Sara's Pot Roast

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.
Harriet Van Horne

Super Cute Etsy Towel

Oh how I love the quote above.  It really does capture how I feel about cooking!  On another note as I promised I was going to share a recipe that didn't have to do with oatmeal and boy do I have a great recipe to share.For those who don't know I teach a college age girls Bible study on Sunday mornings.  I have about 18 girls and they are all amazing. They are so passionate about the word of God and really challenge me probably more than I challenge them.  There is a girl in my class named Sarah, she's one of those fun outgoing girls who never seems to have a negative care in the world and she is so much fun to be around.  This past Sunday the two of us got to talking about her cooking adventures lately.  Apparently her family subscribed to the new cooking channel (sponsored by food network) and she loved it.  I admit I'm quite jealous as I don't think I can convince the husband to pay extra for a cooking channel.  She started to tell me about some of the recipes she had tried out but then mentioned that even though these were great they still weren't her favorite.  When I asked what her favorite was she began to tell me a pot roast recipe involving A1 steak sauce, onion soup mix and cream of celery soup.  I have to tell you, I don't like pot roast, never have and definitely never thought I would.  To me pot roast always seemed to be fatty and swimming in some kind of brownish floury gravy.  However, I knew my husband loved pot roast.  He is definitely a meat kind of guy. While I'd prefer for something else to be the main course, he would get offended if meat was not the main course.  So I asked her to send me the recipe and Monday evening I made this and it was delicious! I do have to tell you that I got center cut chuck roast instead of the typical rump roast and I really think that cut down on the "fatty" taste.  So I knew I had to share.  This one is made in the crockpot and really is a "visual" measuring technique in the beginning so this will be a step-by-step picture recipe.  Sarah - thanks so much for making our day better with a great recipe!!!

Days 4-10 of the Oatmeal Challenge

Ruffled Bowl From Etsy

 "Eat a good breakfast - there's no better meal to help fuel a great day." - Matt Bean

Let me first admit.  This oatmeal challenge has been hard.  It's easy the first few days when I can think of awesome new recipes but then after a while my mind kind of goes blank.  Fortunately I have this blog to keep me accountable (I would feel like I let you down if I didn't eat oatmeal for the full thirty days).  I do however apologize for not keeping up with the blog posts for the past 8 days.  So this post will be longer and full of new fun oatmeal recipes I hope you enjoy.

 

Day 3 of Oatmeal Challenge... Dates are Great!

Oatmeal makes a filling, healthy breakfast.
Ruth Frechman

Lenox Chirp Plates
bedbathandbeyond.com

Today I woke up and realized I didn't have any fresh or frozen fruit for my oatmeal (yes I desperately need to go to the grocery store).  I also didn't have what I wanted to try an idea for a savory oatmeal (recipe coming soon).  So I scrummaged through my pantry to try and find something worthy of covering up the oatmeal texture I hate.  I found a package of dates I had bought a while back and came up with this recipe, and I have to admit it is my favorite so far!!! Want more info about how dates are a good source of fiber, vitamins and low in calories and fat?  Look Here  On a side note, don't you just love these dishes??  I try to find something turquoise to put on each post and I absolutely love these... too bad my kitchen/house is tuscan colors of orange/red/brown... these would definitely clash!

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal and Blueberry Apple Oatmeal

“Once we sowed wild oats, now we cook them in the microwave.”

Vera Wang for BB&B

I laughed when I read this quote and knew I had to use it for my post.  I do have to admit since starting I have not cooked my oatmeal in the microwave, granted it's only day two but please let me relish in my domesticity of using the stove :)  For those of you who don't know my sister Meredith and I decided to start a 30 day oatmeal challenge (you can see the full story here).  We're on day 2 and have cooked up some delicious concoctions to share with you!  They are both completely different in approach so hopefully it will help give you some variety if you decide to participate in the 30 day challenge also.  ENJOY!!!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Oatmeal

You have to eat oatmeal or you'll dry up. Anybody knows that.

