Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Bake

Today's recipe from Inspired Taste, and is another one that my sister Jillian discovered. She made it a couple weeks ago and enjoyed it, but thought that it didn't have quite enough of the fruit. I took this to heart and doubled what the original recipe recommended. Great move! I was also out of walnuts, so I used almonds instead. And I'm not a big chocolate fan (I know! The travesty!), so I left out the chocolate chips. 

This turned out to be a lovely "big breakfast" item with plenty of delicious leftovers!

Black Bean Burgers and Spicy Sweet Potato Sticks

I had a hard time photographing this meal to look appetizing, and for that I am truly sorry. Because these burgers are SO. SO. GOOD. If you've never tried black bean burgers, this is the recipe to start with. I've tried others that are kind of blah or too mushy. But these! They're super flavorful, and actually hold together really well. You won't miss the beef at all, I swear! John is completely on-board with these too.

The Spicy Sweet Potato Sticks look a lot like french fries, but they have their own unique flavor, and aren't nearly as crunchy as they look. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a crispy fry, but these are so delightful that I loved them even though they are a little soft. Kind of reminds me of mashed potatoes, disguised as fries.

Both the burgers and potatoes recipes came from the incomparable Budget Bytes.

Thai Chicken Pizza

I'm so happy that I recently decided to start making pizzas at home from scratch. It's just so satisfying to start from nothing and end up with this delicious creation. So far, I've only used the same simple crust recipe (this is my fourth pizza using it), but mixed up the toppings. This time, I went Thai! This recipe inspiration came from Closet Cooking.

Black Bean Quesadillas

Oh, Budget Bytes, what would I do without you? This was another ingenious recipe idea from my favorite inspiration source. If you can spot a theme with my blog here, it's that I love to make things that I can freeze for a quicker meal in the future. I can't believe I never thought to do this with quesadillas! These tasted amazing, and I've got 6 more in my freezer waiting for hunger to strike at the same time laziness ensues. This is also a great way to use the black beans that I cooked in my slow cooker.

I made my quesadillas this time with chicken, but that's only because I had some extra to use up from a previous recipe. This could just as easily be made vegetarian by leaving that out. (In fact, I made a couple without the chicken too, and you didn't miss it at all!)

Dry Black Beans in a Slow Cooker

This is another super useful (and easy!) method that I learned from Budget Bytes. 

There is something super satisfying about buying a bag of plain old dry beans, and turning them into a useful ingredient to keep stocked in your freezer or fridge. You can save a lot of money (she calculated that cooked beans from dry are about half the cost of canned), but I think the real savings comes in the fact that you can freeze in containers for whatever size you will need for a future meal. So, if you have a small family that won't use an entire can, you won't find yourself wasting (or overeating to finish it up) just because the cans are always one standard size.

Balsamic Chicken in a Slow Cooker

This is one of the first recipes I made when I started this blog last November. However, that was before I was taking the time to post photos and full descriptions. I went back to make it again and discovered that the original website that I got it from no longer exists! So, here's a full post with the ingredients I use and steps for how I make it. It's a really good, healthy meal that's super easy and uses stuff I always have on hand. 

Baked Beans in a Slow Cooker

This is a recipe that I just made on a whim one day after seeing it on Budget Bytes, because it seemed easy and cheap. To my surprise, it became one of our favorites, with John requesting that I always keep our freezer stocked with these beans! He loves them so much that he sometimes just eats them as a snack. And happily enough, they are plenty easy to make in big batches.

Frozen Yogurt Cubes for Smoothies

After noticing that some yogurt in my fridge was nearing its expiration date, I had the bright idea to try to freeze it. It turned out to be a perfect way to spare it from the trash, as well as provide an easy addition to morning smoothies.

Overnight Blueberry French Toast

I saw this recipe floating around Pinterest quite a bit, and thought it sounded like a great weekend treat. I love making big breakfasts Saturday and Sunday mornings, and if I can do most of the work the night before, all the better! 

This was easy to make, and tasted pretty great! If you are a big fan of sweets, you will especially love the fruity syrup. It's also a great way to use up the heels of bread. The original recipe came from Chef in Training. 

Fruit & Nut Snack Bites

Ever since I first made these snack bites a few months ago, they have been a complete staple in this house. They're great for a quick breakfast if you're running late for work, a mid-afternoon snack, or even an appetizer when dinner is taking longer than expected. I have made many batches, and keep them in the freezer so they're always on hand. They're great both frozen and room temperature.

I did a previous quick post about these, but it was under the somewhat misleading title of "No-Sugar Cereal Bars". While it's true that I don't add any sugar, they aren't completely sugar-free, since it is in both the peanut butter and fruit. So here is a brand new post, with a better title and lots of pictures! The idea for the original recipe came from Snack Girl. 

Vegetable Lasagna Rolls with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

This recipe came from a new source, Mother Thyme. I originally came across it on the Tasty Kitchen recipe community.  It had a very unique flavor, I think due to the red pepper sauce. It's quite a switch to have a lasagna with no tomatoes involved! It is also nice to have another delicious use of the superfood kale. 

This is certainly not a quick meal to prepare, but it is nice for the rare occasion when you have a little extra time and want to try something different.

Garlic Egg Chicken

This is a pretty simple recipe that includes ingredients I almost always have on hand. Nothing spectacular, but something good to turn to when you haven't been grocery shopping in a while. Note that this requires a few hours of marinating for best flavor. The original recipe came from All Recipes.