Summer Breakfast

OVERNIGHT MUESLI

I love a bowl of oatmeal in the mornings. All warm and fragrant with cinnamon and apples. But in the summer, hot oatmeal for breakfast is not the first thing that crosses my mind. I now have a new way to love oatmeal. A quick overnight muesli. Years ago I tried several overnight oats concoctions. Can't say I ever loved any of them. Most had chia seeds. I'm sure they are good for you, but I didn't like the dingy color of the end result. This is a plainer version that suits me just fine. I've been making two or three at a time so that it's easy to grab one in the mornings.

Understand this isn't a true muesli which typically has dried fruits, nuts, seeds, spices, etc. Truthfully, it may barely even qualify as muesli. But it works for me. Simple. Tasty. Healthy.

Normally I would never use almond milk, but at the beginning of the quarantine I snagged a case (4 quarts) of almond milk, thinking it would be good to have a shelf stable "milk" on hand. Wonder of wonders! It's pretty good. It's perfect in this mixture.

This is how I do it. Use it as a starting place for your own version. Try different berries. You could top with nuts or granola. Or, use a different milk. Daddy-O needed more honey. I'm pretty sure my little granddaughters would think this is a treat. Can't wait to see them again so we can try it.

OVERNIGHT MUESLI

1/4 cup old-fashioned oatmeal

1/4 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt

1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1 teaspoon honey

berries, fresh or frozen

ground cinnamon, optional

Measure oatmeal, milk, yogurt and honey into a 1 cup container. Stir together. Top with berries. Cover and refrigerate overnight. When serving, sprinkle with a little cinnamon. Will keep in refrigerator for several days.

1 serving                      For my WW point counting friends, this is 1 purple point.

We spent the weekend at the lake. Just us—and the geese and the squirrels who kept us entertained. We love the porch so the rain was just one more thing to watch. I planned our food carefully, taking all we needed for several days. No trips to the grocery store. I took a couple of jars of this muesli. And we stayed three nights. 

I was so sad I didn't have a third jar to eat the last day there. So as soon as we got home, I stirred up four more. I'm ready for the rest of the week. I found out they get better as they sit longer. Mix them up during the day or in the afternoon instead of at bedtime for the next day's breakfast for a little extra refrigerator time. Make them several days ahead. I would happily have one for a snack. This is one of my best recipe finds in quite a while. Delicious AND healthy!

Blog Housekeeping

CUBAN BLACK BEANS and BROWN RICE

❋ You're getting a bonus blog post this week, plus a recipe. I've been doing a little blog housekeeping. First I want to take a minute to thank all of you readers for visiting here. As I've told you before, for some technical reason I can't fix, I cannot reply to any of your comments. And that makes me sad. But please know that I read every one of them. I LOVE reading them. And I feel like I know you now. 

To the frequent commenters, Barb, Chloe and Jane, I like to think you've found something useful here. To those who sometimes respond by email—Mellie, Becky, GoodnightGram, and another Jane—I am so happy that you stay in touch. And then there are those who let me know they've read this via text message from time to time...Mary, Missy, Angie, Betsy, Carol, Kathie, Teresa, Tally & Whit, Ann and Joanne. I DO know you! And it delights me that you keep coming back. 

You know the danger of naming names is missing someone. I'm sure I did. Know that all readers are appreciated...whether you comment or not. 

❋ More blog bonus info....don't forget to use those foods you've stashed in the freezer. Right now the feeling is that those frozen meats and casseroles are a safety net if something becomes hard to find at the store. Surely we have passed through the worst of that, haven't we?

Just remember that unlike money in a saving account that (very) slowly grows if you don't touch it, frozen food does not get better with time. If packaged properly most things are good for quite a while—but not indefinitely. Remember to use that food. How sad it is to find something pushed to the back of the freezer and forgotten. (Sometimes I keep a freezer inventory. I should all the time.)

Last night I made Cuban black beans and rice for me. Daddy-O likes meat. Surely there was something stashed deep in the freezer for him. I found Italian beef that needed to be eaten. (It was quite the international dinner, wasn't it?) We both ate the rice along with roasted veggies. And we were both happy. The beans were crazy easy and delicious. I'm looking forward to the leftovers.

CUBAN BLACK BEANS

2 teaspoons olive oil
1-1/2  cup chopped red onion
1 red bell pepper, diced
1-1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 (15-oz) cans black beans
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 cup chopped red onion for serving
I lime, cut into wedges
cooked brown rice

Heat oil in a large nonstick skilled over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 6-7 minutes. Add garlic, cumin and oregano, stirring to mix. Cook another 30 seconds. Stir in beans (with their liquid) and water. Simmer for 5-10 minutes to let flavors blend. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar.

