Quick and healthy small-batch oatmeal

Here’s one of my favorite breakfasts this week. I liked it so much that I threw together a batch as fridge oatmeal (see below) to enjoy throughout the rest of the week without having to prepare and cook it each morning.

Ingredients:　
1 cup of water
½ cup old-fashioned oats
1-2 T. pure maple syrup
¼ cup or so of fruit: I used peeled/chopped Braeburn apple, homemade canned unsweetened pears and raisins. Add more or less if desired
½ T. flax seeds

Directions:
Heat water and maple syrup in saucepan. Add oats, raisins, apples and flax seeds and cook as directed on oats package. Add pears before removing from heat as directed on package.
Serve hot. I like to top mine with yogurt, or mix in some milk. I love mine with a nice whole-grain toast :)

Serves 1-2


Refrigerator Oatmeal is something that is new to me, but has been around for a long time with different names. I’ve tried it with a few different varieties and loved them all. Basically, however you like your oatmeal you can do it ahead of time and enjoy on the go. This is especially great if everybody in your home likes their oatmeal different ways. Kids will enjoy assembling their own cups, and everybody gets what they want without messing with store-bought flavored packets.  Enjoy cold or heat it in the microwave and you’ve got a speedy wholesome breakfast!

DIY Cheap Autumn Decoration

You know how I said I'm not a food writer or a photographer?  Yeah, I'm also not a crafter.  I did get bored last night and decided to do something with the construction paper I've had for years.. put up for "someday", I guess.  Here are some autumn-y things I made. (I won't show you the hand-shape turkeys I attempted.  They weren't pretty.)

Slow Cooked Chicken Pot Pie

Last night I tried a recipe for something I've never made before:  Chicken pot pie.  I and my husband really like chicken pot pie but most recipes I've looked at called for cream of chicken soup, and just the idea of "cream of" soup turns me off - bad experience once, so I try not to use them.  I also don't like making pie crust because I usually have no luck rolling out dough - I just don't have the patience for it.

I found this recipe for slow-cooker chicken pot pie that uses chicken broth, flour and milk for the sauce, and figured I'd give it a try.  I had originally planned to have my husband make the pie crust, but he wouldn't be home until later, so I thought I'd just throw Pillsbury biscuits on top.  I nixed that idea and just made a pie crust myself.  I knew my two year-old would want to help, so I figured why not give it a shot.  (Woo-hoo.. I didn't even mess it up!)

As usual, I did make some changes to the recipe.  Obviously, I used a homemade pie crust (The recipe in the Better Home and Gardens cookbook is my go-to) instead of pre-made.  I added green beans - all veggies were fresh from the garden - and a little more chicken broth and milk to make up for the extra solids.    I had cooked a few chicken breast in the crock pot and shredded them up earlier in the week.  Some of it went for chicken salad and the rest went in the freezer.   For this recipe, I just threw in as much frozen chicken as I wanted.  I also sprinkled with pepper (I love pepper) and a little Seasoned Salt.

After reading the comments on the original recipe, I mixed in a little cornstarch (about 1/2t. for my halved recipe).  I also did not put the pie crust on the mixture in the crock after reading comments.  Once the mixture was cooked, I transferred it to a casserole dish, covered it with the crust, cut some slits for venting and baked it at about 400 degrees until the crust was flaky and slightly browned (because I usually burn my pie crust!)

Here's a tip:  Do not cut into this right away.  Let it sit for a few minutes to thicken up.

This was very good!  I wasn't sure how it'd turn out since I'd never used fresh green beans or peas in a slow-cooked recipe.  Everything turned out perfectly!

Nutrional Info*
Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie
Calories: 315
Total Fat: 10g
Saturated Fat: 4g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g
Cholesterol: 40mg
Sodium: 493mg
Carbs: 37g
Fiber: 4g
Sugars: 7g
Protein: 17g

*Nutritional info is approximate, is calculated using MyFitnessPal, and accounts for all revisions/substitutions made.