Cranberry Apple Baked Oatmeal

The spices in this baked oatmeal really stand out in the dish but not in an over powering way which is lovely. 

I made this breakfast dish on a weekend morning but it could be made ahead and taken on the go, eaten cold or reheated! Very versatile and makes for an excellent week day breakfast. 

I topped mine with a dollop of Greek yogurt but it's not needed at all. 

Cranberry Apple Baked Oatmeal 

INGREDIENTS

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

3 large or 4 small apples, peeled and roughly chopped

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

8 tablespoons coconut palm sugar divided

1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

1 cup steel-cut oats

4 cups hot water

3 cups old-fashioned oats

1-1/2 teaspoons sea salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup toasted pecans or walnuts, chopped

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350ºF; lightly grease a 2- to 3-quart casserole dish.

Mix cinnamon and ginger together and set aside. 

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add the chopped apples, 1/2 teaspoon of the spice blend , 2 tablespoons coconut palm sugar , and a large pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, or until the apples have softened and begun to caramelize. Add the cranberries off the heat, stirring to coat with the spice-butter mixture (this will also help thaw frozen cranberries, if using them).

Meanwhile, add the steel-cut oats, water, and remaining 2 tablespoons butter to a large bowl, cover, and allow to stand for 20 minutes, or until the oats have softened slightly.

Add the old-fashioned oats, salt, remaining 1-1/2 teaspoons of the spice blend, remaining 6 tablespoons coconut palm sugar, nutmeg, and about half of the chopped nuts to the steel-cut oats, mix well to incorporate.

Whisk together the milk, applesauce, maple syrup, and vanilla, and then fold it into the oat mixture.

Add about 3/4 of the fruit to the casserole dish; spread it out into an even layer and top with the oat mixture. Top with the remaining fruit and the second half of the nuts, and bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes or until set in the center.

Allow to cool slightly and serve with a drizzle of milk or a dollop of plain yogurt, if desired.

Note: if you don't have steel cut oats you can use all old fashioned whole oats 4 cups. You can just skip the soaking step. 

Recipe modified from King Arthur Flour whole Grain Baking

Gingerbread Protein Pancakes topped with Brown Buttered Maple Cinnamon Apples

The title is a mouthful but I couldn't leave anything out! Lets just say the apples are pretty much the star of the show, although the pancakes are mighty tasty themselves!  I topped my pancakes with a big helping of the apples and a scoop of greek yogurt.  Talk about protein protein protein!  Greek Yogurt, Shakeology and Eggs are all packed into these tasty pancakes.  

These are an awesome healthy breakfast this week before Christmas!  Or do what we did last night and enjoy them as "Breakfast for Dinner"!  

Gingerbread Protein Pancakes topped with Brown Buttered Maple Cinnamon Apples

Total Time: 20 min.

Prep Time: 5 min.

Cooking Time: 15 min.

Yield: Makes 3 servings, 2 pancakes each

Ingredients:

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 pinch ground cloves

1 pinch ground nutmeg

1 scoop whey protein powder, vanilla flavor, I used vanilla shakeology

⅓ cup reduced fat (1%) plain Greek yogurt

4 large egg whites (½ cup) or 2 eggs

¼ cup old-fashioned rolled oats

2 Tbsp. coconut flour

1 tsp. spice mix (see below)

½ tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. molasses (Blackstrap if possible)

Olive oil

2 apples 

Butter

Maple syrup 

Preparation:

1. To make spice mix, combine cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg in a small bowl; mix well. Set aside.

2. Combine protein powder, yogurt, egg whites, oats, coconut flour, 1 tsp. spice mix, baking powder, and molasses in a medium bowl; mix well.

3. Heat large nonstick skillet lightly coated with spray over medium heat.

4. Ladle about ¼ cup batter for each pancake; cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until bubbles form on top. Flip. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.

5. Repeat until all batter is used.

6. Serve two pancakes topped with cooked apples, if desired; serve immediately.

For apples

1. Melt 2 tsp butter in frying pan. 
2. Warm until butter starts to brown. 

See how it starts to brown up!  That's the flavour.

3. While butter Browns, Slice apples and add to heated pan. Cool for 2 minutes then add drizzle of maple syrup and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Stir and cover with a lid to soften. 

Check and stir apples every few minutes until soft. 

