Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

These muffins were the highlight of our afternoon! They have a very, very moist, dense texture. I used cinnamon roll flavored oatmeal, so I'm sure that played a big part in their deliciousness. You could use whatever flavor you like, or plain (if using plain, I'd probably use a little cinnamon or other flavoring to give it a bit of a boost).

As you can see, the chocolate chips sank to the bottom, which didn't stop them from tasting great, but probably could have been avoided by dredging them in a little flour before adding them to the batter. Speaking of which, I think the original recipe calls for raisins instead of chocolate chips. I personally think they would taste great, but I don't think the Bass would eat them with raisins.

They didn't rise much, so go ahead and fill the muffin tins right to the top. This recipe should make you 12-14 muffins when filled to the top.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 1/2 cup instant oatmeal (three packets)

1 1/4 cup milk

1 egg

1/2 cup applesauce

3/4 cup* brown sugar

1 1/4 cup wheat flour (I used flour I ground from white wheat in my K-Tech Mill)

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup chocolate chips

Grease muffin tins and heat oven to 350 F.

In a large cereal bowl, heat milk for one minute in microwave, then add oatmeal. Set aside for approximately 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium-sized bowl, combine egg, applesauce and brown sugar. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside a little flour mixture to dredge chocolate chips. Alternately add oatmeal and flour mixture to sugar mixture. Stir until just combined, then gently stir in chocolate chips. Fill muffin tins to the top and bake for 20-25 minutes.

*Note: In retrospect, using 3/4 cup of brown sugar might be unnecessary when using sweetened oatmeal and chocolate chips. Next time, I'll probably decrease brown sugar to 1/2 or 1/4 cup.

Chicken Meatballs

These were SO good! We had a few leftover hot dog buns, so I toasted them, piled the meatballs inside, sprinkled a little mozzarella on top and called them meatball subs.

Chicken Meatballs

1/2 bottle of your favorite spaghetti sauce

1/2 lb. ground chicken breast

1 egg

1/3 cup* Italian bread crumbs

1/4 cup mozzarella** cheese

Garlic salt, pepper, and Italian blend seasoning, to taste

In a medium-sized skillet, heat spaghetti sauce over medium heat. Meanwhile, combine ground chicken, egg, bread crumbs, cheese, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Form into meatballs and place into sauce. Cook 3-4 minutes, then turn meatballs over in sauce to coat. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 10-15 minutes. Enjoy in sub rolls or over cooked pasta. This made 11 or 12 good sized meatballs.

*Note: I'm not sure exactly how much of the bread crumbs I used. I discovered as I was mixing the ingredients (I'd put in probably about 1/4 cup) that the mixture was too runny, so I poured in some more, and a little more came out than I meant, but it worked out to be the perfect amount. If your mixture seems to runny, I'd suggest adding more bread crumbs until they come to a better consistency.

**Note: I think it's more traditional to use Parmesan cheese in meatballs, but we rarely have it on hand. Mozzarella adds a nice flavor and seems to keep them very moist.

Bean and Cheese Taco Bake

Before I start on my listed menus, I thought I'd get some practice in blogging and food photography by showcasing a few things I've made lately. I know my photography leaves a lot to be desired, especially in comparison to the professional looking photos I've seen in so many blogs. I hope you will not be deterred from trying some of these recipes due to their lackluster photos. There's an old saying about not judging a book by its cover, and I think that is applicable here. Hopefully along the way my skillz will improve and I will eventually get some photos that do justice to the deliciousness of the food!

One more thing: I have been trying the last couple of months to incorporate more vegetarian (or maybe meatless would be a more appropriate term) meals into our family's diet. This recipe was great as written, but I'm sure it would also be great with some seasoned taco meat or chicken, if you should feel moved to do so.

Bean and Cheese Taco Bake
1 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 can (10 oz.) red enchilada sauce
1/2 cup mild or medium salsa (or go for hot if you prefer)
1 can (15 oz.) black beans
1/2 bag tortilla chips (or maybe a whole bag)
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese

Lightly grease 6 x 10* baking pan and heat oven to 375 F.

In a medium-sized skillet, heat oil and add onion. Cook approximately five minutes, until onion is tender and slightly browned. Stir in enchilada sauce, salsa, and beans and heat through.

Lightly crush a few handfuls of chips and place at bottom of greased baking pan. Pour about half of bean mixture over chips, then cover with about half of the cheese. Layer with more chips and remaining bean mixture and cheese. Bake approximately 10 minutes, until cheese is melted and lightly golden.

*Note: I am guessing on the pan size. It is a small pan, definitely smaller than 9 x 13, that fits perfectly inside our toaster oven, which we keep outside on the porch so we don't have to heat up the kitchen in the already insane summer heat.

This made about four large servings. I had mine on top of a bed of salad, which tasted great.

One more note: the original recipe called for the entire can of enchilada sauce and two cups of salsa. It seemed to me like that would be way too pungeant, not to mention overly liquescient, but if it suits you, go for it!

