When I was just a wee child, last year (not really but it seems like that), my mother would serve me oatmeal. And I hated it. I wouldn’t touch it at all , I don’t know if it was the flavor or the texture or both, but I hated it. My mom had a solution for that, if I didn’t get it for breakfast, I got it cold for lunch, cold for dinner, cold everyday for every meal until I ate it. I think it took me nine days to get it down.
Many a year went by and sometime during that time my taste buds changed and I found myself liking oatmeal. The oatmeal I’m talking about was good ol’ Quaker instant oatmeal, sugary, artificially flavored oatmeal. Peaches and cream being my favorite.
My daughter Leah at Leftovers for Lunch and Susan at The Great Balancing Act inspired me to do something more that open a packet of oatmeal and add hot water. They add almond butter, peanut butter and honey, Nutella, nuts and so on and so on, things I never thought of doing.
I decided to challenge myself to a week of oatmeal, real no kidding porridge. The only caveat, it had to be fast and easy. After all it was competing with instant oatmeal that is ready in less than a minute.
The star of my oatmeal:
I decided to use steel cut oatmeal, a far cry from my instant oatmeal. They take 30 minutes to cook, which seems to counter point my caveat that the oatmeal had to be fast and easy. However, I made 5 servings in one shot, which meant that the rest of the week I merely had to microwave my portion and I would be ready to go.
I used some pre-packaged products, such as fruit cups (diced and pre-portioned), which cut down some prep time. I ended up with some classic flavors and some not so classic, each one amazingly good and filling!
Apples and Cinnamon, warm and comforting, made better with chunks of apple, crunchy granola and lightly sweetened with cinnamon sugar.
1 cup prepared oatmeal
1 apple fruit cup
1/8 cup of granola
Cinnamon sugar to sprinkle on top
Peaches and Cream, my favorite Quaker instant oatmeal, but better with diced peaches and fresh grated nutmeg to send it over the top.
1 cup prepared oatmeal
1 diced peaches fruit cup
Drizzle of Fat Free half and half
Fresh nutmeg grated on top
Tropical Delight, an exotic oatmeal with pineapple tidbits, toasted coconut, and chopped macadamia nuts.
1 cup prepared oatmeal
1 pineapple tidbit fruit cup
1 tbsp. toasted coconut
1 tbsp. chopped macadamia nuts
Classic Breakfast, I love me some eggs and sausage for breakfast! It may sound odd to put Boca sausage and a poached egg on top of oatmeal, but it worked really well and ended up being my favorite of the week.
1 cup prepared oatmeal
2 Boca link sausages, heated according to directions
1 poached egg
Salt and Pepper
Almond Joy, I ended my week of oatmeal just like I would end any 4 course meal, with dessert. Almond Joys are a favorite candy bar of mine. I recreated an Almond Joy by deconstructing it and putting it over oatmeal. The smartest thing I did? I used mini chocolate chips, they melted to a chocolaty gooeyness throughout the oatmeal. Beat that Quaker!
1 cup prepared oatmeal
shredded coconut
toasted almond slivers
mini chocolate chips
Notice I didn’t give amounts for the Almond Joy Oatmeal, I didn’t measure, I just sprinkled and stirred, it’s dessert breakfast, go crazy!
Don’t let your porridge get nine days old, turn it into something wonderful and eat it up now!
With a foot of snow and temperatures of –20F what do Harley riders do? Throw a party with gambling, drinking and karaoke. The Big Sky H.O.G. chapter put together a membership night using the theme “Deadwood”. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they had organized it, I know it takes a lot of work organize a big event.
I thought the boys and girls bathroom signs were funny.
They had a “bar” set-up and offered food; please don’t mind McGyver’s manners, can’t take him out anywhere.
Once McGyver got our drinks, we sat down at the Texas Hold ‘em table. The dealer had to explain how to play the game. See, McGyver and I have many vices but gambling is not one of them, we are totally ignorant or how the whole thing works.
After a demonstration we started playing and I learned words like, check, call, fold, etc. Actually I knew those words, I just have never used them to pass on a bet, stop a bet, or end my turn.
