Fruit and Oat Muesli

Once again, I am back! It's been crazy! I can't believe it's already Thursday! Not only that, but FEBRUARY!! What happened to January?

My lil man who got the black eye is doing soo much better! I am tellin ya', if I wasn't putting that arnica on it, it would be way worse!

We also had some company this week-end, so I put off posting recipes! But I am ready to go, and am praying that I will have the time to keep getting on up everyday!!! Ya know, running around after 4 lil ones, and teaching 3 of them, it does have it's challenges! But I LOVE it and I would NOT trade it for anything!!! :D

I wanted something easy and fast, but healthy and good for my kids this morning. My kids love oatmeal, and I still have a ton of it in my freezer, but I didn't just want to do the basic, same ole same ole for them. SO.... Got my creative juices flowing and this is what we did!

They LOVED it, I tried it, in all honesty, I am not a huge fan of it! I think it's the greek yogurt. They LOVE it, me, not so much. You could use regular yogurt as well. I am thinking if I would've used that, then I could've eaten it...


Add your orange juice....


And milk.....


And yogurt....


And vanilla to a bowl... stir to combine


Then add your oats


Stir it up to combine


Here's what it looks like after it's sat for 10 minutes!


Add your chopped, diced apples (you can peel them or leave the peeling on... For the sake of my littlest one, I left the peelings off... )


And then the chopped almonds (I got a little slap happy with my Vitamix and chopping almonds! ;))


Here it is all done! Sorry, I didn't take the time to photoshop these pics, esp this one, it's a bit orangey looking... My kitchen lighting stinks! ;)




Fruit and Oat Muesli

2/3 cups orange juice
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup plain greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups quick cooking oats
2 medium peeled and chopped apples
1/2 - 1 cup chopped almonds
3 bananas

Mix orange juice, milk, yogurt and vanilla in bowl until well combined. Add oats and let sit for 5 - 10 minutes.
Add chopped apples and almonds, stir to combine. Add the sliced bananas and stir.
Serve!
Enjoy!!!!

Roasted Cauliflower

Ok, so I had really good intentions of posting this blog last nite! Really, seriously, honestly!

But, as the way the weeks have been going, something super exciting has been happening, and that something happened last nite! AHHH!!!!

My lil man was upstairs "sleeping". I went up to check on him, not really go in, but listened at the door. He was playing nicely, so I went back downstairs to clean my dining room. I knew that if I went in, I wouldn't get him back to sleep, so I just went back down. I also knew that if I got him out of bed, my dining room would NOT get clean!

I told my oldest to go get the bread, which is on a storage wire rack by the stairs. A short time later, she comes back in and was holding my youngest. She quickly said, he was crying, so I went up to get him and mom look at his eye!!! She was almost to the freaking out stage!

I take one look at his and eye my tummy churned just a bit! :\ It was all swollen and there was some blood! I grab him and take him into the bathroom so I could clean up the little bit of blood and then put a cold washcloth on it to help with the swelling. He has a cut right below his eyebrow and then a really small on under his eye! His whole eye was completely swollen and so was his cheek!

I put in a Veggie Tale so I could do my motherly thing and take a few pics! Then I try to apply a cold pack, but he would have NONE of that cold pack! So, I put some Arnica gel on it and gave him some Arnica.

We still aren't 100% sure what happened! Other than the fact that he got out of his crib, and then after that got hurt! I am kinda thinking he climbed up on his big brothers bed, then feel off? He has drawers in the bottom of his bed and a couple were pulled out.. So... Maybe that? We really don't know!

So in all that excitement, I still had to fix supper because we were having some friends over! I got supper done, we ate, had fun, and when they left, I was pretty much toast! I fell asleep on the couch watching a movie, wow, go figure on that one! ;)

So I apologize, I really had good intentions of getting this up yesterday, but really, there is NEVER and I mean N-E-V-E-R a dull moment in this house!!!

So without further ado, here's the recipe!

