Apple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oats

Now that the mornings are chilly, I've been craving something warm and comforting to keep me warm through my morning commute. On Sundays I always make Bill a large pot of steal cut oatmeal. Steel cut oats stand up well to being stored all week, and usually he pairs reheated oatmeal with fresh berries. For a new twist I decided to bake up our own apple cinnamon toppping. I was able to cook this up in a snap on Sunday afternoon, and the two of us had healthy & filling breakfast for the week!

Ingredients:

• 4 Hubbarstein apples (other good baking varieties include: Cortland, Gala, Honeycrisp, McIntosh)
  
• juice of 1/2 lemon
  
• 2 tbsp raw turbinado sugar
  
• 1 tsp cinnamon
  
• 1 tsp vanilla
  
• 1 cup John McCann's steel cut Irish oatmeal
  

First, make the steel cut oatmeal as according to directions. A double batch (2 cups) will give you enough breakfast servings for a week. For 1 cup of oatmeal, put two cups of water to boil. Add the oatmeal and stir. I recommend keeping the heat on medium/high for a few minutes while stirring the oats occasionally. Lower the heat to a simmer.


Cook for an additional 20-25 minutes, taking care to stir the oatmeal every 5 minutes or so to prevent any from sticking to the bottom of the pot. For the last few minutes (usually it takes 30 to cook completely), stay by the stove side as the thicker oats will stick & burn more easily. Remove from heat and let cool to store in a large Tupperware container.


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Peel the apples.


Chop into dice-sized pieces. Toss with lemon juice, turbinado, cinnamon and vanilla. Add contents to a bread pan or other small baking pan greased with cooking spray.


Bake for fifteen minutes. Stir up the apple mixture. Bake for an additional 30 minutes, stirring the contents every ten minutes. Remove and let cool completely before storing.


To reheat simply add a serving of oatmeal in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 45 seconds. Add a couple of tablespoons of the apple mixture and heat for another 45 seconds – 1 minute until hot. Delish.

Brands I Like

I use John McCann’s steel cut oatmeal because it’s got a great texture. Opt for the one that takes some time to cook – not the instant 3 minute variety. The original oats will hold up better when you’re storing it in the fridge. If you want to make the 3 minute variety fresh each morning, awesome, but pre-packing your breakfast in a to-go container is as easy as grab & go.

Turbinado sugar is also known as cane sugar or raw sugar. Turbinado sugar is a healthier alternative to white, refined sugar. It is lower in calories since it tends to hold more moisture. Turbinado sugar isn't processed as much as white sugar, so it is naturally healthier for your body. This is an easy substitution to make for any baking recipe for healthier results!

Sunday Dinner: Whole Baked Branzino with Simply Savory Green Beans

I love shopping at Whole Foods, and to budget sensibly I use their website to look up our local store's specials and plan weekday meals in advance. Yesterday, I saw whole Branzino Sea Bass on sale and decided to plan a Sunday Dinner around the find. You can substitute this seasonal fish for striped bass, trout or snapper for this recipe. This meal is an oh so elegant and easy way to do fine dining at home!

Ingredients for Branzino

• 2, .75/1 lb whole branzinos *ask your butcher to clean the fish and remove the head*
  
• 4 tbsp olive oil
  
• handful of fresh dill leaves
  
• handful of fresh italian parsley leaves
  
• 1 lemon, cut into slices
  
• freshly ground sea salt & pepper
  
• cooking spray

Ingredients for Green Beans

• 1 pound fresh green beans
  
• 2 tsp minced garlic
  
• 2 tbsp butter
  
• 2 tbsp olive oil
  
• juice of 1/2 lemon
  
• fresh ground sea salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. First prep all your ingredients for the fish, as shown above, to assemble easily. It may be easier to grate fresh salt and pepper into a small container so you don't have to grate directly into fish.


Rub both outside and inside of branzino with 2 tbsp of olive oil. Rub the inside cavity with salt and pepper. Stuff the fish with herbs and lemon slices.


Heat the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet. Pan fry the branzino in for 2 minutes on each side. Use a non-stick pan, as you can see in my pic the heat pulled the skin off one of the sides of a branzino, so if that happens no worries!


Transfer the branzino to oven roasting dish that has been greased with cooking spray. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes (add a couple of minutes if your fish are larger), remove from heat and let rest 5 minutes before serving.


While the branzino are in the oven, put a pot of water to boil with salt and prep the green beans by cutting off the ends. Blanch the green beans for 5 minutes.


Drain green beans and set aside. In same pot add butter, olive oil and garlic. Simmer for 1 minute, careful not to let garlic burn.


Add green beans and season with freshly ground sea salt & pepper. Saute until just tender, approximately another 5 minutes. Add juice of half a lemon - mine was dry so I used a whole lemon. Stir and remove from heat. Yummers.