Delicious Breakfast Meal!

Okay, if you're like me, you prefer a nice hearty breakfast. Bring on the bad food and load up on calories. However, while I love those types of breakfasts, I very very very rarely allow myself to have one. Because afterwards, I feel SO guilty.
I found this recipe recently that is SO delicious but still on the healthy side. You can adapt it to your own sweet palate. It is from the website, Annie Eats. Here ya go:

Baked Oatmeal with Fruit

Posted in Breakfast

I feel like I’ve been holding out on you guys. It hasn’t been intentional, but I’ve been making this baked oatmeal over and over for the past few months and I can’t believe I haven’t shared it with you yet. My feelings regarding oatmeal have made a complete about face in the past year or so. Before, I thought it was bland and pretty much only liked it if it was mixed into a cookie. Then I learned to use mix-ins or toppings to jazz it up a bit. Not long after, I was introduced to steel cut oats and I started eating oatmeal almost weekly. Previously I had tried a few recipes for baked oatmeal but none of them were much to write home about. That is until I tried this version.

Three reasons why I love this recipe and you will too: 1. It is quick and easy to prep, 2. It’s healthy, 3. It is very easily adapted to suit whatever fruits are in season and what you have on hand. I have made it so far with the original combination of bananas and blueberries as well as peaches with raspberries, nectarines with blackberries, and most recently with apples and cranberries. The natural sweetness of the fruit as well as a bit of maple syrup is all this really needs to be a tasty and satisfying breakfast, and it reheats well as leftovers on subsequent days. I do add an extra sprinkle of cinnamon sugar to the apple and cranberry version to offset the tartness of the berries. You can also use different types of nuts depending on what you have around or what you prefer. I’m thinking a summer version with cherries, apricots and almonds could be pretty great. This has become a staple in our breakfast menu and as you can see here, it is a hit with the boy as well

Baked Oatmeal with Fruit
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Ingredients:
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
¼ cup chopped walnuts or pecans, lightly toasted, divided
½ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
¼ cup maple syrup
1 cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2-3 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced ½-inch thick
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen), divided

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine the rolled oats, half of the nuts, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir with a fork to combine. In a liquid measuring cup, combine the maple syrup, milk, egg, butter, and vanilla. Spread the sliced bananas in a single layer over the bottom of the baking dish. Top with half of the berries. Sprinkle the dry oat mixture over the fruit in an even layer. Pour the liquid ingredients evenly over the oats. Sprinkle the remaining nuts and berries over the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is browned and the oats have set. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

I CAN'T WAIT!

Okay, so I LOVE refinished antique furniture. By love, I mean that I wish I had the patience to sand and paint EVERY piece of furniture in my house. But sadly, I don't. I also do not know the right "techniques" to do. I have tried to do refinish furniture and sadly have failed. I actually bought a dresser on Craigslist.org and had a friend paint in "Crystal Blue" and glaze and distress it for me! Cheater, I know. But low and behold, I stumbled across a blog of a woman in Edmond that teaches CLASSES on how to do this. Refunk My Junk is the name. I am now enrolled in the class for October 22nd. Oh my....my furniture is in for a DRASTIC overhaul. Yee-Haw! Peruse her page and check out all of the AWESOME refinishing jobs. I LOVE IT! If you're in the Edmond/OKC area, she also has a booth at Beaucoup Boutiques (for all of you long time Edmonites, this was the old indoor soccer place across from the roller skating rink now turned Thunder practice place). Enjoy!

Two Posts in One Day?! Have I lost my mind??

I know what you're thinking, I must be going crazy. Hillary posted twice in one day? The truth is, you're not crazy - I am. I had to take a quick shower (I had gym "yuck" on me) and now...I'm back.

ELOUISE IS ONE!!!!!!!!!!!

After you have a baby, everyone tells you to cherish each moment because the time truly flies by. But NO ONE can tell you how quickly it goes. There is truly no way of telling any parent. . . it is just something that each parent has to experience on their own. A true blessing. (Got a little teary eyed with that thought).