SUPER easy, SUPER healthy and SUPER good! My kids loved this as well! My lil man loved it too! After he was done eating his plate of fish and cauliflower, he climbed up on my lap and proceeded to eat what was on MY plate. I got more after he polished mine off and he kept eating! We didn't have a whole lot of leftovers! ;)



Cut your cauliflower and place in ziploc baggie with coconut oil, or olive oil


Add curry powder and salt


Here it is after I shook it up! This is a great way to get kids involved, let them help you shake the bag, or help add the ingredients! They may actually want to try it if they aren't big into cauliflower if they help you make it! :D


Then add the onions, peas, ginger, lemon zest and salt and pepper


All shook up!


Place into baking dish


I used my cast iron pot that I got for Christmas!


Here it is all done, sooooo good! I could've eaten the whole pot!!!!



Roasted Cauliflower

•1 head of cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets
•1-2 t. olive oil or coconut oil
•1/2 t salt
•1 1/2 t. curry powder
•3 T. chopped onion
•2 cloves garlic, minced
•2 t. ground ginger
•1/2 - 1c. frozen peas
•1 t. lemon zest
•salt and pepper to taste

Cut the cauliflower, place it in ziploc bag with the melted coconut oil. Zip it up, shake to coat.
Add the salt and curry powder. Zip back up and shake again.
Open the bag, add the onion, minced garlic, ground ginger, frozen peas, lemon zest and salt and pepper to taste. Zip the bag back up and shake to combine.
Open it and place in a baking dish. Bake uncovered at 400 degree oven for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Eat and enjoy!!!

Swordfish Steaks

Ok, so if you REALLY know me, you know that I REALLY dislike fish, or any form of seafood! Ok, let me rephrase that... I don't like the smell of seafood, or the consistency/texture of certain fish/seafood, so it's hard for me! ;)

I have tried tilapa, halibut, and crab cakes. Now I can add swordfish to my list! :)

At first I wasn't too sure, because it was kinda starting to smell "fishy"!!! But then after I plopped it in the skillet the smell actually went away!

These took a bit longer to cook as well... These bad boys were THICK!!!! But I am not gonna lie, they were good!

I am going to get these steaks again and try to make it one other way now!

And on another note... All 4 of my kiddos LOVED this!! They all wanted more!!!! I made roasted cauliflower with this as well.. YUMMO!!! A complete meal, success! All new "firsts", was a HIT!!!!!!!!!!! That's BIG and awesome in my book, seeings how I don't like fish! ;)

I didn't really take any pictures! I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out! Infact I didn't think it would, so I didn't bother to take a ton of pics! I know, that's bad! But it really is easy!!! :)



Place your marinated swordfish steaks in skillet




Here it is done with roasted cauliflower! (cauliflower recipe coming either later today, or tomorrow!)



Swordfish Steaks

4 cloves garlic-cut in half
1/3 sherry cooking wine
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Old Bay
Salt and Pepper to taste
4 swordfish steaks

Combine all the ingredients minus the swordfish in a gallon size bags. Close the ziploc bag tightly and shake a bit to combine. Open it up and add the 4 swordfish steaks.
Marinate for an hour, flipping the bag over every 10-15 minutes.
Heat a bit of oil in a skillet and put steaks in. Cook until done or temp reaches 145 degrees.
Serve hot!!! Don't over cook or it will be nasty!

Going Green Smoothie

Boy is this GREEN!!!!!!!!!!! The greener it is, the more my kiddos wanna drink it!! :)

This dif has a shot of spinach in it to keep you going! I sure needed that this morning! Wait, who am I kidding, I need it EVERY morning, I could use another by lunch time as well!!! ;)

Super easy and super yummy and super healthy! On days that you need something fast, fix a smoothie! You could even fix a nice breakfast and drink it with it! ;) I made this this morning with the creamy baked oatmeal. The kids LOVED both!!!

This recipe called for fresh pineapple, but I didn't have any. So I had bought a bag of it at Aldi's, so that's what I used.... It still tasted good, and this frozen stuff was almost like eating it fresh!




All the ingredients in my Vitamix ready to go! Again, you can use a regular blender!




