Strawberry Banana Oatmeal

Strawberry Banana Oatmeal drizzled with Honey

Mmm Mmm Good!

I ♥ when fresh berries are in season! I try to incorporate them into meal time as often as possible. Most folks do this at breakfast but we’re not breakfast people around here. Correction, I’M not a breakfast person. Correction again, I’m not a breakfast ‘morning‘ person. Haha, at least I own it, right?  🙂

Since I’m not a morning breakfast person (coffee, YES please!) I enjoy making sweet but healthy breakfast dishes that ‘fill us up’ without ‘filling us up’ for dinner.

(Catch what I did there? 😉 )

I think oatmeal works exceptionally well, all n all, as it is a perfectly delicious base helping to display your summertime sweet rewards front and center; it’s hearty, healthy and it is a snap to prepare in 10 minuets (or less)!

I used four ingredients:

• Oatmeal (I used Quaker Quick Oats)
• 1 thin sliced banana
• 4-5 strawberries, sliced
• Honey

Add sliced berries to the center of the oatmeal mound, layering banana slices around outer edge. Next, drizzle honey over all for a light sweet addition to the oats. Definitely a meal deal on evenings when its still topping at a whopping 108 outside!

Whew, help me I’m melting! 🙂

Breakfast can be made as decadent or as savory as you desire. Simply depends on how much time you want to spend in the kitchen. Me, on nights like tonight – Um, no, not so much… Even with air conditioning, once the heat zaps you – you’re just simply zapped. So this chic is gonna re-hydrate, replenish and relax with hubs! ♥

 

 

Dinner has been served! 

 

 

 

We also included a couple slices of buttered toast along side our bowl of goodness. Add pecans, cranberries, blueberries, bacon 🙂 ~ whatever your hunger craves.

What is your favorite breakfast meal to make for dinner?

Til Next Time ~

Domesticate Rebellion

THRIVING ~ Have you witnessed the testimonies? It’s not about weight loss; it IS about feeling better from the inside out! If interested I would love to help you! Knowledge is Power! Sign-up for a FREE account & information at https://domesticated.le-vel.com

DISCLAIMER: This post may contain affiliate links meaning if you click & buy, I may be compensated. So, Thank you!

Strawberry Cucumber Salad

Strawberry Cucumber Salad tossed in Honey & White Wine Vinegar

Have you heard? I can grow a badass cucumber! It all started in the compost…

…I’m one of those people who will see something in a picture and more often than not, convince myself  “Hey, I can do that!”, and off I set to do ‘whatever‘ without really researching the ‘how to’ behind the project… Sound familiar? Know anyone else like this? Well in this instance, it was composting. I mean seriously, how hard can it be to allow stuff to decompose, Right?  So I built a box out of pallet leftovers setting a drum from an old washing machine in the center to hold my ‘stuff’. Making sure the cover would lock to keep critters out, ensuring airflow ~ I felt good about my recycling endeavor and started filling the drum with kitchen scraps & garden trimmings, turning it daily as I had interpreted from the pic. Payday happened at the beginning of Spring 2018 when my efforts were rewarded with beautiful black rich soil! WHOOT! I was so excited at my success! 🙂 As soon as it was warm enough that black gold was spread over every single raised bed, used in all my pots and even layered in some ground areas. Anticipation grew as I soon started seeing little sprouts everywhere. Yay! I was all happy with myself; maybe I do have a green thumb… HaHaHa, If Only! Ya see, all the sprouts were IDENTICAL. Every pot. Every bed. Every spot I used my black gold had the exact same sprout. 

Each sprout I have since learned was a cucumber plant! (a few were cantaloupes)

Apparently, I need to research more about composting because when I discarded my cucumber vines with some cucumbers last year, the seeds did not decomp as I expected and were dispersed throughout my entire garden this year! SMH! Imagine my surprise when cucumbers started coming up where I had planted corn! And cantaloupe! And tomatoes in my potatoes! WTH? It’s funny now but I’ve had to do some serious searching for cucumber inspired recipes…

Thus, bringing this ingenious lovely into my life! Simple, easy, 4 ingredients! Think of it as ‘Summer in a Side’!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Honey
• 1/8 – 1/4 cup White Wine Vinegar
• 1 large Cucumber
• 1 pint Strawberries

Mix vinegar & honey in a small bowl. I suggest this motto: “Less is Best, Taste as you Go” to ensure the vinegar isn’t overpowering the sweetness I started with 1/8 cup and continued until it fancied my flavor! 😉

Peel and slice your cucumber into rounds

Slice the strawberries after washing and removing stems, adding to bowl of cucumbers. Pour the honey mixture over the fruits, tossing gently to dress each slice. Cover and chill before serving.

 

 

 

Oh, food for thought: to cut small fruits like strawberries, olives, or mushrooms I ♥ this ~ Works Perfectly so hands of grands can assist without concern of cutting themselves!

