Pretty Pink Cranberry Oatmeal

I posted about this delicious breakfast I made for myself on Facebook but I wanted to share the recipe because it has become one of my favorites. I don't always eat oatmeal for breakfast. Usually I have something a little more substantial like eggs with veggies but the day I came up with this I was out of eggs and super hungry so I hit the pantry and found some oatmeal.

I have done a lot of experimenting over the years to find out what foods work for me and what foods don't. I have found breakfast makes a huge impact on my day. I need a heavy dose of protein and fat to keep my blood sugar stable so I add nuts and a little butter to my oatmeal. Cinnamon is good for stabilizing blood sugar as well so I add it. It tastes great too.

It's the perfect time of year for this warm, satisfying bowl of breakfast love. I hope you enjoy it!

Pretty Pink Cranberry Oatmeal

1/2 cup regular oats
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup milk* (I use milk substitute)
1/2 cup fresh cranberries
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
pat of butter
chopped almonds (or nut of your choice)
brown sugar or stevia to sweeten

Put the oats, water, milk, and cranberries into a pot over med-high heat. Heat to boiling and turn down the heat to medium. Stir constantly to whip the oatmeal and break up the cranberries until the desired consistency is reached, about 5 minutes. You will see the cranberries begin to burst and then turn the oatmeal pink.

Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and butter. If you are using stevia, add it now.

Pour into the bowl and top with chopped nuts and a sprinkle of brown sugar if not using stevia.

*This may seem like a lot of liquid but I have found the cranberries thicken the oatmeal substantially.

Melted Apricots

When I went to IIN I met a lot of awesome women (and some awesome men). One of those women also happens to share my name...Michelle. She has a fantastic website and she shared this recipe for Melted Apricots that sounds divine. I haven't tried it yet but I thought it would be a great thing to share with all of you. Click the link and head over to her website to get her recipe. Enjoy and be sure to let me know how it tastes.

Quesadilla Night

Spring=baseball in my home. I have 3 boys that play travel baseball and 1 in high school. Needless to say I watch baseball just about every night of the week.

The boys get off the bus around 4:00 and many days we have to be out the door by 4:30. That doesn't leave a lot of time for dinner!

Many of the parents say baseball season is fast food season but I can't quite seem to bring myself to do that so I have to come up with some quick ideas that the kids can eat in the car if need be.

The thing is, this isn't just good for moms with kids. I started thinking about one of the hardest things for artists to do is pull themselves away from their art when they are inspired. The body needs to eat but who wants to stop and make something?

I like to make large portions up ahead of time so meals can be quick and easy. It's saved me countless times at lunch time when I am cruising on a project and my tummy starts to rumble.

That's right! Quesadillas. Fun, easy, and yummy.

I make up a large amount of taco meat. You can use beef or turkey. I don't like to use the prepackaged spice mixes because they are heavy on salt and God knows what other chemicals so I just make my own. It's so easy. I'll put my recipe down at the bottom of the post.

I also will saute up some veggies. I might use onions, red peppers (I'm not a fan of green peppers but those work too), zucchini or squash.

With those things prepared it takes just minutes to spread some organic re-fried beans on a tortilla, top with taco meat, veggies and cheese and heat them up on the stove top. Viola dinner in minutes. You can even make them up and store them in the refrigerator for later. I do that with my teenager who never seems to be home at dinner time. I suggest warming them in a toaster oven so they aren't soggy.

Homemade Taco Seasoning
makes enough for 1 lb of meat

1 Tbl minced onion
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika ( I used smoked...it's divine)
1/2 tsp oregano

Mix it up and add it to your browned meat and you're ready to go.