I have had this idea in my head for so long. Carrot cake baked oatmeal… carrot cake baked oatmeal.. I just couldn’t shake it! I typically make this simple baked oatmeal and we just switch up our toppings, but it was high time I got to experimenting with the recipe.

Before we move on, can we just say “Hello, gorgeous!” to that pour shot up there? I actually had a spare minute to get out my tripod, only to realize it wasn’t really working properly.. but somehow I got a pour shot in the midst of it all. I’m a happy food blogger today!

Food blogging is a funny thing. There’s so much that goes into each post that you guys don’t see! I’d invite you to come hang out with me here for a day to see what goes on, but I never actually know what day I’ll be working on “blog stuff.”

Take this oatmeal for instance.

The idea popped into my head months ago. I wrote it down while I was brainstorming blog ideas back in January. I finally got around to making it earlier this week. I waited until mid-day to make it so that I’d be able to photograph it in the afternoon light.. so we didn’t actually eat it for breakfast that day. I waited until the little one took her nap and the big one started his quiet time to start shooting.

I pulled our coffee table over by the window with the best light, grabbed all the toppings and tiny dishes and utensils and set up my shot. I fumbled with the tripod for a while, gave up, got my shots. I hooked up the camera to download and ate one of the servings of oatmeal from the shot. Then I started to clean up.. and ate the other one, ha! (Because, you know, one for me and one for baby. Totally logical.) I looked through the pictures quickly, then I didn’t actually get around to editing them or writing this post until a few days later. Now here we are!

Sometimes the process isn’t drawn out like that, but there’s usually something around here that gets in the way of productivity. Usually my own laziness.. or lack of natural light.

Anyways, loves, this oatmeal is top notch. I’m so happy to share it with you, even if it took months for me to do it.

It’s not complicated to replicate that classic carrot cake taste. The big players are (of course) carrots, cinnamon, nutmeg if you’re feeling funky, raisins, walnuts and coconut, if you’re into it. I will say right now that I am not into pineapple in my carrot cake.. I think adding pineapple makes it more like hummingbird cake (which is also delicious, but is not carrot cake).

But let’s not forget the most important part- the cream cheese. Oh, you have got to have the cream cheese. The cream cheese makes it perfect. (Unless you are dairy-free, but you can top it with this delicious cashew cream instead!) I didn’t want to slather it with frosting (I mean, I did.. but it IS supposed to be breakfast, people), so I spun up an easy cream cheese topping in the blender and it was the best idea EVER, no joke.

You guys, this cream cheese topping.. it just kills it. The picture below explains perfectly. On the left side, you’ll see an appropriate amount of the cream cheese drizzle and toppings. On the right, the obscene amount I drowned my portion with after I took a bite. Then I took another bite and thought, “WHAT THE WHAT?! This stuff is insane!”

Maybe I’m over-reacting about oatmeal? But really, I’m obsessed.  Don’t wait too long to try this one!

P.S. You can make right away, the night before, or days ahead. You can also cut into squares and freeze for later!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal with Cream Cheese Topping

 

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Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Breakfast, Brunch

Serves: 9

Ingredients

• 2 eggs, room temperature
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
• ¼ cup melted coconut oil or grass-fed butter
• ½ cup applesauce (you can substitute carrot puree for extra carrot flavor)
• 2 medium carrots, grated (you can add more if you like)
• 1¼ cup milk, dairy or non-dairy
• 3 cups oats, gluten-free if necessary
• ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• ¼ cup raisins
• ¼ cup shredded coconut
• For the cream cheese topping: 4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
• ¼ cup milk, room temperature (you may need a little more if you want the sauce thinner)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1-2 tablespoons raw honey or maple syrup
• extras for serving- walnuts, raisins, shredded coconut or coconut chips, maple syrup

Instructions

1. Coat an 8×8 or 2 quart baking dish with butter or coconut oil.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, maple syrup, baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, melted butter/coconut oil, applesauce and milk. Fold the oats, carrots nuts, raisins and coconut and combine well. Transfer the oat mixture into the baking dish and spread evenly around.
3. To bake right away: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Let oat mixture sit and soak for 20-30 minutes at room temperature while the oven is preheating. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until oatmeal is set and edges are brown.
4. To bake later in the day or the next morning: Cover your dish tightly with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic directly on top of the oat mixture. Refrigerate overnight. In the morning, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Unwrap oatmeal and place in oven. Bake for 30 minutes or until oatmeal is set and edges are brown.
5. To make the cream cheese topping, combine the cream cheese, milk, honey and vanilla in a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy.
6. Serve hot with: cream cheese topping, maple syrup, raisins, walnuts and coconut.

