Oatie P.B. Breakfast Smoothie

We love smoothies in our house. We especially love making up our own with crazy ingredients. This one isn't really crazy, except maybe for the oats, but still it's not really crazy. It IS crazy good though. The great thing about smoothies is you can switch up the ingredients and the amounts so easily. Mix it up, taste it, if you don't like it add something else to alter it and try again. Smoothies are just fun - to make and to drink. I hope you enjoy this one.


Oatie P.B. Breakfast Smoothie
Copyright 2012 Brendilly Bakes, All rights reserved

Ingredients
1/2 cup Quick Cooking Oats
1 t. Ground Cinnamon
2 ripe Bananas
1/2 cup Creamy Peanut Butter w/Honey
2 T. Agave Nectar
1 cup Vanilla Yogurt
12 Ice Cubes

Directions
1. Place cinnamon and oats in a blender and blend until you have oat flour.
2. Add remaining ingredients and blend on high until everything is well combined. If it's too thick for you, add 1/4 cup Vanilla Rice Milk or whatever kind of milk you like.


Serve with a sprinkling of cinnamon if you like. I LOVE cinnamon so that's something I would definitely do.

Crockpot Chicken Stroganoff

This recipe turned out very interesting. At first taste I thought it a bit bland, but each bite left me eager for the next. The flavor seems to accumulate as you eat this dish. I used chicken thighs because my family loves them and every once in awhile I like to give them a break from my usual, healthier, chicken breasts. I think you could use either in this recipe with success. One trick I've learned is that frozen chicken works great in the crockpot as long as it's boneless.

I love cooking with wine. If you prefer, however, you could substitute chicken broth or even water in it's place here. You might want to kick up the seasonings if you use water though. Either way, I hope you enjoy...

Crockpot Chicken Stroganoff
Copyright 2012 Brendilly Bakes, All rights reserved

Ingredients
2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/3 cup Pinot Grigio
1 cup sliced Fresh Mushrooms
2 # frozen boneless, skinless Chicken Thighs
3/4t. Salt (plus more for chicken)
3/4t. Freshly Ground Black Pepper (plus more for chicken)
1T. Dried Minced Onion
1 1/2t. Garlic Powder
8oz. Sour Cream
12oz. Dry Whole Wheat Egg Noodles












Directions
1. In medium bowl combine; soup, wine, 3/4t. salt, 3/4t. pepper, minced onion, and garlic powder until well combined.
2. Lay chicken in the bottom of your crockpot and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add mushrooms to the crockpot and cover with soup mixture.
3. Cover and cook on low 6 hours.
4. When you're ready to serve, cook the egg noodles in boiling, salted water for 7 minutes or until tender. Add sour cream to crockpot and stir to incorporate, breaking up the chicken at the same time. Serve chicken over the egg noodles with a sprinkling of nutmeg for an extra flavor punch.

Tomorrow's The Big Day!

I am so excited! Tomorrow I get the cast taken off of my left arm. I only wish it were happening as early as the surgery did. Alas, I have to wait until 3:30 in the afternoon. I'm still excited though! If you've ever had to wear a cast for any length of time you can relate.

Heavy, confining, hot, and itchy are the first adjectives that come to mind. I've tried really hard for my sweet hubby's sake to not complain too much, but I don't think I did that great of a job. My constant heavy sighing probably drove him more nuts than any words I may have spoken regarding my discomfort. The past few days in particular, the cast has been slipping down my arm in a losing battle against gravity, irritating my stitches. So, when I tire of wearing my sling or it's in my way, I walk around with my wrapped arm in the air as if constantly waiting to be called on by the teacher, in an attempt to help it win the gravity battle. Or, I spend as much time as possible just sitting with my arm propped on pillows. All of these activities just take turns annoying me, thus the heavy sighs. Soon it will all be over though, thank God Almighty! I am chomping at the bit to be able to do my hair again; to take a shower without a garbage bag on my arm & rubber bands cutting off my circulation (holding the garbage bag on); to be able to braid my little girl's hair again instead of having her look like a little street urchin who has never seen a hairbrush; to do so many little day-to-day tasks that most of us take for granted. It's amazing how many things cannot be done with just one hand. I think the thing I'm most excited about is getting back into my kitchen and being able to cook for my family again.

My husband, Rich, has been amazing through all of this. He has come home for lunch every day and made lunch for me and our five-year old. After work, he has cooked supper, with minimal help from me, for our family of five. He has cleaned, done laundry, and picked up my slack in almost every area. All the while, being his usual cheerful and supportive self, and taking care of me. One of the ways I have always shown my love for him is by cooking for him. I particularly like for him to come in at the end of a long day at work to the smell of something good cooking. It's the way to a man's heart.....one of the ways anyway. It certainly works for me and MY man. I've missed being able to do that for him. Food is also a big way that I show love. It's a form of self-expression for me and I need to get back to expressing myself. It will also be really nice to be able to type two-handed again, and communicate with you more regularly. I am so excited! I can't wait for tomorrow! I think I'll get to bed so it will come quicker. Sweet dreams! :-)