Nutella and Chocolate Chips for Breakfast!

What could be better than Nutella and Chocolate Chips for breakfast?  Nutella and Chocolate Chips in amazingly yummy muffins!!  I stole this recipe from one of my friends, who snagged it from another one of our mutual friends.  So this recipe is mine twice removed I suppose, but you can't beat making this recipe on a Monday, and enjoying these muffins for breakfast until Thursday!!  (Or if you're like me... maybe Tuesday... haha!)

I had to restrain myself from eating these straight up.  

Who knew Oatmeal could look so good!  Check out the Nutella swirls and the Chocolate Chips!

A nutritious, yet tasty breakfast in the making!

Now, there are two things I do while these muffins are baking.  This recipe calls for buttermilk, and let's be honest, who really uses an entire quart of buttermilk before it goes bad?  You do?  Great, but for the rest of us non-buttermilk drinkers, here is a quick tip I gleaned from my friend's mom.  Freeze it!  In plastic baggies, portion 1 Cup into each, and freeze it!  That way, you can use as much as you need and save the rest for another week.  Thanks Donna!

Ready for portioning!  

I use 1 Cup for the recipe, and have 4 Cups left over the freeze!  Save them for more muffins, pancakes, or biscuits!

The second thing I do while the muffins are baking is, brew an amazing cup of coffee.  Do not underestimate the benefits of grinding your own coffee.  The flavor of the coffee suffers the longer it sits ground.  But that's a topic for another day!  

Flavor of the week, Toasted Praline.  

Finished product!

Top with a little butter, and enjoy with a pot mug of coffee!




Nutella and Chocolate Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients:
1 Cup Oats (I use the quick oats so I don't have to soak them)
1 Cup Buttermilk
1 Egg (or Egg White)
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar (Or 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar with a big squeeze of Molasses... this actually tastes better but is not as convenient)
1/4 Cup Oil
1/2 Cup Wheat Flour
1/2 Cup Unbleached All Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp.  Salt
Dash of Cinnamon
Nutella and Choc. Chips (or any other add in)

I only use one bowl for this entire recipe!  Pre-heat oven to 350.  In large mixing bowl, combine Oats, buttermilk, egg, sugar, and oil.  Stir until oats are moistened.  Add flour, baking powder and soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Stir until combined, but do not overstir!!  No need for tough muffins!  Add in mix-ins.  I typically use Nutella and Choc. Chips... however... I have tried these add ins as well
*raspberries and white choc. chips
*peanut butter, bannana, and choc. chips
*peanut butter and honey
*dried cherries and choc. chips
*And my friend has tried Peach and Ginger

Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Thanks Evie for sharing this awesome recipe!  I have truly enjoyed it!

Cheers!
Mrs. Sweets

Luck o' the Irish

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I decided to make a traditional Irish dish called Shepherd's Pie.  One might ask themselves, "How exactly does this fit into my healthy lifestyle changes?"  Like any five year old, I despise veggies, and in order to trick myself into eating them, I attempt to hide them in yummy dishes.  In this dish, I decided to hide little green peas.

Yummy Lean Beef Bites

I love the flavor of onion... however... I do not love the chunks.... I am now an expert dicer! 

The meat layer.... BEFORE the veggies... yum

Finished product... I had to add cheese :)

Black Jasmine Tea... ready to be iced.

Hey look!  More green stuff!  Happy St. Patty's day!

If you don't look too close, you will miss the green peas lurking in the pie!  Mission accomplished!

Dessert made by Taylar the Magnificent :)  

Misson accomplished!  I successfully hid green veggies in an incredible dish!  Here's to making changes I can live with!  Of course we had to finish the night off with a dessert befitting our "old fogey" status!  (we're only in our mid to late 20's mind you...)  

Thanks Taylar for an incredible cookie cake!!

Cheers!

Mrs. Sweets

Recipe:

Shepherds Pie

1 minced onion
1/4 tsp. Texas Pete or whatever hot sauce you prefer
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 lb. Lean Beef bites or Lamb3/4 tsp. garlic salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

About a cup of frozen veggies (your choice!)1 cup gravy (From the package or homemade pan gravy)

Mashed Potatoes (either handmade recipe below or 4 servings of instant mashed taters!)
Sprinkle of Shredded Cheese for top

Season meat with salt and pepper and brown.  

Remove from pan and drain excess fat.  

If you choose to make pan gravy, now would be the time to do it! (my recipe is below)  Or just buy a package of gravy mix and make that!  

Saute onion until soft. 

Remove from heat; mix in meat, gravy (either a package of gravy or use recipe below for pan gravy), pepper and Worcestershire sauce, and 3/4 teaspoon garlic salt.  

In a 2 1/2 quart dish, place the layer of meat in the bottom and add your veggies at this point.  I used about a cup of frozen peas.  

On the very top you will want to spread your mashed potatoes.  For convenience, I used instant mashed potatoes seasoned with garlic salt.  You can however make real mashed potatoes if you have the time!  I included that recipe at the bottom of the page. 

Bake at 350 for 30 mins.  

Sprinkle cheese on top and put back in oven until cheese has melted.

Enjoy!

Potatoes

6 Boiled potatoes

3/4 tsp. garlic salt

1/4 c. hot milk

4 tbsp. butter

Beat potatoes until fluffy.  Add salt, butter, pepper, and hot milk.

Pan Gravy:

2 Tbl. oil

Enough flour to soak up oil and make a paste

salt and pepper to taste

water

Heat oil in a large frying pan.  (I use the pan I cooked the meat in so I get the flavor of the meat in the gravy)  When oil is hot (sprinkle some flour in the oil and see if it bubbles) add enough flour to make a mixture with the consistency of a paste.  Cook until the paste is a medium brown color.  Add about a cup of water to the paste and stir until dissolved.  If gravy is still too thick, add more water.  If you add too much just let it reduce until gravy coats the back of your spoon.  It's better to add more water and let it reduce then to not add enough!  Add salt and pepper to taste!

My Version of "Greens"

My oldest time friend Elizabeth recently came for a visit.  As we sat across from each other with coffee in hand and reminisced about the 26 years we've known each other, she suddenly laughed and leaned over to tell my husband one of her favorite stories from our childhood.  She quoted me saying, "Green m&ms are the only green food I'll ever like!"  As we threw our heads back in laughter, I realized this mentality has colored my eating habits for years.  When I flip through cookbooks, the first section I turn to is the dessert section.  My grocery cart rarely rolls through the produce section without a grimace on my face. 

This is my worst nightmare!

This is my idea of eating fruit!

I absolutely can not stand the diets that force me to cut out food items that I enjoy.  I feel that this only instills in me a need to binge on the item I had to cut out.  Instead, I am attempting to make one small lifestyle change at a time.  My motive here is that I will eventually replace my bad habits with better choices, gradually, without shocking my body and riding the diet wave.  

My hope is to inspire each of you to join me in making lifestyle changes that will help each of us to replace the bad habits that we have formed over the years.  Here's to bettering our lives, one day at a time!

Cheers!

Mrs. Sweets