I love this messy oatmeal photo.  It makes me want to get a tall cup of coffee and sit on the porch outside on a cool spring morning.  All the little nooks and crannies filled with gooey peanut butter and chewy raisins.  I’m officially addicted to this breakfast.  My puppies love when I make this because I let them lick the peanut butter spoon.  Oatmeal+peanut butter=Awesome!

My photos for this breakfast were all kinds of terrible so forgive me this one time.  It is super hard to make messy bland colored oatmeal look all scrumptious.  All you food photographers out there who can – I’m so jealous and when can you please come over and teach me?  

I have mentioned several times on this wonderful site about how much I hate eating dessert for breakfast (donuts, toaster strudels etc…)  So it may come as a surprise or even hypocritical of me to post this recipe.  Well for this oatmeal I’m willing to risk being called names.  My hubby and I have been eating homemade oatmeal for years but we never really got creative with it.  Well we were missing out big time.  Now my obsession for all things oatmeal might start getting out of control.  Oats are simply amazing.  They absorb whatever you put in them, making them these amazing little pockets of flavor holders.  Crazy…..

So now I pre-pack my breakfast for the whole week – and let’s just say I’m not exactly a pre-packer of meals.  AKA I’m lazy and not a morning person.  Do any of you live with a morning person?  The type of person who sings in the morning or dances?  Maybe even jumps on the bed like a crazy person? Well welcome to my mornings with my crazy morning person husband. 

But enough about me.  Let’s talk breakfast. 

What is your favorite breakfast??

1 Serving size, About 250 calories 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Oatmeal

1 tbs organic peanut butter (it just tastes better)

1 little packet of Truvia or any Stevia based sweetener

About 10 Raisins

hot water – the amount will vary depending on how watery you like your oatmeal – I do not like mine watery.

Place the oatmeal, peanut butter, raisins and Truvia in a small container or bowl.  Heat your water separately in a microwave safe bowl for about 2 minutes.  Pour the water slowly over everything in the bowl.  Stir everything together until the peanut butter melts and the oatmeal is wet enough for your liking.  This seriously tastes like a peanut butter oatmeal cookie.  So yummy.

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CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE STUFFED WITH AN OREO

I realize I’m not reinventing the wheel here with everyone stuffing cookies and brownies and candy inside cookies and brownies and candy, but who can resist really.  It is a cookie stuffed with a cookie!!!  How can you go wrong?  I also love everyone’s expressions when they pick up a seemingly innocent chocolate chip cookie and bite into it to find ANOTHER cookie!  Every adult turns into a little kid and starts using sayings like, “dude, this rocks”.

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE STUFFED WITH TWIX

My husband is a cookie connoisseur/monster.  He can tell you where it is worth buying a cookie and where it is not anywhere in town.  Everywhere we go he buys a chocolate chip cookie.  It is insane.  He is constantly in trouble for eating a dozen cookies straight without taking into consideration that someone else might want ONE cookie.  I can’t tell you how many times he has accidentally eaten my cookie as well as his because he didn’t remember eating the first one.  It is a problem and I’m looking for a good counselor to discuss the matter with….

CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE STUFFED WITH A THIN MINT

Over the weekend Natalie brought me a cake to surprise me with while I was not home.  She brought Michael a cookie to eat to keep him from cutting into the cake before I got a chance to see it.  He has absolutely no will power!!

Needless to say these suckers were a total hit at my house.

TRIO OF AWESOMENESS

My hubby wasn’t home while I was baking all of these crazy cookies so I actually got to take photos of them all without fighting him off.  He lays claim to all of the “ugly” cookies that I don’t deem pretty enough to photograph.  Once the photo session is over he lays claim to all the other cookies.

Recipe:

This is the easiest recipe ever.  Go buy a box cookie mix and your favorite cookie or candy to stuff it with.

Preheat your oven and make the cookie dough according to the package directions.

