Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal

 

It’s that time of year when Pumpkin is King.  Yum!  I love it!  So, when I saw a recipe for Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal, I knew that 1) not only would I make it pronto, but 2) I would toss in some chocolate chips.  Just a few though, this is supposed to be a healthy dish.  Of course, it’s good without the chocolate too, but I’m a sucker for pumpkin and chocolate.  Can’t be helped. 

I love these little bread pans.  They can be used for individual servings and for giving tasty gifts.  You can probably find them at your local craft store.

Here’s where I found the recipe.  I used the maple syrup option and like I said, added some semi-sweet chocolate chips, about 1/4 cup or so.  But those are completely optional. 

There are a few options for making these an easy breakfast.  1st, it doesn’t take long to make these from beginning to end, but I’m not always patient when it comes to making breakfast in the mornings.  So, option 2, make them the night before and heat them up. Option 3, mix the ingredients the night before and bake in the morning.  In all honesty, this probably won’t save you a ton of time, since you still have to wait on the oven to preheat, (you may as well mix it all up while preheating).  Option 4, microwave for 3-4 minutes and dig in.  I prefer the oven recipe, but this is much quicker for the times I just can’t wait.  Either way, the inside is nice and creamy and delicious.

I’m going back to check out the other flavors of baked oatmeal.  This may become an obsession.

A Couple Links for You

 

As I mentioned earlier this year, since November 2011, I’ve been eating better and exercising. My trainer, Rob Hatch at Hatch Impact Training has a heart for helping people take control of their health and lose weight the right way.  He’s taught us there is no magic pill, injection, or crazy restrictive program that will deliver the results that healthy eating and exercise together will accomplish.  Rob pushes us to do more than we thought we could in the gym, and gives us the tools to meet our goals.  And we are getting those results!

For me, my weight loss journey has included going from a client to an instructor at the gym, teaching Cardio Dance, primarily.  I’m excited that I’ll soon be certified in Group Fitness!!! 

So, from time to time, I’d like to share with you some products and recipes that are helping me along the way.  Of course, there will also be posts about indulgent foods, but those are now eaten in moderation. 

I used to buy Jimmy Dean Pork Sausage Links for my family.  They are quick to microwave, so that makes it a winner for me.  But when I started changing things I was eating, I decided to try the Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Links.  I remember the first morning I made these; I had made the pork links for Brian and the kids and then heated my turkey links.  Brian and I were in the kitchen when I took my first bite.  Wow!  I made him try some too.  We couldn’t believe how flavorful and not greasy these were compared to the original.  They turkey links are SO much better.  We have not gone back to the pork links; the turkey is delicious and I think everyone should try these.

FYI:  Jimmy Dean has no idea who I am.  This is my personal opinion, but as a lover of food, I think it’s a good one.

Forever Nigella: Sea Fish and Eat It

 

For some reason, though I’ve been to the U.K. a few times, I had never been served Kedgeree.  For shame!  That had to remedied, and with this month’s Forever Nigella theme being seafood, it was the perfect time to try it out. 

Nigella gives traditional Kedgeree an Asian twist in this recipe.  I didn’t have lime leaves for poaching the fish, so I used a little lime zest instead.  The fragrance of the onions and spices is really lovely.  Then you add the rice and it turns a glorious yellow from the turmeric.  The eggs may seem like an odd addition to this dish, but it gives a surprising balance that I don’t think can be left out.  I didn’t have Nam Pla, but using any fish sauce should be sufficient until you can find the stuff.  I would like to hunt it down though.  We felt the dish was missing a little something that may be remedied by using the right sauce.  A little salt and pepper did just the trick for us this time.  And finishing it off, there’s just something about cilantro.  It brings an incredible flavor to the table, I love it!

Click here for Nigella’s recipe for
Asian Spiced Kedgeree.

This month’s Forever Nigella is hosted by Housewife Confidential.

Here are the rules:

Forever Nigella #6 “Sea Fish and Eat It”

Challenge: To prepare and blog any Nigella recipe using seafood or freshwater fish.

Deadline: Sunday, June 26 2011 at midnight wherever you are.

Round up: By the next weekend.

