Baked Oatmeal

I can't remember if I've ever truly loved oatmeal. I never hated it, but I don't ever crave it. I think my years working at Perkins and trying to use regular oats to make instant oatmeal at 2 in the morning really turned me off. But, Stephanie O'Dea has always given me something new to try in the slow cooker. I was at least going to try this! My oatmeal turned out extremely dry to the point that it was almost uneatable. I tried to salvage it, but that just didn't happen. I think I might try this again, but I'll just have to watch it a little more. You can really make this your own by adding your favorite fruit or seasoning (some people in the comments of Stephanie's blog said they added cocoa powder). Overall, a 2.5/5, but I want to try this again!

Baked Oatmeal

Baked Oatmeal-adapted from "Make it Fast, Cook it Slow" by Stephanie O'Dea

Total Time: 5 hours

Serves 8

• 3 cups rolled (not instant) oats
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup dried fruit
• 1 cup milk
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Use a four quart slow cooker. Put the dry ingredients into the stoneware and add the dried fruit, milk, butter, vanilla and eggs. Stir well to combine. Cover and cook on low for 3-5 hours, checking after 90 minutes. The oatmeal is done when the edges are brown and are beginning to crust, the center is set, and a knife inserted comes out clean. Let it sit in the cooling cooker for at least an hour before attempting to cut it. The longer you let it sit, the more set and brownie-like the pieces will be.

Butter Poached Tilapia & A Must-See Website!

I've had some frozen tilapia fillets in my freezer for a little while. I also didn't have a whole lot of money to go grocery shopping with last week. So I went to my new favorite website: gojee.com. You seriously need to check out this website ASAP! Basically you put in what you are craving to eat (or the main ingredient you have) and what other ingredients you have on hand. It then comes up with a bunch of recipes from some of the best food bloggers for you to try! It is my new obsession! I'm never letting anything go bad in my fridge or cupboards again!

Now, back to the recipe. This is just simple. And easy. And quick. And delicious. If you have some tilapia laying around, make this for a quick dinner some night! I felt as though I didn't have quite enough butter to poach with (I had always been told the liquid needed to cover the meat completely), so I added about a 1/4 cup each of chicken broth and white wine. It turned out delicious! I'd give it a 3.5/5. Nothing fantastic, but definitely something to add to our regular meals soon!

Butter Poached Tilapia-adapted from Okie Dokie Artichokie

Total Time: 15 Minutes

Serves 2

• 2 tilapia fillets
• 4 tablespoons good butter
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 clove garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

Add butter, chicken broth, wine, garlic, salt and pepper to a sauce pan and cook over medium low heat. When the butter is almost melted, add the tilapia fillets. Cook slowly until the fish turns opaque-about 7 minutes. Do not let the butter brown, so adjust the stove accordingly.

When the fish has finished cooking, you can serve it with the extra butter if you wish (I suggest it!) I think it goes great with mashed potatoes and buttermilk dinner rolls--you don't need any additional butter for the rolls!

Stacked Enchilada Bake

Like I've said before, we love Mexican food! After making the corn & spinach enchiladas last week, I had leftover corn tortillas. So I decided to make this dish! It is technically vegetarian, but after making it and reading the reviews over at bettycrocker.com  I think I would add some chicken or ground beef next time. This time I bought one can of chili beans and one can of chili just to mix things up. There were way to many beans for my taste. I think I would use pinto beans instead of chili beans, just because I like them better. And I might do one layer over refried beans instead of whole beans, once again just because I like them! I would also add black olives. Cheese is definitely necessary after the first layer as well. You can never have too much cheese!

I also just realized I didn't follow the recipe completely. I never even saw that you're supposed to rip up the tortillas! I put them in whole. It turned out just fine, but I'll keep the recipe the same. Overall, I'd give this a 2.5/5, but I think I can make it work. I'll just have to make it again!

Before it went in the oven!

Just out of the oven!

It didn't end up coming out of the casserole quite as pretty, but it tasted alright!

