Baked blueberry, banana oatmeal!

Baked banana, blueberry oatmeal! Yes, it's worth an exclamation point. I am literally exclaiming about baked oatmeal.

It is creamy and hearty and delicious and pretty healthy. The banana and blueberry pairing balance each other out very well.

To make it even better I made mine with blueberries my Daddy grew. Why do free blueberries taste better?

2 very ripe bananas, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cup blueberries, divided
1/4 cup honey, divided (I used local, so delicious)
1 cup uncooked quick oats
1tbsp cinnamon, divided
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup fat free milk (or any milk you desire)
1 egg

Preheat your oven to 375 and grease a pan. Layer the bottom of your pan with bananas and half your blueberries. Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with cinnamon. Place in your oven and let bake for 15 minutes.

In a bowl combine your oats, the rest of your cinnamon and baking powder. Mix. Sprinkle over blueberries and bananas.

Then, you can use the same bowl your oats were just in, mix your milk, eggs, and the rest of your honey.

Pour over the fruit and oats mixture as evenly as you can. Then sprinkle with blueberries. Bake for 30 minutes.

It will serve 4 - 6 and be so warm, moist and delicious. This is a great recipe for company or brunch or just breakfast for the family.

Stretching Ingredients Part II: Beefy(ish) Cheesy Cornbread

Yesterday we talked about stretching our ingredients out to make a package of ground beef last and last.

One of my husband's favorite meals is cheesy cornbread with some sort of meat in it. The problem is it's usually very unhealthy. So I cut way back on the meat, used far less oil and only used half the cheese. And guess what? He didn't know the difference. (Note, he probably did know the difference, he is just nicer than I am.)

Also, like yesterday you can make 2 and freeze them.

What you'll need:

1/3 pound ground beef

2 cups self rising corn meal mix

2 eggs

1 tbsp vinegar

3 tbs conolia oil

1 cup milk - maybe more

1 -16 oz can of tomatoes or 2 stewed tomatoes diced

1/2 onion

1/2 cup cheese

I used a cast iron Dutch oven. It's the best way to make cornbread, if you don't have one then you will need to grease a pan and preheat your oven to 350. I am assuming you don't have a Dutch oven, so I am going to give you instructions based on that assumption.

Heat a skillet over a medium heat and brown your beef. Then add your onion and tomatoes. Let it all cook for a few minutes, you want well cooked onions.

Next, in a bowl combine your cornmeal, milk, eggs, vinegar and oil. Mix well. You made need more milk to thin out the mix, it should be the consistency of pancake batter.

Add your beef mixture and stir well. Add in your cheese and miz.

Transfer all of the contents to your grease pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

My husband likes to top this with salsa and sour cream. But, it's good on its own. If you feel guilty about all the carbs, serve with a salad. Or, don't feel guilty. ;)

For freezing, make sure the pan is tightly covered in aluminum foil. When ready to thaw let sit in fridge over night and bake for 45 minutes at 350.

Stretching ingredients: Mushroom baked ziti

I love pasta. And mushrooms. And cheese. Why not put them all together!?

What you'll need:

1/3 Pound Ground Beef 

1 cup chopped mushrooms

1 16 oz can of diced tomatoes, or 2 stewed and chopped tomatoes 

half jar tomato sauce 

4 cloves garlic

4 cups cooked penne pasta (I used a mix of regular and whole wheat)

1 cup shredded cheese  

1/2 onion

Olive oil or cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 350 and get a greased pan ready. 

In a skillet heat your garlic and your onions. 

Once your onions have cooked for a few minutes add your ground beef, brown.  Then add your mushrooms. 

Once all that has cooked down a bit add your sauce and tomatoes. You won't want to overcook your tomatoes since you will bake all of this in the oven. 

Dump your noodles in your greased pan and add your beef mixture. Stir it all together so that the sauce coats the noodles. Sprinkle with cheese. 

You will bake for about 10 -15 minutes. Just enough to make the cheese melt. 

If you are freezing skip the baking part and just sprinkle with cheese, cover and let cool. Then freeze. 

When you are ready to cook let it thaw for a few hours and bake for 30 minutes at 350. 

Apple Stuffed Roast Chicken

What you'll need:
A Chicken - About 5 pounds
One large apple
1/2 bulb of garlic
16 oz Bag of carrots
Spicy Brown Mustard
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt

Preheat your oven to 375. Sprinkle EVOO in your pan.
Remove all skin and fat from the outside of the chicken. Rinse the bird. If the chicken came with giblets you can throw them out. Line your pan with carrots.
Stuff apple, onion and garlic. If there is any leftover apple, onion or garlic, throw them in the bottom of the pan.
Rub the bird with mustard and oil. Sprinkle with salt. Cover with aluminum foil and roast for 2 hours. (That's 20 minutes per pound plus 20 minutes.)

Salad:
A bag of rinsed spinach
2 oranges
Basil
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Gorgonzola Cheese

Throw the spinach in the bowl. Cut the peal off your oranges and squeeze any left over orange from the peal over the spinach. Add your orange segments.
Sprinkle spinach with 2 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar.
Place in fridge to chill. Once you're ready to serve add your cheese.

Don't forget to hop over to Romance on a Dime for Take it On Tuesday. Betsy is the best!

Three Ingredient Pineapple Ugly Cake

Picture this: It was Easter Sunday. We had to all be dressed and at church in a pinch and I was in the kitchen cutting potatoes and making sweet tea for Easter dinner when I realize we had no dessert. This is South Alabama! That won't do!

