Oatmeal with fruit oven bake

Here (from Inspired Taste) is the second half of our Easter breakfast! This was very sweet and a hit with all the kids (of course!) plus super easy to make. Our local store did not have any strawberries in stock so I made it with just bananas, which was fine but the bananas were not my favorite in this recipe. The Chinese 5 spice was found with the Chinese food in the grocery store, not with all the other spices.

Ingredients

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1 teaspoon Chinese five spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup walnut pieces, chopped

1 cup sliced strawberries

1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 cups milk

1 large egg

3 tablespoons butter, melted

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 ripe banana, peeled, 1/2-inch slices

Preheat oven to 375°F and generously spray the inside of a 10-1/2 by 7 inch baking dish with cooking spray and place on a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, sugar, baking powder, orange zest, Chinese five spice, salt, half the walnuts, half the strawberries and half the chocolate. (Save the other half of strawberries, walnuts and chocolate for the top of the oatmeal).

In another large bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, butter and vanilla extract. Add the oat mixture to prepared baking dish. Arrange the remaining strawberries, walnuts and chocolate on top. Add the banana slices to the top then pour the milk mixture over everything. Gently shimmy/shake the baking dish to help the milk mixture go throughout the oats.

Bake 40 minutes or until the top is nicely golden brown and the milk mixture has set. For an extra tasty top, sprinkle a tablespoon or so of extra brown sugar on top then place back in the oven under the broiler and broil for 20-30 seconds. Serve warm with an extra sprinkle of sugar or drizzle of maple syrup.

Good overall but, next time I make this, I am planning on doing strawberries and blueberries for a different flavor.

Best BBQ Chicken

We are a huge BBQ family. If the sun is shining (which is the majority of the year) we are typically BBQing or slow cooking! I was in search of a good marinade for chicken breast and came across this one on All Recipes. First let's go over the ingredients. Most of these I have just sitting in my pantry and fridge. Hopefully you do too. This is the full recipe but I highly suggest you split the recipe in half, which is what I am writing down for you. The full recipe is available with the link above.

Ingredients

•  3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon dry mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons black pepper
  • 3/4 teaspoon finely minced fresh parsley
  • 4-6 chicken breasts
• 
  

Mix all ingredients except the chicken breast

The oil will begin to separate from the other liquids. It is okay.

I always pound the chicken breast before marinating for a juicer and faster cooking meat.   

Pound the meat between two sheets of plastic until about 1/4" thick. This is what it should look like afterwards. 

This is why I say to cut the recipe in half. This is 5 chicken boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

You can marinate for as little or as long as you would like. I typically let it sit in the fridge for 1-2 hours before cooking. 

Place marinated chicken breast on the BBQ over low heat for 20-30 minutes. 

Finished product!

I typically serve with veggies and either potatoes or rice. The best part is that the flavor of the meat goes with so many side dishes. Enjoy!

Omelet Muffins

This was the first year that I had to make a good Easter breakfast for the family. I quickly went through recipes trying to find a balance between healthy and sweet. In the end I decided to do two recipes: Omelet Muffins and Baked Oatmeal with Bananas.

Here is the Omelet Muffins. I do not normally eat eggs or sausage but I did eat these, they were delicious! Here is the original recipe from Neat Pins. The only thing I changed was not putting in broccoli. The final product was fluffy (not dry like I was afraid it would be). My 4 year old devoured two in one sitting. And I was also afraid they would stick to the pan and turn into basically scrambled eggs. They popped out really easily and kept their shape!

Ingredients1 pound Italian Sausage (sweet, mild, hot variety depending on your preference)
1 cup broccoli florets
8 large eggs
1/4 cup milk (I  used 2% as that was what was in the house)
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp baking powder
salt & pepper to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese as needed

Optional: 1 cup broccoli florets

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a large saute pan, over medium high heat, brown Italian Sausage for about 5 minutes, or until the sausage is no longer pink. Remove from heat (if using, stir in broccoli)

In large bowl whisk together eggs, milk, oil and baking powder. Season with salt and pepper.

Lightly spray a 12 count muffin pan using Pam (I used the butter flavored ones). Spoon out the sausage evenly into each muffin.

  Ladle the egg mixture over sausage and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

After 20 minutes....

Definitely a great recipe and worth a try!

Chicken Tortilla Slow Cooker Meal

This meal has become a huge favorite with my family and with anyone I share it with. It originally came from a slow cooker book that I am borrowing from my mother in law. It is a simple crockpot recipe with ingredients you normally have around the house or are easy to store until you need to use. I cut the recipe in half as the original makes 6-8 servings and it is more towards the 8 servings!

Cooking Ingredients:

2 chicken breast

1 can undrained black beans

1 can of undrained stewed tomatoes

7oz of tomato sauce (it is half of the can shown in pic)

1/2 cup of salsa (you chose how spicey, we use mild)

1-2 cups of grated cheese ( I use one of the packs of mixed cheddar and jack)

A few handfuls of tortilla chips

Optional: small can of green chilis

Pour all ingredients exept cheese and tortilla chips into slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

When there is about 30 minutes left of cooking, remove the chicken breast and shred.

Place chicken back in slow cooker and continue cooking.

 To serve, place crumbled chips into a bowl

 Ladel soup on over chip and top with some cheese.

Enjoy!

Mediterranean Turkey Pita

Made this for dinner tonight and it was a big hit with the husband and the kids!
The original recipe is with Food.com

This is one of my kids' plates, they don't like lettuce or tomatoes in their wraps.
I made a few changes based on the ingredients I had in the house.

Ingredients:

Serves: 6

Yield:

Units: US | Metric

Meatballs

• 1 1/4 lbs fresh lean ground turkey (1 package)
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried mint (I left this out)
• 1/2 teaspoon parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper (be aware that most lemon pepper blends are salty, so add any additional salt sparingly)(left this out)
• 1 garlic clove , minced
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Sauce

• 1/2 cup nonfat sour cream(used non fat greek yogurt instead)
• 1/2 medium cucumber , peeled and finely chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 (6 inch) pita breads , cut in half crosswise (or flour tortillas)(used Lavash)
• 6 lettuce leaves , torn into pieces
• 1 medium tomato , chopped

Directions:

1. Combine turkey meatball ingredients; mix well. Shape into 18 (1 1/4") balls.
   
2. Using skillet coated with non-stick cooking spray, cook meatballs 8 to 10 minutes or until browned and no longer pink in center; stir occasionally.
   
   
3. Combine sauce ingredients.
4. Place 3 meatballs in each pita half. Add lettuce and tomato. Top with sauce.
5. Alternatively, place filling in a flour tortilla, and fold burrito style for a wrap!
   
6. Serves 6.

This recipe was definitely a keeper!