Week 34, Recipe 1: Black Bean & Rice Skillet

NOTES

• This comes together quickly (45 minutes if using brown rice) but you can also make it ahead of time.
• Modified from Simply in Season Cookbook
• A delicious vegetarian weeknight meal that makes great lunch leftovers the next day!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 green or red bell pepper
• 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained or the equivalent in cooked dry beans (click here then scroll down a bit for conversion)
• 3 c. chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 c. uncooked rice (brown or white)
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• Cheddar, Monterrey Jack or Mexican blend cheese for serving
• Other optional topping - avocado, sour cream, salsa, fresh tomatoes, etc.

DIRECTIONS
1. In a saucepan, saute onion and pepper in oil until soft, about 5 minutes.
2. Add all ingredients except cheese and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered until rice is done; 20 minutes for white rice 40-45 for brown.
3. Remove from heat and remove bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Serve with cheese and any other optional toppings.

Week 34: Recipe 2: Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce

NOTES

• This was really tasty! If you're not comfortable with cooking a curry, or have never tired to cook one, let this be your first!
• If you're cooking for your family and you've got some not-so-spicy fans, substitute the jalapeno for one half green bell pepper (although the jalapeno we used was not hot so we added red pepper flakes to kick up the heat).
• Recipe modified from Simply Recipes
• Mix the spices together and store in an airtight container the night/morning before to save on prep time

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1 lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs (or breasts but thighs are good here)
• 1 large red onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1 14-oz can coconut milk
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 3 Tbsp fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
• Hot cooked rice of choice (use 1 1/2 - 2 c. dry (or 3/4-1 c. per person) to have some for leftovers

DIRECTIONS
1. In a small bowl, mix the salt and the rest of the spices through turmeric. Set aside.
2. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Cut into 1-inch pieces. put into a bowl and sprinkle the spice mix over the chicken pieces. Coat well and let sit for 30 minutes at room temperature.
3. In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp of oil on medium high heat. Add onions and jalapenos and cook for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer. Remove the vegetables from the pan and place in a bowl.
4. In the same pan, add 1 tbsp oil and heat to medium high heat. Add the chicken pieces (doing it in two batches if necessary), spreading them out on the pan so they are not crowded. Brown for a few minutes on each side. When cooked through, add to the bowl with the onions.
5. Add the coconut milk (all but a few tbsp) to the empty skillet. In a small bowl, mix the remaining coconut milk with the corn starch to dissolve the corn starch. Add the corn starch mixture back to the skillet with the coconut milk. Cook on medium heat and stir until thick and bubbly. Mix in the Worcestershire sauce, chicken mixture, basil and ginger. Cook 2 minutes or until heated through. Season with extra salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste.
6. Serve over hot cooked rice.

Week 34, Recipe 3: Slow-cooker Pot Roast with Roasted Vegetables

NOTES

• This is a hearty weeknight meal that makes great lunch leftovers!
• Mix the sauce ingredients together the night before and brown the meat so in the morning you can throw everything in the slow-cooker. When you get home, make the veggies and let cook while you prepare the table, slice the meat, etc.
• Modified from Mennonite Girls Can Cook

INGREDIENTS

• 1 3-4 lb. beef pot roast
• Salt
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• ¼ cup ketchup
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. dried rosemary crushed
• ½ tsp. dry mustard
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2-1 cup beef broth (or enough to cover the roast halfway up it's sides
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 c. water + 1 tsp cornstarch (to thicken gravy)
• Potaotes and carrots (desired amount), to roast
• 1 clove garlic, minced

DIRECTIONS
1. Mix sauce ingredients together (through brown sugar).
2. In a large pot or dutch oven brown the roast slowly on both sides in hot oil. Remove from heat, drain off fat and sprinkle with a little salt.
3. Place in slow-cooker and pour sauce over top. Cover and cook on low all day or on high for 3 1/2 hours or until meat is tender.
4.When meat is cooked, transfer to serving platter and loosely cover with foil and let stand while you make the gravy.
5. Pour the juices in a sauce pan (skim of excess fat before doing so). Bring juices to a slow simmer and mix in the cornstarch/water mixture a little at a time, stirring constantly until you have a smooth gravy. Bring to a slow boil. Remove from heat and serve with sliced roast and roasted vegetables.
6. For vegetables: about 1/2 hour before the meat is done, turn oven on to 425 degrees. Cover a large baking pan with foil and spray with oil. Peel carrots and potatoes and cut into 1-2 inch pieces (try to keep the pieces of somewhat uniform size). In a bowl, combine: 2 Tbsp. oil, Kosher salt as desired, 1 clove garlic, minced, and freshly ground pepper. Toss veggies in oil mixture and lay out on the prepared pan. Roast for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Week 34, Recipe 4: Buttermilk Biscuits with Sausage Gravy

