Blueberry-Banana Nut Overnight Oats

Yah, maybe I like overnight oats a lot. You can definitely make this warm. But if you choose to prepare the night before, you need the following:

Ingredients
1/2 banana (or a very small banana)
1/2 cup oats
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened light almond milk
1/4 cup of fat free Greek yogurt (optional, but adds more protein and thickness)
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tbsp chopped pecans
1/4 cup blueberries

The night before, mash your banana, and add your cinnamon and vanilla and mix well. Sprinkle in your oatmeal and mix, and finally mix in the almond milk.

The next day, top with 1 tsp maple syrup, your pecans, and 1/4 cup of blueberries.

Enjoy this yummy treat!
Nutrition info (approx.): 387 calories, 69g carbs, 10g fat, 12g protein, 137mg sodium, 20g sugar

Slow Cooker Honey BBQ Chicken Drumsticks

Yes, summer is coming to an end. School has started for quite a few people and some have yet to start school. Time to indulge in some barbecue, delicious frozen drinks, fresh seasonal fruit, and water fun.

In case you don't have a grill and own a crock pot, you can try making these honey bbq chicken drumsticks in your slow cooker. I absolutely love crock pot meals and this one is really simple!

Ingredients:
2 lbs of drumsticks (Around 6-8 drumsticks should work)
3/4 cup of your favorite bbq sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)
1/8-1/4 cup of honey
A dash of red hot pepper flakes

Place the drumsticks in a slow cooker. Mix the bbq sauce and honey. Pour over the slow cooker and I add a dash of the red hot pepper flakes. You can omit them if you want.

Cook the drumsticks for 6-8 hours on the LOW setting of the crock pot. The result will be some tender, fall off the bone, chicken. Mmm...

Enjoy with some roasted vegetables and potatoes. Enjoy the last of the summer days!

Chocolate Strawberry Overnight Oats

I'm really on an overnight oats craze lately. Maybe I'll just dedicate a section of my blog to oats like this...

Anyway, berries are on sale ya'll. Get your strawberry and chocolate fix!

Chocolate and strawberries, what better combination?

Ingredients
1/2 cup instant oats (or old-fashioned oats)
1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/8 tsp cinnamon (dash of cinnamon)
1 tsbp almond butter
3/4 cup light almond milk (soy milk or skim milk would be great too)
1/2 cup of strawberries (then slice them)
1 tbsp sliced almond

Mix the instant oats, cocoa powder, almond butter, and then mix in the almond milk. Place in fridge overnight and the next morning, top with the strawberries and sliced almonds.

Yummy breakfast! High protein as well with the added almond butter.

Nutrition info (approx.): 363 calories, 48g carbs, 18g fat, 13g protein, 206mg sodium, 10g sugar

Easy Chicken and Dumplings - Crock Pot Recipe

I am big into comfort food. Once I got my crock pot, I knew it was the beginning of a fun friendship...

Mine is only 3 qt crock pot and this dish fits pretty well in it. However, it would probably be best in a 5 qt one. I introduce to you my eazy-peezy chicken and dumplings!

Ingredients
2-3 chicken breasts (1 lb chicken), cut into bite-sized pieces
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 tsp chicken bouillon seasoning
1 bay leaf
1-2 carrots, chopped or about 1/4 bag of baby carrots
1/2 cup potatoes (I use about 3-4 mini potatoes)
1 small onion, chopped
2 celery stalks (optional)
1 10-ounce package of refrigerated biscuits (cut into smaller bite-sized pieces)

Place the carrots, potatoes, and onion in the bottom of the slow cooker. I use a 3-qt slow-cooker and it works just fine.

I cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Make sure to use separate cutting boards for your meats and vegetables to avoid cross-contamination! Put the chicken on top and pour the cream of mushroom can with the one can of water. I also add and mix in the chicken bouillon powder. The bay leaf can be stacked on top.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 20-30 minutes before serving, place the uncooked biscuit pieces in the slow cooker and let it cook.