There are:

No rules about how often you must take part

No rules about stuff being secret until certain dates

No rules that everyone cook exactly the same thing

No rules about not being able to submit to any other blog events – just check it doesn’t contravene the other guys’ rules

But there are 3 rules:

1. Blog your entry by the deadline including:

a) the current Forever Nigella badge

b) a link to the Forever Nigella #6 Launch Post: http://housewifeconfidential.co.uk/2011/05/forever-nigella-6-sea-food-and-eat-it/

c) a link to the official Forever Nigella page at Maison Cupcake: http://blog.maisoncupcake.com/forever-nigella

2. So not to breach Nigella’s copyright you must NOT reproduce recipes verbatim as shown in her books. If using an original Nigella recipe, tell us which book it is from and/or where we find it online (see most likely sites below).  If you’ve adapted the recipe in some way i.e. changed at least two ingredients or amended the method then it’s ok to publish the a recipe in your post but you MUST write the directions in your own words.

3. Tell us about your post by emailing me: katAThousewifeconfidentialDOTcoDOTuk  and please c.c. sarahATmaisoncupcakeDOTcom with:

a) your name

b) URL of your post

c) a photo no more than 400 pixels wide.

Remember to tweet your post with the hashtag #forevernigella – Sarah at Maison Cupcake will retweet all those she sees!

N.B. Your entry must have been published since the announcement post. You may only submit something from your archives if you republish it as a new post.

If you don’t have any Nigella books check out these resources online:

Nigella’s official site: http://www.nigella.com/

BBC Food: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/chefs/nigella_lawson

Channel 4 Food: http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/popular-chefs/nigella-lawson-recipes

UKTV Good Food Channel: http://uktv.co.uk/food/chef/aid/530864/

Food Network: http://www.foodnetwork.com/nigella-lawson/index.html

Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Nigella+Lawson

Sea Fish and Eat It Round-Up

Dessert Wars: Dark Chocolate and Hearts

Dark Chocolate and Hearts is this month’s challenge for Dessert Wars. Dark Chocolate is quite possibly my favorite food. So it broke my heart when during my pregnancy with Sophie I had a food aversion to chocolate. I couldn’t believe it! I couldn’t get enough of pinto beans of all things, but chocolate? No thank you! Weird huh?

I can think of several really easy ways to use dark chocolate and hearts, but since the reason to compete in Dessert Wars is to “step outside your comfort zone, push yourself in the kitchen to learn new skills and get your creative juices flowing,” I decided to attempt something I have on my Foodie To Do List. That is to work with laminated dough. Even if you don’t know what laminated dough is, you’re certainly familiar with it if you’ve ever had a croissant, Danish or anything made with puff pastry.

Lamination is achieved by spreading butter over rolled out dough, folding and rolling out again. This rolling and folding process is repeated until the dough has many layers. The butter in between these layers of dough create the flakiness and lift in the baked dough. And it sure makes it yummy too! There’s only one way to make it any better, that’s right, add chocolate…and hearts! I’m making Pain au Chocolat, you can join me every step of the way or just scroll down and see the pictures.

By the way, I love the name Pain au Chocolat. French names sound so fancy, but translated it just means chocolate bread. I think I’ll start naming everything in French. How do you say peanut butter and jelly sandwich in French?

Pain au Chocolat

Makes 20-24 Click here for the Printable Recipe at Tasty Kitchen

Détrempe (Dough Mixture) Ingredients

1/2 cup warm whole milk (110-115 degrees)

1 teaspoon plus 2 tablespoons sugar

4 teaspoons active dry yeast or 1 tablespoon instant yeast

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 cup cold whole milk

Beurrage (Butter Mixture) Ingredients

3 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 in. pieces

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Other Ingredients

1 large egg

1 tablespoon whole milk 1-2 cups dark chocolate, chopped or 24-48 chocolat batons for filling the rolls Writing Chocolate, optional (click for recipe)

Step 1 Make the détrempe: Whisk together the warm milk and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Mix in the yeast and leave until the yeast is activated, around 10 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when it starts to bubble and grow. In a large bowl add the flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, salt and butter. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients using forks or a pastry blender until the mixture looks like bread crumbs. Add the yeast and cup of milk and stir together with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a ball. Lightly flour your counter and knead the dough until it comes together a little bit more. Don’t knead too much because there will be a lot of rolling and folding done to the dough later. Wrap the dough in plastic cling, but not too tight since there is yeast in the dough it will expand. Refrigerate for at least a half hour or up to an hour.

