This single serving of blueberry overnight oatmeal is delicious and a nutritional powerhouse. I like to use coconut, vanilla or blueberry yogurt instead of plain to give a little extra boost to the flavor. I use Light and Fit Greek yogurt, but any low carb brand can be used. I also use almond milk, but you could use your favorite dairy milk instead. Mix in a covered refrigerator dish or pint jar to store overnight. Add blueberries before serving. Eat at home or throw (tightly covered!) in your back pack to eat at your destination. Blueberries are an excellent source of antioxidants, which protect body cells from free radicals. Free radicals are the villians that damage cells, contributing to aging and diseases, such as cancer. Blueberries are believed to have one of the ... [Read More]
American
Buttery Apple Crisp
Nate the Great's Mommy set the dessert on the table. MMMMMM Apple Crisp. One bite and it was wow! Light and buttery, cinnamony, and just right sweetness. This apple crisp just whispers in your ear and wraps you in warm apple flavor kissed with butter and cinnamon. Where did you find this recipe, I asked. (just for you, of course!) In grandma's community cookbook, she said. Of course. Every cook who knows someone from that little town has a fat orange covered spiral bound cookbook on the shelf or in the kitchen drawer. Apparently even those who weren't even in kindergarten yet when it was published! How could I have missed it? Granted there are 7 apple crisp recipes in the book, including one with marshmallows, one with eggs and one with raisins. Interestingly they all call ... [Read More]
Overnight Oatmeal
Add pizzazz to your breakfast with Overnight Oatmeal! It’s healthy, nutritious and delicious! I had a bowl of hot oatmeal every morning with raisins and walnuts for a very long time. When I heard about oatmeal made overnight in the refrigerator and eaten cold I was pretty skeptical. But we needed something to go with scrambled eggs (protein!) and the idea of a basic dish with lots of variations kept leading back to Overnight Oatmeal. Sauted apples were the first version we tried. Peel, slice and dice an apple and saute it with a tablespoon of butter in a small frying pan. Layer the hot apple with the cold oatmeal --- ummm, heavenly. Great for a leisurely morning. But there are lots of add-in and topping options. Enough to keep your tastebuds excited for a very long time. ... [Read More]
Banana Nut Muffins
Banana Nut Muffins are a quick and easy breakfast, a delicious addition to any meal, a tasty snack and a life lesson. A life lesson?? Muffins are so easy to make that they are often the first baked item beginning cooks learn to make. A muffin recipe teaches how to follow directions, how to measure ingredients, and other basic cooking skills. (These are pretty darn good eating however, even if you are an experienced cook!) To make muffins, the dry ingredients are measured then whisked together in a large mixing bowl. Wet ingredients are measured and mixed together in a smaller bowl or large measuring cup. Then the wet ingredients and dry ingredients are put together and stirred just until they are mixed. Too much stirring makes muffins tough so some lumps are expected. ... [Read More]
Apple Walnut Cake
Apple Walnut Cake sings fall with apple chunks, walnuts and spicy goodness. Add cream cheese icing and sing Happy Birthday. Which is what we did for Wheels birthday. It was so good I made another cake -- just because -- a week or so later! I tweaked the amounts of the sugars, reducing them considerably to lower the carb count. The cake is just right sweet -- enough to complement the cinnamon and nutmeg and not overpower them. I just googled "complement". It says "a thing that completes or brings to perfection". Just exactly the description I was looking for! Don't bother to peel the apples. I used my favorite Gala, cutting them into slices and then cutting across the slices to make half inch long chunks. Buy the less expensive walnut pieces for this and save yourself time and ... [Read More]
Easy Three Bean Salad
Easy Three Bean Salad is the new bean salad at our house. Everybody loves bean salad at Chez Charlene – all kinds. This is the new favorite version. The red wine vinegar makes a light dressing with no strong overpowering flavors so it goes with almost any main dish. It’s especially refreshing on a hot summer day. Ten servings makes this recipe ideal for a crowd – your contribution to a potluck or a salad for your own gathering. It also means more servings if you are cooking for just two or three, as I frequently do. The salad keeps well in the refrigerator – in fact, flavors mature and it becomes even better. How long can you keep it? Several days, but it never goes beyond one or two in our house because it disappears so quickly. It even gets eaten as a midafternoon ... [Read More]