To serve, spoon beans over brown rice and sprinkle with chopped onion. Squeeze a lime wedge over each serving.


❋ Did you notice? Our new granddaughter (4 months old now) finally has a blog name. I had thought maybe I could shift the other names around and let her become Baby Girl and find a new name for granddaughter #3. When I happened to mention that to that particular granddaughter (6 years old now) she instantly protested! "NO! I'M Baby Girl. I like that name." To be honest I had no clue she was even aware of this blog. But then she constantly surprises me.

So here on the blog this newest baby girl will be called "Little Lady." That's pretty close to what her parents often call her. Glad I took my time with this. The problem, like most problems do if you're patient, solved itself!

❋ I've spent the better part of my morning catching the recipe index up. I discovered that I had not added a new recipe in months. The index is not the most efficient, I'll admit. But it does work. The other option to find a recipe is to use the search box (the little rectangle with the magnifying glass) at the left top of each blog post.

For all I've said we've done nothing for a long time, going back through four months of blogs prove otherwise. Even thought we have been in stay-at-home mode, it looked like a lot of living happened during that time. That made me smile. It also proved how short my memory is. I had forgotten about several of the recipes. And it's only been weeks since I made them!

❋ And the final bonus blog info today....do as I say, not as I do. At least a million times I've written, "Be sure to label and date food before you put it into the freezer." But this one snuck by me.

I have absolutely no idea what this is or how long it's been in the freezer. It's thawing now, so all will be revealed soon. This one is headed for the trash, though. It could be years old. Don't let this happen to you.


Stay healthy, people!

Recipes For Safe Keeping

Smoky Beans & Sweet Potato

During our extended stay-at-home time I have expanded the list of people I follow on Instagram.  Before, it was mostly knitters I've met at assorted knitting retreats in different states, family and a few hotels where we stayed in Ireland. (It's still mostly knitters. I love keeping up with them.) Keeping the list small felt safe. And small made it easy to keep up. 

But times change. I've added Ina Garten. She is doing quarantine cooking. Joanna Gaines is new on my list. Remember the Cheese Tortellini soup I made after watching her do it? I'm now following Sir Patrick Stewart as he reads a sonnet a day. But my most recent addition is one I've really enjoyed. I've been following Jamie Oliver as he cooks at home, sometimes assisted by his children. And sometimes his children DO the cooking! We made banana ice cream this weekend just like Jamie's chilldren Buddy and Petal made it. Yum!

Jamie doesn't give recipes, he just cooks for his family. And as he cooks, he explains what he is doing. And suggests other ingredients you can use if you don't have what he does. Just watch what he does, then do something similar. We should all get more comfortable cooking basic food without needing uber-specific directions. 

I watched him make this meatless meals and it will stay on my own cooking list for a long time. So different. So delicious. So easy. Once you've sorted out the British terms. I find trying to figure out the British-ness of his cooking entertaining. 

I'm writing it down here, so I can remember what I did for another time. You can watch Jamie make this here. I had to convert the temperature from Celsius to Fahrenheit. (180º C is 356º F) And I can honestly say I have never ever heard of "tomato passata." Looked that up, too. Closest thing here in the US, at least in my small town, is tomato puree. It's on the shelf next to the tomato sauce and tomato paste. But it is different from either of those. I also left out the fresh herbs because I had none. The one substitution you shouldn't make is using regular paprika instead of the smoked version. That's the basis of the flavor for this dish. FYI, the chili beans are next to the baked beans in the store.

SMOKY BEANS & SWEET POTATOES

2 or 3 small to medium sweet potatoes, well scrubbed

salt & pepper

olive oil

smoked paprika

about 1 cup chopped onion (red or white)

4 cloves garlic, sliced

2 (15-oz) cans mixed chili beans, with liquid (mild or spicy)

1 (10-oz) can tomato puree

small flour tortillas

sour cream

crumbled feta

Preheat oven to 350º. 

Halve the potatoes lengthwise. Season with salt & pepper. Rub with a little olive oil. Sprinkle with smoked paprika and rub all over. Set aside.

In an oven proof skillet, heat a little olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook about 5 minutes, until getting tender. Add garlic and stir. Cook 1 minute. Sprinkle generously with smoked paprika and stir. Cook for 1 minute. Pour in both cans of beans and tomato puree. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil.