I know it’s wrong but I took special pleasure in beating out McGyver; by the end of the night I was up $40 from my $1000 and he was down about $400. Even if I did lose to him “what’s mine is mine and what’s his is mine” right? At the end of the night you got to use the funny money to bid on prizes. We didn’t stick around for that since I was catching an 0’dark thirty flight the next day.
Regardless we had a good time and I flew out the next day feeling like I had a good time the night before…..
As soon as I get my Williams-Sonoma catalog I tear through it, looking at every item on every page. Devouring every recipe, exciting new product and then checking my account and once again realizing that I have the proverbial champagne taste on a beer budget.
I may not be able to afford everything I want from the catalog but I can certainly try out the tempting recipes snuck in between the spectacular kitchen items. The recipe that caught my eye in the latest issue, were the Potatoes Romanoff. It’s a comfort food like Mac-n-Cheese but made with potatoes.
As I drooled over the recipe, I realized it reminded me of another similar dish. A dish Lulu calls “Funeral Potatoes” because some one, in her home state of Utah, always brings a cheesy hash brown casserole to a funeral. The common version calls for Cream of Chicken soup, sour cream, onions, cheese and frozen hash browns. It is no less delicious but it doesn’t have that fresh made flavor.
The recipe in Williams-Sonoma is from Chef John Shenk of the Strip House. His original recipe calls for 2 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese and 1 1/2 cups of sour cream. I reduced the the cheese by 1/2 cup, used only two very large baking potatoes and replaced the sour cream with non-fat Greek yogurt. Even though I used only two potatoes we still got six very hearty servings. I also cheated and cooked the potatoes in the microwave and then put them in the freezer for a few hours since I didn’t plan to make this recipe..it was an impulse.
The substitutions were delicious, but the dish suffered in the creaminess department. the Greek yogurt was too thick, next time I might thin it out with a little non-fat milk or fat free half and half. Despite the lack of creaminess I wanted, the dish went on the families “must do again” list.
Recipe Makeover
Potatoes Romanoff
2 large baking potatoes (russets), baked and refrigerated overnight
3/4 cups minced shallots
2 cups grated good quality cheddar cheese
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1 1/2 cups non-fat Greek yogurt
Preheat oven to 350°F. Using the large holes of a grater, grate the potatoes, including the skin. Transfer to a large bowl. Sprinkle the potatoes with the minced shallots and 1 1/2 cups cheese, salt and pepper. using your hands gently toss together. Then fold in the yogurt in two separate batches.
Spray a 1 1/2 quart casserole with no-stick spray, fill with the potato mixture being careful not to compress it. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of cheese over the top. Bake until the potatoes are hot and the cheese is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
Sometimes you need to make something to go, a special delivery for someone? Do you know what the best thing about making a dish for someone else is? It doesn’t matter how many fat and calories it has (bwahaha), I mean it’s the thought that counts. If you plan it right you also make sure that no dishes come back home to you.
Whenever I get the chance to prepare a dish for someone else or for an event such as a bake sale or pot luck, I try to consider who it’s going to or the sell-ability or if a theme is involved and then go from there. On this particular instance there were kids involved.
I decided on a kiddie favorite, brownies, and boosted it’s super powers by adding an iconic cookie…Oreos. How could you go wrong with chocolate and chocolate sandwich cookies? The inspiration didn’t come on it’s own, I saw a similar idea on the back of a brownie box. I can’t remember which brand or when but the idea stuck in my head.
I began by assigning the Baby boy the task of removing the filling from the cookies so I could make the base. It meant that he had to eat all the stuffins, but I didn’t hear any complaining. Break up the cookies into crumbs using a rolling pin or as I did, using a food processor. I mixed those chocolaty crumbs with some butter and pressed it into a disposable 9×13 pan and baked it for 10 minutes to crisp it up.
Then I did what I don’t usually do well, I followed the directions on the brownie mix package and prepared the batter. You can make your own brownie batter, if you are that kind of person, no secrets here, I am not that person.
Pour the batter over the cookie crumb base and bake according to…you guessed it…package directions. Let it cool completely.
