5 of Friday!!

{ONE} Baked oatmeal.

Ever since I found this recipe on Budget Bytes (the BEST food blog EVER!), I have been obsessed with baked oatmeal.  Besides blueberry banana, I have also made apple cinnamon, and my latest creation Chocolaty Pumpkin Cranberry.  It is based on Budget Bytes' Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal , but I tweaked the recipe a bit.  Here's my recipe:

1 15oz can of Libby's 100% pumpkin

1/4 C brown sugar

2 eggs

1 t pumpkin pie spice

1 T vanilla extract

1 1/2 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk

2 1/2 C dry oats

Fresh cranberries-halved - As many as you would like.  I used about 1 C.  They are fairly tart so if you do not want too much soreness, use less. 

1/4 mini semi sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Cut cranberries in half so they juice can come out of the them while baking.

3.  Mix pumpkin, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract, and almond milk, until smooth.

4.  Stir in dry oats to pumpkin mixture.  Once blend in, add cranberry halves. 

5.  Pour oatmeal mixture into 9x13 greased baking dish.

6.  Sprinkle top with chocolate chips and bake for 45 mins.

I usually make my baked oatmeal at night, and let it cool for a couple hours.  Once it is cooled, I divide the dish into 8 servings and put each serving in a tupperware container, and then into the refrigerator.  Each container can then be reheated in the microwave for 1 minute, and voila, you have a delicious, filling breakfast!

According to MyFitnessPal, this recipe comes out to 208 calories per serving!

  

{TWO} Only 43 days until Christmas break!!!!  

I work at a college, and the students get an entire months off, but the staff also gets time off.  Twelve days off, counting weekends, to be exact.  Paid days off, that is.  Monday, December 23-Friday, December 27 & Monday, December 30-Wednesday, January 1, I get to sit around at home, in my pajamas, doing whatever I want, and I get paid for it!  If, for some reason, I would have to go into work over these days, I would get holiday pay of time and a half, woot woot!!!  I love my job. 

{THREE}  Thanks to Ashley over at Whole Foods New Body I have found my new favorite snack.  

She posted a great video about the essentials she keeps in her kitchen.  If you want some great snack ideas, check it out!!

The snack she helped me create is Greek yogurt with orange flavored chocolate and walnuts mixed in. 

I crush up one square of the chocolate, about 1/4oz of walnuts, and depending on my hunger level, I mix those into 1/4 C or 1/2 of the yogurt.  It is divine!  It is a filling snack that has the perfect combination of crunch, sweetness, and creaminess!

{FOUR}  No plans this weekend!

This one may make me sound lame, but I am in need of a weekend off!  I often feel that Nick and I never get to just relax and enjoy our house.  It seems like every weekend we are off doing something, which is great because we love spending time with our friends and family, and we love going on adventures, but sometimes it is just nice to be at home.  

{FIVE}  Jeans for $8.

I am rocking a new, well, new-to-me, pair of jeans today, and I only paid $8 for them!  They are Bullhead brand, which I just learned from Googling, are from PacSun and are originally $44.95.  I got them at Plato's Closet, and they are the most comfortable jeans ever.  They have just enough stretch in them that I do not feel like I am going to bust out of them when I sit down, but not too much stretch that they get too stretched out and result in diaper butt. 

I unfortunately do not see the same style, Laguna Bootcut, on the PacSun website anymore.  Which means I will probably never find another pair of them again...sad face!

Have a GREAT weekend, everyone!