Put pan of beans on the lower rack of oven. Place potatoes cut side down directly on rack above beans.  Bake for 45 minutes, until potatoes are done.

To serve, warm tortillas. Spread sour cream on each tortilla. Spoon beans and a potato over that. Add another small spoon of beans on top of potato. Sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese.

I put a couple of potato halves and a hearty helping of beans in a single serve freezer dish. Fingers crossed this is another one that will thaw and heat well. Can't imagine that it won't but I never know until I try.

Spinach Bacon Salad

And while I'm saving recipes here for me to use later, I'll add this spinach salad I made a few weeks ago for dinner. Served it with our favorite bourbon marinated pork tenderloin and a baked sweet potato. The two of us ate every bite of the salad. Then I made it again at Jessica's while I was there a few days on Mimi duty.

And this morning I boiled eggs to make it again. Then I couldn't remember where the recipe was. I had never printed it out. Absolutely could not remember where on the internet I found it. Thankfully Jessica's memory is better than mine. She said she thought it was from NY Times Cooking. (Yes. I caved and subscribed...another quarantine plunge.) And she was right. I now have a printed copy tucked in a cookbook. But in case I forget which one, I'll put the recipe here for safe keeping.

SPINACH BACON SALAD

1 (5-oz) container fresh baby spinach (trim off long stems)

1 hard cooked egg

3 sliced bacon, cooked crisp and drained

1/3 cup canola or corn oil

1 teaspoon minced garlic 

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup chopped parsley (I didn't have any)

Roughly chop the spinach. Coarsely chop the egg. Add both to a serving bowl. Crumble or chop bacon. Heat oil and bacon in a small skillet. Heat briefly and add vinegar. Bring to a boil and pour over spinach. Add the parsley. Toss and serve immediately.

Souper Easy, Souper Delicious

TUSCAN PUMPKIN WHITE BEAN SOUP

After too many weeks of quarantine indulgences, I woke up yesterday with a new resolve to make better food choices. This is one time I can say without a doubt that what goes into my mouth is totally my decision. (Okay...so it's really always my decision. But I'm easily swayed.) No celebration temptations. No holiday spreads. No birthday parties to tempt me. No restaurant menu that begs me "order this!" It is all me. So if I go completely off the rails I cannot blame it on "Well, it was Easter." Or, "But it was Baby Girl's birthday and there was caramel cake." Or, "The covered dish dinner at church has the best food!" You know how it goes. In a normal year, I think we go from one holiday celebration to the next with not much time in between to get back on track.

It should be easier to make good choices while I've eaten every meal at home. But I can't say that I've done that. So this morning I looked over WW (formerly known as Weight Watchers) recipes. I wanted something easy. And I had to use what was on hand. Plus, it is ridiculously cool today. What's up with this crazy weather? This is a rare almost-summer soup weather day.

There were several cans of pumpkin in the pantry. Was there a sale? I don't remember buying so much. And I had a couple of cans of cannellini beans. (Note to self: buy more.) Chicken broth? Check. Onion? Check. And that's pretty much it.

In the interest of full disclosure, this is a meal I made for me and me alone. I am a soup lover. Daddy-O is generally not. He had asked for chicken and rice, so I had both pots going at the same time. With some cooked chicken from the freezer, his meal was easy, too.

When I first read the recipe I wondered why on earth would it call for 3-1/2 cups of broth and not use that last half cup. You know that a box of broth has 4 cups. Why would it make you have a half-cup left over? See my 2-1/2 quart pot pictured above? It would not have held another half cup of anything. Maybe that's the reason. Also, the soup is deliciously thick and creamy. Another half cup of broth and it would not have been quite so rich. I will figure out what to do with the half cup that is now hanging out in my refrigerator. Not messing with anything in this recipe!

TUSCAN PUMPKIN WHITE BEAN SOUP

olive oil spray
1 medium onion roughy chopped
3-1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 (15-oz) can pumpkin puree
1 (15-oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Parmesan cheese (freshly grated is best)

Spray medium pan with olive oil spray and heat to medium-low. Add chopped onion and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes.
Stir in pumpkin, beans, broth and oregano and simmer 8-10 minutes. Puree in pot with an immersion blender. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. (I added more pepper.)
Grate about 1 tablespoon of parmesan cheese over each serving.

Makes 6 1-cup servings

See how thick this is?

