Showing posts with label breakfast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label breakfast. Show all posts

Monday, January 10, 2011

Pumpkin Oatmeal

It is definitely going to be difficult to catch up!  I was behind already, back in October.  I guess it's good timing though, because the start of the semester probably means I won't be able to cook as frequently, so it's a good thing I have a big stockpile of things to post about.

Since I just made this for breakfast this morning, I figure it's a good place to start.  I went through countless cans of pumpkin this fall (btw, so happy it made an appearance on shelves this year!) making this oatmeal.  It's really the simplest oatmeal in the world to make, and this is a great base recipe (minus the pumpkin) to add whatever you have on hand - bananas, raisins, nuts, etc.

This isn't really a true "recipe" - all you do is take 1 part quick oats to 2 parts water or milk.  I like using almond milk, it gives it a nice creamy texture.  1/2 cup oats will give a really big bowl of oatmeal.  Mix the oats and water/milk together with a pinch of salt.  Microwave 2-4 minutes at 45-60 second intervals.  KEEP AN EYE ON IT!  Oatmeal has the tendency to bubble over very quickly.  Once it has cooked, add in 2-3 tbsp of canned pumpkin, sugar to taste, and a few shakes of cinnamon and nutmeg.  I can't really take credit for inventing an actual recipe, since the main portion came off the canister of oatmeal.  But you should definitely try this - it is yummy, and has a ton of protein and fiber.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Omelets for Success

This was the weekend of my awful Immunology take-home exam (3/20).  My plan was to go into the lab, study all day, and then start taking the exam in the late afternoon.  Of course I got a later start than I planned.  But I am very glad I made the time to make this omelet.  It sustained until I got back from studying/examing.
I really need to get a smaller nonstick pan.  When I bought a set of pots and pans, I got stainless steel.  I knew I would need some nonstick pans, especially for making eggs, and I got a really nice set.  But they are both pretty big - 10 and 12".  This makes it difficult to get a nice fluffy omelet.  I used 3 eggs to try to compensate, but it was still pretty thin.  That may be partly due to the fact that I added some goat cheese to the egg mixture, as well as to the filling.  I should have just stuck with adding it to the filling.
And I used some of my kerrygold salted butter to grease the pan.  It's a really thick stick of butter, and I wanted to make a nice cut so I ended up with more than I wanted.  I used about 1 tbsp to grease the pan, when 1/2 tbsp would have been plenty.

Recipe: Omelet with Sun Dried Tomatoes, Basil and Goat Cheese
Ingredients:
3 eggs (I used organic brown eggs - they have become a new favorite)
1 tbsp salted butter (you can use less)
splash of milk/cream
handful fresh basil - julienned
4 sun dried tomato halves, dry pack
few tbsp goat cheese, crumbled
freshly ground pepper

Directions:
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat, add the butter.  While the butter is melting, beat the eggs.  Add in a splash of milk or cream, whatever you have on hand.
When the butter has melted, pour the eggs in the pan.  From time to time, tilt the pan and lift up one of the cooked edges to let some raw egg underneath.  I think it's hard to flip an omelet, especially when it is as thin as mine, so I just try to cook it all the way through.
Chop up the tomato halves and julienne the basil.  It's easy to julienne basil - stack the leaves, roll them up tightly (the long way), and then slice the roll like you're cutting up a sub.
When the eggs are mostly cooked, but still a little wet, sprinkle the tomatoes and basil on one side of it.
Crumble the goat cheese on top, and crack some fresh black pepper on it.
Fold it over and let it cook another minute or two, until it's warmed through.  Eat immediately.

On an unrelated note - the exam took me forever.  I wanted to finish it that Saturday night, but when Sunday came I still had some work to do.  I decided that there was no way I could miss an entire weekend of beautiful weather, so I worked on some of it while sitting outside on grounds.  It was a little cloudy, and I had sunscreen on my face, so I figured I would be fine.  Definitely not the case.  As you can see from the picture below, my skin is the same color as my shirt.  I still have the lines from that now, a week later.  I'm just hoping it won't peel.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Creamy Delicious Breakfast


So clearly I didn't make everything over the weekend that I had planned.  Actually, I didn't make anything that I had planned!  But I did make some delicious breakfast.  It's kind of a cross between oatmeal and rice pudding.  I made a double batch this time, and I was glad I did - it served as breakfast for both yesterday and today.  Mine took forever to cook - I blame it on my stove.  (I tend to blame things on my oven/stove not working.  They probably deserve it most of the time.)  So you should definitely try this for breakfast.  It's really easily adaptable - you can sub in your favorite pureed fruit or dried fruit for the applesauce or raisins.

Apple Raisin Breakfast Barley (adapted from SparkRecipes)
Ingredients:
3 cups water
1/2 cup medium pearled barley
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup raisins
2 T brown sugar
1 T ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp almond extract
Sugar to taste

Directions:
Boil water.  Add all ingredients except for the extract.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 45-60 minutes or until tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.  Take off heat and stir in extract.  Add sugar to taste.  Makes 2 (huge) servings.