Blackberry Pecan Cream cheese Muffins

Blackberry? Pecan? Cream cheese? Muffin? Any one of those things would be delicious enough on its own, but all together? There are no words. I originally found this recipe for Raspberry cream cheese muffins on Cooking Light's website, and was  excited to have found a way to use up some of the leftover buttermilk that I had from the St. Paddy's day Irish Soda Bread. I was all set to use frozen raspberries, and then the happiest surprise of my life happened  (only a slight exaggeration) when I found FRESH blackberries on sale for $1.50 a pint at the grocery store. Glorious. So-- anyway, I swapped raspberries for blackberries, and walnuts for pecans, and then I ate like five of these beautiful little babies before they even cooled down. Ohhhh man, they were so good. So so so so good. Okay I'm done now. 

Peach and Honey Baked Oatmeal

In an attempt to stop procrastinating and start 2012 fresh (both in blog world, and in the real world), I have decided to just skip writing posts about all of the dishes I made the last several months, and instead just post some year-end roundup photos.... One exception to this fast-track blogging has to be the peach baked oatmeal that I made this fall with the last round of fresh peaches available at the store.

I am fairly obsessed with baked oatmeal. Since discovering it about a year ago, I have made it at least twice a month. My best varieties always include fresh fruit and this peach version was just to die for. It was so good that I'm tempted to see if canned or frozen peaches could even come close to emulating the amazing flavor of summer in this bowl.

Peach Baked Oatmeal: 

- 1/2 cup oatmeal
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup (I use 1% milk)
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 peach, diced
- sweetener of choice (I used about 1.5 TBSP of honey)
- butter for pan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter pan-- I use a mini pie dish, but two smaller ramekins could also work. Whisk together egg and milk and combine with oatmeal. Sprinkle in nutmeg, peaches, and drizzle sweetener over the top. Bake for for 20-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the insides are ooey gooey. Serves 2 (but really 1, because I eat the whole thing every time).

chocolate nanner bread

I have made this before and it was just as delicious this time. The perfect way to distract myself from the fact that my honey was stuck in a hurricane all weekend. It is quite possibly the best banana bread I've ever had, not just because it's chocolate or the fact that it's socially acceptable to eat it for breakfast even though tastes like cake, but because the consistency is to-die-for. Oh, and there's no butter in it so I trick myself into thinking it's "healthy!"

http://www.evilshenanigans.com/2011/03/chocolate-banana-bread/

There are no photos because I ate it too fast. :)

Swiss Chard and Red Onion Mini-Quiche with Goat Cheese and Fresh Herbs

While my garden has been lacking in certain areas (see measly carrot crop), I have had an incredible overabundance of swiss chard. I have made seared and steamed and creamed chard and chard in soup and on pizza, and when I thought of putting chard in a quiche I was incredibly excited-- and then I was kicking myself for not thinking of something so obviously delicious and easy earlier.

• 1 bunch swiss chard (it cooks down-- a LOT)
• 1/2 small red onion
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1/4 cup water
• S& P
• fresh herbs of your choice. I used oregano and basil because I have them in abundance.
• 3 large eggs
• 1 oz. goat cheese
• 1 oz. parmesan
• pie crust for a mini-pie dish or ramekin

First I sauteed the red onion in the olive oil until just softened and then added in the chard. To speed up the wilting process, I added in 1/4 cup of water and let it boil out. Seasonings and herbs went in next. In a separate bowl, I whisked the eggs. And I prepared the mini-pie dish with the crust. I put the goat cheese in the bottom of the pie dish, added in the onions and chard, and poured the egg over. Sprinkled with parm, and popped in a 400 degree oven for just about 15 minutes.

This was a fast, easy, and super tasty dinner, and I ate the leftovers for breakfast the next day! Other than the pie crust, it was super healthy as well.

*** so.... my memory card on my phone was deleted and I lost a ton of photos including this one. Whoops!

Peach Baked Oatmeal

I have been on a peach kick lately, haven't I? I guess there isn't another fruit that so perfectly captures the feeling of a warm summer day. This morning, because it's a Saturday, and because I have some extra ripe peaches, I decided to make myself a decadent but hearty treat. Baked Oatmeal! I did a twist on my original recipe.

• 1/2 cup quick cooking Irish oats (b/c that's what i have)
• 1/2 cup plus 1 TBSP milk (I have 1% organic)
• 1 egg (organic, free range b/c that's how I roll)
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp Almond extract
• 1 TBSP peach syrup (my sisters live in Georgia and gave me this as part of a gift last year, any sweetener would be good). 
• 1 peach, diced (peels on b/c I'm lazy and don't mind the texture)
• honey to drizzle on top

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a baking dish-- a large ramekin would work, I have mini-pie pans that I love. Mix ingredients in a bowl until combined and put in pan. Drizzle with honey and put in the oven for 30 minutes.

What results is a dish of oatmeal that is golden brown on the outside, and gooey and creamy on the inside. It is sweet, but not too sweet, it is warm and soothing, and is jam packed full of healthy things like fiber and protein. My perfect breakfast!

*photos to come

Garlic and Chive Fritatta, and Hashbrowns

Hashbrowns
I'm sure I did something against someone's hashbrown religion here, but all I did was put a few spuds in my food processer to shred them, then I tossed them with S&P, garlic powder, and a few herbs I can't remember anymore, and then browned them in a fry pan with 1TBSP of canola oil. They were super crispy, and more like a giant potato pancake than typical hashbrowns, but I loved them. l.o.v.e.d.


Garlic and Chive Fritatta
Fritattas are so easy-- you just sautee your "mix-ins" (garlic and chive in this case) in a bit of olive oil for a few minutes, then pour some beaten eggs over it. After the eggs are cooked on the bottom you throw it under the broiler for a few more minutes to brown the top. It takes just a few minutes, you never have to worry about the egg sticking to the pan, and usually they are very healthy and filling.  I think I added some parmesan and milk to my eggs (I can't remember-- it was like two months ago), which makes the eggs extra fluffy.

poached eggs on toast

Working from home sometime has its benefits. Forgoing microwaveable meals or over-priced and likely unhealthy sandwiches on the go is probably one of the best!

Mondays I always try to start my week off right with some delicious high protein and high fiber meals. Today's lunch (which resembles a breakfast) was no exception.

Poached eggs on toast -- serves one:

• two eggs (I use farm fresh organic because they are so much richer and creamier, but any old egg will do)
• two slices crusty whole grain bread (mine is a take-and-bake batard from the grocery store)
• ~8 leaves baby spinach
• 1 TBSP parmesan
• black pepper
• 2 basil leaves for garnish

I don't have a poaching pan, so I just use a large skillet; fill it about 3/4 of the way up with water and bring to a boil. When the water starts simmering, pop the bread in the toaster (I do this first so they finish before the eggs). As soon as the water boils, crack the eggs right into the water. Obviously, the goal is for the egg to stay relatively in one piece, this sometimes works and sometimes does not. One of mine was fine, and the other practically exploded. Oh well, it still tasted good. Boil the eggs to your desired consistency. I don't like my yolks super runny so I let mine go until a healthy skin is formed over the yolk, and I help it out by spooning the boiling water over the top.

While they are cooking, get the toast out of the toaster, put some spinach leaves on each. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon, making sure that you allow excess water to drop back into the pan, and place the egg on top of the spinach. Crack some black pepper over the top, and sprinkle with parmesan. I added a basil leaf for garnish, but it added a lot of flavor too.

This is a very quick and easy meal that is filling (thanks to the fiber and the protein) but light. Perfect way to energize me for my Monday afternoon!