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Apple Pie Parfaits

January 28, 2013 by kim 2 Comments

Do you have a dream book that you keep tabs in every morning? I don’t, but I certainly have a recurring nightmare that I get probably once a month. You might laugh at me for this, but I have a fear of losing my teeth. It happens differently in every nightmare, but it happens.

Sometimes I dream that I’ll be eating something and then POP! A tooth falls out. Other times, I’ll wake up and have no teeth. Not a single one. Maybe it’s because I think that a smile is a huge part of someone’s personality, and I’m terrified of losing mine. That doesn’t even make any sense.

I’ve never looked into the meaning behind dreams. Some people do that religiously. Dream books, symbolism, the meaning underneath it all… everyone interprets dreams differently.

So, for the sake of blogging, I googled it. “What does losing teeth in your dreams mean?”

What did I learn? Well, apparently the losing your teeth dream is very common. It’s also the most googled dream search. They say it happens when you’re stressed and have anxiety over something going in your life. Oh, it’s also a sign of depression for the person having these dreams.

Oh Google, your answers always amaze me. I’d like to think that I have a pretty good head on my shoulders and don’t stress easily. Que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be…

Now that makes sense why I never looked into the meaning behind various dreams. It’s all a bunch of gibberish. No offense to those who are totally into it. To each their own.

I was craving a parfait from Mcdonald’s one night (I get those fruit and yogurt parfaits on a weekly basis) and decided to whip up one of my own. I didn’t have blueberries or strawberries on hand, but I did have apples. Hard apples would have been boring on plain vanilla yogurt, so I chopped it up and cooked them down in some cinnamon and sugar to make these apple pie parfaits. Top it with some whipped cream and nilla wafers, put it in a fancy cup, and you’ve just turned breakfast into dessert.

Apple Pie Parfaits

Ingredients

2 apples, peeled, cored, and finely chopped
3/4 tablespoons butter
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
slightest amount of salt
vanilla yogurt
whipped cream
2 Nilla wafers, crushed

Directions

In a small saucepan, completely melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add in the apple and lemon juice. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add in the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cook for an additional 3 minutes, until the apples are tender. If you like your apples really soft, cook them for longer.
Let the apples cool completely by putting them on a plate and placing it in the fridge for a couple of minutes.
To serve, spoon apples over the vanilla yogurt (I layered mine). Top with whipped cream and Nilla wafers.

https://lovintheoven.com/apple-pie-parfaits/

Crockpot Apple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oats

November 25, 2012 by kim 1 Comment

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I kind of disappeared into the chaos of traveling during the holidays and wanted to make the most of it spending time with loved ones, which explains the lack of updates after my pumpkin recipes.

What are your thoughts on steel cut oats? Love ’em? Hate ’em? For me, it was a long time before I even gave them a shot. Finally, I gave in and decided to give them a try. I was the same with oatmeal; I never ate it as a child and only started eating it when I moved out of my house. I don’t know why that is, we just never had any oatmeal around the house. I assumed oatmeal was strictly used for cookies.

Now, as a flight attendant, I eat instant oatmeal about three times a week. It’s convenient, fast, and does a fairly good job on curbing your hunger.

Steel cut oats became popular a couple of months ago and pretty much appeared out of nowhere. All of a sudden, it was on breakfast menus, stocked on your grocery shelves in a variety of brands, and used in everyday recipes.

I actually first tried it at Panera because the picture of it looked so good. Sure enough, it didn’t disappoint me. The crusty brown sugar topping that Panera uses gave it the sweetness that I needed to eat these steel cut oats. If they were plain, I’d never be able to muster a bowl down into my belly.

I figured it was probably ridiculous to pay four-five bucks for a bowl of oatmeal, so I bought some steel cut oats at the grocery store and went home trying to find a recipe I’d like for myself. They take a lot longer than regular oatmeal to cook, so I threw it into the crockpot the night before I went to bed.

I woke up to a lovely smelling kitchen and breakfast ready to eat. The edges burned a bit and the oats were a little dry, so I’d lower the crockpot time by two hours next time.