Next using all your kitchen skills, pop open a can of vanilla frosting and spread it evenly over the cooled brownies. You can also make your own frosting too, go ahead and show off, I won’t be offended. Decorate with crumbled Oreo cookies or with mini Oreos (the kids really like the mini Oreos).
Cover and take away to wherever you need to go.
Recipe
Oreo Cookie Brownies
2 cups Cookie Crumbs (about 1 package of Oreo cookies)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 box brownie mix (plus ingredients listed on the box to prepare the mix i.e. eggs, oil and water)
1 container vanilla frosting
Mini Oreo cookies or cookie crumbles
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix the cookie crumbs and the melted butter. Press into a 9×13 pan. Bake for 10 minutes and remove from the oven and allow to cool. Meanwhile, prepare the brownies according to the package directions. Pour the batter over the prepared cookie crust, spread evenly. Bake according to the package directions.
Let the brownies cool completely, top with vanilla icing and decorate with mini Oreo cookies or cookie crumbles.
What is your lifelong dream? Do you dream of world travels? The perfect home? A cabin in the mountains? A luxurious vacation in the tropics? Very few people get to realize a dream come true. McGyver and I have friends that made their dream come true.
We met Jürgen and Sigrid through the H.O.G. Trier Chapter in Germany. We struck up a friendship with them that has lasted the years. When McGyver and I had to return to the U.S. we had no idea that our move would help make their lifelong dream come true.
Jürgen and Sigrid have been dreaming and planning on coming to the U.S. and touring it on their Harley. They saved all their money so that when Jürgen retired they could make their dream come true! Our move to Illinois just made it easier for them.
They shipped their bike and flew into Chicago. McGyver made the 6 hour drive to meet them and help them with arrangements, like finding out where the heck they were supposed to pick up their bike. And why their prepaid Visa card was NOT working anywhere.
Jürgen and Sigrid stayed with us for a couple of days while they finished their planning and McGyver helped them choose the best roads to travel.
Naturally we took them on a few local rides. We rode with them to Hannibal, Missouri. The iconic town of Tom Sawyer. McGyver and I look the perfect part?
We also rode on the Great River Road to Segar Park in Chester, Illinois where the famous Popeye statue is.
The weather was looking seriously bad, the sky was getting a greenish tinge. Anyone who has lived in tornado alley will tell you that is not a good sign. We crossed over the bridge to Missouri and decided that it would be best to park the bikes and hit up an inviting diner.
The bikes were parked so that they were slightly protected.
We hung out and chatted, watching the news and the tornado reports. Some serious wind and rain came through, very exciting for Jürgen and Sigrid, it was their first tornado experience. Fortunately we didn’t suffer from it, and as fast as it blew in, it blew by and cleared up.
Jürgen and Sigrid went off to live their dream, I’ll never forget the excited phone calls: “Ja, hello there, this here is Jürgen, we are in Memphis listening to Jazz-Blues, it’s fucking awesome”.
Lemon is one of my favorite flavors, I am more of a lemon lover than a chocolate lover (weird, I know). Mary at One Perfect Bite has been posting lemon recipes for the last couple of weeks, driving me absolutely crazy. Especially the lemony sweets.
Meyer lemons have magically shown up here in Great Falls, the temptation was too much, I had to make something lemony. Not only lemony, but I wanted something sweet and lemony. This may be strange, but I was craving a cold and refreshing sweet. Sweet and tart.
Granita leapt into my mind. Maybe winter time with its frostiness outside isn’t the time for a granita, but who cares. Lemony, sweet and tart. It was the perfect thing to satisfy my cravings.
For a special presentation scoop out the meat and freeze the shell to serve the granita in. It’ll turn your sno-cone into something special.
Recipe
Lemon Granita
5 Meyer Lemons
2 cups filtered water
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 lemon zest
If you are using the lemon shells to serve the granita: slice the bottom of 4 lemons so that they can stand upright. Cut the top of the lemons far enough down that you have good access to the meat. Using a grapefruit knife, carefully cut out the lemon flesh. Extract the juice from the lemon meat. Zest one lemon and juice the lemon.
