Friday, June 22, 2012

Blueberry Pie Summer Oats

It's Friday which means it's time to pick a winner for the GNU Fiber & Flavor bar giveaway! Are you ready?! And the winner is... Jeanna from Short & Sweet! Congrats! I can vouch for the tastiness :0) Hope you enjoy!


Lots of fun summer meals are being dished up around here! Wednesday's dinner was chicken salad (with paprika for garnish), spinach leaves & strawberries. 



And, more sandwiches :-) I'm loving this time of year. Fresh garden produce is so refreshing! 

Yesterday I broke my workout up, scattering it throughout the day. A 2 3/4 mile run in the morning, stretching session outside in the afternoon while listening to a classical piano piece from the Romantic period I'm learning :), and then, late afternoon I ran another 2 1/2 miles. So hot! It was fun to spread everything out, but I'd have to say I prefer the check it off, get it done method so much more.


Last night's dinner was easy-peasy, and seasonal too! Since I have 5 brothers (translation: 5 craving stomachs that in some strange way resemble bottomless pits :), it seems we're always trying out new ways to feed the fam more for less. Good quality (& quantity!) for less cost. Pasta & sauce are great ways to make this happen! In light of that, garden spaghetti was on the menu :)

So, here's our recipe: 

Garden Spaghetti (adapted from The Two Sister's Cookbook)

whole grain pasta, 1 lb
1/2 cup olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
4 minced garlic cloves
4 zucchini, quartered & sliced
3 carrots, diced
1 (16 oz) pkg mushrooms, thickly sliced
8 cups spaghetti sauce
2 cups waters
1/4 cup fresh basil or 1 T dry basil
1 T oregano
1 T thyme
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper 

Cook pasta. Saute onions, peppers and garlic in oil until tender. Add the zucchini, carrots, and mushroom and saute for 5-10 minutes or until carrots are tender. Add the sauces, water and spices. Cook until thoroughly heated. Serve over pasta. If you want a thicker sauce, add some steamed broccoli and cauliflower. (Serves 6-8)


I threw together overnight oats before bed last night with freshly picked blueberries so it would be ready for this morning's breakfast. I'd never tired this recipe before, but everyone loved the result! It was good & sweet. If I can doctor up a recipe to where certain people in our family (who will remain nameless :) will just give something new a try and like it than I can start "playing" with their taste buds and easing them into a less sweet version, or an even healthier version of the healthy. 


Insanity is on the list today, and yes- it will probably make me really sore! What I love best about these workouts is that you only use your body weight and you don't need any equipment, so it's customized to your own strength level. I ran 5.25 miles yesterday so I'm taking a break today from the running :) 

So, any plans for the weekend? We're going to dinner tonight at the B.'s and than tomorrow evening another girlfriend is graduating! Also, hoping to go blueberry picking (there's a local patch just 5 minutes down the road!) and do some freezing :) Speaking of which since it's the weekend and if you have a little free time you can watch "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead" here for free! I haven't seen it yet myself so I'm excited!

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