pantry and freezer week - day 8

So remember these cookies that I absolutely devoured the other day?  Yeah - they are gone, long gone. So this morning, I recreated them...with my usual bowl of morning oats!

In the mix::

• 1 whole frozen banana
• 1/2 cup whole frozen cranberries - the bag from Thanksgiving is finally gone.
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup frozen squash puree
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup water
• splash vanilla
• a few white chocolate chips
• a drizzle of maple syrup

Soooo good.  I love me some oatmeal.

Really I do, I just got word today that the manager at our local Hy-Vee is totally able to order us a 25 lb bag of organic steel cut oats! Do you realize how much money we are going to save? The final price will be about $1 per pound.  Regular steel cut oats (not organic) go for around $3.18 per pound. Score.

After my amazing lunch hour run, I roasted up some veggies, heated up some left over lentils and created a huge old salad. Yum.



Dinner included two freezer items today. Classic soup and salad - twas delicious.

A few months ago Mom and I made quite a few batches of wild rice soup and I have been hoarding my share in the freezer ever since.



The sandwiches were a spin off of yesterday's pasta - balsamic roasted veggies on toasted pesto oat bread.



A great combination.

I got creative for dessert and quite frankly, have no clue where I came up with this idea.  I wanted to make something with bananas and somewhere in the depths of my mind I whipped up the following:

Baked Banana Mouse/Pudding/Custard (I really have no idea what this type of dish is....)

In the mix::

• 1/2 cup Kashi Go Lean
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 T brown sugar
• sprinkle cinnamon
• dash salt
• 15 almonds
• 1 T almond butter
• 1 T butter
• 2 whole frozen bananas
• 1/4 cup squash puree
• 1 T maple syrup
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• another sprinkle cinnamon
• 2 T brown sugar
• 2 eggs

Pre-heat oven 350*

In a food processor, prepare the crust.  Combine the first eight ingredients and pulse until fine crumbs form. Press into a greased baking dish.

Next, prepare the filling. In the food processor (don't have to clean out), pulse the frozen bananas until you've created banana "soft serve." Add the next 6 ingredients and pulse until smooth. Add the eggs and process 2 minutes.

Pour the filling into the prepared crust and bake at 350* for 45 minutes. Reduce heat to 325*, cover the top of the mouse/custard/pudding with tin foil and bake until no longer jiggly, about 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool.


Looks good...

I dug in for a quick serving to try to determine what I just created. A fluffy banana-bread tasting filling in a crumbly crust. I like it! I think it might be better cold...? I will let you know how it tastes tomorrow!

I think for the rest of this week's challenge I am going to try to use at least two items from the pantry/freezer for each meal, you know - shake things up a bit!

In other news - I think I am going to make a light box this weekend.  These yellowish evening photos are really starting to bug me.