Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Breaking the silence

Hello All!
   Well, this is officially my first post on a new blog (I abandoned my other website... for good reason, nobody wants to read pages about my boring life if it doesn't involve yummy food and recipes, right?)!  I'll keep this short and sweet so we can get to the good stuff - our very first recipe posts.  Welcome to Oats & Nanners, let our culinary adventures (and probable misadventures) begin!
   So, today started off like most days - with a huge bowl of never-ending oatmeal!  My night time routine generally goes as follows: think about what I want for dinner, make dinner, devour eat my dinner like a civil person, start planning the next meal (breakfast).  Last night, I was dying to use up some of my fresh mangoes, because there was a sale at Whole Foods so obviously I had to buy 5 more than I really needed.  I decided on a fruity mango and blueberry bowl of oatmeal - perfect for a fruity filling summer meal! 

  Mango/Blueberry Never-ending Bowl of Oatmeal
Ingredients:
-       ½ a cup of oats (I use old-fashioned oats)
-       1 and ½ cups of water
-       ½ cup of almond milk (or soy milk, or even real milk)
-       2 packets of sweetener



Any add-ins of your choice: I always add in cinnamon! I’ve also used blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, mangos (for the healthy fruit options) and of course I’ve been sinful and I’ve added cocoa powder, peanut butter (or any nut butter of your choice), tons of yummy nuts (walnuts, pecans, even pistachios!) and some No Sugar Added Maple Syrup. Guys, you really can’t go wrong here.
Instructions:
Throw your oats, water, choice of milk, and sweeteners into a pot and heat in on medium on the stovetop (how easy, right?).  When the oats start getting puffy, add in any of your “add-ins,” healthy or not!  After about 5-7 minutes, the oats should be getting pretty and puffy, you can turn off the stove and let the oats sit for another 5 minutes to soak up all the access liquid.  This is where the magic happens! The oats will soak up liquid and BAM, you’re left with a huge bowl of oatmeal that will satisfy any hungry breakfast, snack, or dessert cravings.


So, after that hearty meal, obviously I was ready to head off to my 9-5 job in the city!  Usually that involves the typical research, work, food blogging, food gawking, finding excuses to walk near the candy dish in the office, making myself look like I'm working, then home!

After enjoying the delays of public transportation, I decided I should probably run BEFORE I sit down and pig out (check it out - balancing food and fitness!) So I embarked on a surprisingly enjoyable 6 miler around my beautiful bubble of a town.  I was blasting some country music and soaking in the sun while thinking about the 100 different recipes I wanted to try.  Unfortunately, running on an empty stomach (bad, Casey) left me 1) starving 2) too impatient to cook anything culinarily challenging... oops.  I settled for some good old fashioned comfort food: Chicken Pot Pie.  Healthy version - duh. 

Chicken-less Pot Pie for the Lazy Girl
Ingredients:
-       1 piece of Lavash bread (120 calorie wrap/flat bread)
-       1 bag of broccoli and cheddar microwave steamers
-       ½ a cup of cream of celery
-       Chopped onion
-       Optional: meat (I used soy crumbles cause I love them)

    Instructions: 
     Microwave the brocolli and cheddar according to directions.  Heat up and meat and onions in a skillet and then move to a separate bowl.  In a pan (with edges), place the Lavash bread down and pour in the brocolli cheddar and add the onion and meat. Fold over the Lavash (in half).  I poured a little less than a ¼ cup of water on top because lavash bread will soak up the water and turn almost noodle like! On top, add the cream of celery and any cheese toppings.  SOOO GOOOD! It tastes like chicken pot pie and chili mac combined.  And it’s huge. Enjoy!!



Bonus Tip: you can use this Lavash technique to make tons of dishes (ex: top with salsa for a Mexican flavor, or pasta sauce for an Italian lasagna/calzone)




This dinner actually satisfied my starving stomach... besides the separate stomach for dessert.  I'll share my the recipe that quenched my chocolate cravings tomorrow!! I'm off to bed so I can rest and repeat tomorrow :) Night everyone


2 comments:

  1. Delightful reading with yummy recipes. I can tell you write from the heart (and tummy!) Look forward to reading about your culinary adventures and more;)

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  2. Very good description of it --- you are a good writer. You didn't do your special oatmeal process justice. It is wonderful and ready to be served at my B&B!

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