NOTES

• This was yummy. Only wish I would've doubled the biscuits and sauce so I did double it in the recipe below so if cooking for just one or two, you might want to halve the recipe (Note that I left the amount of sausage the same as in the original recipe. I did not think that needed doubled).
• These biscuits are my new favorite biscuit recipe and I will be making them by themselves!
• Recipe modified from Sunset (found on Cooking Light)

INGREDIENTS

• For biscuits:
• 4 c. all purpose flour
• 6 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 c. cold butter, plus 2 tbsp melted
• 1 1/2 c. buttermilk
• 1 1/2 c. half-and-half or whipping cream
• 1 c. all purpose flour
• For gravy
• 3/4 lb pork sausage
• 2 c. half-and-half or whipping cream
• 4 c. milk (2% or whole is best)
• 1 tsp powdered garlic
• 1 tsp powdered onion
• 1 1/2 tsp pepper
• 3 tsp fresh minced thyme leaves (optional)
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1/2 c. flour

DIRECTIONS
1. To make biscuits: preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk the 4 c. flour, powder, salt, and sugar. Cut cold butter into small cubes and using a pastry blender, cut butter into flour mixture until pieces are the size of peas. Stir in the buttermilk and half-and-half until just incorporated.
2. Put the 1 c. of all purpose flour in a shallow bowl. Using an ice cream scoop or your hands, scoop a small handful of dough and drop it into the flour, tossing lightly to coat and shaking off excess. Put dough balls into two 8-inch cakes pans. The dough balls will be touching each other. You'll have about 6-8 dough balls in each pan.
3. Bake biscuits until deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes and then brush with the melted butter.
4. For gravy: put sausage in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until lightly browned, 5-6 minutes, breaking it into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Transfer sausage to a plate with a slotted spoon, reserving any drippings.
5. Meanwhile in another medium saucepan over medium-low heat, warm half-and-half, milk, powdered garlic and onion, pepper, thyme, cayenne, and 1/2 tsp salt.
6. Add butter to to sausage dripping and let melt. Add 1/2 c. flour, and whisk until golden, 1-2 minutes. Gradually add warm milk mixture, whisking, until simmering. Stir in sausage and season to taste with salt.
7. Have biscuits and put on plates, topping with gravy.

Week 34, Recipe 5: Spinach, Sausage (or Bacon) & Red Pepper Frittata

NOTES

• Frittata is a quick and easy meal. You could skip the sausage if you wanted to go vegetarian.

INGREDIENTS

• 8 eggs
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 5- or 6-oz bag fresh baby spinach
• 1/4 lb sausage (I used the hot seasoned) or 3 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan
• Salt & pepper to taste (start with 1/2 tsp each)
• 1 tbsp oil or butter

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, salt pepper and Parmesan. Set aside.
2. Turn on the oven to broil. In a 9-10" oven-safe skillet (mine has rubber on the handle so I wrap foil around it), heat 1 tbsp oil or butter over medium heat, coating the skillet and it's sides well. Add the sausage and cook for a few minutes. Add pepper and continue to cook until sausage is cooked through. Add spinach and cook until wilted (it'll seem like a lot and soft of overflow the skillet but just be patient and stir gently; it will wilt down in a minute or so).
3. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the egg mixture and stir to evenly incorporate the sausage mixture throughout. Let cook for 2-4 minutes until the eggs mixture is soft-set in the middle and set on the bottom and the sides. You can lift the sides up once set and tilt the pan to let the runny egg in the middle run underneath.
4. Put skillet under broiler (about 6 inches from heat) and broil for about 4 minutes or so until the top is lightly browned and no longer runny. Remove and let stand for 2 minutes before loosening from the skillet and sliding on a serving plate.

