Refrigerator Oatmeal

This is has been one of our favorite summer breakfasts!  It's so easy.  You prepare it the night before so it's a great grab and go breakfast, or just nice to have something ready when you get up.  You don't even have to cook it!  I hope you enjoy them as much as we do, let me know which flavors you try and how you like them.


I found these at The Yummy Life.  

The base of the mixture is always the same:

Rolled oats

Yogurt

Milk

Chia seeds*

Then you add your flavorings and fruit.  So easy!

*Chia seeds have tons of benefits, Monica from Yummy Life has a great list on her blog here.

If you're a little leery of eating seeds that come from a chia pet, have no fear (I just can't help but think of that commercial)! There's really no taste to them and again, check out the benefits!

Click here for Blueberry Maple Refrigerator Oatmeal

Click here for Raspberry Vanilla Refrigerator Oatmeal

Click here for Chunky Monkey Refrigerator Oatmeal

Chunky Monkey Refrigerator Oatmeal

Adapted from The Yummy Life.

1/4 cup uncooked old fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup skim milk
1/4 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
1-1/2 teaspoons dried chia seeds

1 tbs natural peanut butter
1 tbs cocoa powder
1 tsp honey, optional (or substitute any preferred sweetener)
1/4 cup diced ripe banana, or enough to fill jar

Directions
In a half pint (1 cup) jar or other container, add oats, milk, yogurt, chia seeds, cocoa powder, peanut butter and honey. 

Put lid on jar and shake until well combined. 

Remove lid, add bananas and stir until mixed throughout. 

Return lid to jar and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days. Eat chilled.

Raspberry Vanilla Refrigerator Oatmeal

From The Yummy Life

1/4 cup uncooked old fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup skim milk
1/4 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
1-1/2 tsp dried chia seeds
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbs raspberry jam, preserves, or spread
1/4 to 1/3 cup raspberries or enough to fill jar

Directions
In a half pint (1 cup) jar or other container, add oats, milk, yogurt, chia seeds, and raspberry jam.

Put lid on jar and shake until well combined. 

Remove lid, add raspberries and stir until mixed throughout. 

Return lid to jar and refrigerate overnight or as long as 2-3 days. Eat chilled.

Blueberry Maple Refrigerator Oatmeal

From The Yummy Life.

1/4 cup uncooked old fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup skim milk
1/4 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
1-1/2 tsp dried chia seeds
2 tsp maple syrup (more or less to taste)
1/4 cup blueberries (or enough to fill jar)

Directions
In a half pint (1 cup) jar or other container, add oats, milk, yogurt, chia seeds, and maple syrup.

Put lid on jar and shake until well combined. 

Remove lid, add blueberries and stir until mixed throughout. 

Return lid to jar and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days.  Eat chilled.

Avocado Feta Salsa

Here's a fantastic salsa that's a bit unique.  I just made this for the first time and brought it to a family gathering, and it was a hit!!  Everyone loved it.  Honestly, I wasn't sure it was going to make it to the party after I sampled it, it's that good!  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

My friend KELLY VISSER turned me on to this, she got it from  Your Lighter Side.  

2 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and chopped
¼ cup finely chopped red onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp snipped, fresh parsley
1 Tbsp snipped fresh oregano
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp white vinegar
4 oz. feta cheese, coarsely crumbled

1. In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, avocado, onion, garlic, parsley, oregano, oil, and vinegar.
2. Stir gently to mix.
3. Gently stir in feta cheese.
4. Cover and chill for 2 hours or up to 6 hours.

Serve with tortilla chips, pita chips or crackers.  As far as I'm concerned, you could just ditch the chips and grab your spoon!!  I also think this would be great on chicken as well.  Top a nice piece of grilled chicken with it...YUM!

SRC: Avocado Cup Salad

It's my favorite time of the month again... The Secret Recipe Club Reveal Day!  I just love browsing through my assigned blog each month, I'm always so inspired.  There are so many talented people and amazing recipes to try.  This month I had The Ginger Snap Girl.  I was already in love when I saw the name of the blog, don't you just want to know about her by the name alone?  Besides, I love ginger, and my beloved cat's name is Ginger as well.  Gloria is the Ginger Snap Girl and she and her husband and their 3 cats live in Southern California.  I really enjoyed reading her "About Me" page.  She's a great writer, amazing in the kitchen, and takes some most beautiful pictures.  She notes that in her family it's all about the food and whose bringing what.  That's how I feel about our celebrations and gatherings too, we just might be soul sisters.  :D

Okay, on to the recipe...
I chose Avocado cup salad.

Don't they look amazing?!  Well, Avocado's are one of my favorite things.