Once again, I mixed it up and totally forgot to take a pic of it in a cup! Oh well... Here's the finished product! ;)


Going Green Smoothie

1 cup water
1 cup fresh pineapple (I didn't have any fresh pineapple, so I used frozen, worked just fine!!!)
1 medium banana
2-3 cups fresh wash spinach
1/2-1 cup ice cubes (depends on how thick you want it!)

Place all ingredients in Vitamix of blender in the order listed. If using Vitamix, place speed to variable 1, then turn to 10 quickly, then to high. Blend until the consistency you want it.

Enjoy! Super delish if you ask me!!! :D

Egyptian Tabikh

I just love a meal where I have leftovers, and I can use them for another recipe, but not in the same way! Did that make sense?

Take this for instance... I made it one nite, then the "sauce" part I was able to re-heat it for the next nite, but I cooked noodles to put the sauce over instead of the rice like this recipe calls for! That's a major score in my book!! :D

The name sounds complicated, but really, it's sooooo easy! This is one of those meals that if you don't feel like cooking, or don't have the energy, or simply don't want to pick something up from the drive-thru, this is what you can cook!

Also, the possibilities are pretty much endless for this dish! I put in carrots, mushrooms, onions, zucchini, and green beans. I think that's all I put in, I don't remember now! ;)


Here are all my cut up veggies!!! Minus the mushrooms....


Here I added some mushrooms! My hubs was like, wanna add some mushrooms to it? He was joking, but it was good with them in there!



Here is it... yummo!!!!


All done! Super delish and healthy!



Egyptian Tabikh

Prepare for cooking:
Green beans
Zucchini, squash
OR a vegetable mixture

Instead of cooking in water, cook in tomato juice.
Thicken the juice with a can of tomato paste, if desired.
Add sauteed onion and seasonings.
Serve over rice.

*Option:
Cook small pieces of meat in the tomato juice until tender. Add vegetables during the last 15-20 minutes.

I got this recipe form More-With-Less cookbook.
I grabbed 2 cans of diced tomatoes, and a can of tomato paste and put them in my Vitamix and blended it all up. Then I put it in a saucepan with all my veggies and cooked until tender. Served it over jasmine rice. SUPER good! The kiddos all loved it! :D
You can add as many veggies to this as you want! If you don't want it chunky like ours was, then add less.... I also cut the carrots, mushrooms, and zucchini, but left the green beans the way they were. ;)
One more thing, I didn't sautee the onions before putting them in, I just cut them up and added it with all my other veggies.. I was being a bit lazy I guess.... ;)

Blueberry Breakfast Cobbler

If you know me, you know I am a HUGE blueberry fan! Teavana has this tea called blueberry bliss and let me tell you what, it is sooooooooooooo good!!!!!!!!!!! When I was prego with my last baby, I was CRAVING blueberry anything, and I found this tea and fell in LOVE with it! I would make a blueberry cobbler and drink a cup of the tea and I was set!


You really should go find a Teavana and try their blueberry bliss tea! I am not getting anything from Teavana for saying this, I wish, but seriously, go check them out! it's all loose leaf tea, and I haven't had one yet that I don't like!! ;)


I also had a book I loved! Ok, who am I kidding? I still like it! ;) It's called Blueberries for Sal. ;) I would check that book out ALLLL the time!

Not to mention that one time when I was young, my mom took me and my brother blueberry picking, I was small enough where I couldn't walk, so she took a blanket for me to sit on. I sat on that blanket and took all the blueberries I could reach from that blanket! ;) Guess I was a bit messy! ;)


Ok, getting back to the recipe...

Another one I wasn't too sure about. Ok, I LOVE cobbler, and you had me at blueberry cobbler... BUT as I was looking at the recipe and what it all called for, I saw more oatmeal than flour. So I was thinking it may be more like a baked oatmeal. And if you know me, you know that I don't like oatmeal or baked oatmeal! I can tolerate baked oatmeal if you put a TON of fresh fruit on the top! ;)

So I get this all mixed up, put it in the oven and can't wait to try it! Let me tell you what, it was sooooooooooo good!!!!!!!! ;) I ate a nice bowl of it! What a great way to start the morning off!!!

