morning glory oatmeal

As promised…health food! And, bonus, it's also tasty. This is my apology for Tuesday's gastronomical gut bomb. I'm not gonna take it back. But just know you should probably try to work some of this oatmeal into your diet to balance out that mayo- and cheese-laden craziness. Everything in moderation, amiright?

So in college I was a devoted fan of instant oatmeal. You know the kind. Comes in a little brown packet. Pre-seasoned with dried chunks of apple or maple flavoring or spices. Done in a minute. Those packets were my go-to breakfast most days.

Recently, I tried instant oatmeal again. I know this is the part where I'm supposed to say something like this: Horrors! Instant oatmeal is a scourge upon our society and all that is wrong in the world!!! Never again will I sully my taste buds with such a vile creation!

But, guys, instant oatmeal is still pretty decent. However, I knew it could be better, as most all things are*, from scratch.

This oatmeal is inspired by traditional morning glory muffins, with grated carrots, orange zest, coconut, raisins, and lots of spices. However, I'm already planning other variations like maple pecan, chocolate peanut butter banana, or just a basic version with brown sugar and cinnamon.

I'll just go ahead and state the obvious: this oatmeal blew those old brown packets out of the water.

morning glory oatmeal

ingredients:
3 cups water
1 cup milk, plus extra for serving
1 cup steel-cut oats
1 cup grated carrots (about 2 medium carrots)
1/2 cup golden raisins
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
3 Tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
2 tsp grated orange zest

directions:
In a saucepan, bring the water and milk to a gentle boil. Stir in the oats, carrots, golden raisins, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt and return to a boil. Decrease the heat to low and partially cover. Cook the oats stirring just once or twice until it begins to thicken and the oats are soft yet chewy, 25 to 30 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut flakes and orange zest. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Serve warm as is or with an extra splash of milk. Can be refrigerated and reheated throughout the week, just add more milk before reheating.

yield: 4 servings
source: barely adapted from Joy the Baker, originally from Whole Grain Mornings

*With the exception of boxed brownie mix, of course.

baked tex-mex pimiento cheese dip

I have another SuperBowl recipe for you! Look at me go! Let's take a moment to revel in my preparedness and total life domination, shall we?

What's that, you ask? Could this be yet another recipe from last year's SuperBowl that I simply failed to post in a timely manner?

…gahhhhh….can't you just let me have this one moment of victory? Fineeee. Yes, this is another recipe served at last year's SuperBowl. But food is like fashion. If you wait long enough, everything comes around again. Like skinny jeans. Or neon. Or crop tops. Or scrunchies. Wait…scratch that last one. But give it a year or two. They'll be back. Mark. My. Words.

So this dip is an obvious candidate for SuperBowl Sunday. We've got the SuperBowl holy trinity here: cheese, mayo, and cream cheese. In dip form no less. How could you go wrong?

If you're not familiar with pimiento cheese, it's a spread, most common in the south, that features, you guessed it, pimientos and cheese. This version subs in tex-mex flavors such as roasted red peppers, jalapeños, and cilantro.

Just be careful. You sit down with a bowl of this stuff, you might have a hard time coming up for air. It's SuperBowl gluttony in it's purest form. You're welcome?

P.S. I owe you some serious health food.

baked tex-mex pimiento cheese dip

ingredients:

1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 oz. cream cheese, softened (I like to use reduced-fat)
1/2 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled and diced (or 1/3 cup jarred roasted red peppers, diced)
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, minced (plus more for garnish, if desired)
4 oz. extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
4 oz. pepper jack cheese, grated
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste

directions:
Preheat oven to 350˚ F.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well with a spatula until evenly combined. Spread the mixture in an even layer in a small casserole dish. Bake 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted and bubbling.

Remove from the oven, garnish with additional cilantro (if desired), and serve warm with tortilla chips.

Yield: 8-12 servings
Source: adapted from Pink Parsley

jalapeño sweet corn muffins

So we had a snow storm. Yes, another snow storm. I love me some winter, but I think I've officially hit my limit. I want to walk outside without my toes going numb. I want to drive somewhere in my car without first scraping off layers of ice. I want to wear less than three layers sometimes. I'm daydreaming of sundresses and sunshine and mojitos on a deck somewhere. (sigh)

The one redeeming feature of the cold weather? Cold weather = soup weather! As soon as I got wind of our impending winter storm, I immediately put a batch of this to simmer on the stove. I've made this soup so many times now and it never gets old. It's the perfect balance of healthy and hearty.

And what goes better with soup than bread? Answer: nothing! Cornbread is my go-to bread. It's quick. I always have the ingredients on hand. And it's stinking delicious. I typically go for a sweeter cornbread, but switched it up this time, making a more savory version full of green onions and jalapeños.