		Making the Detrempe VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Step 2 Make the Beurrage: Toss the butter with the flour and stick back in the fridge for 20 minutes. Using a mixer, beat the butter with a medium speed until all the butter is smooth and pliable. It must stay cold too! Wrap the butter in plastic cling and refrigerate until needed.

Step 3 Incorporating the Beurrage with the Détrempe: Lightly flour the counter. Place dough on the counter and lightly dust the top. Roll the dough into a tall rectangle measuring 15x12 inches. Try to make the edges straight and the corners sharp. You can gently stretch the dough to achieve this. Brush off the extra flour. (Extra flour will make for a very dry, tough dough so remember this throughout the whole process.) With your eyes, divide the dough into thirds as if each third was a section of a folded letter. Using your fingers, spread the butter over the top two thirds of the dough, leaving a half inch border around the outside of the dough.

Step 4 Using the Letter Fold: Fold the bottom third of dough over the middle third of dough as if you were folding a letter. The empty bottom third of dough will be resting over the butter of the middle third. Finish the letter fold by folding the top third down. Very lightly pinch the seams together and carefully roll your rolling pin over the dough to seal the seams. As long as your butter is still cold, you may proceed with the next step. If not, wrap the dough in plastic cling and return to the refrigerator for an hour.

Letter Fold VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Step 5 Using the Book Fold: Lightly flour the counter. Place dough on the counter and lightly dust the top. Roll the dough into a tall rectangle measuring 20x12 inches. Dust off extra flour. Fold the two short sides of the dough into the middle leaving a space of 1/4 inch between the two. Then fold both sides together like folding a book. Roll the dough gently to seal the seams. Wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Book Fold VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Step 6 Another Letter Fold: Lightly flour the counter. Place dough on the counter and lightly dust the top. Roll the dough into a tall rectangle measuring 20x12 inches. Dust off extra flour. Fold the dough using the letter fold. Gently roll to seal edges. Wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours but no longer than 24 hours. You could freeze for up to a month instead.

*This is a really good place to stop for the day. That’s what I did.

Step 7 Cutting and Shaping the Dough: Flour your counter then roll out the dough to a rectangle that is 1/4 inch thick, about 26x14 inches. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough in to 3 1/2 in. x 4 1/2 in. rectangles. For each rectangle, do the following: visually divide the rectangle into thirds as you did with the letter fold before. Place a half tablespoon of chocolate on the top third and fold the top third over the chocolate to the middle. Place another half tablespoon of chocolate where the top third meets the middle and fold the bottom third over the chocolate. Turn the roll over so that the seam is on the bottom.

Making the Rolls VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

*The rolls can be frozen at this point. Just cover tightly with plastic cling and freeze for up to a week. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before moving on to step 8.

Step 8 Egg Wash and Proof: In a small bowl, beat the egg and then add the tablespoon of milk. Brush each roll with the egg wash. Save the egg wash in the fridge. Set the rolls in a cool spot in your kitchen to double in size for 1-2 hours. Don’t let them get warm!

Step 9 Baking: Move your oven rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Put the rolls in the refrigerator until the oven is preheated, at least 15 minutes. (You could leave them in the freezer for 10.) Brush again with the egg wash. Bake for 17-22 minutes turning the pan halfway through. You know their done when they are a rich golden brown. Allow the rolls to the rest on a cooling rack before devouring. Drizzle with writing chocolate or pipe decorations.

*Baked rolls will only last one day, but you must keep them unwrapped. To keep longer, wrap each pain well with plastic then put them all together in a large freezer bag. They can hibernate in your freezer for up to a month! Then just thaw them for about 30 minutes then bake them for 7-8 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Now I know there’s a lot to do here, but nothing is very difficult. I think the hardest thing for me was rolling out the cold dough. As far as it being time consuming, yeah, it takes a lot of time, but most of that is spent in the fridge. Trust me, if I can find the time to do this with a infant and a toddler, then with a little planning probably anyone can. Just make sure you read the instructions really well before you start.