Menus for the month of August

Since I'm still on summer break, I've been able to plan breakfast and lunch menus going from the last week of July all the way through the end of August. I'm sure there will be changes along the way, but it sure helps to have a plan in place. My goal for this blog is to publish the menus ahead of time, then update with recipes and photos once I've made them. Plenty of the things I have planned are recipes I haven't used before, so I very well may have things that don't turn out well. Maybe I'll even start another blog called "Food FAIL" or something like that. But let's push away the negative thoughts and get excited about what's to come!



Date /Breakfast /Dinner

M 7.27 /Smoothies and toast/ Patty melts and home fries

T 7.28 /Breakfast burritos / Rachael Ray's Lemon Chicken

W 7.29 /Oatmeal with apple topping / Left Overs

R 7.30 /Cereal / KFC

F 7.31 /Cereal / Barro's Pizza

Sat 8.1/ Cereal or Bagels / Restaurant-Style Chicken Tenders

Sun 8.2 /(Fast Sunday) /Pork and potatoes



M 8.3 /Muffins /Zucchini Patties, cous cous, and cottage cheese

T 8.4/ Egg biscuits/ Pizza Pasta Salad

W 8.5 /French toast / Tuna melts and onion rings

R 8.6/ Breakfast Pizza/ Leftovers or Fish sticks

F 8.7/ Cereal / Chicken Enchiladas and Black Beans

Sat 8.8/ Bagels or Cinnamon Rolls/ BBQ chicken pizza pockets or cheese pockets

Sun 8.9/ Eggs and toast/ Crockpot Lemon Chicken and Rice



M 8.10/ Bagels or Cinnamon Rolls/ Meatloaf Patties and Ranch "chips"

T 8.11/ English Muffin Breakfast Rounds/ Tomato soup and grilled cheese

W 8.12/ Waffles/ Fish sticks and tots

R 8.13/ Breakfast Burritos/ Left overs or sandwiches

F 8.14/ Pop Tart or granola bar/ Pizza or Eat out

Sat 8.15/ Cereal/ Taco Salad

Sun 8.16/ Pancakes/ My Favorite Soup and Bread



M 8.17/ Muffins/ Turkey Ritz Burger and mashed potatoes

T 8.18/ Oatmeal or Turnovers/ Fish That Tastes Like Doritos and Rice

W 8.19/ Ham and cheese rollups/ Chicken Parmesan

R 8.20/ English muffins/ Left overs or sandwiches

F 8.21/ Donuts/ Quesadillas and beans

Sat 8.22/ Cereal/ Sloppy Joes

Sun 8.23/ Orange Rolls/ French Bread Sandwiches



M 8.24/ Toaster Strudel/ My birthday! We're going out!

T 8.25/ French toast/ Peachy Pork Picante

W 8.26/ Breakfast burritos/ BBQ Chicken sandwiches and potato skins

R 8.27/ Monkey bread or Egg pockets/ Left overs or fish sticks

F 8.28/ Smoothies and toast/ Pizza or Calzones

Sat 8.29/ Pop Tarts or Cereal/ Chicken Alfredo

Sun 8.30/ Waffles/ Stuffed Shells



Whew! If you made it to the end of this, congratulations! I know the formatting may make it uncomfortable to read, but right now I can't figure out if there's any way to insert a table. If/when I figure it out, I will re-format it, or at least do it next time so it's easier to read.

Yes, another food blog!

Why, when there are hundreds of food blogs already out there, am I starting yet another one? I just love recipes. I love to read the ingredients and try to picture the texture. I love to be inspired by the pictures I see of others' creations and then to decide if that's something I want to try.

A few years ago, I thought of cooking as an odious chore. We ate fast food all the time, and when I did muster up the courage to actually cook something, more often than not it was Hamburger Helper. I put in the absolute minimal amount of effort because it felt like almost every time I tried my hand at a recipe I'd found, it took forever to make and didn't turn out well enough to justify the time spent. Cooking shows were no help either, because most of the chefs were *very serious!* about their food. It seemed like they were always cooking these elaborate dishes, often with ingredients I'd never even heard of, and the finished prodect rarely seemed appealing. I just couldn't picture myself making that recipe, let alone eating it.

Then along came Rachael Ray. (Disclaimer: If you don't like Rachael Ray's food, you probably needn't read further.) I saw one of her first episodes and found myself riveted. She was using stuff I had right there in my cupboard and she was having a ball making it! Smacking the garlic with her knife, throwing in a little of this-or-that without even measuring, and best of all, getting the whole thing finished before my eyes in half an hour. After watching just a few episodes I began to think that not only could I do that, I really wanted to!

Ever since then, I have had a much healthier attitude about cooking. I still have my hits-and-misses (I'm pretty sure I have a major miss baking in the oven as I type this), but I enjoy it. I hope you'll find something useful here and that I can inspire some cooking and baking adventures in you!