Maple-Walnut Chicken: doing well so far, but it IS only Monday

Another late post with no pictures.  Sorry about that.  Maple-Walnut Chicken with Steamed Green beans.

The players: olive oil, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, and fresh thyme.

BGS walks downstairs and gives me a glare "It's too much sugar.  I told you that already.    It isn't too much sugar.  "What's that green stuff?". "Fresh thyme.  I told you I don't like that.  Just eat it.  hrmpf.
Turns out I added WAY too much thyme :(

And now to finish the grocery list and menu plan for the week.  And try some other paleo recipe sites.

I was rather enjoying not having to search for recipes or think about what to eat every week, but I'm getting a little bored and stifled repeating what feels like the same recipe every 3-4 weeks.

Oh and I can't forget to set the Overnight oatmeal.

I got the idea from Alton Brown's episode "Oat Cuisine" but the figs didn't really peak my interest, but the great Google helped me find a wonderfully amazing overnight oatmeal recipe that has apples as the main recipe but she also lists multiple variations.  I haven't tried them yet, because well, because I like apples just so darn much.  The cherry and pumpkin do look mighty tasty, though.  I have a firm stance against pumpkin outside of the fall season, but I just might have to make an exception for the oatmeal.

Ok, back to MY oatmeal.

I use my small 2-qt slow-cooker so that the oatmeal doesn't burn - again.  It did burn the first time I made it in my 5-qt.   That's why we bought the 3-qt from Cuisinart.

I often think about setting it up before I am ready to turn it on, so I measure the liquids and pour them into a Rubbermaid jug so they are ready to go when I'm ready to turn my breakfast on for cooking.  Into the jug I add 1 1/2 cups almond milk, 1 1/2 cups filtered tap water, 2 tablespoons of maple syrup, and my recent addition is 2 tablespoons of Pom Wonderful Blueberry-Pomegranate Juice.  I don't notice the taste, but I just know those anti-oxidants are working their magic :)

I first spray the crock with cooking spray so that I can obtain my tasty goodness in the morning.  Next step is to measure 1 cup of Bob's Steel-Cut oats into the crock.  I then top the oats with 2 tbsp of flax meal, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, 1/4 tsp of salt, and approximately 1/4 tsp of freshly grated nutmeg, and 2 tbsp of apple sauce.  (I know the recipe says butter, but I have always made it with applesauce and it comes out fine - in fact, I often substitute applesauce in my baked good when I know it is a suitable substitute).  
After the apple sauce is in, I chop 2 apples, usually gala or fuji,  into approximately 1/2 inch pieces and tumble them on top.

The last step is to pour on the liquid, stir the mix and put the lid on.  I was setting the timer for 7 hours on low, but every so often...ok...more often than not, I would wake up the warm setting was already active and the oatmeal was starting to burn,  so I bought a simple light timer and set it  for 7 hours.  Problem solved!

Orange-Walnut Muffins with Cream Cheese Icing and Filling

I had originally planned to make Coffee Cake Muffins Melissa's Born to Cook blog, but then I remembered I had promised BGS that I would make some orange cupcakes/muffins with cheesecake icing, so I sought out recipes and resources.  I found Orange Muffins, Fresh Orange Muffins. and Orange Muffins.

 I'm not a fan of  overly sweet icings - never have been - even as a kid -, so I found two resources for cream cheese icing that balanced the sweetness.  I found Cream Cheese Filling and All Recipe Cheese Filling and once again felt the need to improvise based on the ingredients.

For the cupcake/muffin:
2 oranges, peel on, but seeds removed
3/4 cup orange juice or mango nectar
2 cups All Purpose (AP) flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

For the muffin topping:                                                 For the filling/icing
1 tbsp melted butter/margarine                                         16 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar                                                        3/4 pound powdered sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon                                                  10 oz mango nectar   
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg                                                      zest and juice of one orange
1/8 tsp ground cloves                                                       2 oz orange liqueur like Triple Sec
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)                                  2 oz dark rum
                                                                                       1 tsp vanilla

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Spray your muffin pans with non-stick spray or or place muffin liners and set aside.    Place the orange quarters and orange juice/mango nectar in your food processor or blender and pulse until pureed.  Add the eggs and oil and blend/pulse until incorporated.
In a separate large bowl mix the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar,nuts, and spices.  Add the orange mixture all at once and stir to combine.  Fill the muffin cups until 2/3 full.

Combine the melted butter, brown sugar, and spices and sprinkle on top of the muffins.  Put the muffins in the preheated muffins for 20-25 minutes.

While the muffins are cooking, combine the mango nectar and orange juice and orange zest to a pot and reduce to a thick syrup.  Whip the softened cheese until smooth.  Slowly add the powdered sugar, mango syrup, rum, and triple sec until combined.