I am counting on this soup to freeze well because I filled one Souper Cube tray with 1-cup portions. It's already in the freezer. Those cubes will pop out and I'll store them in a freezer bag for later. I am happy to have four servings ready to eat later. And one more bowl full in the refrigerator for tomorrow's lunch.

As much as I like to cook, it's nice to think I can stay out of the kitchen every now and then. I'll make Daddy-O a sandwich!

Happenings Out Of The Kitchen

Pattern:  Habitation Throw by Helen Stewart

Yarn: A collection of bits and bobs of fingering weight yarns

Needle:  size 6

While it seems to me like I live in the kitchen now, that of course, is not completely true. I expected to do so much knitting during this stay-at-home period of the pandemic. And I have had time. Plenty of time. But I have not always had the concentration—or desire—to work on even the simplest projects.

So I was completely thrilled with myself when I cast off (that's knitter speak for "finished") this throw. Any blanket is just a LOT of knitting because of the size. This one measures 48x48 inches. It is not intended to be a full blanket, but a lap throw. Mine ended up a little larger than the pattern because I had plenty of yarn.

 And like everyone else who owns a sewing machine and has fabric on hand, I have made a few masks. I only had a little fabric tucked away but it was enough supply family and friends. This last batch was my favorite because I liked the colors. They are the same colors I always like.

Pattern:  Perfect Newborn Socks by Tabitha Gandee

Yarn: iknit2purl2 Supra in Castaway color

Needle:  size 1.5

And this sweet thing needed more socks, slightly bigger than the first ones. I used the same pattern but went up a needle size. Added a one repeat in the heel flap and a few more rounds in the foot length. These will last until fall maybe. Maybe. She is four months old now.

And then I ordered a new project. A kit that included the yarn and the pattern. Straight from a Facebook ad from a shop I had never heard of. I would have never done this pre-quarantine. (I am very suspicious of Facebook ads.) But I did it. And I love it.

The yarn is a silk/cotton blend that will be perfect for summer. And since we can have summer temps about 10 months of the year, I anticipate a lot of wear for this one.

I'm loving the simple pattern. This is exactly what my brain needs right now. Very little thinking required. The rhythmic motion of plain knitting is relaxing. And it's fun to see the triangle grow and the colors gradually shift.

And while I've knitted I've enjoyed listening to this audio book series. If you are an audio book fan, you know that most books take hours and hours to listen from beginning to end. (The longest one I've listened to was 19 hours.) So I was excited to stumble across this series. I have been a fan of mysteries since childhood. These are short episodes, each complete story lasts around 3 hours. This story length fits into assorted schedules and it fits into assorted attention spans. Mine is not as long right now as it usually is. Wonder why.

I also discovered last week that I can access Acorn TV with my library card! I have many friends who love Acorn TV which is a streaming service that requires a subscription. I have always felt like I didn't have enough TV watching time to justify another subscription but the lineup of British television shows continued to tempt me. Then I got an email from our library system reminding patrons of the many services they offer. I was so excited to discover that I could access Acorn TV! Not all libraries offer this access but the list was very long. It required downloading the app, RBdigital. And in the set up process you can check to see if your library participates. It is not full access like the subscription service. It's limited to 3 borrows per month. Each borrow lasts 7 days. Plenty of time for me to watch a few things that I've wanted to see.

Funny what good things have come out of this quarantine. All of our time at home has meant a change up in our schedules. Hard times for sure for many people, but there have been little nuggets of positive things. Many of us have learned to Zoom. We've tried new recipes because we couldn't do our regular grocery shopping. And we've had time to just "be." What good things or new things have you found during this stay-at-home time?

Quarantine Cooking Week #6

Oven "Fries"

Way back when I started using this recipe, oven roasted vegetables were not the first vegetable cooking method that came to mind. Now, people roast everything. But this was a magic recipe 20+ years ago. A teaspoon of oil? Yep. That's really all it takes. I love this oven baking grid that I bought at Walmart for $5 about 20 years ago. The potatoes brown on the top and bottom—without turning them over half way through. I have no idea if anything like this still exists, but if you see one, grab it.

Pre-quarantine we would go out sometimes on Sunday nights to a local diner for hamburgers. And we rarely made burgers at home. But now we are at home on Sundays, just like we are every other night of the week. Since I've been doing my grocery shopping online I've been at the mercy of what was available. The first time or two, there was no ground beef to be had. So I ordered frozen hamburger patties. And what a surprise! These have been good. And easy since they go on the grill straight from the freezer. They are ready in about 10 minutes.