Week 34 Shopping List

NOTES

• The shopping list is organized) by category and then within each category by meal. After each item you’ll see a number in parenthesis which corresponds to the meal number. That way you can easily pick which recipes you want to try and then find those items (or cross items out) on the list.
• Under Veggies/Fruit I have italicized anything that is a veggie or fruit but NOT found in the fresh fruits and veggie area of the supermarket.

Meat/Fish
• Chicken – 1 lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs (or breasts) (2)
• 1 3-4 lb beef pot or chuck roast (3)
• Pork sausage - 3/4 lb (4) + 1/4 lb (or 3 slices bacon) (5)

Veggies/Fruit
• Onion - 1 medium (1), 1 large red onion (2)
• Garlic – 3 cloves (1), 5 cloves (2), 2 cloves + 1 clove (3)
• Optional toppings - avocado, salsa, fresh tomatoes, etc. (1)
• Green (or red) bell pepper - 1 (1), 1 red bell (5)
• Jalapeno peppers - 1-2 (2)
• Fresh ginger - 1 small chunk (2)
• Fresh basil - 5-7 leaves (2)
• Potoates - 3 Russet (3)
• Whole carrots - 4-6 (3)
• Fresh thyme - 3 tsp (optional) (4)
• 1 5-6-oz bag of fresh baby spinach (5)

Breads & starches
• Rice - 1 c. uncooked (brown or white) (1), approx 2 c. dry white or jasmine (2)



Spices/Sauces/Vinegars/Oils/Condiments
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Red pepper flakes - 1/4 tsp (1)
• Bay leaf - 1 (1)
• Cumin – 1/2 tsp (2)
• Gound coriander - 1/2 tsp (2)
• Ground cloves - 1/4 tsp (2)
• Cinnamon - 1/4 tsp (2)
• Ground cardamom - 1/2 tsp (2)
• Chili powder - 1/4 tsp (2)
• Freshly ground pepper - 1/2 tsp (2)
• Tumeric - 1/4 tsp (2)
• Worcestershire sauce - 1 tsp (2), 2 tbsp (3)
• Soy sauce - 2 tbsp (3)
• Ketchup - 1/4 c. (3)
• Dried rosemary - 1 tsp (3)
• Dry mustard - 1 tsp (3)
• Red wine vinegar - 1/4 c. (3)
• Garlic powder - 1 tsp (4)
• Onion powder - 1 tsp (4)
• Cayenne - 1/4 tsp (4)

Dairy
• Cheddar, Monterrey Jack or Mexican blend cheese, for topping (1)
• Sour cream, for topping (1)
• Half-and-half or whipping cream - 1 1/2 c. + 3 c. (4)
• 2 % or whole milk - 3 c. (4), 1/4 c. (5)
• Buttermilk - 1 1/2 c. (4)
• Butter - 1/2 c. + 4 tbsp (4)
• Parmesan - 1/2 c. (5)

Other
• Black beans - 2 cans (1)
• Chicken or vegetable broth - 3 c. (1)
• Coconut milk (not the light kind) - (2)
• Cornstarch - 2 tsp (2), 1 tsp (3)
• Beef broth - 1/2-1 c. (3)
• Brown sugar - 1 tbsp (3)
• All purpose flour - 4 c. + 1 c. + 1/4 c. (4)
• Baking powder - 6 tsp (4)
• White sugar - 4 tbsp (4)
• 8 eggs (5)

Week 33 Recipes & Shopping List

NOTES

• I'm back from my two-week break with lots of yummy recipes. If you missed any of the posts between Week 32 and Week 33, be sure to check them out - Blueberry Bread, Baked Oatmeal, and Old-Fashioned Corn Muffins.
• I continue to go back and tag older recipes so you'll see the recipe index continually expanding.

Week 33, Recipe 1: Baked Mac & Cheese with Ritz Cracker Topping

NOTES

• Adapted from Annie's Eats and found by my friend Emily
• Baked Mac & Cheese is something you want to serve right away after baking. This is a really quick recipe but to make it even quicker, cook your pasta the night before just al dente (a minute or two before the cooking time listed on the package) then drain and toss with a little olive oil and refrigerate. You can also crush the Ritz crackers and shred the Muenster cheese ahead of time.

