Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

two words: snow day! 

Yes, there was 14.9" of snow this morning when I woke up and looked out my window. No, I was not going to deal with SEPTA to make it in to work. So what did I do with my day off?? Lots! One of the things I did today was make these easy (I mean easy) oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Yum!

I was flipping through the January/February Issue of Food Network Magazine and came across this recipe. The recipe called for raisins since I really don't like raisins I substituted chocolate chips for them! Which makes a great combination!! 

I promise you these cookies are easy! I started to make them at 2pm and had them on the table ready to eat by 2:45! That's quick, right?

Oatmeal Cookies:

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg 

2 egg white

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cup rolled oats

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup wheat germ

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup raisin, chocolate chunks, walnuts or a combination of all (I only used chocolate)

Whisk brown sugar and eggs in a bowl. Whisk in vegetable oil. Stir in rolled oats, whole wheat flour, wheat germ, baking soda, salt. Add raisins, chocolate chunks and walnuts. Drop large spoonfuls onto lined baking sheets and gently flatten ( I used the bottom of a glass which worked great). Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.

Did I mention they're easy to make? 

National Pie Day

Well actually it was yesterday, January 23th. 

To celebrate, I made these tasty savory pies. Mini Italian potpies to be exact. 

The recipe below comes from Martha and serves 4 (my ramekins are 7 ounces so I actually got 5 servings).  I stumbled upon this recipe on my Martha Stewart Every Day Food app on my iPhone. (Yes, Martha is everywhere I go.) Overall, this meal was a hit! I swapped out the ground beef sirloin for extra lean ground turkey and used skim milk to help make this meal a little lighter...Hey, it's still January and people still have their resolutions to follow!

Italian Potpies:  

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 pound ground beef sirloin, thawed if frozen

2 cups homemade or best-quality store-bought tomato sauce

1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan (1 ounce)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup whole milk  

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, with rack in lowest position. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Add onion and carrots; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add beef, and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce; bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until meat mixture has thickened, 8 to 10 minutes; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, Parmesan, baking powder, rosemary, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; make a well in center, and add butter and milk. Stir just until dough comes together.

Spoon meat mixture into four 8-ounce ramekins; mound dough on top. Place on a large rimmed baking sheet; bake until topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in topping comes out clean, 10 to 12 minutes.

Roasted Red Pepper Bruschetta

 

I love a crunch which is one of the main reasons why I love bruschetta. There are so many types of bruschetta that you can make. Really you can put any thing on top of grilled bread and call it bruschetta, right? I love roasted red peppers! So I decided to make a roasted red pepper bruschetta on New Year's Eve. So simple! You and your guests will eat it right up!! 

Roasted Red Pepper Bruschetta with a Balsamic Reduction
by: Lots to Ladle


Ingredients:
1 loaf french bread, sliced into 1 1/2" pieces
1 clove of garlic
6 tablespoons of olive oil2 red peppers
1/2 tsp of thyme
1/4 tsp roasted red pepper flakes 
salt & pepper
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar


Preheat oven to 375. Cut peppers in large chunks. Toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, thyme, red pepper flakes. Spread peppers on baking sheet and roast until tender, about 30 minutes. Chop peppers once roasted.


Meanwhile, brush olive oil on both sides of bread slices. Toast on heated grill pan, about 3 minutes per side. Rub each side with garlic clove.

Heat balsamic vinegar in medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until thicken and reduced by half. 

Place chopped peppers on toasted bread drizzle with balsamic reduction. 

MmMM.....Granola

Granola. One of my favorite things to have for breakfast. 

Seriously, I love granola and yogurt. It's a perfect breakfast and awesome snack. I usually buy granola which can actually be pretty pricey. So I made some (really who doesn't want to save money?). Honestly, I don't think I'll ever buy it again. It's really simple and you can play with the recipe to make the right granola for your taste buds.

I stumbled upon this recipe yesterday while on Twitter (follow me, @lynneck). Of course it came from my favorite, Martha. This recipe makes 4 cups. You can store it in an airtight container for up to two weeks (if you can keep it around that long)! I look forward to trying out different recipes and even making granola bars. Stay tuned!

Maple-Nut Granola

• 3 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup chopped almonds
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 5 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 5 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, toss together oats, pecans, almonds, salt, vegetable oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
2. Spread oat mixture on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through. Let cool completely.

Two Thousand Eleven

That's right it's 2011! 

Happy New Year to all of my lovely readers! I hope you and your family had a great holiday, mine was perfect! I'm really looking forward to this year. I think it's going to be great! I have high hopes. 2010 was a great year for me and my blog. I really experimented with a lot of different things in the kitchen. I'm ambitious to continue to share my love of learning my ways around the kitchen with all of you in 2011.

Over the past week I spent time reading a bunch of blogs & news articles relating to the 2011 food trends (there was even a segment on Good Morning America). From what I gathered it looks like 2011 is going to be the year of pies (specifically mini pies), gourmet hot dogs, fried chicken & ice pops! Out of all these trends spotted, I'm most excited about PIES! They're apparently going to be the 'cupcake' of 2011! I'm not just talking sweet pies here people, I'm talking savory too!

I have a lot of ideas for 2011. I'll definitely be including some of these trends (most likely not the hot dog trend). Can't wait to see what 2011 brings us! Please let me know if there's anything you'd like to see in 2011.

Here's to a happy and healthy year, Lots to Ladle readers!

xoxo, 

Lynn