A Weekend in the Kitchen

Happy to say, the overnight oatmeal turned out great! It was so easy - I used one full cup of steel-cut oats (which, btw, are much better for you than the rolled oats or quick oats - explained later) and 4 cups of water and about a half teaspoon of cinnamon. Seven hours on low and we got up to steaming bowls of nutrition! Not to mention, the house smelled of cinnamon and it was very inviting and cozy on a brisk fall day!
A word on this recipe. I'd read a LOT of recipes - many that called for fruit - raisins, cranberries, apples, etc... But it seemed that the fruit got really mushy overnight, so I decided to add stuff just before we ate it. We added brown sugar, raisins and walnuts in the morning, and this worked well. And it's nice that each person can customize their own bowl - particularly if you have guests. And about the steel-cut oats - it's the entire oat that's chopped up, not just the inside part. So you're getting lots more fiber and other good stuff. It's a little different texture, and if you were to make the steel-cuts on the stove top, it'd take about a half an hour. So overnight's the way to go.
Other kitchen adventures this weekend? Chicken noodle soup in the crock-pot (hey, I dragged it out of the cabinet for the oatmeal, might as well use it again, right?) That'll be dinner for at least two nights this week, and then I'll freeze some for later. Pineapple upside-down cake for dessert last night (the leftovers of which, are staring at me this morning), and a huge breakfast after church yesterday. We usually go out for breakfast after church, but we're trying to come home at least a few Sundays a month now - save a little money and enjoy being gathered around our sunny kitchen table together. I made turkey bacon and eggs, and pancakes which we enjoyed with the pure maple syrup we picked up at the Fall Festival a few weeks ago.
So it may seem like it, but I didn't spend the ENTIRE weekend in the kitchen, although 3 meals a day for 4 people for two solid days certainly does take a pretty hefty chunk of time. Especially the "clean-up" part! But we did manage to clean out our storage room downstairs, and today, I'm going to drop off a huge load to the Goodwill. We also found time on Saturday night to catch "Pursuit of Happyness" with Will Smith - a GREAT movie. If you haven't seen it, see it. This movie will make you feel fortunate, will make you feel blessed and will make you want to go hug your children, no matter how many crumbs they leave lying around. No matter what your circumstances are in life, trust me, it's tons better than what this guy went through. And it's a true story, which makes it amazing.
So that's the weekend wrap-up. We're enjoying the fall colors around here and the gorgeous weather. Today is supposed to be 80! And the colors seem to be at their peak right about now, but I have a feeling the bottom is going to drop out in a hurry. It is late October, after all.