Oatmeal casserole

Questionable on the healthy breakfast front, but it's a step in the right direction.

Oatmeal Casserole (with alterations)
Prep time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 35-40 minutes
Serves: 8-10
Original recipe: alwaysamrsforeverakidd.blogspot.com

Ingredients:
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup walnut or pecan pieces
• 1 cup raspberries {any berries work}
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 2 cups milk
• 1 large Egg
• 3 Tbsp Butter (melted), plus extra for preparing the pan
• 1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 Ripe Banana (sliced)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F and butter the inside of a 8x11 or so inch baking dish.

Mix together the oats, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, half the nuts, half the berries, and half the chocolate. Add mixture to prepared baking dish. Arrange the remaining nuts, berries, and chocolate, plus the banana slices on top.

Whisk together milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Pour over mixture in baking dish. Gently shake the baking dish to help the milk mixture go throughout the oats.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the top is nicely golden brown and the milk mixture has set.

Serve right away or store in fridge and serve cold or reheated.

Easy homemade Mac&Cheese for lunch

We threw this together for lunch yesterday. Whole wheat noodles help improve its healthy factor, and real cheese cuts down on the over-processed factor, because let's be honest, even organic processed cheese is still processed cheese. This was definitely yummier, more filling and satisify, and I am imagining it to be healthier. Plus we paired it with a large and colorful raw salad and a large bowl of fruit. Yum.

Easy Homemade Mac & Cheese Lunch
Serves: 2

Ingredients:
• 2/3 cup whole wheat pasta
• water
• 1/2 cup fat-free milk
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Cook pasta according to directions. Drain and return pasta to cooking pot over low heat. Add milk and cheese and stir until cheese is fully melted and blended throughout. Serve. It's that easy, and that unprocessed (except, of course, for the noodles).

Pumpkin alfredo

For my pumpkin loving husband! It's that time of year again...

Pumpkin Alfredo

From the files of: Healthy Cooking magazine

Ingredients:
25 Ounces Frozen Cheese Ravioli (or make your own, I'll do that some day)
3 Tbsp Flour
2 cups Fat-Free Milk
15 Ounces Reduced-Sodium Chicken Broth
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 Tbsp Butter
½ cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
½ cup Pumpkin puree
¼ cup Minced Fresh Parsley
1-½ tsp Minced Fresh Sage
Dash Ground Nutmeg
¼ cup Pine Nuts, toasted
¼ cup Chopped Walnuts, toasted

Directions:
Cook ravioli according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute garlic in butter until tender. Stir in flour slowly until well combined. Add milk slowly, whisking all the time, until well blended (the slower the process, the less likely you'll have lumps). Stir in the chicken broth, cheese, pumpkin, parsley, sage and nutmeg. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.

Drain ravioli and stir into sauce. Sprinkle with nuts. Yield: 6 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 cup equals 420 calories, 16 g fat (6 g saturated fat), 29 mg cholesterol, 662 mg sodium, 50 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 19 g protein.

Semi-fried green tomatoes

I've posted this recipe before, but for one thing it was hidden inside another recipe and hard to find, and for another, I haven't tried making something new in a while (for shame!) so I have no new recipes to report right now and Jon feels like we need to post something here...

We love this recipe. There's lots of room for variations, too. I've tried this it corn flakes, I've tried it with panko, and last night we tried it with whole wheat panko (because that's all they had at the store). I think my favorite is the regular panko, but others preferred the corn flakes because you can get a more even coating on the slices with that. Also, the original recipe called for them to be served with fresh homemade salsa, but we felt they were fantastic on their own. Others I think might enjoy them with something like a ranch dressing. And The cayenne is not entirely necessary, either, as any seasoning (or none) will do.

Semi-fried Green Tomatoes

  ● 1/2  cup flour
  ● 1 tsp salt
  ● 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  ● 1 large egg
  ● 1 tbsp milk
  ● 1 cup cornflake crumbles or panko
  ● 4 medium green tomatoes, cut into 1/2 inch slices
  ● 1/4 cup canola oil

In a shallow bowl combine the flour, salt, and cayenne.  In another shallow bowl beat egg and milk together. In a third shallow bowl place corn flakes, well crumbled (I go over mine with a rolling pin), or panko in a third bowl.
Coat tomato slices with flour mixture, then dip into egg mixture, then coat with crumbs/panko.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat 4 tsps oil over medium heat.  Fry tomato tomatoes in batches for 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown, adding more oil as needed.  Drain on paper towels before
placing on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375℉ for 4-5 minutes or until tender.

I don't have a finished product picture (we were too hungry and they disappeared to fast!), but here's a before...

Summer salad with black eyed peas

I'm always looking for fun vegetarian meals to eat in the summer. In the winter we gobble up all kinds of vegetarian soups, stews, and casseroles, but that's not really summery, is it? So I did a few searches and found a few options, melded some, alterred others, and now I have a whole file of summer style veggie entrees. It looks like salad is the way to go! That makes sense to me, and the less time I can spend over a hot stove, or with the oven heating my already warm house, the better.

This recipe is a combo from several others scattered around the web. Some changes I'd make: next time I'd like to try the sun dried tomatoes not packed in oil, or maybe even fresh ones.

Summer Salad with black eyed peas

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:
  ● 2 cups dry black-eyed peas (or about 2 cans)
  ● feta cheese, about 1 cup, crumbled
  ● 1 jar of sun-dried tomatoes in oil, about 8 ounces
  ● 1 cup Kalamata olives
  ● 2 green onions, chopped
  ● 1 garlic clove, minced
  ● 1 large bunch of spinach, washed, dried, and torn
  ● 1 lemon, both zest and juice

Directions:

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the black-eyed peas and turn heat down to below a simmer. Cook uncovered until done, about 45 minutes. When done, pour into a colander and  wash with cold water to stop the cooking and cool.

2 In a large bowl combine spinach, feta, olives, onion, tomatoes, lemon zest, and garlic, and cooled peas. Toss to mix well. Squeeze lemon over top, to taste, right before serving.