4. Serve apples on top of pancakes with a scoop of plain Greek yogurt. 

10 Best Printable Elf On The Shelf Ideas

Inspiration is the name of the game after 4 years of Elf on the Shelf!  We can't really re-do any of the Elf poses we did last year or even the year before because Asher's memory is like an elephant, he does not forget anything!  So every year I search Pinterest for more ideas and inspiration that will make it fun for the boys and easy for us!  Printables are awesome and I've used a few of these over the years so I though I would share a few here!

I love having everything in one spot so why not share some of the awesome printable creations by other bloggers for my friends here so that they could do some one stop shopping rather than search around on Pinterest!

Here are a few of my Favs that I have found along the way...

Toilet Paper Olaf Printable

We did this one last year and the boys loved it!  

Elf on the Shelf Toilet Paper Snowmen-Olaf   |   Simple as that Blog

Printable Joke Cards

For those nights when you forget to move the elf or aren't feeling super inspired you can always prop him up someplace and stick a joke card under his arm.  Print off a sheet of these Jokes and your set!

Elf on the Shelf Printable Jokes | Over the Big Moon 

Free Christmas Count Down Cards

Asher will love this one so I've printed off a set as he asks every day how many days are left until Christmas!  Another good one for an elf with a boring pose!
Elf Countdown Cards | Who Arted?

Elf Rocket Ship

I have been meaning to do this one for a few years now!  Still 9 days left to fit it into the rotation!  

Elf Rocket Ship | Sweet Papertrail

Frozen Elf Photo Backdrops

These are too cute!  Fraser loves Frozen right now, particularly Olaf so I'll have to do this one for him. 

Frozen Elf Photo Shoot Backdrop | Over the Big Moon 

Starwars Elf Mask

Asher is Obsessed with Starwars everything right now so this printable was on the top of my list this year!  I just can't decide which mask I am going to use!

Starwars Elf Mask | Enzas Bargains

Minecraft Elf Printables

What 6 Year old Boy doesn't love Minecraft these days!?  Asher sure does so I know he will flip for this one!

Minecraft Elf Santa  |  A Little Moore blog

Get a Printable Steve from Minecraft too  |  Paper Pezzy

Niceness Alert Printable

Such a cute idea to have your elf bring a little niceness alert card for a check in.  I'd probably use this one after a night where the boys won't eat dinner etc just to remind them Alphie is watching!  

Niceness Alert and Other Elf Note Cards | Frugal Coupon Living

Elf Twister Printable Sheet

Get out some other toys and have your Elf play twister with them!  Super cute idea which I'll use another year when I know Fraser wont touch our elf and I can put it down lower for them to see. And also once Asher has played the game so he knows what it is :)  

Elf Twister | Frugal Coupon Living

Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

Well it's been a crazy couple of weeks for our family and I've been neglecting the blog mostly because I haven't been home to be in the kitchen making anything delicious lately. We have spent several nights in the hospital with our youngest son first for Pneumonia and then post surgery for more breathing issues following the intubation as it caused his esophagus to be irritated.  It's been pretty nuts to put it mildly but I'm hoping the worst is behind us and we can finally dive into the Christmas season.  

This week our oldest son's Pace (musical theatre) production started so we have late night rehearsals and shows going on almost every night!  Now that we are all under one roof again we were all craving home cooked meals.  The boys wanted stir fry the other night so using what I had I threw together some beef and broccoli with rice. Only problem was I had run out of Teriyaki sauce AKA Sticky Sauce!!!! What's a mom to do!  So I googled and found a few recipes and came up with my own version so they could enjoy their Sticky Sauce and rice for dinner!

It came together very quickly and made lots too!  The real test was all in the taste however and i think it was even better than the bottled version if I do say so myself!  They boys gobbled it right up. YAY!  and then off we went to Pace. 

Here is my Homemade Teriyaki Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups cold water
• 3/4 cup Coconut Palm Sugar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
• 3 Tablespoons corn starch
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil or Olive oil

Mix all 6 ingredients together in a saucepan and then put over medium heat on the stove. 

Sitr until it starts to bubble and thicken, don't leave it and walk away.  Once it starts to thicken remove from the heat and wisk to make sure it's smooth.  

I let mine cool slightly and used it to marinate some strips of steak.  Then we simply cooked the steak and added broccoli to pan to cook and topped with a drizzle of teriyaki sauce on the top!  It was amazing!  

(The sauce can be kept in the refrigerator for one week.)