Take about 2 tbs of dough and flatten it out on your pan.  Place the Oreo (or whatever stuffer you choose) on the dough and top with another 1 tbs of cookie dough.  Mush the cookie dough all around the “Oreo” until you can’t see the Oreo anymore.  If you have too much dough take some off.  Don’t have enough?  Add some more!  It is up to you how big you want your cookie.  Just make sure the stuffer is fully covered.

Bake according to the packaged directions.  (350 for about 13 minutes was perfect for me.)

Cool the cookies on a cooling rack and enjoy!

Of course you can use homemade cookie dough but I made all of these on a Wednesday night after running errands so 3 different cookies from scratch was so not going to happen!

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A couple of weekends ago, Emily, and our friend Stephanie, and I went down to Austin for a food blogging/techie conference called TECHmunch.  I went last year and really learned a lot, so I was seriously pumped about going again.  Plus, it was an awesome excuse to head to Austin and visit one of my favorite Aunts!

The conference was hosted at the downtown Whole Foods, and let me tell you that if you are ever in Austin, you must visit this store.  I’ve driven by it about a million times, but this was the first time I’ve actually gone in.  I mean, Dallas has tons of Whole Foods stores; why would I need to visit one in another city?  Um, because it’s AWESOME!  The WF team was incredibly generous.  We had more food and drinks than a group could possibly manage.  Plus, we had very comfortable chairs to sit our booties in all day and well, we all just had a great time.    They also put together some wonderful swag bags.  As foodie people, we all love trying new products and finding new local companies.  One of the items was a jar of chocolate hazelnut spread, similar to Nutella.

I knew the second I took the jar out of the bag that I would use it first.  I don’t buy chocolate hazelnut spread because of the consequences.  I just have this picture of Craig finding me in a corner of the house surrounded by jars of the stuff, cackling away as I shovel spoonfuls of it into my mouth.  I know we vowed “in sickness and in health,” but I’m pretty sure Craig didn’t sign up for that!

So as I stared at the jar, I knew I would need a recipe that used up the whole thing, so I didn’t  end up in the chocolate hazelnut loony bin!  And then it hit me.  I would make this spread into ICE CREAM!!  Oh, how I love ice cream!  It’s another item I don’t keep in the house because of…well, you get the idea…

After consulting multiple recipes, I chose the one below because I was very intrigued that it only had two ingredients.  I was skeptical, but after reading reviews and seeing the same recipe over and over again, I figured I would give it a shot.  The taste is phenomenal.  The ice cream came out so rich and creamy.  In fact, I really only needed two smallish scoops to send me into ice cream bliss.

So…what’s your favorite ice cream flavor?

*Recipe from Chocolate & Zucchini 

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Oh-em-gee, ya’ll have got to try this cake.  This is my favorite chocolate torte because it is so rich and decadent that it literally kills any crazy chocolate craving I might be having.  You don’t need a large slice and this is a single layer cake with no icing for a reason.  The center is moist and rich like chocolate mousse but the crust is like a perfect chocolate cookie.   I have made this cake easily a dozen times.  It is simply beautiful dusted with powdered sugar and perfect for any event.

This recipe is a little tempermental and you have to follow the directions to the T!  No skipping the water bath and if you don’t whip those eggs into a frenzy for 10 minutes this beautiful torte will fall and you will have a chocolate sunken torte which is pretty heart breaking after working so hard in the kitchen.

Straight from:  Bakewise, Author: Shirley O. Corriher

I love my Bakewise cookbook.  I would highly recommend it to anyone who is just starting to bake or if you are interested in knowing why something works and doesn’t.  It is a very smart book and has totally changed how I bake everything.  (literally)

1  - 2″x9″ round baking pan

Non stick cooking spray

parchment paper

6 large eggs (2 yolks, 4 whole eggs)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream or sometimes I cheat and just buy whipped cream in the container – shhhh don’t tell.

1/8 tsp salt

16 oz semi-sweet chocolate (in small pieces or morsels)

powdered sugar for decorating

Preheat to 375 degrees.