You'll have some tasty and yummy chicken n' dumplings. Pair with a nice comforting movie and you got yourself an awesome night.

Summer Berry Cobbler

I made this for Fourth and July and what a festive way to celebrate the day! Summertime is a good time to start eating some berries. Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries--a lot of them are in season!

Ingredients
1/2 cup of light almond milk (or any type of milk or milk alternative)
1 cup Bisquick
2 tsp canola oil
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup of sugar (I used 1/6 cup of sugar, 1/6 cup of Splenda)

2 cups berries (I used fresh blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries. Frozen works as well. You can use any fruit you want. Try peaches and mango. Mmm!)
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup water

Preheat your oven to 375F.

Mix the first ingredients and pour in a greased 9.5" or 9" glass pie pan (I used PAM spray). You can use either a round or square pie/cake tin. I used glass and this heats up very well! Baking time was about 20 minutes for this type of bakeware.

In a small bowl, mix your sugar and water and dissolve the sugar. Then fold in your berries into the sugar-water mixture. This will be really liquidy but it's okay! Once you place it in the pie tin and once it starts to bake, it will thicken up and become a syrup! Depending on how tart you want the cobbler, you can add more sugar. I felt 2 tbsp was enough because the berries were already sweet.

Pour this over the Bisquick mixture and bake for 20 minutes or so.

Enjoy with some yummy ice cream!

Salmon with White Wine and Caper Sauce

This is a really simple salmon dish and it pairs well with the mushroom-onion orzo recipe.

Ingredients
1 thick salmon fillet (about 8 oz), cut into two-pieces
1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tbsp butter
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
2 tsp capers
1/2 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio)

Season the salmon with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

In a non-stick pan, I heat the olive oil and butter. The butter adds a nice nutty flavor and it pairs well with the capers and white wine. You can omit it as well.

Pan-sear the salmon (about 3 minutes), I flip it once. Set aside and take out of pan.

In the pan, add the white wine and capers and simmer until slightly reduced.

Place over the salmon and enjoy!

I paired it with a mushroom-onion orzo, but can go well over rice or some pasta. 

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Salmon with White Wine and Caper Sauce Recipe:

Ingredients
1 thick salmon fillet (about 8 oz), cut into two-pieces
1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tbsp butter
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
2 tsp capers
1/2 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio)

Season the salmon with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. In a non-stick pan, I heat the olive oil and butter. The butter adds a nice nutty flavor and it pairs well with the capers and white wine.

Pan-sear the salmon (about 3 minutes), I flip it once. Set aside and take out of pan. In the pan, add the white wine and capers and simmer until slightly reduced.

Place over the salmon and serve with a side of orzo, rice, or pasta!

Mushroom and Onion Orzo

This is a great side dish for seafood, chicken, or pork (or even...tofu!).

I just made it recipe and paired it with a simple salmon recipe that I will also post.

Ingredients
1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 8oz of sliced mushroom (I used mini bellas, I love these!)
1 lb orzo (I used De Cecco brand)
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio. You can try chardonnay as well)
Salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

Heat up 1 tbsp of the olive oil and saute your mushrooms and onions. When it gets a bit soft, after 5 minutes, add the orzo and continue sauteing for about 2-3 minutes until the orzo is a bit golden brown.

Add your chicken broth and white wine and boil. Once it boils, simmer it on low for about 7-10 minutes until it is al dente (slightly firm and chewy). Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. The chicken broth has sodium in it so you may not need to add excess salt.

You can also mix in some parmesan cheese and parsley to make this more of a risotto. I didn't have these ingredients so I just added what I had.

Voila!

Beef and Mushroom Oven Bake

If you've seen Sweeney Todd, don't let this meat bake scare you!

I like the idea of pot pies or cheeseburger bakes and also enjoy the taste of beef and mushroom. What better way of combining this idea!

Ingredients
1 lb lean ground beef
8oz mini bella mushrooms (mini portabello or just regular mushrooms will do)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Garlic powder to taste (additional garlic oomph!)
1 cup Bisquick mix
1 cup skim milk
2 eggs (or 1/2 cup of egg whites)

Preheat oven to 400F.

