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! :-)

Short Hiatus

Good morning!

Today is Valentine's Day and day 5 of my cast enwrapped recovery from Carpal and CubitalTunnel surgery. I am feeling well out of the drug induced fog that accompanies pain meds and wanted to update you as to why no new recipes were invading your inbox.

While I am capable of typing one-handed (albeit painfully slowly), two hands are mandatory in the kitchen - my kitchen at least. I tried cutting a lemon in half one-handed for my water this morning. It was almost comical. I ended up hoisting my cast up to the counter and using it to weigh down the lemon (the cast is rather heavy). It worked - awkwardly - but, it worked and I got lemon in my water! Yay! If simply making lemon water was that cumbersome, I can't imagine trying to whip up a new casserole recipe or something. I guess I could use my hubby's hands and just tell him what to do. Oh wait, I did that last night with supper. It turned out okay, but the process was very frustrating. It's very difficult trying to tell someone how to do things that are so second nature to you, you don't even really think about how you do them. Can I get an amen?

No. I think I'll let my sweet hubby cook what he wants for supper and wait until I'm two-handed again before I venture back into the kitchen. It won't be long. I get my cast off in one short week. It'll fly by, I'm sure and I'll be creating tasty new concoctions in no time. Meanwhile, I may just write to keep my sanity and to keep in touch. I hope you don't mind.

Have a sweet Valentine's Day!

Blessings!
Brenda. :-)

Crockpot Tilapia Stoup

Crockpots are amazing things! With just a minimum amount of effort, complete meals can be prepared. Not only that, but a myriad of other things can be created in a crockpot; desserts, bread.....I wouldn't be surprised if you could even sterilize baby bottles. Don't quote me on that one though. I've never actually tried it.

I have, however, tried a fish stew/soup (stoup) with resounding success. My oldest son will not eat any other soup I make. He adamantly refuses, except for this one. This one he loves! I think that's kinda funny because I wouldn't expect such a picky eater to like fish at all. Silly me! Goes to show what I know. Try this on YOUR picky eater. I'd love to know the response. ;-)

Crockpot Tilapia Stoup
Copyright 2012 Brendilly Bakes, All rights reserved











4 Yukon Gold Potatoes, cubed
1/2 small bag Baby Carrots
1 small bag Frozen Corn
5 frozen Tilapia filets
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 cup Dry White Wine (I use Pinot Grigio)
1-1/2 cups Lo-Sodium Chicken Broth
2 t. Salt
1 t. Pepper
2 t. Onion Powder
2 t. Garlic Powder
2 t. Coriander

1. Place cubed potatoes in bottom of slow cooker, season with 1 t. of the salt and 1/2 t. of the pepper. Add in carrots, corn, and 1/2 cup of Chicken broth.
2. Place fish filets on top of vegetables and season with 1/2 t. of the salt, 1/4 t. of the pepper, and 1 t. each of the onion powder, garlic powder, and Coriander. (Season each layer) :-)
3. In a glass measuring cup or bowl mix; soup, wine, remaining chicken broth, and remaining seasonings. Cook on high for four hours. Stir and reduce heat to low for 30-45 mins. Serve and Enjoy!


A sprinkling of cheese never hurt either. Colby Jack is our cheese of choice for this occasion.




NOTE: Potatoes normally require a lot of seasoning. That's why I seasoned them separately in this recipe. If you feel that more is needed, by all means add more.

Gringo Nacho Casserole

I got creative again. I was a little late with dinner tonight and needed to do something quick and easy with stuff I had on hand. The result is this casserole that my guys absolutely loved. My hubbie said it was so awesome he could eat the whole thing by himself. I call it "gringo" because I used mild taco seasoning and that's the spiciest thing in this dish. I call it "nacho" because of the tortilla chips and cheese. There were no leftovers. :-)

Gringo Nacho Casserole
Copyright 2012 Brendilly Bakes, All rights reserved

Yield: 6-8 servings
Prep time: 15-20 mins.
Baking time: 30-35 mins.

1-1/2 lbs. Lean Ground Turkey
1-1/2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper
1 Tablespoon Onion Powder
1 pkg. Mild Taco Seasoning
8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
1 can Green Beans, drained
1 cup Frozen Peas
1 cup Frozen Corn
3-4 handfuls of Tortilla Chips
1 cup shredded Colby Jack Cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a 9x13" casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large skillet over med-hi heat, brown the turkey with the salt, pepper, and onion powder.
3. Once meat is browned, turn off heat and mix in the taco seasoning, incorporating it well into the meat.
4. Add cream cheese and mix until well combined.
5. Add yogurt and vegetables, and mix until well combined.
6. Pour mixture into the casserole dish. Crush tortilla chips over the top, and top the chips with the shredded cheese.
7. Bake 30-35 mins. or until bubbly and slightly browned on top.
8. Remove from oven and serve immediately.



Sour Cream and Guacamole would be great accompaniments, as well as a tossed green salad.

Alfredoroni

Alfredo sauce is one of my favorite things in the world. Back in the day I made it with creme cheese and it was a rather labor intensive process. For the past few years though I've used a drastically simplified method, and one that may actually be closer to the real thing. Not being Italian, though, I'm not completely sure. I just know that it's REALLY good. I probably make one version or another of this almost once a week. This one was pretty different in that I used elbow macaroni instead of penne or rotini. My youngest said I should use the elbow macaroni all the time. Let's see what YOU think.

Alfredoroni
Copyright 2012 Brendilly Bakes, All rights reserved


Yield: 6-8 Servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
8 slices Turkey Bacon, cooked and coarsely chopped
1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
3 cloves Garlic, chopped
2 cups Heavy Cream
1-1/2 cups frozen Broccoli, chopped
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano (plus more for sprinkling)
1 cup frozen Corn
1 cup frozen Peas
Salt, Pepper, and Nutmeg to taste
1# Whole Wheat Elbow Macaroni

Directions
1. Start a large pot of water to boiling. Once it boils, add a good handful of salt and macaroni, boil for 9-10 minutes or until pasta is al dente.
While the water is boiling:
2. In large skillet or saucepan with sides, place butter, olive oil, and garlic.
3. Turn heat to medium. Once the butter melts, stir garlic and oils, and cook the garlic for just a minute or two.
4. Add broccoli and a little salt and pepper to the pan, and sauté for another minute.
5. Add heavy cream, parmesan cheese, a little more salt and pepper, and nutmeg. Stir and bring to a simmer.
6. Add peas, corn, and bacon and taste for seasonings. Bring back to a simmer and simmer gently until pasta is done, stirring occasionally.
7. Once pasta is done, drain and add to the sauce, stirring gently until everything is well combined. Turn off heat and serve immediately - with a sprinkling of cheese if desired.


Even my picky eater makes short work of this one.