Surfing through Pinterest as I usually do for inspiration I stumbled across a pin that led me to Karen over at   https://thefoodcharlatan.com with her re-make from the cookbook Our Sweet Basil Kitchen by Oh Sweet Basil. Both recipe curators use balsamic for this dish. I chose white wine vinegar as it has less bite IMO compared to balsamic versions. But don’t take just my word, you should try all three for yourself!

Til Next Time ~

Domesticate Rebellion

THRIVING ~ Have you witnessed the testimonies? It’s not about weight loss; it IS about feeling better from the inside out! If interested I would love to help you! Knowledge is Power! Sign-up for a FREE account & information at https://domesticated.le-vel.com

DISCLAIMER: This post may contain affiliate links meaning if you click & buy, I may be compensated. So, Thank you!

Roasted Tomatoes

IT’S OFFICIALLY SPRING Y’ALL!

I know its been a minute since I last posted but see, we have these lil peoples that sometimes like to visit ‘the farm’. Not our littles but ‘Grand Littles‘… Hmm, catchy… Remember you heard it here 1st if it becomes a thing.  🙂  So, we’ve had a few of our grands out sporadically over the past couple of weeks. Assisting this Mimi in getting into the Spring of things… We cooked, we gardened, we explored & hunted, and we painted rocks. We had lazy mornings, some cReAtiVe afternoons, and fun evenings ending late into the night. But alas, giggles, grins, and all things ‘grand’ come to an end as they go back home returning to friends, school and routine ~ leaving the hubs and I to return to our less structured but nonetheless routine as well.

*sigh*

I’m sure some of you can relate that after a couple of weeks of consuming more than our fair share of pizza, mac & cheese, waffles with whipped cream, chili dogs, chicken nuggets and s’mores (and more) my body is demanding what it has been lacking: Some healthy! Yes, we ARE those kind of Mimi/Papa’s and Yes, I seriously feel like a Weeble…

“🎼Weebles wobble ♪ but ♪ we don’t fall down ♪.”   

Perusing the isles of the market the other day we spotted some beautiful plump hot-house tomatoes & I just had to have them. They screamed to me: “SPRING IS HERE”.  I was hoping to find some inspiration for a light yet filling dinner & here it was.  Now, I’m not a science guru so don’t get all nerdy on me because I’m not 100% sure just how ‘healthy’ tomatoes are. However, what I do know is we love them and they are not full of sugar or carbs. So in my book – that’s healthy enough for tonight! I’ll consult Google on the matter later tho. 😉

We made it home with our purchases in hand and a grumble in our stomach. It didn’t take long to prep & pop these babies in the oven. Easy Peasy folks!

Imagine if you can…

Tomatoes roasting, sizzling in EVOO, complete with garlic, basil, rosemary, thyme and oregano… Scrumptious bits bursting with flavor in each mouth-watering bite! Just enough tang to get your jaw to slightly clinch initiating your saliva glands into some double duty action. AhHaha Yes, you DO know! 🙂

However, no one eats just tomatoes for dinner! Although fresh fruits serve as a delightful snack the hubs requires a bit more substance in his meal so these beauties were paired with some polenta to complete our light but yet filling dinner!

Polenta is a dish that originated in Italy. It is a dish of boiled cornmeal that was historically made from other grains. It may be served as a hot porridge/cereal, or it may be allowed to cool and solidify into a loaf that can be baked, fried, or grilled.  I always use the brand Bob Mills. Food for Thought: I originally believed polenta & grits were the same. They are not. Polenta is yellow corn while grits are white corn, specifically hominy. (Ah ha, that explains my dislike of grits!)

To make this preheat oven to 425 degrees and gather up:

• 4-5 ripe tomatoes, slice & lay out on a sheet pan lined with foil/parchment or a Silpat 
• 2-3 Tbs EVOO to drizzle over all
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced & sprinkled evenly over each slice
• Mix together 1 tsp each: Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano and Basil (or use 1 1/2 Tbs Italian herb mixture) and sprinkle over each tomato slice
• Salt & pepper to liking

Roast tomatoes for 30-45 minutes. Plenty of time to prepare the polenta your favorite way and shred some parmesan cheese. MMMmmm, Our belly’s said “Thank you”!  Do you like roasted tomatoes? Let me know what you would pair with them.

Note to Self: One thing for sure, Grands remind me that I am not as young as I once was but I am as young as I ever will be again! ❤

Til Next Time,

Domesticated Rebellion

THRIVING ~ Have you witnessed the testimonies? It’s not about weight loss; it IS about feeling better from the inside out! If interested I would love to help you! Sign-up for a free account at https://domesticated.le-vel.com

 

• DISCLAIMER: This post may contain affiliate links meaning if you click & buy, I may be compensated. So, Thank you!