Heat the water and sugar over medium heat, just enough until the sugar dissolves. Add lemon juice and zest to the sugar water. Pour into a metal pan, large enough that the lemon mixture is no more than 1” deep.
Freeze for 1 hour. Using a fork scrape to break up the ice. Return to the freezer. Scrape every 20 minutes until frozen through about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Do a final rake before serving, serve in lemon shells or a bowl and garnish with raspberries.
Can you believe, me the ultimate beef lover, has never ever tasted or cooked a flat iron steak before? I know, I know, everyone else has. Where have I been, out in the pasture with cows? It was high time that I put an end to this situation. When my grocer had them on special I knew it was time.
I used to say that I grill year round, no matter what the weather. That all changed when I moved to Montana. Something about having a negative sign before a number deters even the staunches of grillers. My plan was to fry up the steaks in a cast iron pan, the next best thing to grilling. Unbelievably, the weather had just warmed up enough that I could go out and grill, in what I consider comfort.
McGyver and I have been trying hard to lose some weight and get into shape, motivated by our big summer vacation, which meant I needed to keep the fat and calories down to a minimum. I did my usual internet search, like I always do when I’m trying something new. I ran across this recipe from Giada over at the Food Network site. I fell in love with recipe immediately.
I made some changes to reduce the fat and calorie content. I cut the butter in half, completely omitted the olive oil and reduced the amount of wine and substituted beef broth for some of the wine. Surprisingly it was a winner, you would never even know that this recipe was made healthier. I also swapped out the dried oregano for fresh rosemary, it’s what I had on hand and it needed to be used. Steak and rosemary go well together and even better when red wine is involved.
I served the steak over my Roasted Cauliflower, Garlic and Rosemary Puree. A perfect pairing. Since I only put 1 cup of wine into the sauce, that left plenty for us to drink! Could a girl ask for more?
Recipe (adapted from Giada De Laurentiis)
Flat Iron Steaks with Red Wine Sauce
2 (1-pound) flat iron steaks or tri-tip steaks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive Oil Cooking Spray
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tbsp. minced fresh rosemary
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 cup dry red wine
1 1/2 cups beef broth
Prepare the grill or barbecue (medium-high heat). Spray steaks with olive oil cooking spray and sprinkle the steaks with salt and pepper. Grill to desired doneness, about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer the steaks to a cutting board. Tent with foil and let stand 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoons of butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt. Add the garlic and rosemary and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in the wine and the broth. Simmer until the sauce reduces by half, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat. Strain the sauce into a small bowl, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids in the strainer and return the sauce to the saucepan and bring back to a slow simmer. Cut the remaining 4 2 tablespoons of butter into small 1/2-inch chunks and whisk in the sauce a little at a time. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Thinly slice the steaks across the grain. Divide the steak slices among 6 plates. Drizzle the sauce over the steak.
I decided making cauliflower puree look appetizing on its own is quite difficult. After pureeing the roasted cauliflower it becomes this pasty ecru color and looks gritty, actually very unappealing. I’m not trying to turn you off in my first few sentences but I’m finding it difficult to describe this tasty puree because it is so, dare I say it, ugly. Wait a minute, don’t close your browser yet, I promise it gets better.
Although not high in the looks department (I can relate to that), it is high in the flavor department. Roasting the cauliflower gives it a nice toasty flavor, the sharpness of the garlic is mellowed as it roasts with the cauliflower and the rosemary…ahhhh, the rosemary weaves its way through the cauliflower giving it just a hint of pine.
Are you still here? I hope its sounding good! Most cauliflower purees call for cream, luscious yes, calorie and fat laden…a double yes! Instead I used chicken broth (vegetable broth is easily substituted) and fat free half and half. The end result was a very tasty side that would compliment any main dish that’s also low calorie and low fat.
So don’t let the looks fool you, this ugly duckling is a swan to your palate.