I typically keep a pretty well stocked freezer. Stocked with foods I have prepared. Soups and stews. Casseroles. Baked goods. Meats ready to thaw, warm and serve. Hot dog chili. Even cooked dried beans. I have done this for years. But in anticipation of a long stay-at-home, I bought a few convenience freezer foods. (But never did I think the stay-home would be this long, with no clear end in sight.) On the nights when I think I cannot look at my stove again, frozen chicken strips have been better than no supper, and I didn't have to cook. Frozen meatballs are still waiting a desperate night of their own. (And I just read that I am not alone. Evidently the sales of frozen pizza have gone way up.) 

Most prepared frozen foods are in the "just okay" category for us, but I'll be keeping these burger patties in the freezer from now on. FYI, I bought the 80/20 lean-fat version. That could be why we thought these were good. Usually I buy extra-lean ground beef and while that will continue to be my first choice for most things, hamburgers are better with a little more fat. The extra fat drips down in the grill, right? Sure thing.

So I'm wondering, have you had any quarantine food discoveries? Freezer finds. Recipes. Ingredients. Things you might not have tried otherwise. Things you'll keep in your pantry all the time going forward. I'd love to know. 

To make our at-home diner meal complete, I cut up these potatoes for the oven. It's almost as easy as frozen fries. Don't have potatoes? Go ahead and use frozen fries. Don't have a bag of fries in the freezer? Then let's hope you have the potatoes. Or sweet potatoes even. This day and time, it's nice to have a choice.

I cut these fries thinner than the "eight wedges" the directions call for. They cook quicker a good bit quicker. Just keep an eye on them and look for the browning. Friend Kathie told me that sometimes she adds a little garlic powder and chili powder to the oil. Next time....

OVEN "FRIES"

4 baking potatoes

1 teaspoon cooking oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Spray baking sheet with PAM. Scrub potatoes, pat dry and slice each potato lengthwise into 8 wedges.

Put potatoes in mixing bowl and drizzle with 1 teaspoon of oil. Toss to coat.

Bake on sheet for 15 minutes. Turn and bake 15 minutes more, or until they begin to brown.

A Last Minute Supper Change

Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas

Still at home. Still cooking. But I'll admit I'm looking forward to eating a meal that I didn't cook myself. Having said that, this supper was a treat. I've missed going to our local Mexican restaurant. And while this dish doesn't taste at all like anything on their menu, it is delicious in it's own right. And it does have a Mexican influence. It is  more like "slightly Mexican."

At 5:30 pm, I pulled out the chicken tenders, onion, and the peppers with plans to do a quick skillet something or other. But I wasn't excited either the "something" or the "other." Then I looked at those three things on the kitchen counter. And aha! I had a lightbulb moment. I remembered this recipe from a few years back. I had some small tortillas in the freezer. There is always a can or two of Rotel on the shelf. Plus I had lettuce that needed to be used sooner rather than later. And cheese and sour cream are staples in my refrigerator. That's all I needed.

Forty-five minutes later—from staring at the chicken on the counter to sitting down to eat—supper was on the table. Pay attention...thirty of my 45 minutes was letting the chicken cook in the oven. It's a mostly hands off recipe.

OVEN BAKED CHICKEN FAJITA 

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken cutlets, cut into thin strips (cut against "the grain")  

    (this time I used chicken tenders and cut them into thin strips)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 teaspoons chili powder

1-1/2 teaspoons cumin

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt

1 (10-oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies (I used Rotel Mild)

1 medium onion, cut into thin strips

1/2 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

1/2 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips (I used an orange pepper)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken strips in a greased 9x13-inch baking dish.

In a small bowl (I used a custard cup) combine the oil, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano and salt. Drizzle the spice mixture over the chicken and stir to coat. Add the undrained tomatoes, peppers and onions to the dish. Stir to combine. 

Bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. Stir a time or two through the cooking time.

We spooned the chicken, along with sour cream, shredded cheese and lettuce, into flour tortillas. I finally figured out that it's easier to spread the sour cream on the tortilla first, then add the rest. Roll it up and enjoy! 

The next night when there was only one tortilla left, I opted to eat fajita unwrapped. Just piled the chicken/pepper mix on the plate and topped it with lettuce, cheese and sour cream and put a few big blue tortilla chips on the side. I might have liked it better this way.

~~~~~~~~~

Notice that I used italics for the word "stir" every times it appears in the recipe. I used the italics because I forgot to stir it at all. Until I took it out of the oven. Why is my brain in slow gear??? Thankfully it was still good. I like a recipe that is difficult to mess up!