#version#

Oh hey, 2014!

How’s week one of the new year going for everyone? We are in hibernation mode here in Ohio, which has given me lots of time to reflect on what to do with my time in the next 12 months (or rather the next 5 months, since new babies have a way of shifting your priorities).

To help me get my head on straight, I have been going through Lara Casey‘s Make It Happen series; it’s a goal-setting series that I absolutely recommend. Especially if you’re like me, AKA you have a huge desire to get your act together for the new year but have no idea where to start. I’ve got a lot of ideas swimming around in this head and Make It Happen has helped me to organize it all. So, yay, new year! And hooray for a new recipe today! Finally got off my duff and picked up my camera.

This soup was inspired by a lovely lunch I had with my friend Jillian (see how awesome she is below) at Wheat Penny here in Dayton. We sampled a little cup of their curried carrot soup to start our meal; it was grand. I love that curry powder gives such a distinct, comforting taste but doesn’t make things too spicy. For my at-home version, I used all the orange veggies we had on hand- carrots, butternut squash and sweet potato. Pumpkin would also work well; you can use what you have in any combination.

This soup works for a whole variety of diets and is almost impossible to mess up. It would be great with some crumbled bacon on top, or even some homemade croutons. You could kick up the spice by adding some thai red curry paste, too.

And beyond tasting good, this soup has great nutritional benefits:

• Healthy, filling fats
• Cold/Flu-fighting onions, garlic and turmeric
• Orange veggies filled with Vitamin A to boost the immune system
• Bone broth; rich in gelatin, vitamins and minerals and anti-inflammatory

A special thanks to my sweet friends Jillian and Megan for making this post happen- they came over to my house today and did all my dishes PLUS cleaned my fridge! It was amazing, and it motivated me to pull out the camera and get this post up. A clean kitchen = no excuses for this lady. Thanks, girls- you are such a blessing to me! I am ready to re-pay you in soup.

5.0 from 3 reviews

Curried Winter Soup with Carrot, Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash

 

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Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Soup, Main Dish, Appetizer

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• a few tablespoons quality fat (grass-fed butter, ghee, coconut oil, lard, tallow)
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (optional)
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• ½-1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 tablespoon turmeric (optional)
• 6-8 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 large butternut squash; peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped (you can substitute more carrots or squash if you’re on GAPS or avoiding starches)
• 4-6 cups of bone broth (enough to cover the veggies in the pot)
• plain whole milk yogurt, for serving (optional, you can substitute full-fat coconut milk if you’re dairy-free)

Instructions

1. In a large stockpot or dutch oven, melt down the fat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until they begin to soften. Add the spices and let cook a few more minutes.
2. Add the carrots, squash and sweet potato to the pot, followed by the bone broth. Add enough broth to cover all of the vegetables. Bring it all to a boil.
3. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are fork-tender, about 20-30 minutes. When the veggies are soft, use an immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth.
4. Serve warm with a generous drizzle of yogurt.

#version#

Good morning, hello, how are you?

I made you some pie.

But first, let’s talk about blogging for a minute.

Food blogging is a funny little part of my life. Most people I come in contact with in “real life” don’t even know I do it; whereas you guys only know about what gets posted here, only this little shared piece of me. Sometimes I feel like my head is bursting with ideas and all I want to do is camp out in the kitchen, test things out and share them with you. Other times, blogging is just off my radar completely. We just go about our business as a family for a while and suddenly (usually during a bang-up meal) I realize that I haven’t been blogging.

Blogging has changed a lot in the past five years. Heck, my life has changed a lot in the past five years. When I first started blogging, I did it because I really enjoyed baking and cooking and documenting what was going on in my kitchen. I had no kids, I had plenty of time. Then the blog grew a little bit and I started to put more importance on posting however-many-times a week, making sure I was hitting up social media and doing all the “right stuff” as a blogger. And I went through a period where I felt really guilty if I wasn’t keeping all of those things going. Spoiler Alert: I can not keep all that stuff going. haha

Now, I’m a mom of two, working on putting together a new house and making it a home. You better believe I have been churning out some great meals for my family that I’d love to share, but I just got out of the groove of setting up photos. Lots of good meals have gone undocumented. Sometimes I still feel guilty for not sharing all of that good stuff with you guys, but realistically, I know that you understand that I have a real life to live outside this slice of the web. So, just thanks for being awesome and going with the flow.