I may or may not have been ridiculed as I painstakingly placed a perfect jalapeño slice on top of each of these corn muffins. Whatevs. Haters gonna hate.

Note: Please excuse the awful photo. I'll do better in the future.

jalapeño sweet corn muffins

ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup fine ground cornmeal
3 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
3/4 cup milk (or buttermilk)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 cup fresh corn kernels (or frozen, defrosted)
2 green onions, chopped
2 jalapeños, 1 chopped and 1 sliced

directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray or put cupcake liners in each well. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine butter, egg and milk. Add dry mixture to wet mixture, mixing just until combined. Gently stir in shredded cheese, corn, green onions and the chopped jalapeño. Fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Top each muffin with a jalapeño slice.

Bake for 14-16 minutes. Muffins are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes back clean.

Serve warm with butter and honey, or dunked in your soup.

Yield: 12 Muffins
Source: The Novice Chef Blog

crackly banana bread

I think I'm physically incapable of making a normal loaf of banana bread. On the blog I've posted recipes for coconut pineapple banana bread, peanut butter banana bread, banana espresso chocolate chip muffins, and nutella-filled banana muffins…and I have two more banana bread recipes lurking in drafts just waiting for their big moment. But amongst all these recipes, not a single one for basic banana bread. I suppose I just can't leave well enough alone.

Anyway, why should I? Honestly, who wants normal banana bread when you can have banana bread with peanut butter or coconut or…bacon??? Not this girl.

This loaf is the closest I've come to traditional banana bread. But, alas, as soon as I saw Smitten Kitchen's addition of millet to her banana bread, I had to make it happen. The millet provides a crunchy texture to the bread, spicing up what would otherwise be a very traditional loaf of banana bread. Omit the millet and there you have it…basic banana bread. But the crunch is soooo good.

I had a tough time finding millet at first. My regular grocery store only carries ground millet. I eventually found whole millet at a fancy pants grocery store, in the bulk section amongst the nuts and grains. It can also be ordered online here or here. Either way you go, this is what banana bread should be. In all it's semi-healthy deliciousness.

crackly banana bread

ingredients:
3 large ripe-to-over-ripe bananas
1 large egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup uncooked whole millet

directions:
Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with butter or cooking spray.

In the bottom of a large bowl, mash bananas with a fork or the back of a wooden spoon until mostly smooth, with only a few lumps remaining. Whisk in egg, then oil, brown sugar, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Sprinkle baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves over mixture and stir until combined. Stir in flours until just combined, then millet.

Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake until a tester comes out clean, approximately 40 to 50 minutes. Cool loaf in pan on rack.

Yield: one 9x5 loaf

Source: slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen

earl grey shortbread cookies

Have I told you that I'm a recently converted tea lover? I swore I never would be. I'm a coffee gal, tried and true ever since college. Gotta have my cuppa joe every morning. But, dangit, here we are. Starting every morning with coffee and ending every evening with tea.

And you know what the worst part is? I like my tea a little trashed up. Is it fruity? Is it spicy? Is it named after a dessert? Are there pieces of dried fruit/whole spices/popcorn in it? Yes? Then I'm in!

I'm the tea equivalent of that person who claims to like coffee but will only drink it when it's half cream and sugar or blended with ice and flavored like caramel flan or some nonsense. Call me a coffee snob, but I always thought that the great thing about coffee is that it tastes like coffee. (Also, the caffeine is a perk. But that's neither here nor there.)

Anyway, tea. The BF is an English Breakfast/Irish Breakfast/Earl Grey kind of man. I'm not that classy just yet. But I'm trying…in cookie form for now. I'll work my way up to actually drinking the stuff one day. For now? Tea-flavored shortbread. Obviously.

I haven't experimented yet, but I think this recipe would be great with chai tea or even maybe some fruity green tea? Let me know if you try any variations!

earl grey shortbread cookies

ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons loose Earl Grey tea leaves (or 6 tea bags)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

directions:
In a food processor, pulse together the flour, tea, and salt, until the tea is just spotted throughout the flour. Add the confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and butter. Pulse together just until a dough is formed. Place dough on a sheet of plastic wrap, and roll into a log, about 2 inches in diameter. Tightly twist each end of wrap, and chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Slice the log into 1/3-inch thick disks. Place on parchment or silpat lined baking sheets, two inches apart. Bake until the edges are just brown, about 12 minutes. Let cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks and cool to room temperature.

Yield: approximately 2 dozen cookies

Source: Claire Robinson at Food Network

baked jalapeño poppers

So I'm a little early to the party, but I have Superbowl food!!! This is real progress. Typically, it's not until the day of a holiday or event that it occurs to me I should have made something in advance to share on the blog. And posting it after the fact? Forget about it. Who wants a Christmas recipe in January? Answer: no one.

