Baked Oatmeal!! Nom! Nom!

Y'all, I may be starting to figure out this whole domestic housewife thing. I mean, the past few posts I've done on here (though few and far between) have all been recipes! #WhoAmI?

I know, right?

God still performs miracles.

Anyway....

I saw a friend of mine (thanks, Katie!) post this recipe on FB not too long ago. Bryant loves oatmeal and I figured I needed to expand my cooking repertoire, so I went for it this morning. I have to admit, I will eat oatmeal, but it's definitely not my first choice of things to eat, though I really liked this!

I wasn't sure what the consistency was supposed to be for this once it was done, but mine turned out (while still warm) to be slightly gooey and I needed a spoon to eat it. The longer it sat out and cooled, the "harder" it got and less it fell apart. Despite my lack of love for oatmeal, I really liked this and plan on making it again!

What I really like is there are really only a couple "non-healthy" ingredients... like the maple syrup and butter spread. Though the spread I use is slightly healthier than most butters, being that it is dairy (and gluten) free. The original recipe has 1 egg in it, but I replaced that with flaxseed for a healthier option.

Anyway, this was really easy and YUMMY! Bryant is wanting me to make another batch, cool it (or freeze) so it hardens and he can use as ride fuel on his long cycling rides.

Adapted by ME! ;-)
from Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson
via Annie's Eats
makes 6 servings
nutritional value will vary depending on the fruit and ingredients you use

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or almonds, divided (I used sliced almonds)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup maple syrup (I used sugar free)
1 cup almond/soy/regular milk (I used almond milk)
1 tbsp of ground flaxseed, 3 tbsp of water combined (whisked to create consistency of 1 egg)
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (I used *vegan* Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2-3 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced
1 to 1.5 cups blueberries or raspberries, fresh or frozen, divided (I used slightly more than 1 cup of fruit total - blueberries and strawberries)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.

2. Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish. In a medium bowl, mix the oats, half of the nuts, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to combine. Whisk the 3 tbsp of water and 1 tbsp of ground flaxseed for a couple minutes in a small bowl, then allow to sit another couple minutes while you spread the sliced bananas in a single layer over the bottom of the baking dish. 

3. Top the bananas with half of the berries. Sprinkle the dry oat mixture over the fruit in an even layer. 

4. In a liquid measuring cup, combine the syrup, milk, flaxseed (once it has the gelatin consistency of an egg), butter, and vanilla. Pour the liquid ingredients evenly over the oats.

5. Sprinkle the remaining nuts and berries over the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is browned and the oats have set. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Mama's Rice & Beans

Y'all, the heavens rained down on my kitchen a couple weeks ago. My mom was in town and made an amazing lunch for us.

After it was gone, I made her make it for dinner too.

It rocked, was easy, and keeps well as leftovers (if there are any).  She wrote down the recipe for me and I knew I had to share it with you. So with out further adieu...


Texas Rice & Beans
(For the record, the name of it is a tad misleading... it's nothing like the Texas rice & beans I've had before.)

Mix the following together:

• 1 can of black-eyed peas or garbanzo beans, drained (I didn't have either, so I used light red kidney beans instead)
• 2 cans of black beans, drained
• 1/3 - 2/3 cup of roasted red bell peppers 
• 1/4 chopped poblano pepper (I didn't have poblano, so I used an anaheim pepper... and I chopped the whole thing and threw it in, so we ended up with more than the recipe called for. Hey, we like our peppers around here...)

Stir all of the above with 1/4 cup of Texas Vinaigrette (below) and let sit for a few. I recommend adding maybe even 1/3 cup cause this stuff is so good!

Toss the above with however much brown rice you want.
(I used quinoa because when I opened up a bag of rice, I became confused and didn't know what to do with my hands. So I went with ole faithful that is familiar to me.)

(I hope y'all got the Anchorman reference above and don't think I literally didn't know what to do with my hands.... okay, maybe I sort of didn't, but whatever...)

Texas Vinaigrette 

Texas Vinaigrette (All praise Jesus for this compilation of tantalizing flavors!)

• salt/pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1/4 cup of lime juice
• 2 tbsp of cilantro
• 1 tbsp hot sauce
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin

So the above can be, and has been, eaten a few different ways. I like to scoop mine with tortilla chips, but it can be rolled in tortilla to make a burrito, or just scooped as is with a spoon.

Finished product

AHHH!
You know what else would be good in this??

AVOCADO!

(My husband just suggested it, hence the last second mention of it.)

If I had avocado, I would totally cut one of those bad boys up and throw it in!

Let me know if you try this and what you think about it!
Word to my mama for introducing it to me! :-)