INGREDIENTS

• 16 oz macaroni pasta
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
• 1 1/4 c. heavy cream
• 8 oz Muenster cheese, shredded
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 c. Ritz cracker crumbs

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cook pasta 1-2 minutes shy of what the package says so it's al dente. YOU DO NOT WANT TO OVERCOOK. Drain.
2. Meanwhile dice 3 tbsp of butter and place in a large mixing bowl (different than the one you'll use to bake the mac & cheese). Warm the cream in the microwave.
3. Drain the hot cooked pasta and add to the bowl with the butter and toss to coat. Stir in the warm cream and the shredded cheese until it starts to melt. Mix in salt and pepper to taste.
4. Pour the mixture into a greased 2-quart casserole dish. In a small bowl, melt the remaining 1 tbsp butter and mix in the 1/2 c. bread crumbs. Sprinkle the crumbs over the pasta.
5. Bake uncovered until the sauce is bubbling and topping turns golden brown, 15-20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Week 33, Recipe 2: Garlic Ginger Chicken

NOTES

• This is one of our favorite chicken recipes and we haven't made it in awhile. I realized I've never blogged it so enjoy!
• I chop up the chicken breasts and mix the marinade ingredients the night before. Since this last time I made it I used brown rice, I made the rice the night before too (brown rice takes around 40-45 minutes). Then when I got home I set the chicken out to marinade for 1/2 hour, cooked it and reheated the rice.

INGREDIENTS

• About 1 lb chicken breasts or chicken thighs, cut into small pieces (like nugget size)
• 2 tsp fresh ginger juice (grate a chunk of fresh ginger then squeeze it between your fingers to get the juice)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbp white whine + 1 tsp sugar
• Flour for frying (approx. 1 c.)
• Canola oil for frying
• Rice - I estimate 1 1/2 - 2 c. dry to feed my family plus have some for leftovers

DIRECTIONS
1. Mix the ginger juice, garlic, soy and white wine, and sugar in a bowl.
2. Add chicken pieces and let marinate for 30 minutes.
3. Heat a large saucepan (or two) with a thin layer of oil on the bottom.
4. Dip chicken pieces in into flour, shaking off excess and fry in hot oil until browned on one side. Flip and brown the oil side.
5. Remove from oil and let sit on a plate covered with a paper towel. Serve with rice, extra soy sauce and a veggie/s of your choice.

Week 33, Recipe 5: Nacho Pizza

NOTES

• A delicious change from your regular pizza!
• You could brown beef with onions ahead of time to cut down on prep time but this comes together pretty quickly regardless.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pizza crust (see my recipe here)
• 3/4 lb ground beef
• 1/2 packet taco seasoning (or make your own!) and use 2 tbsp
• 1/3 c. chopped onion (I like red for this recipe)
• 1 c. salsa
• 1/2 c. sour cream
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 2 tbsp chopped ripe black olives (optional)
• 8 oz shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
• Crushed tortilla chips
• Optional toppings: tomatoes, sour cream, avocado, salsa.

DIRECTIONS
1. Coat a pizza pan with oil. Roll out dough and place on pan. Bake at 425 for 6-8 minutes or until lightly browned.
2. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add 1/2 of taco seasoning packet (or use about 2 tbsp of your own) and add 1/2 cup water. Stir and simmer until water has evaporated.
3. Combine salsa and sour cream; spread over crust to within 1 inch of the edge. Top with beef, tomatoes, olives and cheese. Bake for 10 minutes.
4. Sprinkle with crusted chips and bake 5-6 minutes longer until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.
5. Serve with extra fresh tomatoes, salsa, sour cream and/or avocado pieces, if desired. 

Week 33, Recipe 3: Slow-Cooker Green Chile Pulled Pork Tacos

 Taste of Home Photo

NOTES

• This is a great and easy recipe!
• Modified from Taste of Home December/January 2011
• The original recipe calls for a boneless pork roast but I used a bone-in roast and just cut the bone out.
• Freeze any extra meat for future tacos.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 boneless pork sirloin roast (2 lbs), cut into 1-inch pieces (or a 2 1/2-3 lb bone-in roast)
• 1 1/2 c. salsa verde or green chile sauce (use a good brand)
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp white or regular pepper
• Dash of hot pepper sauce
• Flour tortillas
• Toppings: sour cream, chopped green onions, avocado, cheese, etc.