But not this time folks. Oh no, this time I'm ahead of the game (literally).

Okaaaay. Not exactly ahead of the game. More like far enough behind last year's game that I seem relevant again. Yes, that's right, this recipe and these images have been sitting in a blog post draft since last Superbowl. But better late than never? (sigh)

I would be remiss if I didn't offer you this recipe with a warning. I've mentioned these baked jalapeño poppers before here. In fact, this very recipe was the reason behind Katy's horrific jalapeño burn incident of 2011. I won't share all the details of that harrowing affair, but I will pass along a few valuable lessons learned during that experience. Let me share:

Lesson #1: Do NOT use your bare hands to de-seed jalapeños. Use a spoon. Use gloves. Use anything except your bare hands. This is especially true when making multiple batches of jalapeño poppers. Just don't.

Lesson #2: The so-called home remedies for pepper burns do NOT work. Sure, you can try slathering your hands in yogurt and wrapping them in plastic wrap. You can also try lotion, Vaseline, or even Preparation H. Aside from ice packs and time, I've yet to find a true remedy for pepper burns. If you know of one, please share. I'm sure I haven't seen my last pepper burn. See Lesson #3.

Lesson #3: There is no amount of pepper burn pain that will keep me from making baked jalapeño poppers. Sad but true. They're just that good.

Rest assured, no pepper burns were obtained in the making of this particular batch of jalapeño poppers. I've learned my lesson…at least until I forget again.

baked jalapeño poppers

ingredients:
9 jalapeños
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 cups grated pepper jack cheese
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp chili powder

directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Slice each of the jalapeños in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Remove all the seeds if you want these to be less spicy; keep a few if you like some heat. In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, shredded cheese, garlic and chili powder. Divide the mixture among the jalapeño halves, spooning it in and pressing it down to fill the jalapeño. Arrange on a baking sheet.

Bake the poppers for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.

Yield: 18 poppers

Source: very slightly adapted from A Cozy Kitchen

friday thangs

So I'm officially back in action with a "Friday thangs" post!!! For those of you who forgot and those who are new around here, these posts are completely random and mostly just contain the current thoughts/obsessions in my Katy brain. So, without further adieu…

1. Warby Parker glasses. Yes, that's right, new reading glasses are my cool obsession of the moment. I am, in fact, a little old lady in the body of a twentysomething. Anywho, my parents gave me a gift card to Warby Parker for Christmas and so I naturally spent hours pouring over their glasses selection and picking my top five for my free in-home try on. The top five are pictured above. In case you are interested in purchasing from Warby Parker, from top to bottom: Preston, Downing, Ainsworth, Duckworth, Fillmore. I ultimately decided on Duckworth and ordered them a couple days ago. It's embarrassing how excited I am over a pair of reading glasses.

2. Lululemon vinyasa scarves. My sister gave me one of these for Christmas and I've been wearing it daily. No joke. In fact, I'm thisclose to just sleeping in the dang thang. When I first heard of these scarves, I thought the price was a little much. And, yeah, it is. But now, I get it. In fact, I may or may not have just purchased another in a new color. Yikes.

3. How I Met Your Mother. So the BF and I watched the entire series (yes, that's right…all eight seasons) last summer. And now? This final season is out. of. control. Roughly five weeks in to this season the BF thought there is no way they could stretch out the entire season to take place in one weekend. But, sure enough, they are. And I love it. I'm so antsy for episodes to resume next Monday!

4. Jif Whips! As a self-proclaimed peanut butter addict, I'm obviously obsessed with this stuff. It's basically what it sounds like…whipped peanut butter. It's a lot lighter than regular peanut butter and has less calories. I've been eating this stuff every morning slathered on a banana. Soooo good. I wish they made this stuff back when I was in college and dominated some peanut butter and pretzels for dinner on a regular basis. Probably would've kept off those college pounds a bit more effectively. So far, I've just tried the regular flavor, but the others are sounding pretty tempting! Peanut butter chocolate? Yup!

5. Are you watching the new Bachelor? I'm loving it. All of the classic Bachelor requisites: emotional drunk girl who cries the first night, weird stunts that make everyone cringe (I'm looking at you girl who wore a fake pregnant belly), girls who already claim to be in lurrve. What more could you want?

6. Happy Endings! Last TV thing, I promise! On New Year's Day, we got sucked into a major Happy Endings marathon on VH1. I've never really watched the show, but oh. my. goodness. It is heelarious! So underrated! Go watch it. Trust. You won't regret it.

