Brie Stuffed Apple Pecan Cranberry Baked Oatmeal

Brie. What a delightful cheese!

I had seen a skillet baked apple crisp with brie in the middle and was inspired to incorporate it into my breakfast oatmeal instead!   It was phenomenal.

I adapted my recipe from here.   Mine is below:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of old fashioned oats
1/2 tsp of vanilla
3/4 tsp of cinnamon
scant 1/4 tsp of salt
1 Tbsp of apple sauce
1/4 cup of mashed banana
1/4 cup of milk
1 Tbsp of butter
1/2 apple, chopped
Handful of pecans
1/4 cup of craisins (I "plumped mine in a bit of boiling water on the stovetop, but that's not absolutely necessary)
1/4 of a brie round

Directions:

(I always assemble mine the night before, so it's ready to go in the morning)

Preheat oven to 375.
Mix everything except the cheese together in a bowl.
Grease a small baking dish with butter.  (If you want it to come out of the dish without sticking, I'd put a piece of parchment paper in the bottom first).
Put just enough of the oatmeal mixture in the dish to cover the bottom.
Place the brie in the middle.
Pack the rest of the oatmeal mixture around and top of the brie.
Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Run a knife around the edge, invert on to a plate and then flip right side up onto another plate.
Dig in!

Chicken, Sausage and Shrimp Jambalaya

I like Jambalaya, but rarely have it anywhere that is not too spicy for me!   I adapted this recipe (based on what I knew our family would like) from here. See my recipe below.

Ingredients:

1 onion, diced
2 bell peppers (not green)
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 cups of chicken broth
1 Tbsp of Cajun Seasoning (add more if you like it spicy)
12 oz can of cooked chicken (or any chicken you want)
2 cans of diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
2-3 cups of kale, torn into small pieces
1 lb. of smoked sausage
1 lb. of shrimp, deveined and tails off

Directions:

Saute onion, garlic and peppers in a little butter or oil until soft.
Add chicken broth, Cajun seasoning, chicken, diced tomatoes, kale and bay leaves.
Simmer for half an hour.   Add sausage and shrimp.
When shrimp turns pink, it is ready.
Enjoy as is or serve over rice.

Easy Pickled Onions

I've had pickled onions at several restaurants and always really liked them.   They add a certain pizzazz and "fancy" to a dish that I really like.   Well, it turns out they're really easy to make!   Here is the (super easy) recipe

I like these in potato salad, on a grilled cheese sandwich with some avocado, in quinoa... the possibilities are endless!

They take a burger to the next level, for sure =)

Homemade BBQ Sauce

In my quest to make more things at home, with fewer ingredients (and things I can actually pronounce and identify), BBQ sauce seemed like an easy one to try.

Here is the recipe I used.   I really like it, but did skip the chipotle chili powder, and scaled back the 1 Tbsp of chili powder to a scant 2 tsps.   I might actually do a little less next time.   Even the kids love this!