oatmeal. Pour into lightly greased pan (I use a 9x12 baking pan). Put it in the fridge and refrigerate overnight.

2. The next day preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

3. Bake in preheated oven until firm, about 35 minutes.


I've also experimented adding different things to the oatmeal like flax seed meal and Chia seeds. It is best to soak the flax seed meal in a little water before adding it to the oatmeal mixture. For nursing mothers- you can also add brewers yeast (1-3 tbl.)This is a great way to have a easy, quick, and filling breakfast ready for the whole week!

Go here to get some oats and flax seed meal for your oatmeal!

Canned Peppers

I got some delicious looking canned bell peppers so I decided to make dinner with them! 

Jeff and I both love pasta and alfredo sauce, so this recipe has some similar qualities! I first cut 2 chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces, sprinkled some Cajun seasoning on them, then cooked them in olive oil on the stove. Next I took 4 of the peppers and cut them into bite-sized pieces as well.  

I then added them to the chicken so the flavors could start combining. Along with the peppers I added 2 cloves of minced garlic. I let this cook until the garlic was fragrant. 

Next I added 1 and 1/2 cups of whipping cream with the stove on medium heat. To this I added a dash of basil and lemon pepper. I let this heat up until the cream started to slightly bubble and then I added 4 Tbl. Parmesan cheese. 

Viola! I cooked some pasta and poured the chicken/pepper/Alfredo sauce on top. Yummy! 

Go here to order some peppers to make this delicious dinner for yourself!

July 4th Fish Fry

Happy 4th of July! I am so thankful for all of the men and women out there who protect our freedom that we enjoy in this wonderful nation! For July 4th we had a block party with some fabulous neighbors. Jeff decided to fry fish and his dad came up to help! We had this cornbread mix in our pantry that Jeff and his dad used for the fish breading:

They mixed 1/2 bag of the cornbread mix, 1/2 a small bag of seafood breader, a couple dashes of Old Bay Seasoning, some salt and pepper. Jeff's dad mixed it in a Tupperware container to bring to the cul de sac.

This is what it looked like once it was all mixed:

I enjoyed the party so much I didn't get any pictures of Jeff actually frying the fish! What he did was layer the fish fillets (Pollock) on paper towels and put them in a cooler. Once in the cul de sac he took the fish fillets out of the cooler, dipped it in the breading, and the put it in the fryer. These were quite a hit and all the neighbors loved them! My sisters and Naomi also enjoyed eating the fish Jeff fried!

Happy July 4th! You can get your own cornbread mix here.

Honey Dijon Mustard

My whole life I have chosen mustard over ketchup. I eat mustard with my fries, chicken nuggets, and on sandwiches. I LOVE mustard! I recently got this product: 

It is now one of my new favorite dipping sauces! Naomi even likes it on chicken! This is different than the normal honey mustard I get because it's got a little more zing from the Dijon and isn't AS sweet. 

Jeff and I love to grill out when the weather gets nicer. I've got a great recipe to use this sauce in! This recipe is for Honey Mustard Mozzarella Chicken (adapted from an All Recipes recipe)

Ingredients:

-4 chicken breasts

-1(8.1 oz) bottle of Maille Honey Dijon

-2 tbl. mayonnaise

-1 tsp. steak sauce

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in a Ziploc bag. I pour all of it into the bag, zip it closed, and then squish it until it's completely mixed. I then pour a little into a separate Ziploc bag to use as dipping sauce later! Next marinade the chicken for at least 1 day. Once fully marinated grill for about 18-20 minutes turning occasionally. It's a good idea to baste the chicken while you're grilling. While this is grilling slice 4 pieces of mozzarella cheese. Once the chicken is done cooking place the mozzarella slices on the chicken for about 2 minutes until it is bubbly on top. Then enjoy!

Jeff and I really like this meal with grilled squash or grilled corn. Go here to get some of this delicious honey dijon mustard to try this recipe for yourself!

Wasabi Edamame

I’ve got another great afternoon snack for you, especially if you like spicy things! Jeff and I were fortunate enough to go to Hawaii for our honeymoon and a tour guide introduced me to wasabi peas. I absolutely loved them and stopped to get some for the ride home. Since then I’ve gotten them a couple times as a special snack for myself. I found a new treat:

Spicy Wasabi Edamame. It tastes very similar to the wasabi peas, but with some different benefits. The Edamame has 11 grams of protein in just one serving! I like snacks with protein because they help me to feel fuller for longer. The serving size is ½ the package, but that’s about all I can personally eat. These pack a spicy kick and after ½ the package I’ve had my full and ready to down some water. If you’re a person who REALLY likes spicy food you may be able to eat the whole package and could get 22 grams of protein! There’s also iron, fiber, and low sugar (only 1 gram). Another thing I like about this product is it is Non-GMO. The full ingredient list is: soybeans, sea salt, and wasabi powder (wasabi oil, dextrin). That’s it- just 5 ingredients with no harmful chemicals. 

If you'd like to try some click here to order from Amazon. Happy Snacking!

The Complete Cookie

I had the opportunity to try The Complete Cookie. Why is it called the complete cookie?

As you can see it is all natural, vegan, has high protein, no dairy, no eggs, Non-GMO, good amount of fiber, no Cholesterol, no trans fat, no sugar alcohols, no high fructose corn syrup, and it's Kosher! This would be a great choice for those who can't have dairy or eggs.

Be careful though-the serving size is 1/2 a cookie. This makes it a little high in the calorie department for me. But look at all other good things- 8 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber.

The cookie is HUGE-almost the size of my head!

So I found a good solution so that I'm not eating to many calories or too much sugar- split the cookie in half. I either share it with someone or put it in a baggie and save it for later. 

The flavor I tried was white chocolate chip and macadamia nut. I really enjoyed these because they were quick (I didn't have to spend any time baking) and pretty yummy for a pre-baked cookie. I also knew there wasn't any bad 'stuff' in the cookie so I shared some with Naomi and she liked it too! Another thing I liked is that you can order these in a huge pack! Jeff actually took some to our neighbors-hope you guys enjoyed them! :)

Go here to order some white chocolate macadamia nut.

There are other flavors too!

Pumpkin Spice- Need I say any more!!!!!!!

Peanut Butter- a classic!

Double Chocolate- sounds delicious!

Lemon Poppy seed- perfect for summer!

Snicker-doodle- another classic!

Oatmeal Raisin- one of my favorite cookie flavors.

As you can see-there are so many flavors to try! Enjoy! 

Toddler cookies...or are they?

So friends...you may know that I try my daughter's food just to see how it tastes. I have found my new favorite indulgence-Happy Tot Toddler cookies!

I know! This sounds crazy! These are chocolate pumpkin cookies-2 of my favorite flavors on this Earth! Some great things about these cookies:

1. They are delicious! I've given some to other people (I won't mention names) and everyone likes them!

2. They are organic.

3. There are only 2 grams of sugar in 3 cookies. That's pretty good cookie wise! 

Here's some other cookies on the market to compare sugar content to:

• Oreos: 2 cookies have about 13 grams
• Chips Ahoy: 1 cookie has about 5 grams

So 2 grams for 3 cookies-not bad at all!

Here's the size of a cookie you'll find in this bag:

4. They are in the shape of cute dogs!

5. They are a good treat for baby and mommy! :)

I don't feel bad giving Naomi a couple of cookies every once in a while because these are a healthier treat that taste yummy!