7. Finally, these cookies. I have no reason to make them, but I think I will anyway. Because houndstooth.

That's all for now folks. Have a great weekend and stay warm!

blood orange sangria

I think I have a serious problem. I officially suck at relaxing. In theory, I love and adore my downtime and I've been dreaming of what it would feel like to have a free weekend since midterms last semester. No grading! No research! All of the time for Netflix marathons and fun reading and (gasp) cooking!!! In reality, however, come day two of winter break I'm starting new projects, deep cleaning everything, and beginning to feel my brain melt from boredom. When did I become this way? WHY?!?

And that's about where I'm at currently. I'm beginning to feel the winter doldrums. The rush of the holidays is past, spring and outdoor activities are a distant dream, and school won't be back in session for a couple more weeks. What's a gal to do? I mean, sure, I could be course planning and dissertationing and whatnot. And I am doing those things. But my busy bee self is restless. Anyone need cupcakes for a small city? Their closets/bookshelves/pantries organized ROY G. BIV-style? I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but I made planners for the BF and myself just because…with personalized monograms no less! I can't decide which part of that sentence is the most humiliating. (Side note: If I'm being honest, they actually turned out pretty cute.) But, still, I'm ashamed.

Let's just hope school starts back up before I completely lose touch with reality.

It may seem like the wrong season for sangria, but I assure you it's never the wrong season for sangria! Citrus is just coming into season and that is reason enough to whip up a big ol' batch of this sangria. Feel free to play around with the fruits. I used what I had in the house. If you can't find blood oranges, regular naval oranges will do the job…they're just slightly less pretty. :)

Similarly, you can also mix up the liquor in this recipe. The original version called for brandy. You could probably also use triple sec or some kind of fruit schnapps if you like a more fruity/slightly less boozy flavor. Or you could go for bourbon if you're a girl after my own heart.

blood orange sangria

ingredients:
6 blood oranges
1/2 cup sugar, for glass rimming
1 (750ML) bottle of pinot grigio
1/2 cup club soda
1/4 cup peach schnapps
6 ounces of strawberries, sliced
1 cup of blackberries
1 apple, sliced

directions:
Zest one of the blood oranges and combine it with the sugar in a small bowl. Rub the sugar and zest together with your fingers until evenly mixed. Juice four of the blood oranges (including the zested orange), discarding any seeds. Chop the remaining two blood oranges into quarters.

In a large pitcher, combine the blood orange juice, wine, club soda, peach schnapps, strawberries, blackberries, apple, and blood oranges. Stir well to combine, crushing the fruit a bit to release the juices. Place the orange sugar on a plate, then run a lemon, lime or orange slice around the rim of each glass. Dunk each glass in the sugar, coating well. Fill each glass with a few ice cubes, then add some of the fruit from the sangria. Pour the sangria into each glass and serve.

Yield: serves 2-4
Source: adapted from How Sweet It Is

apricot, ginger and white chocolate scones

Happy New Year!!! As you can see, my New Year's resolution has absolutely nothing to do with dieting. No, my 2014 is already chock full of butter and baking chips. So I guess what I'm saying is that 2014 is off to a good start. :)

Instead, my resolutions are more of the be productive/dominate life variety. For example, I promised myself I would blog more(!) in 2014. 2013 was a pretty weak year for this here blog. And I'm sorry. From here on out I'll do better! Thus, this post is step one to being the best blogger I can be.

Also on the list of New Year's resolutions? Minimize. First stop: my wardrobe. You should see the insane piles of clothes covering my bedroom floor at the moment. On a related note, anyone between the sizes of XS and M living in the Rhode Island area who would like to come peruse, please let me know!

Next stop: my bookshelves. Book worms stay tuned...

Of course the perfect comeback recipe must be a scone. Have I beat you over the head with enough scone recipes for one lifetime? I hope not.

These scones are a little out of the box for me. I'm not typically an apricot, ginger, or white chocolate fanatic, but I had leftover ingredients and somehow these flavors meld together perfectly here. These scones and a big mug of tea…there are worse ways to get through a polar vortex.  :)

Stay warm!

dried apricot, ginger and white chocolate scones

ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, chilled and cut into pieces
3/4 cup milk or half and half
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup coarsely chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup finely chopped candied ginger
1-2 tbsp milk or cream, for finishing
coarse sugar, for finishing

directions:
Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat mat.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add butter to dry ingredients and toss to coat. Using your fingertips, rub butter into flour mixture until no pieces larger than a pea remain.

Add in milk and vanilla and stir with a fork almost until the mixture comes together. Stir in apricots, white chocolate chips and ginger until evenly distributed.

Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and divide it into two balls. Shape each ball into a disc about 3/4-inch thick and cut into quarters. Arrange piece on prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scone with a bit of milk or cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake for 16-20 minutes, until scones are golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool before serving.

Yield: 8 scones

Source: Baking Bites