Overnight Oats- Easy Breakfast

Need an easy go to breakfast? My new one is Overnight Oats. Fix the night before, Grab from the fridge and head out the door. 

What you Need

Container ( I use a protein shake mixer)

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup milk (dairy, almond, coconut)

1 tablespoon chia seeds

1 tablespoon flax seeds

Greek yogurt- the more you add the thicker it is-  I use 2 tablespoons

Mix ins 

For mix ins

My fave is a few handfuls of blueberries, pecans and brown sugar.

Other yummy choices

Nutella

Nut butters ( mix with Nutella too)

Banana

Lemon curd 

Strawberry jam

Let your imagination run wild!

Easy Black Bean Soup Recipe

2 cans of drained black beans

1/2 jar salsa (I used Newman's Own Mild)

Olive oil- 2 tbs

Onion chopped

Can of stock

Frozen chopped okra ( optional)

Put olive oil in pan with onion sauté .

Put in 1 can of beans- mash the mix

Mix in other ingredients 

Simmer for 15 to 20 mins. 

I served with grilled cheese! Yummy fall dinner :)

Tater Tot Casserole

This is the best version I've come up with so far!

1 can crm of mushroom soup
1lb ground beef
1 can pinto beans (omit beef and do 2 cans beans for vegetarians or cheaper dinner)
1 can of mushrooms
1/2 small bag frozen corn
Small white onion chopped
4oz shredded cheddar cheese
2 cloves garlic chopped
Adobe
Italian seasoning
Garlic powder
9x12 pan greased

Oven at 450 - brown meat- season with italian and adobe seasonings, sweat onion and garlic in pan at end of browning( doesn't need to cook through).

Put meat mix in pan with soup, beans, and mushrooms - mix.

Top with tater tots, sprinkle with garlic powder, and the cheese.

Bake 25 minutes and enjoy!!!

Lighten Up a Decadent Breakfast

This pregnant lady loves french toast right now. I first had this bake at a bridal shower and fell in love. Here is the original Paula Deen recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/baked-french-toast-casserole-with-maple-syrup-recipe2/index.html

And here is my version - next time I think I'll swap butter for margarine and a couple eggs for egg whites. Both the original and my tweak version are super yummy! If you can think of anymore calorie savers I'm all ears!!

 Ingredients

10 pieces of wheat bread torn in half 

4 large eggs

 3 cups skim milk

1 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Sprinkle nutmeg

Praline Topping:

1 stick butter chunked

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions
Arrange slices of bread in a non stick sprayed small casserole dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Prep praline topping- Chunk butter over bread (with egg mix poured on). Mix dry ingredients and sprinkle over the entire dish.

 Cover with foil or cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup if desired

Fantastic French Fries at Home

A tip I took from Rachel Ray took my fries from baked yummy to baked out of this world! Instead of using a sheet pan, bake them on a pizza stone! Crispy crunchy and done in 30 minutes!

These are just cut red potatoes with olive oil, kosher salt and Adobo. flipped them at 15 minutes and gobbled them up in roughly 2 minutes :)

I almost ate my DH's half.

Warning this will change the way you make french fries!!!

Southern Eats - Sausage Plate

On our road trip we tried a sausage plate- my Brother in Law swears that they are the thing to eat in the south, and it was TASTY!
So I decided tonight to try my hand at a version.
Dill Pickles
Extra Sharp Cheese
Beef Polish Sausage Pan fried
Creole Mustard (Scratchamos- picked it up in New Orleans)
And home made deviled eggs (leftover from 4th of July)

In Tennessee it had dill pickles, a mild cheese, a slightly spicy sausage, crackers, a mayonnaise like dip, and pickled peppers.

Bon Temps!

Hash Brown Bake

One of my dearest friends came over a few weekends ago for a slumber party. Since she is the Pugancious Vegetarian I wasn't about to serve meat for breakfast!

Intro a twist on my Mom/Grandmom's Hash Brown Bake:

1 26 oz frozen hash brown potates

1 stick margarine melted

1 can cream of mushroom soup (Non-Vegetarians can use cream of chicken)

80z of sour cream

16 oz of Shreded Cheddar Cheese

Onion powder

Adobo powder (optional)

Garlic Powder

Black Pepper

Mix together and cook at 350 uncovered for 1 hour. You can make the night before and pop in when you wake up (great for busy holiday mornings too)!

I served it with Maple flavored Morningstar Sausage. Enjoy!

Snack Attack! Sweet Potato Fries

I have never been a fan of sweet potatoes...until I met them in fry form! And isn't everything better homemade? Intro my try at Sweet Potato Fries (which are AMAZING, if I do say so myself!)

Ingredients:

2 Sweet Potatoes

Olive Oil

Paprika

Rosemary Sea Salt (or sea salt)

Adobe

Other things to have on hand:

Marinate Shaker (or container with lid)

Tongs

Cookie Sheet

Heat your oven to 400. Peel your potatoes (2 will fill an entire cookie sheet).

