Apple Pie Oatmeal

You know a recipe is simple when it fits in a single tweet:

Apple Pie Oatmeal 1 c steel cut oats, 4 c unsweetened almond milk, 1 Tap'n Apple apple pie filling, 1 t cinnamon. Overnight crockpot #sogood
— Amy Z (@amy_z) January 1, 2014

Tap 'N Apple is a brand of pie filling - I found it at Whole Foods. This is what it looks like (and yes, I used the whole pouch!):

Cherry Pie Oatmeal

Lately I've been in love with preventionRD.com and her recipes. She does not disappoint. I'd been wanting to make my own steel cut oatmeal after getting addicted two winters ago to the frozen ready-to-eat version at Costco (I even blogged about it here) but hadn't had the motivation until I saw her recipe for Crock Pot Cherry Pie Steel Cut Oats. They are easy and delicious!

Author: Nicole Morrissey

Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 8 hours
Total time: 8 hours 5 mins
Serves: 4

A little something sweet and simple to start your morning off right. Kid-approved, no doubt!

Ingredients:
4 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk (I found this at Trader Joe's)
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
¼ cup sucanat or other granular sugar (I used sugar in the raw)
1 cup dry steel cut oats
1 (20 oz) can no sugar added cherry pie filling (couldn't find this so used a pouch of Tap'n Apple all natural cherry pie filling from Whole Foods)
1 cup pitted bing cherries, fresh or frozen (Publix makes a nice bag of frozen sweet dark cherries)

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a crock pot and stir. Place the lid on the crock pot and cook on low for 8-9 hours. Stir before serving hot. (Our crock pot runs pretty hot so I set it to low for an hour then turned it down to warm for overnight. Stirred it about an hour before serving and turned it up to low to help it finish cooking and thicken up.

Note:
Recipe adapted from Crock Pot Steel Cut Oats with Blueberries from Prevention RD’s Everyday Healthy Cooking

Bridal Shower Fun!

Saturday we celebrated Britain's bridal shower with a brunch at Jenn's house, hosted by the bridesmaids. Here are a few photos of the fun!

The gorgeous and amazing praline cake was from Au Peche Mignon, our local French Bakery. Thins layers of very light yellow cake brushed with rum then sandwiched with praline mousse - divine! The edges were coated in crushed pecans and the top in slivered toasted almonds and powdered sugar. Each bite melted in your mouth!

The flowers are in the wedding colors and similar to the arrangements Britain and Chris will have at the wedding. See close up photos of the cake and the flowers below. 

Our brunch offerings included mini-quiches (ham, red bell pepper and shallot as well as mushroom and leek, both in fillo dough cups), a yogurt parfait bar, mini-muffins, caprese on a stick and a wonderful citrus salad with feta cheese. 

the buffet

On the left, caprese salad on a stick - grape tomatoes, basil and mozzarella (some with pepperoni, some without) with a wonderful vinaigrette dressing for dipping; on the right, citrus salad with feta and mint. 

At top left: peanut butter chocolate chip muffins; top right: carrot cake muffins;
bottom: berry muffins with blueberries

The yogurt parfait bar included three kinds of yogurt (plain, light blueberry, and Cabot Creamery vanilla bean Greek yogurt, which is amazing by the way) as well as homemade granola and a variety of nuts and dried fruits. 

Our shower game - guess the age of the bride in each of the photos. It was really fun - Jenn won, she got 6 of 10 correct! (For the record, I only guessed 3 correctly!)

This photo of the bride and me was taken by the Matron of Honor, Joy - as were the next three.

Another view of the yogurt parfait bar - sharing it because you can see the cake table in the dining room, through the arched doorway on the right. On the table are the favors, pink lemonade cupcakes, baked by Jenn, in cute little pink and navy boxes. Also, hanging from the pot rack are the great crepe paper rose balls Joy made for decorating. They were really neat.

From left to right: bridesmaid Michelle, Britain, Chris's cousin, Alexa, Chris's Aunt Fabiana and Chris's Mom, Donna.

Flower girl Lottie, daughter of the Matron of Honor, with her Aunt Stephanie. 

A gift from the bride - strawberries from Plant City! We ate them all in less than 24 hours!!

Close up of the cake

Close up of the flowers

Brunch at Avenue Eat & Drink

We've been to Avenue several times (and blogged about our first visit here) but until Saturday, I had not been to their Saturday Brunch before.

