Oat Meals

They say the closer you live to work, the more likely you are to be late. I can attest to that! Recently I’ve been waking up 45 minutes earlier so that I can take my time at home and still get to work on time. When I was living in Brooklyn, I spent that extra time commuting-- now I use that time to catch up on reading, write lists and make breakfast, the best perk of working so close to home.

This new routine of mine coincides nicely with our joint goal to eat healthier breakfasts. This week we started each day with a bowl of McCann’s quick cooking oatmeal. Oatmeal can be a bit boring, so to keep it interesting we've been changing up the toppings:

Monday: Bananas with Toasted Pecans & Brown Sugar

Tuesday: Blueberries with Brown Sugar & Flax Seeds
On this day, I had an ripe banana lying around so I mashed it up, and mixed it right into the pot of cooking oatmeal. Delicious! (Thanks to Phoebe for this tasty idea!)

Wednesday: Apples & Cinnamon.
To make the apples: Peel, core and dice 2 medium apples. Place them in a small pot with 2 tablespoons of water and a generous squeeze of lemon juice. Sprinkle in 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Cover and let simmer until the apples are soft and the juices are mostly evaporated. About 5-7 minutes.

All this healthy eating has us thinking about the bagels, eggs and bacon we’d like to have this weekend!

Pop on Over

On Friday I received my December issue of Real Simple. As I flipped through I came across a recipe for "Secretly Simple Popovers" which inspired our breakfast for Saturday morning. We happened to have some bacon on hand, so I got to experimenting... and I have to say, the result was absolutely delicious.

Bacon & Parmesan Popovers
(adapted from a Real Simple recipe)
Makes 12

Ingredients
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1.5 cups whole milk
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 slices bacon, cooked, drained and cut into 1/2" pieces
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Cook the bacon: Line the bottom of a broiler pan with foil. This will make for easy cleanup later. Arrange the bacon slices on the top broiler pan and place in a cold oven. Turn oven onto 400F. Walk away, and come back 17 to 20 minutes later. As soon as the bacon is golden brown and crispy, it's done. Drain on paper towels. Once cool, cut the bacon into 1/2" pieces and set aside.

Keep oven on at 400F. Brush the cups of a 12-cup non-stick muffin tin with butter. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, milk, eggs, butter and salt until only a few lumps remain (do not overmix). Gently stir in bacon.

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups and sprinkle each cup with a teaspoon of Parmesan cheese. Bake until puffed and a deep golden brown, 30-35 minutes. (Do not open oven door before 30 minutes or the popover will collapse. Serve immediately!