The kids LOVED this and wanted more! I am thinking a double batch of this stuff so it lasts a bit longer! ;) One pan fed my 4 kids and me, so yeah, a double batch for sure next time!



In separate bowl combine the uncooked oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt


In Vitamix or regular blender add milk, eggs, coconut oil, and brown sugar


Blend it all together


Pour your milk mixture over the dry mixture


Stir to combine


Add the blueberries and stir


Pour into a pan


Here it is all done


This was really good!




Blueberry Breakfast Cobbler

1 1/2 cups uncooked rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk (any kind, rice, coconut, whole milk....)
2 eggs
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x9 baking pan/dish with cooking spray.
Mix first 5 ingredients in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
Place milk, eggs, coconut oil, and brown sugar in Vitamix or blender. Select variable 1, turn machine on and quickly turn to variable 10, then high for 30 seconds. (if using a regular blender, blend on high for 30-40 seconds)
Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and mix well. Fold in fruit.
Pour into baking pan.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until light golden brown.

*This recipe was from my Vitamix cookbook, but I changed it up a bit...
Next time, I am gonna only put in about 1/3 cup brown sugar. I also didn't add any salt.
Also, I cooked it for 30 minutes, then uped the temp to 375 and baked for another 15 minutes.
ENJOY!!!!!!!

Carrot Raisin Muffins

I’ve been getting up earlier in the mornings, so I know I have enough time to make different, but healthy things for the kids for breakfast! I was making oatmeal for them, but I know I need to do different things. Don’t get me wrong, they LOVE oatmeal, but I didn’t! So, I guess I was doing it for me too? ;)

So this recipe was in my Vitamix cookbook, and you can TOTALLY make this with a regular blender!

You know what; you don’t even need a blender! You can mix it the old fashioned way, by hand! ;)

This is really good and healthy! Once again, getting some really good nutrients in first thing in the morning! I think I am going to use whole wheat flour next time… The kids gobbled this one down with a smoothie and we were good to go!!! :D


Here's the flour, baking soda,, spices in a bowl


Mix it together


Then add the raisins


Yummy!


Stir it all up....


Carrots all blended by using the Vitamix


Add the eggs...


I used coconut oil, instead of olive oil


Blend it all up....



Add the carrot mixture to your flour mixture


Stir it all up


Drop into paper liners (I use my medium measuring scoop from Pampered Chef, it's PERFECT for this type of thing!! :) If you want a show, I know someone who sells it and can hook you up!! ;))


Here they are ready to go into the oven!


Here they are, all done!


Yummy! They were soooo good! They didn't last long at all! I only made 10, each kid of mine got 2 muffins, and I ate one and my hubs ate the last one! I am thinking I will need to double the batch next time! ;)



Carrot Raisin Muffins
1 2/3 cups flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
2/3 cup raisins
¾ cup peeled, chopped carrots
2 eggs
¾ cup sugar
2/3 cup light olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 12 muffins tins, or just line with paper liners.
Place flour, baking soda, spices and raisins in a medium size bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.
Place carrots in Vitamix, or regular blender. If using Vitamix, select variable 1, turn machine on, increase speed to variable 6. Blend for 6-7 seconds until very finely chopped. Stop machine and remove lid.
Add eggs, sugar and oil to the carrots in the Vitamix container and secure lid.
Select variable to 1 if using Vitamix. Turn machine on, increase speed to variable 5. Blend for 30 seconds until thick and creamy.
Pour carrot mixture into the flour mixture and fold to combine. Spoon the mixture into prepared muffin tin.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to wire rack to cool a bit, and serve!

Again, these are really easy, you wouldn’t even need to use a blender to mix this up, and you can easily use a spoon and bowl! ;) Or you could put it in a regular blender if you don’t have a Vitamix.

Let me know what you think!!! Happy cooking and eating!! :D