Here's what you'll need:

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup fresh or frozen sweet corn (I cut mine right off the cob)
1/2 red, yellow or orange pepper, diced
2 roma or plum tomatoes, cut in half, seeded and diced
1/4 cup red onion finely diced
1 teaspoon plus 1/4 teaspoon cilantro
1/2 anaheim green chile or jalapeno (if you like spicy), finely diced
2 limes
1 small jicama*, peeled and cut into matchstick size strips (about 2 cups)
2 small to medium sized ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and sliced in half lengthwise
2 green onions, thinly sliced at an angle
Tortilla chips, broken in pieces for garnish

Start by making the corn salsa. Heat a small non stick skillet on medium high heat and add the olive oil  corn, red, yellow or orange pepper, and the chile. (I also added the red onion here since I prefer mine cooked a bit.)  Saute stirring occasionally until the corn, pepper and chile begin to take on roasted appearance, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Once mixture is cool, add tomato, 1 teaspoon of cilantro, the roasted corn mixture to a medium bowl and stir together. Squeeze the juice of one lime on the salsa and season with salt and pepper if desired and stir.

Next make the jicama slaw by combining the jicama, juice of one lime and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of cilantro in a small bowl. Stir to combine.

Next assemble your ingredients.  You could do individual plates for a main dish, or you could put it together on a serving platter like I did as we had it as a side.  Put the jicama on the bottom, then top with your avocado halves.  Then load them up with your corn salsa.  Finish with a sprinkle of sliced green onion and crushed tortilla chips.  

Enjoy!  

*Jicama was a new ingredient for us.  It's pronounced hik-uh-muh.  I've had it before at a restaurant but I've never bought or prepared it.  I'm always encouraging my kids to try something new, so this was a great opportunity.  I do confess, if you are one of my local friends, I had to go to 3 stores to find it!  But, I'm so glad I persevered.  It just added a nice texture and flavor to the salad.  It's kind of the texture of a crisp apple, but not as sweet as an apple.  

Simple Fruit Leather

I have been wanting to make fruit leather for probably at least a year.  I really don't know what has taken me so long.  I know there are lots of great recipes on the web, but I got this one from my friend Torie, and I loved it because it was so simple and easy!

I made strawberry this time, and I'm looking forward to trying some other flavor combinations as well.  I will add to this post as I try new things.

Ingredients:
Strawberries
Honey (or sweetener of your choice)
Parchment paper

Preheat your oven to 170, or lower if it goes lower.
First puree' your fruit in a food processor or blender.  You want it smooth.  Then add your honey.  Torie likes agave nectar because it's super sweet and you hardly need any, plus it's way better for you than a processed sugar.  I didn't have any, so I opted for honey.  Add the sweetener to taste.

Once you've lined your baking pans with the parchment paper, pour your fruit on top.  Get it as evenly distributed as you can.  Then place it in your oven for 5-8 hours.

I did mine overnight.  Once it cools, you can just cut it into strips and roll it up, or store it however you prefer.  I've kept mine in the fridge and it seems to keep well.

Wa-laah!  Fruit leather!

Happy Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July!  Have a wonderful day celebrating!  We'll be gathering with friends to eat and celebrate, ending the night with some fireworks.  We're having good old fashioned hamburgers and lots of festive food to go along with it.  Patriotic popcorn, Red, White and Blue Salad, Patriotic push pops, and Patriotic Punch!

Here's a hot tip I saw on pinterest, punch a hole in your plates and tie your utensils to it, much eaiser to carry when loading up your plate!

The idea behind the punch is your highest sugar content goes on the bottom.  I used Cran-Raspberry juice, blueberry-pomegranite gatorade, and Diet Sierra Mist.  The white and blue didn't separate so well, but they still look festive.  I got the star ice cube molds at target in their dollar spot.

Have a great day everyone!

Chellie

Red, White and Blue Salad

4th of July is almost here!  So many festive foods to make and not enough time!  Here's an awesome salad I adapted from Real Mom Kitchen.  Great tasting and good for you.


1 head lettuce, I used romaine and and some mixed greens from my garden
1 cup glazed walnuts
2 cups sliced strawberries
1 ½ cups blueberries
crumbled feta cheese

Dressing:
1/2  cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 cup persian lime oil
1/2 cup coconut vinegar
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 Tbs poppy seeds

Glaze your walnuts.  Put the walnuts and 1 Tbs honey in a saucepan on medium and stir to coat.  Let them cook for about 5 minutes or so.  The honey will become a bit foamy in the pan, then they are finished.  Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to cool

Prepare your salad.  Place your lettuce on a serving platter.  Next add your cooled walnuts.  Then add your strawberries, cheese, and blueberries.  As you can see from the picture, I kept mine separated for a nice presentation, but this will still be beautiful with everything layered.  

 

Make the dressing.  Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix well.  

I know the oil and vinegar I chose are in the unique category and not everyone has that sitting around.  You can substitute regular olive oil and red-wine vinegar too, it will have a very different flavor, but very good.  If you do that, you will probably need to sweeten it.  I would use honey or maple syrup, and you could also just use sugar.  Check out the dressing recipe at Real Mom Kitchen.  

What are you making for the 4th?  I'd love to hear from you!

Chellie