DIRECTIONS
1. In a 3-quart (or similar) slow cooker, combine all ingredients through the dash of hot pepper sauce.
2. Cover and cook on low all day or on high for 4-5 hours (or until meat is very tender).
3. Shred pork and place on tortillas, adding desired toppings. Freeze any leftover meat for future tacos.

Week 33, Recipe 4: Potato & Broccoli Soup

NOTES

• This soup comes together really fast - in about 30 minutes so no need to prep anything ahead of time unless you what to pre-cut the broccoli and onion and pre-shred the cheese. Keep in mind that the pre-shredded cheese does not melt as nicely as the blocks of cheese do.
• Modified from Smitten Kitchen

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 14.5 oz cans chicken broth, divided
• 3 c. peeled, cubed potatoes (about 1.25 lbs)
• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 3 c. broccoli florets, chopped
• 1 1/4 c. milk (2 % or whole will result in a creamier soup)
• 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded + extra for topping
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Chopped green onions for topping (optional)

DIRECTIONS
1. Whisk together the flour and 1/3 c. chicken broth until smooth.
2. Combine remaining chicken broth, potatoes, broccoli and onion in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil; cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 8 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
3. Gradually stir in flour mixture. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
4. Stir in milk and 8 oz freshly grated cheese, Cook mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until cheese melts. Add salt & pepper to taste. Top each serving of soup with extra cheese and chopped green onions (if desired).

Week 33 Shopping List

NOTES

• The shopping list is organized by category and then within each category by meal. After each item you’ll see a number in parenthesis which corresponds to the meal number. That way you can easily pick which recipes you want to try and then find those items (or cross items out) on the list.
• Under Veggies/Fruit I have italicized anything that is a veggie or fruit but NOT found in the fresh fruits and veggie area of the supermarket.


Meat/Fish
• Chicken – 1 lb chicken breasts or thighs (2)
• 1 boneless pork roast (2 lbs) or a 2 ½-3 lb bone-in roast (3)
• ¾ lb ground beef (5)


Veggies/Fruit
• Ginger – 1 large chunk (2)
• Garlic – 2 cloves (2), 3 cloves (3)
• Vegetable to serve with chicken & rice like broccoli (2)
• Lime – 1 (3)
• Onion – 1 (3), 1 (4), 1/3 c. chopped (5)
• Red bell pepper - 1 (3)
• Optional toppings for tacos – chopped green onions, avocado, tomato, etc. (3)
• Fresh broccoli – 3 c. florets (4)
• Green onions – for topping soup (optional) (4)
• Potatoes – 3 c. cubed (4)
• Tomato – 1 medium (5)
• Optional toppings for pizza – tomatoes, avocado, salsa (5)
• Salsa – 1 c. (5)

Breads & starches
• 16 oz macaroni pasta (1)
• Ritz crackers – ½ c. crumbed (1)
• Rice – brown, white or jasmine (about 1 1/2 -2 c. dry per 2 adults – this leaves some for leftovers) (2)
• Flour tortillas (3)
• Pizza crust (or make your own!) (5)
• Tortilla chips – about 2 c. crushed (5)

Spices/Sauces/Vinegars/Oils/Condiments
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Soy sauce – 2 tbsp (2)
• White wine – 2 tbsp (2)
• Cumin – 2 tsp (3)
• Hot pepper sauce – dash (3)
• ½ packet taco seasoning mix (or make your own!) (5)

Dairy
• Muenster cheese – 8 oz/2 c. (1)
• Heavy cream – 1 ¼ c. (1)
• Butter – 4 tbsp unsalted (1)
• Cheese – for topping tacos (3)
• Sour cream – for topping tacos (3), ½ c. (5)
• Milk – 1 ¼ c. (use 2% or whole) (4)
• Sharp cheddar cheese (don’t use the pre-shredded kind for the soup) – 8 oz (4)
• Cheddar or Mexican blend cheese – 8 oz (5)


Other
• Flour – about 1 c. (2), ¼ c. (4)
• 1 ½ c. salsa verde or green chile sauce (use a good brand) (3)
• Chicken broth – 2 14.5 oz cans (4)
• 2 tbsp chopped black olives (optional) (5)

Old-fashioned Corn Bread Muffins

NOTES:

• Modified from the Mennonite Community Cookbook
• I don't use muffin cups. Just grease your muffin tins well.