If you have a marinate- this is a tupperware one pop them in (a container with a fitted lid works too)- put the chunks in there, drizzle with Olive Oil, sprinkle on adobe and paprika.

Shake Shake Shake

Pour on a cookie sheet and sprinkle on rosemary sea salt (normal sea salt will work too).

Bake at 400 for 1 hour and ENJOY!!!!!!

Warm Fruit Treat

Grab your ingredients:

-Sliced Fruit (bananas and pears this time- apples are perfect too)

-Chocolate Chips handful (increase if day is bad, decrease if you need to fit in a dress in a few days)

-Brown Sugar sprinkle

-Butter/Margarine 1 tlb

-Nuts (Walnuts are my favorite)


Mix everything in an oven safe bowl and pop in a pre-heated oven (350) for 15 minutes or longer depending how brown you want it.

BECAREFUL this is SUPER hot but ooooooohhhh so yummy!! ENJOY :)

Quick, Easy, Cheap, Dinner Fix!

I needed a quick, easy, cheap, dinner fix the other night and came up with this yummy number!

Ingredients:

Suddenly Salad Mix- Classic

Vegetable Oil

Artichoke Hearts Canned

Chicken Breast (1 really big breast worked for us)

Adobe Seasoning

Italian Seasoning

Make the Suddenly Salad per instructions add a bit extra Vegetable Oil than called for. While doing that cook the chicken breast cut up into bite size chunks in a non stick pan with dashes of adobe & Italian seasoning, and the artichoke hearts (drained). Once cooked mix it all together!

ENJOY!

Summer Refresher- Minted Tea

I am a big fan of tea- hot/cold. In the summer a great way to beat the heat is to make a pitcher of ice tea (I prefer sweetened green tea mix) and pop some mint sprigs right in the pitcher. Let it meld with your brew. Right off the bat you'll get the minty taste, but leave it in for a day and the whole pitcher will be infused. Serve the sprigs or toss them. Either way, enjoy!

Beat the Heat! Smoothie

It has been VERY warm here in NY as of late. I'm not one for the hot and muggie so looking around the kitchen trying to find a way to cool down I put this together.

3/4 - 1 cup skim milk

12 oz of greek yogurt with honey

Bag of frozen fruit (strawberry, blackberry, blueberry)-thawed 1/2 way

Throw it in the blender.

Pour it in a glass and enjoy. (excuse my photo of the glass- I couldn't wait for the picture I had to have a drink!)

Michigan Sauce

Happy Memorial Day!

When BBQs hit our family we need a batch of Michigan Sauce to go with the hot dogs. This is a north country New York thing, but I don't know anyone who doesn't like them.

This is our family's recipe, it's a lot of taste and see :) It should be a spicy meat sauce with a bit of a tomato feel (it is not a chili dog). But some like them super spicy and some like a lot of tomato taste. This freezes great so feel free to make it ahead.

Ingredients:
ground meat (traditionally beef 80%)
crushed tomatoes
chili powder
crushed red pepper flakes
garlic powder
season salt
ketchup
mustard
Adobo

Brown the meat, drain it, add a bunch of the seasonings and tomatoes. Simmer for 2/3 hours. Taste as you go and add more spice as needed. And then put it in a blender so it's nice and fine :)

Grill or boil hot dogs and serve with this on top. Traditionally you should chop up onions and bury them under the hot dog or the sauce and squeeze mustard on top.

If you are headed up to Plattsburgh anytime soon I suggest the ones at Michigan's Plus (besides my Mom's and Gram's their's were my favorite).

BEANS! The More the Merrier!

Here is a vegan friendly yummy mix of things you probably have hanging out in your pantry!
1 Can of Red Beans
1 Can of Cannellini Beans
1 Can of Black Beans
2 sprigs of Rosemary
1/4 Cup of minute Rice
1 Can of diced tomatoes
1 Cup of Frozen Shoepeg Corn (or regular corn)
Italian Seasoning
Garlic Powder
Nonstick Spray

Warm a pan on a stove top (leave on medium) spray with non stick spray. Drain almost all of the liquid out of the beans and tomatoes. Mix all the ingredients together. I add quite a bit of Italian season and a good old dash of garlic powder. Go easier if you want less spices.
Let cook with the top on the pan for 20 minutes or until the rice cooks. Remove the Rosemary sprigs and serve.
Enjoy!

Good Goulash Quick

Ingredients
3 Sausage cut into 1/2 in sections
1 lb ground meat (I use ground turkey or chicken)
Jar of Spaghetti Sauce
Italian seasoning
Garlic Powder
Adobe
1 lb whole wheat pasta
Shredded Cheese
Can of mushrooms
Chopped Onion
Olive Oil

Warm Oven to 350 degrees.
Put a bit of olive oil in a pan throw in onions, warm through
Add ground meat and sausage
Season with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and adobe
When almost browned add drained can of mushrooms
While that is working boil water and cook the pasta
Spray oven safe container with cooking spray
Put in cooked meat mixture and drained pasta
Mix in spaghetti sauce
Cover the top with cheese
Cook in the oven for 30 minutes or until brown and bubbly