I love the week that falls between Christmas and New Year’s Day. I am a reflective person so it brings me a lot of joy to look back at my year of personal experiences, my family, and my blog. I have to admit, having a blog makes it much easier to remember since it’s all documented and stamped with a date…makes me appreciate what this blog means to me even more, although due to the evolution of the (sometimes big, bad, scary) internet I find myself sharing more about food and less about personal & family over the years. It’s all good.

2016 was interesting. I turned 40. I went back to college. I embraced fitness and got strong (surprised myself). My oldest started middle school. We survived a scary hurricane. My daughter was a guest judge for a recipe contest at a produce conference. My baby turned 3 and became a little person, not really a baby anymore. I went out of my comfort zone and was a speaker at a dietician/healthy blogger conference (and loved it). I traveled to Vermont, Savannah and the Florida Panhandle. My friend Kristen came to visit me and we went to see Justin Bieber and Mickey Mouse. My family & I went to Disney – a lot. I withdrew from college. My husband & I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary. I watched family members go through some health problems. We attended the most epic Indian wedding celebration. My daughter and I volunteered for the 2016 presidential campaign. I grew personally and professionally.

2016 was interesting, and good. As always, I’m ready and looking forward to a fresh start from starting a new year.

As for food…I shared a lot of recipes! I’m so grateful for all of you who visit me here, I wish you a very healthy and happy New Year.

Here are your favorites:

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The post Top 12 Most Popular Recipes From 2016 {plus my personal favorites!} appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

This recipe for Strawberry Almond Baked Steel Cut Oatmeal was created in partnership with Bob’s Red Mill.

I’ve been wanting to make baked oatmeal for as long as I can remember. I could tell by the recipes I’ve found online that I would love it, mostly because of it’s texture. I’ve mentioned before, I’m more of a savory breakfast girl (eggs!) but I do enjoy a bowl of oatmeal or overnight oats every now and then. It’s so good for you and lucky for me, my kids love it too.

Baked oatmeal is exactly what it is – prepared oatmeal, baked instead of cooked on the stove top. I love using steel cut oats when I can, but I had a feeling that they could be tricky in a recipe for baked oatmeal because of their heartier texture and cook time. After doing a little research, I decided to follow Lisa’s method of baking steel cut oatmeal, and it turned out wonderfully.

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People often tell me they have trouble having breakfast in the morning and I have to tell you, I have never had that dilemma. If I don’t eat something before I fully start my day then I’m setting myself up for trouble, meaning I’ll probably binge on cheese and crackers at lunchtime or get a headache or just feel really off and cranky later in the day. I need my breakfast…and I truly believe it is the most important meal of the day.

Most days during the week I’m up very early to go to the gym and all I can handle at that time of day before a workout is a banana. I have a few regular breakfast I tend to make regularly for myself depending on time, this Blueberry, Banana And Peanut Butter Oatmeal being one of them. (Other breakfast favorites: Spinach and Egg Breakfast Sandwich, Refrigerator Oats, peanut butter Ezekiel toast and Cinnamon Pear Green Smoothie)

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I love discovering new food blogs.  I must come across a dozen some days (especially since I started “channel surfing” with Stumble)…but it’s only once in a while that a new one really catches your interest and sucks you in.  You don’t realize it until you have clicked on numerous recipes or are reading each post in entirety.  And it’s usually at least 25 minutes later.  Are you following me?

I came across a new blog just the other day from reading the comments that were left on my cookbook giveaway post (which by the way is still going on until Thursday at 10pm!).  I like to visit any new reader who is nice enough to leave a comment…but I also admit, her name drew me in too.  Wonder Woman.  I have always loved Wonder Woman.

So happy I visited “Wonder Woman” because I instantly fell in love with this cookie.  For one, it’s a drop cookie and that is a HUGE plus.  But also, the combination of everything in it was just perfect.  Dried cranberries, white chocolate, oatmeal AND pecans.  Um, yea, my kind of cookie for sure.  AND she mentioned it was her newest favorite cookie.  I was sold.  Lucky for me I had everything I needed in my pantry, so I baked a batch of these babies this afternoon.  The kids loved them and so did I.  And with my new found spirit of baking and getting the sweets out of the house as soon as possible, I packed up a few cookies and will be leaving them with some friends tomorrow.

And don’t worry…I stashed a few aside for my cookie lovin’ kids..

