January 21, 2009

Oatmeal Cinnamon Waffles

On Saturday morning I sooo wanted to go out to breakfast. Then I realized the amount of work that would go into that, and it just wasn’t going to happen! By the time we sat down, I would be soooo hungry!

I am the biggest grump without food!

We stayed at home and Casey made coffee, while I made waffles. I had picked out a recipe from this month’s Sunset Magazine to try and was really happy with the result! The waffles are SUPER hearty (You only really need 1) and are somewhat healthy for you. They are by no means light, which is why I recommend only eating 1 per person. Anymore might put you in a waffle coma…and believe me I know. I suffered from one 😉

The oatmeal gives the waffles a really nice bite. I prefer a crunchier waffle, so the oatmeal helps with that.

I played around and added blueberries to one waffle…and of course Casey wanted a chocolate chip one. They both were tasty.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Waffles
(Sunset Magazine)
-makes 5

Ingredients:
-1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
-1/4 tsp. salt
-1 tbsp. baking powder
-2 large eggs
-1 3/4 cup low fat milk
-1/2 cup butter, melted
-2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
-2 tbsp. ground cinnamon
-2 tbsp. light brown sugar
-2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1. Preheat the waffle iron to medium-high. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder & salt. In a medium bowl mix eggs, milk & butter together, then add to flour mixture. Stir until just combined.

2. Using a pastry brush, coat grids of the waffle iron with oil. Pour 1 cup batter onto the center of the grids and close iron. Bake until golden brown. Use a ford to lift waffle off the grids when done.

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January 14, 2009

Make your own Trail Mix!

To help with the morning and afternoon munchies, Casey and I have been enjoying individually packaged trail mix from Trader Joe’s.

But today—we RAN OUT!

The thought of going back to the grocery store made my heart race! Wasn’t I just complaining about how hard it is to go?

On my large list of THINGS TO DO is:

CLEAN OUT THE PANTRY

So this activity helped knock that off my list (well, almost).

I dug into my pantry and made my own trail mix. I didn’t even have to leave the house and I got EXACTLY what I love in a trail mix.

Today was a good day!

I measured 1/4 cup of the mix and put it into each of the snack- sized Ziploc bags.

This mix included:

-salted peanuts
-pistachios (never had it in a mix before, but it’s good)
-pecans
-raisins
-golden raisins
-almonds
-walnut pieces
-semi-sweet chocolate chips (for Casey’s sake)

Look! We have a HUGE bowl full of snacks that on our kitchen island.

Should be a snap grab a few bags on our way to the car in the mornings.

How easy is that? (did I just quote Ina Garten? yikes!)

I should mention that I did have some help with this….

Thanks Coop! You are a good helper!

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January 14, 2009

Desperately trying to figure out a schedule!

hello you!

I’m on my second week back to work. Things have been a bit hectic…our eating habits have definitely changed. I don’t have the luxury to make fancy meals as much as I used to. We are actually just eating to maintain! We are also watching our weight…so I can’t go hog wild on puff pastry based meals….sigh…

So eating isn’t as much of a hobby/treat anymore! I hope to change that soon, as I am reorganizing my life and de-cluttering my house so I can streamline things a bit. You won’t believe how much I have to bring with me in order to go to work! It’s insane. Oh! and the amount of time I spent cleaning bottles! Jeez….

I do enjoy a nice healthy breakfast every morning though.
My current fave is nonfat yogurt with honey, blueberries & ground flax seeds:

Speaking of streamlining- check this out:

recipes, Uncategorized

January 5, 2009

Mushroom & Spinach Tart with Goat Cheese

Today is a sad day. It is my last day on maternity leave. booo!
To help me through this “rough” time, I decided to treat myself to a special “going away lunch”-if you will.

I had my eye on this recipe for AGES. So I figured I should get my special lunch fix in while I can. Casey isn’t too keen on mushrooms so this is all mine baby!

Or maybe I’ll share some with the neighbors. That would be the neighborly thing to do.