Place a baking stone on the very bottom shelf of your oven.  The baking stone helps keep the heat constant while you are baking.  It will also help hold the temperature even when you open the door to put the cake in the oven.

Cut your parchment paper to fit your pan and spray both the pan and the parchment paper with the non stick cooking spray.  This is very very important.  You will not be able to get this dense cake out in one piece if you skip this step.

In a small bowl place the 2 yolks and 4 whole eggs.  Whip them slightly to break up the yolks and blend everything slightly.  Pour the eggs through a strainer into your mixer and discard any goop left over. Begin whipping the eggs on medium high speed and add in the sugar.  Whip for 10 minutes!  No less and I’m serious about this.

While your eggs and sugar are whipping start your water bath.  Find a dish that allows your 9″ x 2″ round baking pan to sit right on the edge.  (My brownie pan works perfectly) Boil enough water to fill this dish full enough so that 1″ deep of your 9″ x 2″ round pan is in the water.  (your cake pan is sitting in the water of the large dish, hence it is called a water “bath”)  You might want to premeasure this with cold water the first time to make sure you have enough water.  I don’t want you spilling boiling water on you.

Place you chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave it for about a minute at a time stirring each time to help break up the morsels until the chocolate is fully melted.

When your eggs and sugar are fluffy and stiff add in the cream of tartar, vanilla and salt.  Beat the mixture a little longer to combine.

Slowly pour in little bit of the melted chocolate at a time and fold in by hand.

Whip the cold whipping cream until it is stiff and slowly add it into the mixture by hand.  (or use your packaged whip cream)

Pour the cake mixture into your pan.

Pour the boiling water into your water bath (oven safe dish).  Place the pan in the bath and the whole thing in the oven on the center rack.  Make sure your cake pan isn’t tilted or that the mixture has stayed nice and even.  You do not want a lop sided cake.

Allow to cook for 45 minutes.  Check to make sure the cake is done by inserting a tooth pick into the center.  If it comes out clean then the cake is finished.  Open the oven door as few times as possible!

Allow the cake to cool for one hour.  When completely cooled wrap the cake in saran wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Run a thin knife along the edge of the cake to help separate the cake from the pan.  Gently flip the cake over and it should slide right out.  Plate your cake and dust it with a little powdered sugar or decorate however you please.

 

 

 

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I used to hate mushrooms.  My poor mom had to listen to me gripe and whine at dinner about not wanting to eat mushrooms.  Why are you torturing me with mushrooms?  I thought you loved me.  Why would you make me eat something so gross??  Yeah, then I grew up and actually like tried mushrooms.  Huh…not so bad.  Actually, these things are pretty damn good. 

So, I guess I have an apology to make.  Mom, if you’re reading this…SORRY!  You were like totally right about mushrooms.  They are not gross and they really enhance the meal just like you always said.  Again, sorry for the tears and the picking mushrooms out of every meal I ate, and oh, the whining.  Yeah, the whining was probably pretty annoying.  Ummmm, sorry about that.

But, don’t get too excited because I still won’t try eggs.  Nope.  No way.  No how.  Ain’t gonna do it.  I’m a stubborn little brat and proud of it!     

Spinach & Mushroom Quesadilla

8 ounces sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
16 ounces chopped frozen spinach
2 ounces goat cheese or feta
3 large tortillas (10-12 inches)

In a large skillet heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil over medium heat.  Add the mushrooms and saute until they shrink up a bit and take on a nice dark color.

While the mushrooms are sauteing, defrost the spinach in the microwave and squeeze out any excess water. 

Add the balsamic vinegar to the mushrooms, stir, and then add the spinach.  Remove from heat and stir in the cheese.

Heat a flat griddle or grill pan over medium heat.  Place a tortilla on the pan and spoon about 1/3 of the mushroom mixture onto one half of the tortilla.  Fold over the other half forming a pocket.  Grill on both sides until golden.  Remove quesadilla from the pan and slice into two wedges.  Serves 3-4.