Food Obsession

Well, my food obsession certainly lives on and I feel so much better for it!  Even though this new way of eating hasn't been by choice (I mean, who *choses* to feel sick?), it's been a fun food adventure and cooking rediscovery.  I'm even down 25 pounds which is still a surprising but nice side effect. :)

Grocery shopping has gotten easier and goes more quickly again now that I am not reading every blasted label and know what I can get that is chemical-free.  Our grocery budget has gone up, of course, since I am cooking 5-6 nights a week now instead of 2-3 but we are saving more because we are not eating out as often.  But I am also cooking smarter as well, making meals that are large enough for leftovers for lunch as well as another meal later in the week.

I have made so many wonderful things but I always forget to stop and take a picture when it's done because I am just so excited to eat it.  I remembered today, though! :)

I am downright addicted to making vegetable gratins right now.  My favorite combinations have a base of sauteed mushrooms and onions and a top of sliced tomatoes, drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle of basil and freshly grated Parmesan.  This particular one also has sliced potatoes, sugar snap peas, and corn with a bit of fresh grated Monterey Jack cheese in the middle.  Just layer and bake for 60-75 minutes at 350F.  The nice thing is you can take just about any vegetable combination, layer them with a bit of cheese, and voila! A tasty side dish! 

I decided to make a whole chicken in the crock pot instead of heating up the entire kitchen by roasting it in the oven.  This is what happened when I simply put it on the platter to cut apart.  It was literally fall-off-the-bone tender!  I didn't even have to touch it with a knife. :)  The nice thing about whole chickens is there are enough leftovers for 1 or 2 more evening meals during the week.  Later this week I will be be making Chicken Panzanella which I adapted from one of my many cookbooks. 

I've also discovered a new breakfast that I am absolutely in love with/addicted to... and I know I am probably the last person in the free world to have discovered this but better late than never, right? :) 

I'd actually heard of overnight oatmeal before but the idea of it just simply did not appeal to me.  But a glorious blog where the author turned me on to the idea with her many, many posts featuring this morning dessert.  As usual, I took her recipe and tweaked it to make it my own. :)

Sashi's Overnight Oatmeal

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1 Tbsp honey
• Frozen or fresh fruit (my favorite is 4 frozen whole strawberries and 1/4 cup blueberries)
• 1/4 plain granola

Mix together the oats, yogurt, milk and honey in a 2 cup mason jar.  Stir in the fruit, put the cover on the jar, and keep in the fridge until morning.  Just before eating, stir to mix the fruit in with the oatmeal then stir in the granola for crunch.

One of the best things about this breakfast is that I can easily bring it with me to work.  I just mix in the granola when I get there and eat it at my desk.  Some mornings, this quantity a little too much for me but other mornings I gobble it right up so I usually make this same amount each night since I don't know how hungry I will be in the.  I stay full until lunch, though.  I have to say that surprises me.  I forgot my oatmeal the other morning so had a couple of eggs and bacon from the cafeteria at work (my old usual breakfast).  A couple hours later, I was famished!

To quite a friend, "And what did we learn?"  I had always believed, as I was told, protein keeps you full longer.  Obviously, though, that wasn't enough.  The overnight oats have protein in the yogurt but I am also getting fiber which also fills you up, calcium, and the goodness of fruit. :)

I'm still working, slowly, on that project I posted about a bit ago.  I'm just so food obsessed right now that I spend a lot of time reading cookbooks and food blogs and just books about food in general.  That might be a future post. :)

I took a nap on the sofa in the sitting room the other day and woke up to see 2 of my 3 babies napping with me. :)

The big grey flufflord is Rustle (yes, the verb, not the noun) and the little black princess on her blue pillow is Sidia (short for Obsidian).  They have an older sister named Libby (short for Little Bit but aka Libberoni).