Not many Tallahassee restaurants offer brunch on Saturday, it's mostly a Sunday thing, except at places that specialize in breakfast to begin with. So having this option for a Saturday is great!

 AVENUE'S FAMOUS BLOODY MARY

Everything BUT the Kitchen Sink plus a Jumbo Brown Gulf Shrimp Cocktail
This was wonderful as it was served with a ton of veggies including a cucumber slice, a homemade spicy dill pickle, a pimento-stuffed olive, a super spicy pepperoncini and a stalk of celery.

 Bill's pancakes and bacon

CORN PANCAKES WITH BLUEBERRY-KAHLUA SYRUP

Sweetened crème and candied walnuts and served with Applewood smoked bacon

 John's BLT with sweet potato chips

[Fresh Bibb lettuce, sliced tomato, smoked bacon and avocado on Ciabatta bread with basil mayo]

Jessica's Pound Cake French Toast

SOUR CREAM POUND CAKE FRENCH TOAST

Topped with seasonal fruit compote and served with Applewood smoked bacon

I had an omelet with sausage, caramelized onions, white cheddar and tomato. It came with potatoes and was delish. How did I miss taking its photo? [Don't answer that!]

We still love the mission of Avenue and hope Tallahassee does too: 

To create a loyal customer base interested in the finest food and beverage experience in an unpretentious but elegant environment. To change moments into memories through our unique and cutting edge approach to eating and drinking. To have the best service, servers and culinary team that will allow Avenue Eat and Drink to distance itself from the average and uninspired. To expand our horizons by pursuing our passion for the pairing and service of fine foods and beverages. Avenue Eat and Drink features a Southern Fusion menu with influences from FL, SC, LA and GA. Our goal is to source locally and create a menu that is primarily organic and green.

Avenue Eat & Drink
115 East Park Avenue
Tallahassee, Florida
http://www.avenueeatanddrink.com 

New twist on eggs and potatoes

When I saw this photo on pinterest I knew we had to try it

Officially called Idaho Sunrise, this couldn't be easier. 

First you bake the potatoes. You'll need one per person. For larger potatoes, 2 eggs fit, but if you have smaller potatoes (or smaller appetites), you'll just need one egg per person. A little chopped bacon (1 strip per person, depending on taste, we use less), some shredded cheese (1-2 T each), a little herbs (parsley, oregano, chives, whatever you like), salt and pepper and you're in business. Remember the eggs will expand a little as they cook, so leave a little room at the top. Put the filled potatoes on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil (in case of leaks) and bake 15-25 minutes at 350.

The original recipe calls for putting a teaspoon of butter in the bottom of each potato after hollowing it out. I've tried it both ways and can't tell the difference. The key is to bake the eggs just until the eggs are the way you like them - we like our whites cooked and our yolks a little runny - remember it will keep cooking after it comes out of the oven. I tend to leave them in too long and the yolks end up fully set... which is still yummy.

Enjoy!

Breakfast Pizza

This is an old favorite in our house, but when I wanted to make it recently, I couldn't find the recipe! Never fear, though, I've made it so many times, it all came back to me as I made the grocery list.

Breakfast Pizza

Ingredients:

1 regular size regular flavor crescent roll dough

1 pound breakfast sausage (we like reduced fat)

4-6 ounces shredded cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese

4 eggs

3/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

Crumble and cook the sausage thoroughly; drain on a paper towel. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375.

Press crescent roll dough into the bottom and about 1/2 an inch up the sides of a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish. Seal all the seams by pressing them together. 

Sprinkle the cooked sausage over the crust, then sprinkle the cheese over the sausage. 

In a small bowl, beat the eggs, then mix in the milk, salt, pepper and oregano. 

Pour the egg mixture over the sausage and cheese.

Bake 20-25 minutes in a 375 degree oven, until eggs are set. This make take a bit longer, just give the pan a shake every five minutes after it's baked 20 to see how it is coming along.

Cool on a rack 5 minutes before slicing and serving. 

Serve with salsa (men especially seem to like this; I prefer it without.)

We tried a variation this year - substituting ~2 cups of diced ham for the sausage and using a combination of Gruyère and white sharp Cheddar for the cheese. It was delicious:

breakfast pizza with ham