I definitely recommend finding the chocolat batons to use. They should make things easier. I couldn’t find the chocolate that I really wanted to use, so I just used semisweet chocolate chips. Instead of keeping them whole and lining them up on the dough, I tried to chop them in my food processor and it chopped them too fine. It was a mess. So keep that in mind. But I will definitely order some batons for next time. Nevertheless, these were amazing! I will make these again many times.

GREAT NEWS!!! I won this round. Check this post for more info.

Congratulations to January’s Dessert Warrior

Heather of Girlichef who made

Fried Nutella Ravioli.

Congrats also to January's Runner Up

Xiaolu of 6 Bittersweets

who made

Chocolate Nutella Alfajores

Click here to see the January Round-Up.

The February prize package includes:

Whisk and cupcake necklace from Moon & Star Designs

The Smartshopper Electronic Grocery List Organizer

Beanilla Sampler Pack of Vanilla Beans

Lenox Personalized Musical Cupcake

1,000 ideas for Decorating Cupcakes, Cookies & Cakes

Endless Vanilla and Cinnamon Extract

Unlimited Layers: A Recipe for Turning Your Passion into Profits

Organic Valley $50 Gift Certificate

Organic Prairie $50 Gift Certificate

Theme Kitchen $50 Gift Certificate

BEKA Cookware Crepe Pan

Click here to see the Dessert Wars rules.

Good Gravy

Saturday mornings at Nana's means eggs, sausage, bacon, apple butter, biscuits and gravy. I have eaten this all my life. You know you better hurry and get up when you smell the bacon cooking, because you don’t want to miss this!

In my attempt to conquer all of Nana’s recipes, I had to make her Gravy for Biscuits. I tried to learn to make this once, but that was before Nana had figured out the ingredient amounts. “Add a little flour, add a bowl full of milk,” It just wasn’t anything I could replicate without her guidance. But now she has the recipe figured out.

Nana's Gravy for Biscuits

• 4 tablespoons fat drippings from bacon or sausage
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon salt

Combine fat and flour in an iron skillet on medium-high heat and stir well until lumps are gone and mixture is nice and brown.

Add milk and salt and stir until thick. If it gets too hot it will start to foam, so turn it down a little and continue until thick. (Nana’s gravy is neither too thick nor too thin. It’s just right!)

Serve on top of your favorite biscuits!

* Nana’s Note: “I always make a double batch for our crowd.”

*My Note: Use the skillet you just cooked the meat in and be sure to scrape up all the flavorful bits still stuck to the skillet once you add the milk.

Click here for the Printable Recipe at Tasty Kitchen.

Breakfast In A Bag

Remember how I told you we eat well when we're camping? Well, here is another tasty camp meal that you can make at home too! It's an omelet cooked in a Ziploc bag. Crazy right? Maybe, but it couldn't be easier!

First, crack two eggs into a bowl and scramble with a fork. Add salt and pepper to taste.



Next, add your diced veggies, about a quarter cup worth, more or less depending on how loaded you want your omelet. We used green bell pepper, tomato and onions here.

Then add your meat, either one sausage patty or 2-3 pieces of cooked bacon, crumbled.




Finally, add your cheese. Here we used 1 slice of American cheese torn to pieces but you can use your favorite shredded cheese as well.

Dump your egg mixture into a quart sized freezer bag.

You'll want to mark your bags if cooking more than one at a time. If you use a sharpie, it is important to either write on the white part of the bag used for labeling or make some identifiable mark at the very top of the bag. If you write on the bag down where the eggs are, the sharpie will bleed through the bag and tint your eggs where they touch that part of the bag.

That's why my Dad made these little tags. It's safe to pin to the very top of the bag, so you can adorn your own safety pins in order to identify your omelets.

See, here it is all tagged and ready to go.

