Peanut Butter Oatmeal

So today I tried a breakfast from a healthy living challenge you can view HERE.

Breakfast: Peanut butter oatmeal ~400 cal
1/2 c dry oats
2/3 cup milk 
1 big spoonful peanut butter
1 tsp cocoa powder
few drops of honey
Mix milk and oats, microwave on 50% power for 1 - 3 minutes. Then mix in pb, cocoa and honey. (It's not a flavor explosion, but it's smooth, creamy, low sugar, high fiber and good protein... don't expect it to taste like a cinnamon roll wink emoticon
*Regular peanut butter and dairy milk are higher protein, but it's fine modify to almond/soy/etc for your personal preferences. 

Turns out, she's right, it is rather bland, but it isn't bad at all. And I can eat exactly half of it. Hmm...But I like the change up from my daily smoothies, so I'm keeping the recipe!

Smelling Good!

I used to burn candles alllllll the time. I now have a candle warmer but I don't use it very often...
I went thru a phase where I used Febreeze on the couches, carpets and curtains daily, but I don't know if we even have any Febreeze.
Since just before Christmas I've been simmering a smelly-good pot of stuff that I dump and start new almost daily. My family is tired of it, but the kick of vitamin c in the air gets me going in the morning and keeps me motivated. I think that's pretty important with the gray days we have around here most of the winter...!

I put in the peel of a clementine (Cutie, little orange...its not a tangerine, it really is called a Clementine)
the core of any apples or pears I slice up for the kids, and any peel that I might cut off
4 craisins
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
and the peel of a ginger root

I turn the burner up to medium high heat to get it boiling, then I keep it a very low temp the rest of the day, adding water as it boils off!

I absolutely love it!

Lasagna Soup!

Apparently this is the third year this needs moved out of the draft folder and published!! I made it this week, and discovered this was a partial post, so the photos are new, and here we go!
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Its been rainy the last several days and I think it is finally cool enough to have soup for dinner! We'll start off the soup season with this one! I don't understand how it didn't get put on the blog last year...but whatever, haha....

This is a recipe a friend shared with me. It's not a hard soup, but it takes a little bit of time....Maybe an hour to make?

Lasagna Soup:

Ingredients: 

Soup: 

2 tsp olive oil

1 1/2 pounds Italian sausage

3 cups chopped onion

4 minced garlic cloves

2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 28oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes

2 bay leaves

6 cups chicken stock

8 oz mafalda or fusilli pasta

1/2 cup finely chopped basil leaves 

salt

freshly ground pepper

for the cheesy yum:

8 oz ricotta

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1/4 tsp salt

freshly ground pepper

2 cup shredded mozzarella

Sooo I have finally learned that you don't have to follow cooking recipes exactly to the letter. Baking yes, I think so, but not cooking. And so, I took a lot of liberties in this recipe, hee hee....I didn't measure anything except the tomatoes and the pasta, haha! 

I drizzled in the olive oil, and put in a 1 pound tube of sausage to brown. While it was browning, I chopped up two onions and added them. Then I took a big spoonful of minced garlic and put that in, along with the oregano and red pepper flakes. After it was all mixed in together, I added the tomato paste. Then you're supposed to stir it well, and cook until the past turns a rusty brown color, which takes a couple minutes.

Then you pour in the diced tomatoes, bay leaves and chicken stock. Stir it and then allow it to boil, then simmer for 30 minutes. Add the pasta (I use either rotini or Radiatore) and cook til the pasta is al dente. *Don't over cook it because mushy pasta is not good eats! 

Now mix up the "cheesy yum" haha! 

I scoop out some ricotta, then sprinkle on some parmesan, a dash of salt and some pepper. Then I mix it together in kind of a paste. Put a scoop of that mix in the bottom of each bowl. Top it with shredded mozzarella, just like this: 

Then! add the basil (I don't use fresh basil), a bit of salt and some freshly ground black pepper to the soup, stir it all up, and ladle it over the cheeeeese! YUM!