Dirt, Muck, and {Blueberry Oatmeal Bake}

Someone asked me what I did for fun this past weekend. I answered, "We don't have fun anymore." A bit snarky. A bit true. Unless you call house projects and fixing things fun!  There is still so much to be done to settle in to our new house that the last thing we can think about is fun. On that note, during the "free hours"      I normally would have to work on new recipe development, cooking, photographing beautiful food for the blog, etc... I am instead doing things like scraping out dirty soot chunks from a wood stove, scrubbing/sanding tile grout that is stained brown but should be white, stuffing foam into log crevices to prevent drafts in this negative 10 degree weather, killing flies, and cleaning doggie diarrhea off the floor. Sorry, too much information, I know...but I couldn't resist. 

The dirt and muck are my current existence, and are quite the opposite of what I'm used to... in life and on this blog.

But a few things ARE coming together, like my cute entryway:

And the doggies' new dog bed:

And of course, Babycakes. 

She LOVES it here.  And no matter how many projects there are to complete, she helps remind me that this is now our home. And it's about the time we spend together - laughing, drawing, running around the basement, tromping through the snow, being silly, sharing blueberries at her little table, etc... that matter most.

The other day she told me: "Mommy, you're my best friend, EVER!!!" (I will treasure this sweet moment in my heart to remember when she's 12 and saying *other* things to me.)

Special Thanks to Dear Hubby:

Thank you for becoming a contortionist so I could get a new kitchen faucet that doesn't spray me every time I turn it on. #inhomeplumber #suchlove

And thank you for stacking the washer and dryer so I have room to hang our winter coats.

And thank you for setting up the motion detector so we know when mountain lions are coming up the driveway (unfortunately, that's no joke!!)

And thank you for getting the wood stove working so that we could hang out at a balmy 67 degrees instead of 63.

And thank you for picking up all the paper, boxes, and recycling that flew around the entire yard after the windstorm of craziness.

And thank you for keeping a good sense of humor in the midst of the dirt and muck.

I love you!!!!

And I proved it by making him a blueberry oatmeal bake that he said tasted like cake :)


I started with my blend (blogger + friend) Lee's recipe for Pomegranate Oatmeal Bake - and then tweaked it just slightly, to include Chobani greek yogurt and blueberries. 

Blueberry Oatmeal Bake

Blueberry Oatmeal Bake

Description

Blueberry Oatmeal Bake // @noshandnourish

Ingredients

2 cups Dry Rolled Oats
2 Bananas (mashed)
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 cup Chobani Greek Yogurt (I used Vanilla, but blueberry would work too)
1 cup Vanilla Almond Milk
1⁄4 cup honey (optional)
1 cup Blueberries

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Mash bananas.
  3. Then, mix in all additional ingredients, stirring in the blueberries last.
  4. Bake for 30 minutes.

Yields 8 Servings