Stacked Enchilada Bake adapted from BettyCrocker.com

Total Time: 30 Minutes

Serves 6

• 12 corn tortillas (5 to 6 inches in diameter), torn into pieces
• 1 can refried beans
• 1 can pinto beans, undrained
• 1 cup shredded cooked chicken or ground beef
• 1 can enchilada sauce
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 3 medium green onions, slicked
• 1 can sliced black olives (if desired)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 2 quart casserole with cooking spray.

Place half the tortillas in the casserole; top with refried beans, half the meat and sprinkling of cheese.  Place other half of tortillas on top, followed by meat, beans, and enchilada sauce. Add the remainder of cheese, green onions and black olives on top. 

Bake in oven for 20 minutes uncovered or until  bubbly around the edges.

Kalamata Olives and Sun-Dried Tomatoes on Cream Cheese

This is a great, simple recipe that is great as a snack (as I use it) or as an appetizer for a party. You can mix all the ingredients together for a daily dip, or put the basil, olives and tomatoes neatly on top for a nice-looking kind of dip. Both taste great! When I first made it, I just put the ingredients on top of the cream cheese (pictured below). I didn't eat all of it, so I ended up mixing it together in a tupperware container to eat as a snack later! The cream cheese definitely tones town the saltiness of the olives and tomatoes. I had some troubles finding fresh basil, so I used dried basil leaves and only put in 1 tablespoon so not to overwhelm the dish. 3/5 This isn't something I'd make all the time, but it definitely will be made again! Oh! And I finally am remembering to take my own pictures again! They aren't quite as pretty as the ones online, but they're mine :)

Kalamata Olives and Sun-Dried Tomatoes on Cream Cheese

Kalamata Olives and Sun-Dried Tomatoes on Cream Cheese-adapted from Pillsbury.com
Total Time: 10 Minutes
Serves 10

• 20 kalamata olives, finely choppped
• 2 tablespoons, finely chopped, drained sun dried tomatoes in oil
• 1 tablespoon oil from sun dried tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, or 1 tablespoons dried basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 medium garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• Assorted crackers for eating

In a small bowl, stir together all ingredients except cream cheese and crackers.

To serve, option one: place softened cream cheese on a platter and spread evenly across. Spoon olive mixture over cheese evenly. Serve with crackers.

Option two: mix cream cheese and olive mixture together. Serve with crackers.

Buffalo Chicken Lasagna

Scott was extremely excited to try this recipe! Once again, we love slow cookers and we love trying new things! I went shopping for this recipe and made a mistake and bought hot sauce instead of buffalo sauce. Scott wasn't happy. But we improvised and made our own instead! It wasn't the best sauce ever (I would suggest going with store bough stuff) but we definitely didn't ruin the dish because of it! Overall, I wasn't a fan of the dish, but it was just because of the heat from the sauce. I'm not a big hot sauce/buffalo sauce fan, in general. But if you are, it definitely brings something new to lasagna! Overall, I'd say 3/5 (Scott would give it 5, I would give it 3--we go with my number!) Once again Stephanie O'Dea comes through with another great slow-cooker recipe!

Buffalo Chicken Lasagna-Adapted from Make it Fast Cook it Slow by Stephanie O'Dea

• 4 cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, chopped
• 1 26-ounce jar pasta sauce
• 1 cup buffalo wing sauce
• 9 to 10 uncooked traditional lasagna noodles
• 1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
• 2 red, yellow or orange bell peppers, chopped
• 2 cups shredded cheese 
• 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
• 1/4 cup water

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. In a mixing bowl, combine the chicken, pasta sauce and buffalo wing sauce. Ladle a big spoonful of the sauce into the bottom of your stoneware. Cover with layer of uncooked lasagna noodles. You'll have to break them to get a proper fit. Add a smear of ricotta cheese to the top of the noodles. Add a layer of bell peppers and top with some shredded cheese. Repeat the layers until you run out of ingredients. Add the blue cheese crumbles. Put the water into the empty pasta sauce jar and shake. Pour the liquid over the top of the entire lasagna. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours, or on high 4 to 5 hours. When the cooking time is complete, unplug the crock and take off the lid. Let the lasagna sit for 20 minutes before cutting.