Okay, like I just posted in big, bold, pink letters....Elouise, our baby, is one. We had her birthday party on Sunday. It was so much fun. I actually found that I really really enjoyed planning, designing and decorating for the party. I ended up making all of the decor (except the chinese lanterns...thanks Hobby Lobby!) and the food. What a sense of accomplishment. We had food for an army and it turned out to be perfect. I got a recipe from a great friend for these "Roast Beef Party Sandwiches". Like most of my recipes, the ingredients look....interesting. Not the most intriguing blend, but throw them all together and WALA! They are delicious. I ended up tripling the recipe for these sandwiches and used the Hawaiian Sweet Dinner rolls instead of the Rainbo ones they suggested and they were perfect. I also cut out bread in the shape of hearts and made little heart shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the kiddos. I discovered that although the party is for a one year old, the other children there may not be too keen with the adult-like sandwiches. When in doubt, opt for a childhood favorite. Not gonna lie - caught some adults (ahem...Daddy), eating some PBJ's too. No worries, I had plenty. Each slice of bread made one sandwich. Then I had animal crackers, pretzels, and grapes, too. I ended up ordering the cupcakes from Sam's (30 for $13...who can beat that??). I had tons of people asking where I got the cupcakes from because they were so good. Guilty secret...got em from Sam's. Delish! I made cupcake toppers for each cupcake, too. Just some added cuteness, I thought. Like I said, it may have been a one year old party, but the kids still need stuff to do. I bought sidewalk chalk, bubbles, play do, big bouncy balls, a ball pit, and balloons. Bring on the fun. The kids had a great time. (Throw on the Dallas Cowboys game inside for some male birthday party fun...).

All that being said, I discovered I love throwing parties. As long as I leave myself ample time to plan and prepare.......which I did. I may start planning for something else now! Yippee!

Well, Hello There!

First off, can I just say I should get a prize???? That's right. Drumroll please......Hillary Love is awarded the prize for WORST BLOGGER EVER! Yay! (and the crowd goes wild!!!).

Laugh it off - in all seriousness though - I have done a flawed job at keeping everyone posted. Don't get me wrong, I read blogs daily! I just fail to post on my own. Slap on the wrist and moving on -

Soooo many things have been going on in the world of The Loves.

First, as posted on my previous blog post (eek do I dare say it was JULY 9TH?!?), I am back to my "roots". We have moved to Edmond, and it has been a wonderful move. My husband was a bit apprehensive about the move from his hometown to mine, but let me just say that he is LOVING IT! He is always busy and gets to go to do so many fun things.

One nice thing that has happened is that we FINALLY found a church that we both really really are passionate about. There is something there for both of us and a powerful nursery ministry for Elouise. I have even been going to Mom's Group on Monday mornings! It has been such a blessing. My parents go to church there, too. My dad even plays with the orchestra on Sunday mornings. He plays the guitar - if you're there, listen for him. If you're not...you lose. In our Mom's Group we are doing the study For Women Only....okay if you HAVEN'T done this study...DO IT. It will rock your world . Back to the nursery ministry - Elouise LOVES it. She has a great time on Sunday mornings and then again on Monday mornings. We have even stepped out of our comfort zones and signed up for the Parent/Child Dedication. Josh and I attended a class that discussed the need of raising your child in a Christ centered home. We both feel strongly about this. We will be "dedicating" Elouise in front of the church on October 23rd. We feel so blessed to be part of this wonderful church family.

On to the next topic - JOSH WORKS IN OKC NOW! It was a major decision and one that we did not take lightly, but Josh decided that it was time to part ways with ExxonMobil. He has worked for them for 5 1/2 years and they have been a wonderful company to work for. He has learned so many valuable things from them and they have been great employers. However, that being said, the time away had begun to take it's toll on our family. For the first 4 1/2 years of his employment, he was stationed in Piceance Creek, Colorado working on a natural gas rig there. We griped about the 2 weeks on/2 weeks off schedule (Side note: Military wives, you have my utmost respect and awe. I don't know how you do it, but you all are some strong woman!), and we hated it. However, our reality was put into perspective when he was scheduled to begin rotating to Nigeria. He worked 4 weeks on and 4 weeks off on an oil rig off the coast of Lagos, Nigeria. With Elouise growing up and changing each time we blinked, Josh decided it was time to look for a job closer to home. Since we moved to OKC, his job offerings were a lot larger than what they were living in a smaller town. He applied with several companies and decided on a job with Chesapeake Energy. He now works in Oklahoma City and is the "Corporate Emergency Response Coordinator". He loves what he is doing now and is eager to continue to learn more. We love having him home in the evenings and weekends. While it is an adjustment going from single mom every few weeks to having my husband home all of the time, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love having my family back together! Seeing Elouise's face light up when he walks in after work, you just can't put a price on those things. (Not to mention that he looks SO handsome in his corporate attire...)

Okay my next post is going to be about the big 1st birthday bash - Gotta break these things up - Nap time is only so long!