Friday, March 28, 2014

Overnight Refrigerated Oatmeal

I'm going to be honest here.  I am NOT a morning person.  I should be.  I'm a mommy of 6 and should be up at the crack of dawn, right?  Well,  I am a sleeper.  I LOVE MY SLEEP!!!  I usually do not get into bed before 11, so I prefer to stay in bed in the morning.  Of course hubby would prefer I get up and make him breakfast before he heads to work, BUT..........

So, when these little yogurt/oatmeal jars started popping up on my facebook feed,  hubby and I thought we would give them a try.  I can fix them the night before and he has a healthy breakfast before heading into work.  PLUS,  I get to stay in the bed a bit longer.  I checked the internet and found a couple different sites with recipes.  Like all recipes, you can customize them to your likes and dislikes.  You can do just oats and milk as your base; oats, milk, and plain yogurt; oats, milk, and greek yogurt; or oats, milk, and flavored yogurt.   The options are pretty much endless.

We started with oats, milk, and plain yogurt as the base this time,  but I think I'll try flavored yogurts next.  Hubby said while it's not his favorite breakfast,  he will eat them a couple mornings and I'll STAY IN BED!!!  SCORE!!!

Here's what you need:
        Half pint jar
        1/4 cup rolled oats
        1/4 cup whole milk
        1/4 cup yogurt
        1 tsp chia seeds
        1 tsp honey or maple syrup*
        1/4 cup fruit mixture of your choice*

*The honey or maple syrup is your sweetener.  You can choose which you use based on what else you plan to put in the base mixture.  For example, I used maple syrup with blueberries and the apple/cinnamon ones,  but honey with the strawberry/banana mix.  It's up to you.

*The fruit mixture can be whatever you like; peaches and pecans, raspberries and vanilla, pineapple and coconut, banana and peanut butter, etc.  Again, the choices are endless.  For our first batch,  we used blueberries and maple syrup; applesauce(1/4 cup) and cinnamon(1 tsp); and strawberries and bananas.


It's an easy breakfast for kiddos and the hubby without a lot of prep time, or a healthy afternoon snack.  I like it!!

Monday, March 10, 2014

Menu Plan Monday March 10, 2014

It's here!  The week of surgery is upon me, and I'm NOT ready.  Well, I'm ready for the surgery!  However, all the projects I had wanted to get finished before I go under the scalpel will just have to wait a while.  I really thought I could get it all finished, just a little disappointed.  Once again proves to me, I sometimes put too many things on my plate; schooling, working, laundry, cooking, cleaning, and home improvement projects.  How do you all do it?  I just can't seem to get it all done!

Enough with the pity party - life will go on as usual whether I got all the rooms painted and furniture moved or not!!

So, on to this week's plan.  It's time to get things cleaned up, fixed up, and put away.  My sister-in-law will be coming up tomorrow to help with the last minute things and to watch the kiddos while I am in the hospital and a few days after so I can rest and recover.  Then,  we're going to play it by ear and see how I feel.  She has offered to stay longer if we need her.  I am so thankful she's willing to come and put up with my crew.  

Here is the short meal plan:

MONDAY - baked chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans
TUESDAY - taco night

WEDNESDAY - hamburgers, mac n cheese, roasted potatoes

THURSDAY - SURGERY DAY - Sister-in-law is in charge from here on this week.  

FRIDAY - SUNDAY - I'm leaving this up to her.  Once she gets here,  we'll head to the grocery store and get what she needs to feed the crew.  

For more meal planning ideas, visit Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday