An unexpected (delicious) breakfast!

I set out to make a "protein pancake" this morning as I've seen so many of my instagram friends do lately, and let me tell you, it did not go well.

The recipe I was using called for 4 egg whites, 1/2 a cup of oatmeal, cinnamon, vanilla, and blueberries.

When I mixed it all up, it was SUPER runny, so I let it sit for awhile, which did help.

I put it in the skillet like pancakes, where it prompty spread out all over the pan, making a hot mess. I attempted to shape them back into pancakes but when I flipped it, it separated and created a new mess.

So....skillet baked oatmeal was born. HAHA!

I ended up just using a spatula and moving it all around til it was cooked and hot.

And it was DELICIOUS. (And Weight Watchers friendly!)

Here's my "recipe" (more than enough for 2 people!)
4 egg whites
1/2 cup oatmeal
Few sprinkles of cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp brown sugar (I added this when I realized the pancake wasn't going to happen)
Handful of bluberries

WW breakdown (1 serving):
2 egg whites - 1 p+
1/4 cup oatmeal - 2 p+
Cinnamon, vanilla, blueberries - all 0 p+
1 Tbsp brown sugar - 1 p+
1/2 cup of skim - 1 p+ (maybe less, because I didn't drink the milk after I was done)
TOTAL - 5 p+

Project Pinterest: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Hi, I'm Danielle, and I'm addicted to Pinterest. I remember rolling my eyes the first time I heard about Pinterest, but jumped on the bandwagon one day at the advice of my sister-in-law, and have never looked back. I LOVE to be crafty (when I have time), bake (when I have time), and decorate (when I have time). Sense a pattern there?

Anyway, I pin a lot. Like, a lot. But, I also DO a lot of Pinterest pins too! Mostly recipes, but lately I've been doing some crafts and gifts for the daycare teachers too.

Yesterday was a gorgeous [almost fall] day, and while the kids napped, I decided to make some pumpkin chocolate chip muffins instead of napping myself. Who have I become?!?! :)

It was SO easy and literally took my five minutes from supply gathering to placing them in the oven.

Ingredients

- 1 box yellow cake mix

- 1 small can of Libby's pumpkin

- 1/2-1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (optional), or a sprinkle of nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, etc.

- mini chocolate chips (how ever many you want!!)

Mix the cake mix and pumpkin (do not add eggs, oil, or water) - just mix those two things. I tasted it and thought it needed more pumpkin flavor so I added 1/2 tsp. of pumpkin pie spice. I dumped in mini chocolate chips and filled my cute souffle cups about 2/3-3/4 of the way and popped them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 18-20 minutes.

They are SO good, super easy, and really moist. You'd never know it was that easy.

Enjoy!

[Recipe] Crockpot Pulled Pork

Oh my word, this pulled pork is amazing. On day while at work, I randomly remembered that we had a pork butt or shoulder (seems like they come from very different parts, so I'd be able to recall which, but I don't) in the freezer that needed to be used. So I called Seth and told him to get it out and start thawing it while I found a recipe.

I came across this recipe on My Baking Addiction, and decided to give it a whirl.

Vedict? YUM. It didn't take nearly as long as it said (we had it cranked on high), and it was even more amazing with a squirt of delicious barbeque sauce and a spoonful of pickle relish on top.

Crockpot Pulled Pork
Recipe adapted from My Baking Addiction (I made tweaks on her recipe; my recipe changes are below)

Ingredients

1/2 to 1 large onion, chopped
3-4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (4-6 lb) boneless pork butt or shoulder
¾ cup cider vinegar
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
A generous squirt (probably 4 tablespoons) of your favorite barbeque sauce (with more for the top later)
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoons dry mustard
½ teaspoon garlic salt
Couple shakes of cayenne pepper

Directions

Place chopped onions in crockpot. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, paprika, kosher salt and pepper; mix thoroughly. Rub mixture all over roast and place the roast on top of the onions.

In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, Worcestershire, barbeque sauce, sugar, mustard, garlic salt and cayenne pepper; whisk to combine. Drizzle the mixture over roast.

Cover crockpot; cook on low for 10-12 hours or high for 8 (we only did 5 and it was pull apart wonderful). Add any additional barbeque you feel you want in there.

Shred the meat and return it to the crockpot for the last 1/2 hour of cooking. Serve on warm rolls with more barbeque sauce and some pickle relish and ENJOY.

[Recipe] Slow-Cooker Chicken Enchilada Casserole

We have been in a major dinner rut lately. I absolutely dread the 3 p.m. "What's for dinner?" conversation, mainly because we just can't seem to think of anything fun and new lately. I'm sure this happens to a lot of people, but I just wish I had an hour when I get home to try new recipes and be creative. But, we have a hungry little boy hollering for dinner, so we move things along pretty quickly.

Last night, I was flipping through one of my new magazines and came across this recipe. Seth made it today in the crockpot and it was ready when I got home. It was DELICIOUS, so I'm posting it below. The recipe did not call for any meat, but I'm married to a meat-required husband, so we added shredded chicken. Carter loved it, too, so we consider this recipe a keeper!