Crockpot Apple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oats

Ingredients

1 cup steel cut oats
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cup water
3 tsp cinnamon
2 apples, chopped
2 tsp stevia
2 tbsp sugar in the raw

Directions

Put all your ingredients except for the sugar in the raw into the crockpot. Give it a good stir.
Sprinkle the sugar in the raw on top.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

https://lovintheoven.com/crockpot-apple-cinnamon-steel-cut-oats/

Pumpkin Pie Granola & a Tate’s Bake Shop Giveaway

November 13, 2012 by kim 77 Comments

We are now on day 5 of my pumpkin recipes after taking a little break in between for chocolate chip cookies. I just got my work schedule for December and I am SO excited that I got Christmas off. I didn’t originally have it off, but my job is flexible enough that I get to drop and trade trips with other employees.

Not only do I have Christmas off, but I have the more than week off during that time so that I have plenty of time for baking. We all know that baking during the holidays is a whole fiasco for me. I take up the kitchen for at least 24 hours, baking into the wee hours of the morning.

It’s become a tradition for me and I truly cherish it. Last year, I was on reserve for work so I was unable to do that. It was the first Christmas in my life where I didn’t get to spend it with my family. Instead of being home when everyone else was, I was in a hotel in Ft. Lauderdale by myself. Sure, the warm weather was nice to have, but it was really hard for me to be away.

This year, I’m not taking anything for granted. Hopefully I’ll be able to see all my friends and family while I’m home for the holidays.

I’m already brainstorming my Christmas baking list for this year. Usually, I bake about 4-5 different kinds of cookies, one kind of bar, and one kind of bread. I’m thinking I might increase the types of cookies this year because there are so many that I love.

Onto the pumpkin pie granola… I wouldn’t exactly call this granola since it wasn’t as hard and crunchy as normal granola. It was actually rather soft and spongy. I’m guessing it was because of the pumpkin in the recipe. I wonder if baking it longer or at a higher temperature would eventually cause the mixture to harden…

This recipe from Dashing Dish was made to be a bit healthier, but you can definitely taste the difference. I’d say, use real sugar, use sweetened apple sauce, and use honey. I subbed stevia in the raw and agave in the raw, but it gave it that weird aftertaste that stevia does for me. I’m not a fan of sweetener, sweet n low, equal, or any of those fake sugars. I’m all for the real thing, and I really think that makes a huge difference in baking.

And now for the giveaway…

Tate’s Bake Shop was not only nice enough to send me a book to review, they’re sponsoring a giveaway to one of my lucky readers! Here’s what you’d be getting:

It has “something for everyone with three 7-oz boxes of cookies, one each of chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin and white chocolate chip macadamia nut. Two rich, buttery raspberry bars, two chocolate chip and walnut loaded blondies, and two rich, dense and fudgy plain brownies round out this crowd pleaser. Each 7-oz box contains approximately 12 cookies, and bars measure 4” x 2.75″‘ This particular cookie and bar tower set retails for $48 on their website.

How do you enter?
Just leave a comment on this post saying what you do for Thanksgiving, if anything at all.
Do you throw a Friendsgiving? Eat Tofurkey? Stay at home in PJ’s and watch movies all night? Sit at your computer at 12:01 AM and wait for Black Friday deals?
Make sure to let me know by this Saturday, November 17th at 11:59PM pacific time. The winner will be chosen by random.org.

Pumpkin Pie Granola & a Tate’s Bake Shop Giveaway

Ingredients

4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup baking stevia OR 1 cup sweetener of choice that measures like sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup applesauce (unsweetened)
3 tbs sugar free maple syrup (or honey or agave nectar)
Optional Add-ins: 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, 1 cup honey teddy grahams lightly crushed

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix together the oats, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, stevia, salt, and baking powder.
In another bowl, mix together the pumpkin, applesauce, and maple syrup. Slowly mix in the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients until evenly coated.
Evenly spread out the granola on prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, then stir granola around. Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the granola is golden brown and is crisp. Take the granola out of the oven, and let it cool completely.
Stir in any additional add-ins, if using. Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

https://lovintheoven.com/pumpkin-pie-granola-a-tates-bake-shop-giveaway/

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