I’ll start talking about the pie now.

This Shepherd’s Pie wasn’t some long-thought-out plan to reduce potato consumption or GAPS-ify a classic recipe. I just had a head of cauliflower and some ground beef that needed using and this is what happened. I saw it coming out of the oven all bubbly and brown and my brain said, “Take a picture, fast, and then let’s eat this thing!”

Cauliflower is like the classic nerd-that-turns-popular story, am I right? People never really gave it much thought before, but now it is everywhere! Cauliflower pizza crusts and faux-tatoes and cauli-rice galore. Good for you, cauliflower. Enjoy your 15 minutes of vegetable fame. You and your versatility deserve it.

This is similar to a classic Shepherd’s Pie, just with the potatoes swapped for cauliflower. I did add cheese on the top, but you can leave it off if you must. If you’re on the fence, though, definitely leave it on- it’s awesome. I used extra sharp cheddar. Treat Yo’ Self.

Perfect meal for fall, you guys! Dinner on the table in about an hour. What’s not to love?

4.9 from 18 reviews

Shepherd’s Pie with Cauliflower Topping (GAPS, Paleo, Grain-Free)

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Main Dish

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets
• 2 tablespoons fat (lard, tallow, ghee, coconut oil, etc)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 celery ribs, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound ground beef or lamb
• ¼-1/2 cup homemade beef broth
• 1 tablespoon homemade ketchup or tomato paste (omit if you don’t have a GAPS-legal or Paleo option)
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons fat (lard, tallow, ghee, etc)
• ½ cup shredded GAPS-legal cheese (omit for Paleo)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 2-3 quart casserole dish and set aside.
2. In a large pot, steam or boil cauliflower until tender.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of fat in a large skillet or saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots and garlic and cook until beginning to soften, around 5 minutes.
4. Add the ground meat to the pan and cook until browned. Add beef broth as necessary to keep the mixture wet. Add the ketchup or tomato paste (if using), parsley and season with salt and pepper. Let simmer while you prepare the cauliflower topping.
5. To make the topping, drain the cooked cauliflower. Mash or puree with a stick blender until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons of fat and season with salt and pepper.
6. To assemble, spread the meat mixture on the bottom of the dish. Top with the cauliflower mixture and smooth with a spoon. Cover with shredded cheese, if using.
7. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is brown and bubbly. Serve warm.

3.1.09

Veggies for Valentine’s Day! Let’s make it a thing.

It’s not exactly a box of chocolates, but it’s kid-friendly and pretty adorable. Who can say no to heart-shaped vegetables?

I made up this little tray for a kids’ Valentine’s Day party in under an hour this morning. That includes chopping, arranging the plate and making the dip. And I did it all with kids underfoot or in one of my arms. (Can I get a virtual high five?) Here’s how it went down:

• Clean and prep all the veggies (I used cherry tomatoes, carrots and red peppers.)
• To make the heart shaped carrots, peel them, cut a triangle in the top of the carrot and then trim the sides to make it look like a heart. Then chop the whole carrot into smaller hearts.
• Put a few of each veggie into a muffin cup. (I used two since the pink one was not very sturdy, but you can get away with one. You could also use paper cups.)
• Make the dip (recipe below).
• Put the dip into a bowl and top with a tomato heart. (Cut two tomatoes on and angle and stick them together.)
• Arrange on your plate and store in the fridge until you’re ready to go.

I made my dip with cream cheese, but if you’re dairy-free, you can substitute with a can of white beans. If you don’t eat beans or dairy, well.. I can’t think of a good substitution off the top of my head, so let me know in the comments if you have any ideas.

Whether you go the veggie route or the stuff-your-face-with-chocolate route for Valentine’s Day, I wish you a happy one. I know, I know.. not everyone is on-board with this holiday.  But me, I love an excuse to cut my food into shapes, so celebrate we will in this house. Enjoy the day with the ones you love!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Roasted Red Pepper Dip

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Dip

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 block full-fat cream cheese or 1 can cannellini/white beans, drained
• ½ cup chopped roasted red peppers (drained if using jarred peppers)
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon paprika (I prefer smoked paprika)
• cracked black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a food processor or mixing bowl with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese until smooth (use the food processor if you’re using the beans). Add the peppers and spices and process until smooth.
2. Store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve.

3.1.09