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 c. corn meal
• 1 c. flour
• 1 tsp soda
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1 egg, well-beaten
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 1 c. regular (not low-fat) sour cream
• 4 tbsp milk

DIRECTIONS

• Sift flour and corn meal into a bowl. Add soda, cream of tartar, salt and sugar. Sift again into a large bowl.
• Add beaten egg, cream of tartar, milk, and melted butter.
• Beat throughly and pour into greased muffin cups, filling 3/4 full.
• Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Blueberry Lemon Bread with Streusel Topping

NOTES

• From: The New Basics Cookbook
• My husband is not a "zest" fan so I left out the lemon zest but wanted to put it in so I left it on the ingredient list below.
• This makes for a delicious breakfast or brunch bread. Warm leftover slices in the microwave.

INGREDIENTS

• Topping: 1/2 c. sugar; 1/3 c. all-purpose flour; 4 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp; 1 tsp grated lemon zest; 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. milk
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp
• 1 egg
• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1 tbsp grated lemon zest

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Oil a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
2. Stir the topping ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth. Set aside.
3. In a medium-size bowl, stir the sugar, milk, butter and egg together until smooth.
4. In another bowl, toss the flour with the baking powder and salt. Stir this into the wet ingredients, and then fold in the blueberries and lemon zest.
5. Transfer the batter to the greased loaf pan and sprinkle with the topping. Bake until the topping is deep golden and has formed a thick crust, 40-50 minutes. Cook in the pan for 5 minutes the transfer the bread to a wire rack.

NOTE ABOUT COOKING AT HIGH ALTITUDE:
We're at about 4,500 feet and I always have problems with my breads/brownies/cakes sinking in the center. If you're also at a high altitude, reduce the baking powder or baking soda by 1/4 tsp or so, increase baking temperature by 15 degrees and shorten cooking time by 10 minutes or more. This seems to fix the problem.

Baked Oatmeal

NOTES

• This is a really easy and delicious breakfast and the leftovers are great too. Just reheat and mix with milk.
• Add chopped walnuts or pecans, a different dried fruit (cherries, blueberries, apricots, cranberries, etc.) to change up the flavor.
• I set out my casserole dish and oil spray, mix the dry ingredients together & wet ingredients together the night before and even pre-set my oven to 350 degrees 10 minutes before I'm going to get up. Then I roll out of bed, mix the dry ingredients with the wet, spray my casserole dish with oil, pour the oatmeal mixture into the casserole and pop in the oven. Then I jump in the shower and when I'm out it's ready!
• Sorry, no pic to post with this one. Both times I've made it it's been super early in the morning and still dark outside which does not make for a good pic.
• Adapted from Simply in Season

INGREDIENTS

• 2 c. rolled oats (use the old-fashioned kind, they're more nutritious)
• 1/3 c. brown sugar (or try maple syrup or honey)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 c. raisins (or other dried fruit - see NOTE above)
• 1 c. milk
• 1/2 c. applesauce
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 1 egg (beaten)

DIRECTIONS
1. Combine dry ingredients (through raisins) in a large bowl (can do this the night before).
2. Combine wet ingredients in a medium bowl (can do this the night before & store in fridge).
3. Bake in a greased round casserole dish (about 2-L), covered, for 25 minutes.
4. Serve hot with milk.

Taking a two-week break!

For those of you who missed the announcement on last week's NOTES post, I'm taking a two-week break from posting recipes. Not that I'm not cooking new recipes but I am doing a bit of traveling for work and am gone several days this week and next. My boys are eating lasagna (see Recipe 3) that I made ahead and froze, make-ahead and freeze burritos (Recipe 4), and frozen beef chili and roasted poblano and chicken soup.

A few recipes to look forward to when I get back to posting:

• Nacho pizza
• Baked potato and broccoli soup
• Green chili slow-cooker pulled pork tacos (longest name ever, right?)
• Homemade chicken & basil curry
• Baked mac & cheese
• Sausage & red pepper frittata
• Peanut butter and chocolate bars
• Glazed cinnamon raisin breakfast biscuits
• Blueberry bread with streusel topping
• Chocolate chip cookies (can you tell I've been in a sweet-tooth baking mode lately?)