Thursday: Oatmeal Tips, Burger Bowls, Flexible Pizza Dough & Website Launch Day
This morning my teen finished off the rest of the oatmeal I made yesterday. Whenever I make oatmeal, I make a big batch. It’s like lasagna—if I’m already pulling everything out, I might as well make enough for several breakfasts.
A few people have asked how I make it, and honestly, it’s very flexible. I use either quick-cooking oats or old-fashioned oats (always gluten-free in our house). I add about one part oats to two parts milk—I mostly eyeball it and add a little extra milk if it starts getting too thick. Then I add a pinch of salt, cinnamon, a little brown sugar, and some maple syrup. I just make it on my stovetop in a pan on medium low heat and let it simmer till the oats look nice and soft.
If I’m using apples, I add them at the beginning so they soften while the oatmeal cooks. If I’m using peaches, I wait until the end since they’re already soft and I don’t want them to completely fall apart. During the summer, peaches and cream oatmeal is definitely a favorite around here.
After it’s cooked, I portion it into containers. Since I have kiddos with nut allergies, I don’t stir nuts into the whole batch. Instead, anyone who wants pecans or sliced almonds can add them to their own bowl, along with a drizzle of heavy cream. It makes it feel extra special.
The rest of breakfast was simple: bacon from yesterday, toast, and then we got started with our school morning.
Lunch
Lunch was a great clean-out-the-fridge meal.
I had leftover Chick-fil-A waffle fries from Tuesday and leftover roasted potatoes from Sunday, so I crisped everything back up. Then I pulled some cooked ground beef out of the freezer.
My teen made one of her favorite burger bowls:
- Crispy potatoes
- Ground beef
- Cheese
- Lettuce
- Pickles
- Onion
- A drizzle of mayo, ketchup, and mustard
Some of the other kids, of course, wanted every ingredient in its own little pile.
Same meal, different plates.
I had my favorite barbecue chicken salad. I reheated the last of the grilled chicken with a little barbecue sauce and topped a big salad with my current favorite dressing:
- Avocado salsa
- Fresh salsa
- Rice wine vinegar
- Garlic powder
- Salt and pepper
- A drizzle of honey
I seriously cannot get enough of this dressing lately.
Flexible Focaccia Pizza
Late this morning my teen asked if we could make homemade pizza.
Normally my half-sheet pan focaccia recipe follows a pretty predictable timeline, but today I knew I’d be gone for several hours working on our homeschool co-op as we continue preparing for our move to the new location.
So I experimented.
I started the dough around 10:45 a.m., mixed everything together, completed the three stretch-and-folds, and then simply let the first rise go much longer while I was gone.
When I got home about four hours later, I very gently transferred the dough into the half-sheet pan, trying not to knock too much of the air out. I covered it and set it outside in the warm afternoon sun for another 45 minutes for the second rise.
Could it have been a little puffier if I’d followed the classic timing?
Probably.
Did my family happily eat homemade pizza for dinner?
Absolutely.
At this point I’ve successfully made this recipe three different ways:
- The classic 6-hour version (my favorite)
- A faster 4-hour version
- And now a much longer, flexible version that fit around our day
It’s a very forgiving dough, which makes it perfect for real life.
I’ll link the recipe here so you can pick whichever timeline works best for your day.
My husband had a quick work trip today and texted me a picture of the fancy dinner he was eating at an airport hotel between flights.
Naturally my first thought was:
“I can totally make that.”
Sweet Ending
For dessert, Daphne found one of the very last ice pops hiding in our freezer.
She got so excited and announced,
“They have these at the pool!”
Apparently she’d forgotten we had them at home because lately we’ve mostly been eating popsicles instead.
And One More Exciting Thing…
Today was also the day I officially launched my new website!
It’s been months of planning and work behind the scenes, and I’m so excited that it’s finally live. Thank you to everyone who’s already visited, signed up, and encouraged me along the way. It truly means so much.