Recipe
Roasted Cauliflower, Garlic and Rosemary Puree
2 heads cauliflower, florets only (stems removed)
4 cloves garlic more or less depending on your love of garlic or fear of vampires
2 sprigs rosemary
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 to 2 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
1/2 cup fat free half and half
Preheat oven to 375°F. Toss the cauliflower and garlic in the olive oil, salt and pepper. Divide between to baking sheets, add a rosemary sprig to each sheet. Roast for 15 minutes then turn for more even roasting. Roast 15 more minutes.
Working in small batches puree the cauliflower and garlic in a blender or food processor, add half and half. Continue blending and add the broth in a half cup at a time. The final puree should be consistency of a thick batter. Garnish with fresh rosemary.
These long Montana winters are getting me down. I am ready to ride, so very ready. Currently the weather is quite warm (for us) and the snow is melting off nicely, but…. still to dangerous to ride. Patches of ice, salt and sand on the roads makes me ill at ease, plus the 70 mph winds don’t help.
The slight warming of the temperatures really kick in that spring fever, but I know it’s just a tease. You watch, come this June we’ll still be getting snow. To keep myself cheerful, I’ve been digging through some old photos . I thought that I would occasionally post some pictures of past rides and other miscellaneous motorcycle stuff.
It’s not as good as riding my bike but it was super-way-cool fun. Maybe I could use it for a work commuter?
I thought this was the coolest cooler ever! It even had a little trap door on the top where you could just reach done between your legs and grab (stop that train of thought), a cold one. Do you think they give DWIs for driving coolers?
If you are interested in paying an outrageous amount for a fun novelty ride, you can order them online here.
This Valentine’s Day you’ve probably planned to go out to eat or make a special meal. You’ve carefully selected the perfect gift to show your sweetie, honey, baby, kid, mom, who ever just how much you love them and how special you are to their lives. I did something different.
This Valentine’s Day, I showed my love to birds. Winter can can be tough on birds, food becomes scarce. I wanted to give my love to the birds. don’t worry, I made sure my honey and Baby boy were well taken care of too. I also have a fat problem that I mentioned before, and it hasn’t gotten better, maybe it’s even gotten worse. Remind me to stop cooking bacon (not).
For sake of the birds and my fat problem, I made suet. Suet is a mixture of fat, peanut butter, cornmeal and grains or seeds (I used stale granola cereal). It provides nourishment for our winged friends. Normally suet is purchased in the store and put in a suet holder that hangs down for the birds.
That’s all nonsense, why not make it yourself, it’s easy to do. I put my suet in mesh vegetable bags, tied them up and made asked McGyver to hang them up for me. McGyver hung them on our front tree right in front of our living room window so I could watch the birds (or the squirrels) feast of suet.
So gather your ingredients and let the birds feel your love.
Begin by melting the bacon fat and peanut butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat.
Add the cornmeal and the cereal.
Pour into a muffin pan or other containers. Can I just point out that I love my Oneida Muffin pan. The metal frame makes it easy to handle and the silicone cups make it soooo easy to remove muffins or suet. I didn’t get paid to say that, I really do just love it.
Refrigerate or freeze until set. Remove from the containers. Use what ever means necessary….
Place individual suet molds into a mesh vegetable or fruit bag. Secure with a rubber band, or whatever else you have on hand.
You can tie some raffia or ribbon around it to make it look attractive.
Convince your husband to go out into the bitter cold to hang the suet for the birds…feeling the love aren’t you?
Then stay in your warm house and look out your window and admire your good work.
And wait for the birds to come, and wait, wait some more because you want a picture with a bird in it.
Wait some more and realize that any bird that would be hanging around your house probably flew south for the winter.
Don’t worry little birdies, there is plenty of love in the freezer for when you get back.
Recipe
Suet
1 cup bacon grease
1 cup peanut butter (chunky)
2 cup cornmeal
2 cup granola cereal, birdseed, etc.
Mesh bags, rubber bands and raffia, plus some rope or string for hanging.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the bacon grease and peanut butter, stirring occasionally until homogeneous. Add cornmeal and granola cereal. Pour into muffin pan(s) and refrigerate or freeze until set (about 3 hours). Remove suet from pan and place into mesh bags, secure at both ends. Hang outside or freeze until needed.
Happy Valentines Day McGyver….Here’s to the ride of our lives!