Saute the beef, mushrooms, garlic, and onions and add seasonings. I didn't add any oil and used a non-stick pan (as the meat already has fat in it). Drain the fat if possible or pat dry with a paper towel.

Place mixture in 9.5 inch glass pie plate (you can also use aluminum or other baking pans but keep an eye out on the baking time. Glass heats very effectively!)

In a bowl, mix the Bisquick, 1 cup of milk, and eggs until smooth. Top the mixture with this Bisquick mix and place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.

Let it cool and be ready for some yummy beef/mushroom bake!

Want more veggies? Try a side of steamed carrots or broccoli. Yum!

Happy National Doughnut Day!

Happy Donut Day everybody. :P

I wish I had a nice donut recipe but that'll come in due time.

More recipes to come next week!

Baked Kale Chips

Oh kale...what to do with you kale. You see it in stores, you hear about people putting it in smoothies, and you want to give it a go but you're not sure how?

Well kale chips are pretty simple to make and they taste great. They're crunchy and packed full of antioxidants. Kale is a great source of vitamin K, vitamin A, and vitamin C.

Baked Kale Chips
Ingredients
1 bunch of kale
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper to season
Red pepper flakes (optional)

Preheat oven to 300F.

Wash and remove the leaves of the kale from the thick stems. Tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces. To dry, use a paper towel or salad spinner. There's also an interesting way to dry greens with a pillow case...

Place on a cookie sheet and cover with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Coat with the olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in oven for 15-20 minutes until crispy.

Enjoy this delicious snack! I paired it with a sandwich below...

Looking for a sweeter snack? Use a milder oil (I suggest canola) and top with some cinnamon and sugar instead of salt and pepper. Cinnamon/nutmeg complement dark leafy greens pretty well!

Blueberry Almond Overnight Oats

I just tried this recently and I absolutely loved it as a nice and refreshing breakfast. The best part is that you can prepare it the night before.

Ingredients
1/2 cup instant oats (old-fashioned oats work fine; steel cut oats may be a bit crunchy)
1 tbsp chia seeds (optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp maple syrup
3/4 cup light soy milk (add more milk if you prefer thinner oatmeal)
1-1 1/2 tbsp sliced almonds
1/4 cup blueberries

Combine the oats, chia seeds, vanilla, maple syrup and light soy milk in a bowl (or a mason jar if you prefer it that way) and store in the fridge covered (you can cover with plastic wrap).

The next morning, just top it with sliced almonds and blueberries and mix!

You'll notice the chia seeds create a more gel-like texture. It also provided heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. It also adds some protein to keep you full a bit longer (and you have the added protein from soy milk and the almonds). Add more sweetener to taste.

It's crunchy and delicious!

Want an added almond flavor? Add about 1/2 tsp of almond extract for an added oomph of almond.

Nutrition info (approx.): 371 calories, 53g carbs, 13g fat, 15g protein, 170mg sodium, 16g sugar

Welcome to Natalie's Noms!

To start, welcome and thanks for checking out my blog!

I consider myself pretty lucky. I'm studying about food and get to explore more things about food than I ever thought I would! I have a background in food science and nutritional sciences and you could imagine what typical conversations among foodies can be about,

"I wonder what kind of oil they cooked this in..."
"Should I add chia seeds, or hemp seeds to my oatmeal? Hmm..."
"What kind of sweetener is in this?"

Nah, we're actually not that particular. The fun thing about my major is that food is always a constant subject, but it's really fun to talk and think about.

In this blog, I'll bring you some fun recipes you can try at home, some healthy and some a bit more...indulgent. Also, some recipes will be simpler for those people who are living the college lifestyle (buying less products or making more in advance for your week's lunch), or for those living alone. Living on my own, I've made a few staple dishes that I find pretty easy and quick to make without having to make a large amount.

In addition, some of my foodie friends have some really cool recipes they want to share!

I welcome you to my world. Cheers to simple, fun, and delicious food!