My plan was to put the icing inside and on top of the cupcakes, but I didn't have of those spiffy cake decorating tips, so I had to settle for just putting the icing on top.  The Icing is deliciously non-sweet, but my cupcake/muffins are dense and moist (not in a good way).  I spose that's what I get for improving on a baking recipe......BGS likes them, though.  That's what REALLY matters :)

Breakfast Quinoa and Vitamin C Juice - it's what's for breakfast

I don't remember where or when, but I read somewhere recently that quinoa (properties and benefits) was an excellent source of nutrition.  So I set out looking for recipes that used it.  The first one I found was to cook the quinoa in pomegranate-green tea.  I wasn't allowed to try it because my numbers were way off the week before (both pomegranate and green tea affect my numbers).  BGS did try it and wasn't fond of it.  He said all he could taste was the tea.  He finished his serving that night, but asked if he could toss out the rest.  Ok...one recipe done...time to search for more...to the internet!


I found a recipe for a lunch/side dish that uses pistachios and dried pineapple....a savory dish that uses scallions, raisins, and chicken broth (2 savory lunch/side dish recipes now)...a main course/lunch dish that uses chopped chicken breast, scallions, cumin (3 savory dishes)...and then I found a quinoa rice pudding that even has the rum and raisins and  today's breakfast dish that sounded delicious!

Quinoa Players

Prep time: 5-6 minutes.  Cook time: appx 20 minutes
Today's Breakfast Main Dish Players (for 1 serving): 2% milk, water, quinoa, rolled oats, oat bran, walnuts, cinnamon,salt, vanilla extract, brown sugar, and dried cranberries.

I got smart...I got the ingredients gathered and prepped last night, including putting the sauce pan on the stove last night after I cleaned up dinner.  This included putting 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of milk in a container and storing it in the fridge. Next I measured 3 tablespoons rolled oats (I didn't have rolled oats in my pantry, so I used instant - more on this later), 2 tablespoons oat bran, 1 pinch of salt, 1 pinch ground cinnamon, and 1 handful - appx 1/4 cup dried cranberries).  I also retrieved a bag of frozen mixed fruit from the freezer that included strawberries, mangoes, peaches, and pineapple chunks and set it on the counter to defrost for the morning juice

*Yawn* -*stumble down stairs* *let dog out* *rub eyes* *stretch* "brew" Donut Shop coffee and retrieve my milk/water mix from the fridge when I get out my creamer.

1.  Pour the milk/water into the pot already on the stove and add 2 tablespoons quinoa and bring to a gentle boil....do not walk away like I did.  I nearly had the whole thing boil over on me.
2.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
3.  Stir in the cranberries, rolled oats, oat bran, salt, and cinnamon.
4.  Cook, stirring frequently over low heat for 2-5 minutes or until the mixture begins to thicken.
5.  Remove from heat and stir in 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts (or nut of your choice), 2 tsp brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

Serve immediately.   The recipe said that it should make two servings, given the fact that I doubled the recipe *all measurements above are 2x the original recipe at http://allrecipes.com/recipe/good-morning-banana-nut-cereal/detail.aspx*, but it seemed like barely enough for 1 person, so I gave the whole thing to BGS for breakfast.

I don't know if it's because I used instant oats or if there wasn't enough liquid after the water/milk almost boiled over.  It's probably a combination of the two.  Who knows.  Either way, he enjoyed it and from the tablespoon I saved for myself, it was mighty tasty.  We will definitively try this again with other "additives".

The Juice:  I put the defrosted 16 oz bag of strawberries, peach slices, mango chunks and pineapple chunks in the juicer.   Big Mistake: I only got 4 ozs of juice out.  Apparently our Breville juicer

doesn't handle soft fruits - like blueberries, strawberries, etc all that efficiently.  Next time I will put it in the blender...who knew  we would need a juicer and  a blender to make juices....oh well....good thing I have my Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender so I won't have to wash the blender pitcher every time.

The juice tasted great anyway.  Just wish we had more of it :(

The photo is from today's juice has more chunks and bits in it, because I used the immersion blender instead of the juicer.  BGS was in a hurry to get to work, so I didn't pulse it all the way through.  BGS wasn't fond of the bits, but drank it anyway.

Impromptu Side-Salad - Rice, Celery, Cranberries, Walnuts

BGS needs to change his diet so I've been making healthier food - not that I made unhealthy food before, but now I've been more conscientious of the fat, fiber, and calorie intake.  Let's just hope he pays attention when he's not eating my food.....or maybe he'll start taking lunch.....- insert long pause while I search for a new lunchbox for him.....hrmmmm pink with flowers maybe- where was I??

Right, impromptu salad.  I had made brown and white rice the night before and was trying to a) use up leftovers b) try to find alternative ways to prepare rice to make them more appealing to BGS vs "just plain old leftovers".  So I went to allrecipes.com and found Balsamic Brown Rice Salad.  Sounded tasty....but did I have the ingredients?  Sure I had the rice, but what about everything else?   Celery - check.  Dried cranberries - check....Onions - nada.  Balsamic Vinaigrette - expired......Balsamic Vinegar + Olive Oil....check....So I empty the expired dressing bottle and pour equal portions of balsamic vinegar into the bottle and shake.

Dump both the white and brown rice in the bowl.  Add the chopped celery - 2 stalks.  Add the cranberries - 1/2 cup.  Add the 1/2 cup of homemade balsamic dressing.  Add salt and pepper and stir.

The vinegar taste/scent was quite strong last night but was better tonight.  I guess the ingredients needed a night to "merry".

Best news of all - BGS liked it!

It was quite tast