But what was I supposed to do? I still had to shower, dress, feed the baby and get him in his Easter outfit. And I had nothing to bake.

But I did have a box of cake mix I got BOGO at Publix, (Seriously, I love Publix) a can of Pineapple (also from Publix) and some I Can't Believe It's Not Butter (Guess where I got that? Yup. Publix.).

So I threw them all in a casserole dish and hoped for the best. When I pulled it out of the oven I had buttery, flakey, sweet, tangy goodness.

What you'll need:

A boxed cake mix

A can of fruit or pie filling - any will work

Some butter - or in my case fake butter (which I rarely use because well, it can't be good for you)

Preheat your oven to 350 and grease that pan.

Drain your can of fruit and dump it in the pan.

Then dump the cake mix on top of the fruit.

Add some butter and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes. That's just enough time to shower and dress mama and baby!

Hummus a new tune

Print this recipe

I love hummus. It is a protein packed snack. My sister has this really cute story about my baby niece holding up a carrot and declaring she needed hummus. 

I can purchase hummus for $3.99 at Publix (I love Publix) but I convinced myself I could make it at home. That was until I realized you couldn't make it without Tahini - a delicious sesame paste that is both exotic and pricey. At $6.99 a can (ouch) I was better off just buying the Sabre Hummus. But no. I would not be deterred from my mission.

So I experimented until I came up with a cheaper and delicious alternative that costs just around $1.25 to make.

What you'll need:

1 - 19 ounce can chick peas

2 heaping tbsp minced garlic

1 1/4 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp ground red pepper flakes

3 tsp ground cumin

food processor

Drain and rinse your peas then dump them in the food processor with the lemon juice, garlic, cumin and half the red pepper flakes. Turn on the processor and wait. It will all become creamy and delicious.

Once throughly mixed place in a bowl and garnish with remaining pepper. Enjoy!

Aren't you glad I said (chocolate) banana smoothie?

What is more delicious than a chocolate shake? Two chocolate shakes? Three maybe? Ah... frozen chocolate blended with dairy and whipped to a frenzy. But my pre pregnancy pants are loose, and I prefer them to stay that way. What is a chocolate lover to do? Improvise of course.

Here I bring you a rich, delicious, light and cheap -about $.90- (don’t you just love cheap) smoothie that you and the kids will love. It is one “Smooth Operator.” What? You don’t like Sade? Okay, it’s a “Smooth Criminal.” Alright, alright. I’m not funny. I will stop now.

What you’ll need:
One medium sized banana that you pealed, cut up and froze ($.14)
6 ounces fat free yogurt (3/4 cups) - this equals one container of Yoplait ($.60)
1 tbsp baking cocoa($.13)

Place your frozen banana in your blender with your yogurt and cocoa and blend until smooth. That’s it. You’re done. I know. I can’t believe it either.

One pot pork roast

Last week my grocer had pork roasts on sale for $1.99 a pound. As a rule I never pay more than $2.99 a pound for meat. The roasts were HUGE so I cut them in half, and had two -2 pound roasts.

We recently moved, and in a horrible twist of fate, my crock pot has gone missing. *clutches heart, sobs uncontrollably.

Let's all have a moment of silence for Clarese the Crock Pot.

Okay *sniffle* we can get back to topic. I pulled out the cast iron Dutch oven my husband gave me for Christmas (Yes, I am at the age where I get sexy gifts like Dutch ovens) and down to the business of making a sweet red pepper pork roast. A beef roast can be substituted if your family doesn't eat pork. This is an eight person roast, easy and costs around $10 to make. This is a great dish for company.

What you'll need:

1- 2 pound pork roast (or beef they both work the same for this recipe) ($4)

1 good sized onion($.99)

4 small sweet red bell peppers ($1.99)

1- 16 oz jar of salsa ($1.65)

A little smidgen of olive oil ($.09)

4 cups rice - not instant (to be served over) ($1.00)

Preheat your oven to 350 and oil the bottom of your pan. If you don't have a Dutch oven, a deep casserole dish will work.

Chop your onion and pepper into strips and line the bottom of the pan.

Place the roast over the onions and peppers and cover with salsa. Cover the dish and slide it into the oven. You will cook it on 350 for about 3 hours.

Cook the rice according to the package directions. (What? You need me to tell you how to cook rice?)

This is seriously delicious and ridiculously easy to make.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Spice Pancakes

I have fallen head over heals in love with.... whole wheat flour. I love the color, smell and texture. I love the sweet way things taste after I make something using my new love, whole wheat flour.

A second love of mine... pancakes. But pancakes have long been my adversary. I cannot flip a pancake to save my life. If left on my own to make pancakes I will be left with a mess of a mess that is burned on the outside and raw in the center. Don't ask. I don't know why.

So my husband has become resident pancake flipper. This weekend I decided to try my hand a whole wheat pancakes and I came up with a recipe I am sure you will love.

It's simple and $2 (not counting syrup) makes enough pancakes to feed four people.

This is what you will need:

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups milk (That's equal parts whole wheat flour and milk if you want to make more or less pancakes)

1 egg

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup artificial sweetner or sugar

1 tbs cinnamon

1 tbsp pumpkin pie seasoning

Throw everything in a bowl and mix, mix, mix.

Preheat and spray an electric skillet or a pan over medium heat. Each pancake should be a 1/4 cup. This recipe yields 16 smaller pancakes. Cook until one side is bubbly and then flip.

Cover in syrup, or powdered sugar and enjoy!