 Kay Thompson

Denby Monsoon Dinnerware

My sister and I decided to start a 30 day oatmeal challenge (see here for more info) where we would only eat oatmeal for breakfast for the next 30 days.  For those of you who don't know, I hate oatmeal, the texture just drives me nuts.   So while making my first batch this morning I told the husband "well, I may not be eating breakfast for the next 30 days" to which he replied "well that sounds like an awesome way to loose weight".  I have to admit I was quite offended at this comment :) was he implying something?  I know we are newly weds but isn't there an unspoken rule among the guys to never make diet/weight comments to your wife?  Well we both laughed it off due to the look on his face of "oh crap, why did I say that".  As for my oatmeal, it turned out really well and I actually ate about half the serving before the texture started getting to me.  The spices and combination really complimented each other well so I had to share.  Hope you enjoy and who knows maybe it will be a great diet!


Day 1: Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Oatmeal

Lemon Chicken and Broccoli Rice

"We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons."

I love the quote above.  It's so true and I have to say lemons are one of my favorite additions to a dish.  They just make everything taste so much fresher that I can't help adding it to everything possible.  Today for lunch I wanted to throw together something fast and healthy and I came up with this and just had to share.  Hope it helps you love lemons as much as me!

Lemon Chicken and Broccoli Rice

Healthy "Side" Dishes

Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon. ~Doug Larson



Apron from overstock.com



 I recently came across an article by Real Simple with a new suggestion on how to eat your meals so that you get the recommended servings of  the different food groups. The technique was very simple picture a plate.  Half of the plate should be vegetables, the other half of the plate is divided agian, one of those halves is for protein and the other one is for whole grains.  Makes eating healthy a whole lot easier when you picture it that way.  Since I've read that I've been trying to picture all of my meals that way and that has lead me to the shift from vegetables being the side dish to vegetables being the main dish.  The husband loves this because unlike me he doesn't care about the "picture a plate method" so the less "main dish" protein I eat the more for him.

A baker, a chef, an artist and 2 cooks

A family is a unit composed not only of children but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold. ~Ogden Nash 

This weekend I am home at my parents house and there is no better description than the title of this post.  A baker, a chef, an artist and 2 cooks.  These are the people who led me to be passionate about cooking.

My mom is the baker.  Growing up she was always baking amazing things.  From my great grandmothers sour-cream pound cake for our teachers at school, to cookies for the boys basketball team, and "pluck it cake" for our breakfast; my mom could bake up some amazing things.  There was constantly some goodie in our house (which probably led to my being very overweight in middle school ;-) that she had just made.  She taught me you always have to take the time to measure when you're baking and you always keep an eye on the oven regardless of the timer.  Don't get me wrong my mom could cook amazing meals but no-one in the family measured up to her baking.

The 3 Musketeers (and no I'm not talking about the candy)

Friendship isn't a big thing - it's a million little things.

Over this weekend I was able to hang out with my two best friends Amanda and Caitlin.  Together we have been friends since high school and although we now live far apart we love being able to get together and spend time together.  I thought as a tribute to them I'd include some of their favorite recipes on this blog post...

Every party I would have at my house Caitlin would make this outrageous cheese dip.  It was the hit of the party, especially with the guys.  It's spicy, meaty and cheesy all at once (you can see why they liked it) but best of all it's super easy.

Happy New Year!!!

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day. ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Martha Stewart Recipe Box

Happy New Year!!! This year has been wonderful, crazy, stressful, busy and scary all at the same time.    This year I became Mrs. Latter - yep that's right I'm no longer Courtney Greer I'm now Courtney Latter.  Still sounds a little weird but I'm getting used to it.  Probably the biggest shock was that it was easier than I expected.  I know weird right?  Honestly though, people had me completely freaked out.  I kept hearing "the next 5 years will be the worst years of your life, but don't worry you'll be fine after that".  I was honestly so freaked out that the week before the wedding I kept having to tell myself "it's ok, they say that's only 5 years, just look forward to year 6".  All I can say now, is that if this is "hard" then year 6 is going to be awesome!!!!  I love that Shale and I are so compatible and that he supports every passion I have.  During this year I also had the wonderful privilege of figuring out some of my passions in life.