Cranberry White Chocolate Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups oatmeal
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 2/3 cup white chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine butter and brown sugar in a mixer on medium speed until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add vanilla. Add the dry ingredients, beating until just barely combined. Then stir in the cranberries, white chocolate chips, and chopped pecans.
2. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto the parchment paper lined cookie sheet and sprinkle the tops with a few leftover cranberries or white chocolate chips if you want.
3. Bake for exactly 10 minutes. Remove from the oven - cookies will be slightly golden brown around the edges and the middles will look underdone. But trust me on this one - it will give you soft, chewy cookies once they cool. Or just slightly gooey cookies if you can't wait. Like me. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Recipe from Confessions of a Wannabe Wonder Woman

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I think I’ve been bit by the baking bug.  I’m not really sure how it happened…it kinda came out of nowhere.  I’ve always avoided baking for some reason, partly because I’ve never been good of it (not a big fan of measuring!) and because honestly, I just don’t like the temptation of having sweets in the house.  Lately though I’ve just wanted to bake bake bake.  And luckily I have had reasons for the baking…so after a nice taste or two, off the sweets go to a good home.  I think I may have finally found a healthy balance…

Now this basket of sweet little muffins were actually not meant for sharing.  These muffins were baked with love on Saturday morning for my little guy who just beams with excitement anytime I ask him to help me in the kitchen lately.  He’s a big fan of stirring and likes to sample everything from the flour to the sugar to the chopped apples that were added into this batter.  His enthusiasm is pretty cute if I do say so myself.  🙂

I made these muffins from a recipe I found in a new cookbook I picked up for myself the other day at Home Goods…The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook.  There are so many recipes I want to try in this book.  There is a good variety of different treats…from cookies to bars to cheesecakes (uh hello Mocha Rum Cheescake!) to pies.  I started with the muffins since I had everything I needed on hand and because my kids absolutely go crazy for muffins.  I love that there is oatmeal in them, and the addition of finely chopped apple gave them that little extra something.  They weren’t overly sweet and turned out very moist. These muffins are a perfect mid morning or afternoon snack for the kids…or with a cup of hot tea for yourself.

Oatmeal-Apple Muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking oats)
• 1 1/2 cups milk (I used non fat)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 TB baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup finely chopped apple, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Grease well a 12 cup muffin tin.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the oats and the milk and set aside for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, making a well in the center. Stir in the liquid ingredients and the oatmeal mixture until just combined, being careful not to over mix. Batter may be lumpy. Fold in chopped apple.
5. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full. Bake for 16-18 minutes until lightly golden or a cake tester inserted into center of muffin comes out with moist crumbs attached. Do not over bake.

Recipe adapted from The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

So in the spirit of the holidays and because I loved this cute little cookbook so much… I ended up picking up an extra copy to share with one of you!  All you need to do is leave a comment on this post answering this question:

What is your most favorite thing to bake?

Earn additional opportunities to win by sharing this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter and/or on your own blog, just leave an additional comment or comments telling me you did so.

Giveaway ends Thursday night 10pm Eastern time.  (Sorry, US residents only) I will draw a comment number using Random.org and announce the winner on Friday!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Follow Aggie’s Kitchen’s board Healthy Breakfasts on Pinterest.

The post Oatmeal-Apple Muffins …and a gift for you! appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!! We are headed to the beach today to celebrate my nephew Cody’s high school graduation with the family. Before we go though, I wanted to share with you an easy delicious dessert that I put together this past week.

I’ve been seeing rhubarb all over blog world this week, specifically here and here. I have never tried rhubarb before, am not even sure what it really is…a fruit I assume?? Whatever it is, I was inspired by a recipe I saw in Cooking Light for a Raspberry and Rhubarb pie…I love raspberries so I thought turning the pie idea into an easier and healthier “crumble” would work for me.

This was delicious…tart, yet still sweet. And it really was a breeze to put together. I put it together while preparing dinner, then put it in the oven so it cooked while we were eating. It was smelling good and ready to eat once we were done with clean up!

Congratulations to Peachkins of The Peach Kitchen and Melissa of Alosha’s Kitchen for being the winners of the cookbook giveaway!! Using Random.org their comment numbers were chosen. Please email me your mailing addresses so I can get those cookbooks off to you!

Congrats to the gals and thank you all for the kind comments…it means a lot to me to know you all are enjoying Aggie’s Kitchen!!

Raspberry and Rhubarb Crumble

Yield: Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

• 4 sticks of rhubarb, cut in 1" pieces
• 1 small container of raspberries
• couple splashes of Gran Marnier (or orange liqueur)
• 1-2 TB turbinado sugar (or regular sugar)
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds, crushed
• 2 TB Smart Balance whipped butter (or regular butter)

Directions:

1. In a deep baking dish, combine rhubarb, raspberries, Gran Marnier and sugar. Toss gently and let sit for 10 minutes. In small bowl, combine oatmeal and almonds with butter to make crumbly topping. Spread topping over fruit mixture and place in preheated oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes until bubbly and golden brown.
2. Serve with vanilla ice cream, frozen yogurt or Greek yogurt for a delicious dessert.

Follow AggiesKitchen on Instagram and show us what recipes you are making from the blog! Use the hashtag #aggieskitchen - I'd love to see what you are cooking up!

Enjoy!

Congratulations Cody!! We are all so proud of you!
xoxo

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