Slow-Cooker Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Serves: 4

- 9 6-inch corn tortillas
- 1 15-oz. can enchilada sauce
- 1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 cups frozen corn
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cooked and shredded
- 2 1/2 cups (or less, to taste) shredded Cheddar cheese

Toast the tortillas under the broiler for a few minutes until lightly spotted, 2-3 minutes total. Reserve 2 tbsp. enchilada sauce. Combine beans, shredded chicken, and the remaining sauce in a bowl. Mist slow-cooker insert with cooking spray. Place 3 tortillas in bottom, breaking into pieces if necessary to cover bottom. Spread half of bean/chicken mixture over tortillas. Sprinkle with 1 cup corn and 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat tortillas, bean/chicken mixture, 1 cup cheese 2 more times. Cover and cook on low until cheese has melted and is beginning to crisp on the edges, 2-3 hours.

ENJOY!

Let me know if you make this and what you think!!

[Recipe] Taco Soup

Since I've started Weight Watchers at Work, I've been on the look-out for some good, WW-approved recipes.

I found one a few days ago, and Seth and I tried it over the weekend. It was DELICIOUS. The website where I got it said it was only 4 points on the new system, but since I'm a skeptic, I counted it as 6...just in case. We added the extra points appropriately for shredded cheese, listed after the recipe.

Taco Soup - adapted from the recipe on Our Best Bites
(Serving size: 1.5 cups, which is actually a really good amount!!)

1 lb. extra lean ground beef (93% lean or or leaner)
1 onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced (we used powdered because we didn't have any fresh)
1 1.25-oz. packet taco seasoning (about 1/4 c.)
3 c. water, divided
2 28-oz. cans petite diced tomatoes (we used 1 can because we don't like tomato chunks in our soup....I then used 1 cup of low sodium chicken broth for the other part)
1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
2 15-oz. cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained (we used 1 can kidney beans and 1 can of black beans for variety)
1 can corn, drained (we used no salt added corn)

Heat a large soup pot over medium. When ready, brown the ground beef with the onion and garlic. When almost brown, add the taco seasoning and 1 c. water. Add the remaining ingredients, including the remaining 2 c. water, bring to a medium boil, then, cover and reduce heat. Simmer for at least 15 minutes. Serve with desired toppings. Makes 10 12-oz. servings.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 188
Fat: 3.6
Fiber: 8.6
Protein: 15.8
WW Points: 4

Add 1 more point for each of the following: 4 crushed tortilla chips, 1 1/2 Tbsp. light sour cream, 1/3 oz. shredded cheddar cheese.

Enjoy!! It is sooooo good! :)

Sausage Pasta

Fortunately for me, Seth gets home from work about an hour and a half before me on weekdays (except Fridays). So because of this, 9 times out of 10 he has dinner either finished or well under way by the time I get home. I do still try to do my part when I get home (if it isn't done) and on the weekends!

Tonight, he wouldn't be home until 8, so I decided to get a little creative with dinner and get away from the same old, same old. I tried a sausage pasta recipe I made up in my head and it turned out de.li.cious! Seth hasn't tried it yet, but I have a feeling if I like it, he definitely will.

It took about 20 minutes total, so it was super quick and easy. Consider it Danielle's Under 30 Minute Meals.

Ingredients:
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 green pepper (I hate green peppers but they were so good in here!), cut in chunks
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 lb sausage (not ground), cut into disks
2 t. garlic
salt
pepper
1 box whole wheat linguine pasta
Fresh basil
Parmesean cheese

Put 2 T. of EVOO into pan. Add peppers and onions. Salt and pepper. After about 5 minutes, add the disks of raw sausage and brown until done. Add the garlic and continue to sautee for just a few minutes. In the meantime, cook the pasta according to the box.

Once the pasta is done, drain it. Also drain any grease off of the sausage mixture. Pour pasta into the sausage mixture and sautee for a minute or 2 to be sure they are well combined and hot!

Then top with a little bit of fresh basil and parmesean cheese.

It made plenty for us to eat tonight with ample leftovers.

Voila! It's very good...give it a shot and let me know what you think!

Heaven in a Cup!

I have an addiction. And it comes in the form of a non-fat pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks. I've never had heaven in a cup before, but on one particular Starbucks run with my work friends, they told me to try one.

I think my initial reaction was somewhere along the lines of ew, that's nasty. I could only assume it tasted like hot pumpkin pie, but runny. And that, my friends, would not be good, because runny pumpkin pie would be right up there on the "disgusting textures" list.

But I gave in. And oh, oh was it good. Very good!

To keep Seth and I out of Chapter 7 bankruptcy from consuming so many (they only have them in the fall, people!), I went on a mission to find a made-from-scratch-yet-all-the-ingredients-still-cost-less-than-one-Starbucks-drink recipe.

And I found it!!!! I tried it and it's freakishly close to the real thing.

So try it out if you like PSL (Valerie!) and tell me what you think! :)

Pumpkin Spice Lattes
3 T. canned pumpkin
2 T. vanilla syrup
1/4 t. pumpkin pie spice
1 c. milk
1-2 shots espresso (really strong coffee)

In a small saucepan, stir pumpkin into milk. Add vanilla syrup and pumpkin pie spice. Heat gently, continuing to stir just until the mixture begins to steam and foam begins to appear.

Pour mixture into mug and pour espresso over the mixture. Top with whipped cream and a dash of pumpkin pie spice! Makes 1 mug.

Enjoy!