You'll need to have some water already boiling. Drop your bags down into the water. Boil for 8 minutes or until the eggs are set to your liking. I don't like a very wet omelet so mine cooked a little longer.

Grab a plate, open your baggie and let the omelet slide right out!

Hey! Did you notice that this recipe doesn't have any butter in it? That's because you don't have to worry about your eggs sticking to the bag! Of course, if you like the flavor butter adds to an omelet, by all means, add a little melted butter before cooking, but honestly it doesn't need it!

Click here for the Printable Recipe at Tasty Kitchen.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and wow your friends with your amazing omelets. This is a fantastic way to cook breakfast for a crowd as you can put these together the night before and store in the fridge. No need to get up too early to slave over a hot stove.

*Ziploc is the brand we used, (no BPA), but I imagine any good freezer bag would work well enough.

Strawberry Jam

 

Strawberry Week: Day 3

I love Strawberry Jam. It is so good on buttered toast with tea. It's even better when sharing a scone with clotted cream! This was my first time making jam, and I'm so glad I tried it!

Strawberry Jam
Makes enough to fill at least 2 8 oz jars.

3 cups Fresh, Strawberries
2 cups Sugar
Juice of 1 large Lemon

Wash and hull strawberries. Slice into a measuring cup until 3 cups are reached.

Lightly smash about half of the strawberries if desired.

Stir in sugar, cover and refrigerate until juice is extracted or overnight.

Place strawberry mixture in saucepan, add lemon juice and turn heat to medium high until mixture begins to boil. Stir frequently.

Simmer on low for 20 minutes or until the liquid gels on a cold plate. (Put a plate in the freezer ahead of time and allow time to chill.)

Turn off heat and allow to cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Pour into jars and store in refrigerator for use within a week, or pour into plastic containers and store in freezer.

*Note: If you have very sweet strawberries, you can use less sugar.

This is when the magic happens!


Gorgeous Ruby Jam

YUM!

Smooth!

Sometimes I'm out somewhere and confronted with a smoothie. I think, "Ooh, healthy!" so I get one. There are some great places to get a smoothie, like Smoothie King, but then there are places where all they've done is taken some orange sherbet and mixed it with a meager amount of fruit. Not only is the flavor off, but it doesn't seem like such a healthful choice after all. I expect more from my smoothie.

After having some disappointing smoothies, I decided to to try making them at home. I tried different recipes and then started playing around with my own concoctions. Below is my standard smoothie recipe. The fruit I use can be adjusted to my mood, but the technique remains the same. Give it a try and experiment with the fruits you love.

Fruity Smoothie

1/2 cup non-fat yogurt
approximately 1/3 cup orange juice
frozen or fresh fruit of your choice: strawberries, peaches, blueberries, etc.
1 banana, sliced
1 tbsp crushed pineapple + juice, optional (more if you like)
1-2 tbsp. sugar or honey to taste
ice cubes, optional

Using a pint glass, (or whatever drinking vessel you will be using) spoon in yogurt. Fill with frozen/fresh fruit. Pour in orange juice to top of glass. Pour into blender and add remaining ingredients. Blend all ingredients together until fruit and ice is small enough to fit through a straw. Pour smoothie back into your pint glass and add a straw and you're done...


...Or are you? I bet you have some smoothie leftover in your blender. Pour the leftovers into an ice cube tray. Freeze and you have Smoothie Cubes. Take the cubes out of the tray and put into a freezer bag and stash back in the freezer. Next time you want a smoothie, just take the smoothie cubes out of the bag and blitz in your blender again. Ta dah! Smoothie!

Delicious Little Jewels

Are you preggers? Have morning sickness or are hungry all the time? Here is another thing you can do with Smoothie Cubes: fill a good sized plastic cup with Smoothie Cubes. Then fill about half way with orange juice or whatever juice sounds good to you. Let sit a while, the orange juice freezes up a bit. Then insert your straw and sip away. Because the smoothie is mostly frozen it will take a while to soften up. This means you're sipping a little at a time, and it can take a couple of hours before you will have sipped up the whole thing. This got me through my morning sickness. Don't forget about all the calcium and vitamins you get in a smoothie!