Cooking Classy

What do you get when you combine oats, pumpkin, caramel, and walnuts along with some sweet spices? You get a nutritious and incredible breakfast with three, yes three Superfoods (some may say four if you count the cinnamon)! And the best part, it tastes like pie. I will admit there is quite a bit of sugar in this recipe but if it didn't have it just wouldn't be near as good. At least it has a lot less than the real thing =).  Many of us are always labeling recipes with "Christmas morning breakfast," well what about Thanksgiving or even Halloween breakfast? The other holidays should have their own fancy breakfasts too, and I think this would make the perfect fit.  Indulge a little and be sure to get a drizzling of the caramel sauce with every bite. In my opinion a pumpkin pie shouldn't be left without some kind of caramel sauce or dulce de leche, to me they are just meant to go together. That's why I would say don't omit the caramel sauce, it's a must. ...

Time to ditch that almond poppy seed muffin your having every other morning for breakfast and reaching for this healthier, equally as delicious almond poppy seed granola bar instead! I'm ecstatic about this recipe that I came across from Rachel Ray. You can make a full batch of better tasting (and better for you) than store bought granola bars at home in about 5 minutes. I now have no excuse for buying the preservative filled granola bars at the store =), but after trying these I no longer have the desire to buy the store bought ones either. The possibilities with the recipe are endless! I can't wait for all the variations I'm going to try on these in the future. Here are some ideas ahead of time because I can't resist sharing =): Chocolate chunks, freeze dried raspberries and chopped almonds Dried apples, chopped, baking caramel pieces (I'd freeze them first then add to oat mixture or press into the top) and cinnamon/nutmeg White chocolate chunks, dried cranberrie...

Take a moment to think about everything you love about a granola bar, the chewiness, the flavors, the dried fruit and crunchy nuts. Now imagine that in cookie form. What do you get?  These! A loaded, perfectly spiced, chewy, deliciously sweet, thick oatmeal cookie!  They are most definitely one of my new favorite cookies.  I created this recipe this past weekend because my brother and his family came to stay with us and I knew his favorite kind of cookie was oatmeal raisin cookies.  Of course I couldn't just stick with the plan ol' original oatmeal cookie, I had to spice it up and make it fancy =).  Try these and it's likely that your favorite oatmeal raisin cookie may just be pushed to second place.  Everyone loved these cookies! Switch up this cookie as you wish. You could add milk or semi sweet chocolate chips in place of white chocolate chips. You could add in almonds for the nut and use 1/2 tsp almond extract along with 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Or, y...

No more buying peaches and cream oatmeal packets with those artificial peaches =). This oatmeal with real  peaches and real cream is so much better that it's likely you'll never be able to return to the packets once you've tried this.  I eat oatmeal about 5 out of 7 days, I often even eat it as my night time snack before bed. Yeah I love oatmeal just that much. I never thought I'd say it, but it's true. My mom would always eat it every morning when I was little and I never would've thought 15 years later I would be doing the same thing.  Of course I never eat it plain, simply sweetened with sugar or as she did by adding a half a stick of butter. I always add other flavors or fruits.  Some of my favorites include Banana Oatmeal , Brown Sugar Maple Oatmeal (a future recipe post) and this Peaches and Cream Oatmeal.  I made this using canned peaches because that is what I had on hand, and also I like the texture of the canned peaches along with the texture of the o...