overnight oats.

my friend Courtney got me hooked on overnight oats recently and we've been doing a bit of experimenting with them ever since. so i thought i'd share one that's become a hit over here.

// overnight oats //

ingredients: 

1/2-3/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup milk of choice

1 tsp vanilla

1-2 tsp nutmeg

1-2 tsp cinnamon

1-2 tsp milled flax seed

chocolate chips

half well-ripened banana

spoonful of peanut butter/almond butter

spoonful of plain greek yogurt

directions:

fill your favorite mason jar with rolled oats 1/2-3/4 of the way full. cover the oats with your milk of choice. splash with a tsp of vanilla, mix in your nutmeg, cinnamon, flax seed, and chocolate chips, as well as your banana (make sure you mash it up a bit). then add your spoonfuls of yogurt and almond butter/peanut butter. just shake it all up and leave it in the refrigerator overnight! enjoy your yummy oats right out of the jar in the morning!

we are loving this quick and easy breakfast! do you have any overnight oats recipes to share? or any other easy breakfast ideas? i'd love to hear them!

p.s. be on the lookout for a giveaway coming up!

the perfect day & banana oatmeal breakfast muffins

oh it's just one of those days where you wake up and the birds are chirping and the stars are aligning!

it has been the perfect day. breakfast, sweeping the back and front porch, watering the flowers and playing in the sprinklers with my little man. joy. to. my. soul.

...until baby girl decided to spew her lunch all over me, buuuut let's just pretend that never happened.

since i no longer have the dreaded "morning"/all day sickness, i've been itching to get back in the kitchen more. it feels good to finally enjoy food (and making it) again!

...so i made these lovelies this morning...

annnnd they were fantastic!

of course i found them on Pinterest. all good things come from Pinterest don't they? ;)

// Ingredients //

2.5 cups of oats

1 cup of plain low fat greek yogurt

2 eggs

3/4 cup of sugar

1.5 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp of baking soda

2 ripe bananas

*optional: chocolate chips

// Directions //

preheat oven to 400 degrees.

spray muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray or line with foil/silicone liners. *very important*

place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until oats are smooth.

divide batter among the liners.

bake 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

ENJOY!!

p.s. chocolate chips are NOT optional for toddler boys ;)

sweet potato + black bean burritos

so i posted this...

...yesterday on instagram and i got some requests for the recipe.

i found it on pinterest-here's the link.

(by the way they were delicious)

{Roasted Veggie & Black Bean Burritos}

Ingredients:

2 whole sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed small

2 whole jalapenos, diced

1 whole red pepper, diced small

1 whole red onion, diced small

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 pinch salt and pepper

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (15 oz can)

½ cups fresh cilantro, chopped

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

2 cups shredded cheddar

1 package burrito-sized wheat tortillas or wraps (6-10 count)

Instructions:

mix raw veggies, olive oil and spices in a bowl. place into a large baking dish and roast for 20 minutes at 425 degrees. toss at about halfway through.

let cool then add your roasted veggies to a can of rinsed black beans, cilantro and lime juice.

warm your wraps/tortillas in the microwave. spray a casserole dish with non-stick spray.

add about two tablespoons of veggie & black bean mixture to the center of your tortilla and top with shredded cheese. fold and place in the casserole dish. continue rolling the others and make sure you place the seam side down in the dish.

bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown at 375 degrees. makes 6-8 burritos.

you've GOT to try them!

follow me on instagram @bakerloves

and here on pinterest.

oh and don't forget to enter my giveaway!

HERE!

on homemade baby food

once Ry was about 4 months old i started experimenting with making baby food at home. first off let me warn you by saying i had no idea what i was doing during my initial trial run and am still kind of trying to figure it all out.

attempt numero uno did not go so well. we tried pureeing peas in a blender that we already owned and it didn't turn out as smooth as we were hoping. so first we made an investment in a Ninja and it has worked wonderfully! we also purchased a steamer and ice cube trays.

i'm just going to give a quick rundown of the steps i go through when making his food.

1. i like to soak my fruits and veggies in water and a little bit of vinegar for about 10 minutes to get them all clean then rinse

2. cut/cube your veggie/fruit

3. steam/bake/boil until tender

4. blend-get all the chunks out!

5. poor into trays-(tap the trays on the counter a few times to make sure it's packed well)
6. freeze

after frozen you can just pop them out and store in freezer bags!

it really is pretty simple and i've actually only had to do it two times so far! i like knowing that Ry is getting fresh ingredients and not all the yucky additives!

now if i could just get more of it into his mouth than on his body! poor thing is a mess and loves his momma's milk!

there are a couple of sites i've used as references: here and here.

any questions? tips?

good luck in the kitchen mommas!

p.s. be sure to come back next week for my 200 follower giveaway!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

So this is my first food post! yay! ok, it's not that exciting, but I found this recipe HERE. Dana and I went to dental hygiene school together and she has a food blog with lots of fun recipes!
Chicken Tortilla Soup
2 small chicken breasts, cooked/shredded
1 can of red beans, drained/rinsed
1 can of black beans, drained/rinsed
*Kidney and pinto beans work great as well*
1 can of corn (Any version will work)
1 can of Rotel
1 can of chicken broth
1 4oz can of green chiles
Combine all of the ingredients in a large pot and heat until warm.
We doubled the recipe and froze half so that we could enjoy it again later :)
Special thanks to Dana - hope you all like it as much as we did!