My Favorite Oatmeal

I am a teeny tiny bit reluctant to share this. Okay, I am a lot reluctant because this is seriously Walmart's best kept secret. Thanks to my Momma who discovered this delicious, frozen breakfast treat! If you like oatmeal- you've got to try this. Seriously. Something that takes 3.5 minutes to make and tastes like something gourmet that's been slow-cooking alllllllll day exists?! YUM. I can't get enough, like I should take out stock in this stuff because I buy so much! Don't be surprised if there isn't any left when you go to buy this, it's all in my freezer ;-) Also; for my frugal friends; this stuff is only $2.46 for two servings!

AND, can it be!? This stuff is all natural and organic! Healthy and delicious, it's too good to be true!

So you just pop it out of the freezer, out of the plastic packaging and into a bowl.

I know, I know. It doesn't look incredibly appetizing at this point, but seriously just wait for the deliciousness that awaits you! 3 MINUTES AND 30 SECONDS in the microwave until this frozen block of oatmeal turns into pure yummy-ness!

I like to dress mine up with a little brown sugar, and fresh fruit. This morning (and most mornings) I add peaches and raspberries to mine. IT IS SOOOOO GOOD!
*I got these peaches and raspberries from our local Saturday morning farmer's market; learn more about that here.
You can dress this up however you'd like; a little cinnamon, brown sugar, cream, fresh or dried fruit....whatever floats your boat!

I'm surprised I could even get a picture before I devoured it. You might have to try it to believe it; but once you do you will be forever convinced. This stuff is 87498749739 times better than any other packaged oatmeal I've had and a lot better than most restaurant oatmeal I've had too.

YUM

Oven Roasted Green Chiles

My Dad lovesss to make home made Green Chile; none of the canned stuff here folks. We buy our chiles fresh from Bountiful Baskets, oven roast them, peel and seed them, and store/freeze them until we're ready to make a batch of home made green chile. Something about the fresh roasted chiles adds such authenticity to the chile and makes it that much better, 'cause we can all agree green chile is pretty darn good to begin with, right?! I had two HUGE Walmart bags full of green chiles that I roasted yesterday; make sure and save this task for a rainy day...the whole process start to finish took me about 4 hours! (I did go play a volleyball game while the chiles cooled, so it might not take you that long but you get the idea- it's not quick).

1. So- start with fresh green chiles. Turn your oven broiler on and make sure your oven rack is positioned at the very top; & let your oven heat up. It's going to get HOT! This whole process is a little spicy and kinda makes it smell like a group of old men have been smoking chile flavored cigarettes in your house for 4 hours...open the windows if the weather is permitting ;-)

2. Lay your chiles out in a single layer on a large cookie sheet and place under the broiler for about six minutes. You want these guys to be nice and charred- the outside will be black- that's how it's supposed to look! After 6 minutes, take the chiles out, turn them over and put them back under the broiler for 6 more minutes.
*You will hear popping, crackling while your chiles are in the oven, this is normal (kinda freaked me out at first; I was afraid I would open up the oven and find a chile fire smouldering, but this is just the steam being released from the chiles.)

3. After the chiles have been roasted, throw them in a Walmart bag and tie the top in a knot- the idea here is to trap in the steam.
*I double bagged mine.

4. Wait for the chiles to cool...this is the time where I went and played a volleyball game. When I got home, the chiles were still warm! So, it takes some time. Just make sure they cool to a point where you can handle them without burning your fingers.

5. Here comes the messy, fun part :-) Peeling and seeding the chiles!

Like I said, and as you will see; this gets messy! I do this step over my sink. Get a light stream of cool water going and start peeling! Start from the bottom and peel each chile like a banana- the skin will literally come right off! Careful though, they are slippery little fellas! Pull the stem off and open up the chile to get the seeds out (this is where the running water comes in handy) and for the love of all things holy do NOT try and remove every single last seed from the chile!
 #1: the few seeds lend extra flavor and
#2: this process will end up taking you two months

6. Once your chile is peeled and seeded it will look a lot like this:

Now, put the peeled, seeded chiles into a plastic sandwich bag.
*One, full sandwich sized ziploc bag is a perfect portion for one batch of chile.

 Viola! You have successfully (I hope) oven roasted your own green chiles and have your finished product!

 I am making a batch of home made Green Chile using these roasted chiles this weekend for our famous "Taco Saturday" out at the lake. Be sure and look for the recipe early next week!

 Now, go clean up this mess!!

Welcome!

Hello friends and family! Thank you for visiting my recipe/cooking blog & supporting my passion! I am new to the blogging world and will probably be making adjustments and changes frequently, I'm kind of flying by the seat of my pants!

Some of the recipes that I post will be originals (some that I kinda make up as I go) and some will be borrowed from other websites (such as Pinterest) or other sites that inspire me! Some will be super simple, others will be a little more complex; and I am not afraid to fail so unfortunately some will not turn out. I will also occasionally post tips, tricks, and how-to's from my kitchen.
I enjoy cooking but my true passion is baking so most of the recipes that you see on here will be sweet baked morsels; YUM! 

 I hope to share my recipes and culinary adventures with everybody and anybody who is interested so please spread the word!