My Favorite Fresh Apple Oatmeal

It has been a year since I tried to eat more oatmeal. I admit that I hated it at first, but now I rather like it. It took about 2 to 3 months for me to acclimate to the taste and texture, but I can attest that if you persevere you can train yourself to like something!  Today's fresh apple oatmeal is proof, proof that I'm still going strong.  I was often making blueberry-maple oatmeal, but I recently I made a bowl of hearty oatmeal filled with fresh apples.  This recipe is very, very good, with a wink and a nod to the flavors of your favorite Apple cobbler, only better for you.  It's naturally sweetened with real maple syrup and apple cider, and it's a winner!

I don't use specific measurements, I just do things to taste. 

Here is how I made it today:

-Scant half cup quick oats 

-milk to cover the oats

Combine in a microwave safe large cereal bowl, and cook in microwave for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, or until oats have absorbed the milk and become fluffy.

-One quarter of a fresh apple, diced small 

-a pinch of salt 

-a pat of butter 

-sprinkle of cinnamon

-A splash of apple cider, perhaps 2 tablespoons 

-real maple syrup for drizzling

Add the remainder of the ingredients to your bowl and microwave for 30 seconds more.

Enjoy!

Chicken Fall Salad with Ricotta Basil Vinaigrette

Chicken Fall Salad is what summer harvest time is all about!  I loved when my dad would make this salad for us.  He first tasted a version of it at a restaurant and a week later he made it for us.  That was years ago, and it still remains one of my favorite salads of all time!

I've adapted the original recipe just a touch so that I could use the ingredients that I already had on hand.  This salad features a bed of green leaf lettuce, and is topped with sliced tomatoes, sliced bell pepper, sliced onion, sauteed zucchini, sliced steamed potatoes, shredded basil chicken, and drizzled with a homemade ricotta-basil vinaigrette.  I love this salad!  The warm chicken, potatoes, and zucchini against the crispy cool lettuce, onion, and bell pepper is like a party in your mouth, and the salad dressing makes everything taste delicious- it's sweet, creamy, herbaceous goodness! 

My kids like their salad deconstructed, and they are so proud of their colorful creations that they get to eat!

Make this!  So addictive!

Ricotta-Basil Vinaigrette

• 1/4-1/3 c. ricotta cheese- part skim
• 3 Tbsp. - 1/4 c. olive oil
• 3 Tbsp. - 1/4 c. red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. honey or sugar
• 1-2 tsp. dried basil
• a few dashes of salt, pepper, onion powder

Whisk it all together, add a splash of water to thin it if you desire, and drizzle all over your entire dinner!

Summer Orzo Garden Salad

Uncle Kirk has done it again with a salad of the week! I've got to try this one.

Tossed with a lemon-parmesan vinegarette, this salad boasts a bed of baby spinach, diced cucumber, diced zucchini, diced bell pepper, diced tomato, sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese crumbles, capers, toasted pinenuts, and orzo pasta.  Yum!

Dinner Inspiration- Kabobs!

Much thanks to my sister for taking a picture of her delicious low-fat dinner last night!  I'm super inspired to make one just like it!  I've got zucchini growing in my garden and I LOVE kabobs!

So what veggies do you have laying around that you could skewer and throw on the fire?

Blend It Up- Homemade Tomato-Vegetable Juice

The tomatoes and veggies that went into this drink all came from my garden! All except the celery. Yay for garden produce!

This homemade tomato vegetable juice has the consistency of a smoothie, and tastes great. I think next time I would use tomato juice instead of water for the thinning agent. And instead of blending the mixture with ice I would leave the ice in the glass. It is my hope that the yummy tomato vegetable flavors would be enhanced, rather than diluted.

Steel-Cut Oats

This morning my dad made me a new version of oatmeal. My family is visiting with him for a few days, and he is always wanting to make us some yummy food. I am pretty new to eating oatmeal, but over the course of two months I learned to eat it and not dread every second of it. My dad is aware that I am trying to eat a low-fat diet and he wanted to introduce me to steel cut oats. Unlike the regular rolled oats that I am used to eating, these oats take the grain and cut them in half. It is very similar to oatmeal, however the look and texture is a little different. My impression after eating a bowlful is... it's good. With a little milk and honey, it is creamy and slightly sweet. My dad added raisins and a dash of cinnamon to the entire pot as it was cooking. Eat it like I did, with a dot of butter and a drizzle of honey and milk.

Summertime Smoothie Pops

Fruit and yogurt smoothies make a delicious and healthy breakfast, but they also make a fantastic, healthy, summertime treat!  Just pour any left over smoothie into inexpensive popsicle molds, I found mine at the dollar store, and freeze them!  Voila!  Summertime smoothie pops!

This morning's breakfast smoothie had Nonfat Greek yogurt, low-fat vanilla yogurt, frozen cherries and berries, one super ripe banana, some leftover cantaloupe, old-fashioned oats, and water.  We're talking fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals galore!  Don't you love it when healthy tastes good?