Banana Brown Sugar Oatmeal

A good way to start the day is with a "healthy" breakfast!

Even better, is to have a heart-healthy breakfast with whole grains.  Eating grains, such as oatmeal, provides you with a good serving of fiber and is known to lower cholesterol.  


Oatmeal is hearty and keeps you filling full which makes it a perfect choice as a breakfast item.  Plus...it tastes good!


Whole grains are a powerhouse ingredient that you should try to incorporate into your diet.  I've taken to eating mostly whole grains...but still slip and have some white flour breads every once in a while!  Sorry, can't be helped! 


Everyone loves a warm breakfast and oatmeal is perfect for adults and is also kid friendly.  This recipe is a simple way to get a hot breakfast on the table fast.  Jazz it up with some fruit and brown sugar and you have a tasty dish!  It's so wholesome and yummy!


Enjoy your breakfast!

Banana Brown Sugar Oatmeal


serves 3-4


2 c 2% milk
1 c quick cooking oats
1 large banana, sliced
2 t brown sugar
1 t honey
1/2 t cinnamon


Bring milk to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir in oats and cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally.


Add the bananas, brown sugar, honey, and cinnamon.  Divide among bowls and serve immediately.

Hollywood and a Birthday

My birthday was two days ago.  

Another year full of new experiences, expanding my horizons, and growth in many areas.  It's funny that the older you get the more you find out you didn't know..but thought you did.  Experience is a main key to knowledge and wisdom!  Can't wait for the experiences the year ahead holds.

This year I was surprised with an outing in Hollywood.  It's always fun to go to Hollywood.  The vibe is electrical and filled with excitement.  

We arrived at the shopping area of Hollywood & Highland.  First thing we noticed pulling in the structure is a Wolfgang Puck Catering Truck starting to unload.  I thought, "Some sort of event is happening".  Next thing we knew the shopping area was closed to a 'private party" and we were being ushered through back hallways behind the Kodak theatre out to the street. Something was definitely happening.  Red carpets were being rolled out everywhere, up steps, down the side walk.  The street was a buzz with people preparing for a major event.  Exciting!

We were headed across the street to the El Capitan theatre to take in Disney's new movie, Chimpanzee, for Earth Day...which falls right before my birthday.  It was a wonderful movie, funny and family friendly.  Make sure to take your children to this one...they will love you for it!  It's really cute.

When we got out of the movie, chaos was happening on the side walk.  They had closed Hollywood Blvd. down to the cars and forced all the walking traffics, tourists abound, to our side of the street.  It was single file for blocks.  Felt like I was at Disneyland!  So we quickly changed our plans to eat dinner elsewhere to escape the crowd and headed out of the area for a nice romantic dinner.

The best part though?  The flowers and cake I got for my birthday.  Look at these tulips!  Gorgeous!  I love tulips!!  These are a beautiful coral color with yellow tips.  Just perfect!

And then there is tradition.  The cake.  Not a homemade cake. Not for me.  I love them, but ever since I was young, like really young, I've had a Carvel Ice Cream Cake for my birthday.  So that's what I got this year too!  I just love them.  I would say I'm an ice cream addict.  Wonder if there is a program for that??  Does anyone else have this problem with ice cream?

The cake is two layers, chocolate and vanilla, divided by an oreo cookie crumb in the middle.  It's just always been my favorite.  It keeps me young...or I like to think so!  

Tell me how you like to celebrate your birthday.  I'd love to know.

So on to another year full of exciting experiences!  

Beef Burgundy Stew

Yum

The weather has been strange around here the past few weeks.  

Raining one day, big major rain...and then 90 degrees the next.  Very unusual for this time of year for sure!  So on one of the rainy days...which always land on the weekends mind you, I decided to make a nice hearty stew.  One with wine in it!  What's better than that?  

I love the flavor red wine lends to a beef dish.  So I rooted around, found my favorite chicken and wine stew, adapted it to suit our needs and voila!  Beef Burgundy Stew on a rainy day!

We opted to have the stew over some brown rice, but MGG suggested that next time we try it over mashed potatoes, or some egg noodles.  Either way it is tummy filling, warming, comfort food at it's best.  All you need is some good crusty french bread to help get every last drop.  Better yet, try my Buttermilk Biscuits. Yum!

Hope you give this a try, it's a classic combination!

Beef Burgundy Stew
Serves: 4 

1 tablespoons butter
1/2 medium onion, sliced
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 1/2 lbs beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
½  teaspoon dried marjoram
½  teaspoon dried thyme 

1 tablespoon of dried parsley
1/8  teaspoon pepper
1 ½  cups beef broth
1 ¾ cups Burgundy wine

2 carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally

4 red potatoes, chopped into bite sized pieces

2 T cornstarch

Melt butter in Dutch oven or 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Cook onions and mushrooms in butter about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender. Remove vegetables from Dutch oven; drain and reserve.

Cook beef and garlic in Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain. Sprinkle with salt, marjoram, thyme, parsley and pepper.

Add broth and wine and heat to boiling.  Reduce heat and cover and simmer for 45-60 minutes.  Add carrots and potatoes and cook until tender, about 20 minutes.  

To thicken stew mix cornstarch with enough water to create a smooth and slightly thick mixture.  Stir into stew and allow to thicken.  Remove from heat and serve.

Serve over rice.