I have to say that this was pretty easy to complete…Very flaky, hearty and tasty. Totally satisfying on an overcast day like today. I paired a slice with an arugula salad dressed in a honey mustard vinaigrette.

Come on! ANYTHING on top of puff pastry HAS to be good.

Cooper cried a little bit through the endeavor, but I think it’s because he REALLY wanted the corner of that puff pastry crust. Someday son!!! I guess that’s what momma gets for attempting this sooo close to nap time. The nerve…

Mushroom & Spinach Tart
(recipe via EVERYDAY FOOD)

Ingredients

Serves 4

-Flour, for rolling out puff pastry
-1 (from a 17.3-ounce package) sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed according to package instructions
-1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-Coarse salt and ground pepper
-2 packages (10 ounces each) white mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
-1 packages (10 ounces) fresh baby spinach
-2 ounces soft goat cheese, crumbled

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured surface, roll the puff pastry out to a 16-by-10-inch rectangle. Trim uneven edges. Place the pastry on a baking sheet. With a sharp knife, lightly score dough to form a 1-inch border. Using a fork, prick dough inside the border every 1/2 inch. Bake until golden, rotating pan once, about 15 minutes or until tender.

2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, toss onion with 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt. Cover and cook over medium heat until onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir. Continue cooking with cover on for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Set aside.

3. In a large saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, heat remaining oil. Add mushrooms; cover and cook until tender and all liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Fold in spinach; season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes more. Drain any liquid.

4. Top dough with mushroom-spinach mixture. Scatter onion and goat cheese on top. Bake until cheese is lightly browned, about 15 minutes.

recipes, Uncategorized

January 3, 2009

Mango, Coconut & Lime Mousse

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!

So now that Cooper is 3 months old I think it’s time to start being AGGRESSIVE with this watching my weight situation….and it’s 2009 so I might as well start my resolution to get rid of the extra baby weight.

I was waiting until the holiday gluttony was over….boy did I indulge this year.

To start the new year off, I made a very light dessert from the Williams-Sonoma Fresh & Light cookbook.
It was a very good palette cleanser after a night of over-doing-it. The perfect amount of sweet that had NO guilt attached to it. It felt like a little taste of a Hawaiian vacation!
But a little more light & fluffy 😉

Needless to say, this is something that was NECESSARY as we gorged ourselves on:

Linguini & Clams

Garlic Bread (my biggest weakness)

and TO-DIE-FOR Fresh Steamed Crab!

pretty fancy huh? my sister-in-law is the other “martha” of the family

A good way to end 2008 huh?

So let me show you more of this mousse—-

Mango, Coconut & Lime Mousse
(Williams-Sonoma Fresh & Light Recipe)

Serves 4

Ingredients:
(serves 4)

-1 1/2 lbs ripe mangoes
-1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
-3 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
-1/2 cup Fat Free Evaporated Milk
-2 tablespoons sugar (i added a little extra because 1 mango wasn’t super ripe)
-1/4 teaspoon coconut extract
-2 tablespoons flaked coconut
-fresh mint for garnish

1. Place a bowl in the freezer to chill. Peel the mangoes and cut the flesh from the pits.

2. In a small saucepan, sprinkle the gelatin over the lime juice and let stand for 5 minutes. Place over low heat and stir until the gelatin dissolves, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

3. In a food processor (or blender) combine the mangoes, gelatin mixture, sugar and coconut extract and process until smooth. Pour the mango puree into a large bowl.

4. Remove the chilled bowl from the freezer and pour the evaporated milk into it. Using a whisk, beat until thick and foamy, about 5 minutes. Fold the evaporated milk into the mango puree just until no white streaks remain.

5. Divide the mousse among 4- 3/4 cup bowls. Cover and refridgerate until set, about 6 hours.

6. While the mousse is chilling, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the coconut onto a baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden. Should take about 5-8 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

7. Just before serving, remove the molds from the fridge and sprinkle each one with the toasted coconut. Garnish with mint and serve.