Over Oats!

Last week was an extremely blah week for me, even though I exercised I felt like crap. I don't know what it was but thank goodness that feeling has gone and I am feelin' good...okay kind of tired since my love bug is popping another tooth. That's okay though, I drink my water and take my vitamins and I feel a-okay!

I keep hearing (and reading) that eating oatmeal for breakfast is the best way to go, it keeps you fuller, longer and is relatively low in calories. I don't know about the rest of you but most mornings I am not in the mood to cook oats for 20 minutes! Add on to that that I refuse to eat oats cooked in water, I don't know what it is but the thought makes me wanna hurl.
So, I read somewhere about soaking oats overnight then draining the water and microwaving them....minus the water and you've got an idea I can get on board with.

So before I go to bed I put 1/2 cup of rolled oats (not a fan of steel cut, yeck) in a container with 3/4 cup of fat free milk and 1 teaspoon of honey or 1/2 packet of stevia. Cover and let it meld and soak overnight. In the morning take the lid off and microwave for 2-3 minutes. Add some berries (or grated apple), some kind of chopped nuts (in this pic I have red walnuts), and whatever seasoning you desire (nutmeg, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice) and you've got breakfast!

I go to sleep happy as a clam knowing that I'm waking up to this deliciousness!
If you're an egg eater make sure you eat a few egg whites with this or if you despise all thing eggs (like me) eat 2 slices of low-sodium turkey bacon or drink a quick protein shake.

That's it for tonight...

Happy Turkey Day!

Okay, it's a few days past Thanksgiving day but...you know me! I hope everyone's day was great and that it was filled with lots of delicious food and especially some good sweet stuff ;)

I didn't do too much cooking this weekend, a bit burned out from my mini pies. For Thanksgiving day I did manage to make roasted vegetables and key lime tarts and for Turkey Day part 2, I made yeast rolls! Yeast rolls how I love thee. They are so fluffy and light and just too much deliciousness...they actually remind me of elementary school. Good times.

So, since I didn't really make anything too great to share I thought I'd post a couple pics of a cupcake I made a while ago. And when I say a couple of pics, I mean it. There are only 2. I really need to tie my camera around my neck to force myself to take pictures, come to think of it I don't think I took any on Thanksgiving! Uh-oh...

Snickerdoodle Cupcake


I made these for my sister Susan's birthday since she is a lover of the snickerdoodle cookie. The cake was light and cinnamon-y.


Now, I know this picture is small but I'm pretty sure it was taken with a cell phone...I know, I know. I made a boiled icing with a bit of cinnamon sugar on top, very yum!

And a pic to reminisce Zeke's first Thanksgiving...

All things mini!

I know what my problem is. When I say I'm going to update my blog more often, I never do...like I'm jinxing myself. So, I'm not saying that anymore and we'll see how it goes ;)

A friend on FB (Sherree) posted a link to a great blog called "Our Best Bites" with a specific entry about mini-pies. As soon as I saw them I knew I had to make them ASAP. First off, here's the link http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/09/single-serving-pie-in-jar.html

On to the deliciousness...

Guess what kind of pie I'm making first?


I could have sworn I took a picture of just the crust in the jar but I guess not...



Here are the pies with filling already in place


...a few with crumb topping (also known as Dutch apple pie)


Or here I am making a mini lattice!


All yummed up and ready to eat.
Enough for 2 but when things are this cute everyone will want their own.


Have you ever made a pumpkin pie from the pumpkin?




One thing I really love about these pies is that you do not have to pre-bake them. You make them and then pop in the freezer until you get a hankering for a jar of hot pie. I also plan on making mini-chicken pot pies, will post pics when I do.

My freezer is like pie heaven...



I did manage to make a healthy dessert (if you can believe that). My sister is on Weight Watchers and didn't want to partake in my baking shenanigans so I decided to make some point friendly brownies for her. If I told you the ingredients (all 3 of them) you would not believe me; so I will not divulge that info unless asked ;). Let me just say for 2 points each they were chewy, fudgy and GOOD!





Did I mention this was going to be a long blog??




The fam and I were going to watch the Charger game at a friends house and I felt like making something new to take. Since I've been in the mini mood and really didn't want to go the carb-y route (cake, cookies, etc) I decided on cheesecake. Now, when I googled "mini cheesecakes" for inspiration I found lots of results of mini-cheesecakes made with a special cheesecake pan. Sorry but I'm not interested in buying new equipment unless absolutely necessary. I decided to take the plunge and figure it out on my own and wouldn't you know it worked.


Crumb crust in mini muffin tins.


All cheesed up


I was already slicing and dicing apples so I just went with an apple pecan topping.


Everyone seemed to enjoy them!

If you haven't become an "official" follower of mine and like my blog, please do so! It makes me feel special :)

And you know I can't end a blog without...

Some food...

Hello all!

Well, it's been long enough since my last entry so here I am again. There are lots of new and exciting things going on these days and we seem to be busy all the time. Ezekiel will be 6 months on Wednesday and we can hardly believe it! Time has gone by so fast and I stop at least once a day to remind myself to really make the most of his baby time, next thing I know he'll be going to kindergarten.


I mean seriously, how can you not love this baby?!
On to some more pics of Ezekiel...here he is in his new duck "tub" with dad
and here he is eating a bread crust and some prunes (gotta love BLW!)
and here he is smiling at Saul's stumpy!


On to the cupcake...
A few weeks ago my sister, CJ took me to downtown San Diego to visit a bakery called "Heavenly Cupcake" the store itself is pretty modern and the cupcakes look great, albeit a little too cardboard-y. Anyway we decided to try: chocolate, dark chocolate, vanilla, peanut butter, red velvet and their signature flavor orange chip.

The red velvet was soooooo good, the best of the 6. All the rest were....eh, mediocre. The vanilla actually made me gag, it tasted like a stick of butter!

Enough of non-sweet cupcakes (if that's even possible), here is a really really good cuppy-cake....german chocolate! I've discovered that german chocolate lovers are beyond loyal to this type of cake, they will always choose it before any other flavor!

This is it halfway done and then all the way with the chocolate ganache on top. So chocolatey, coconutty and delicious!

Get out there peeps and show me what cupcakes you've devoured lately!

Yums to everyone.