The Apple Crisp (that is both breakfast and dessert!)

Merry Christmas Eve! If you’re like me, you are anticipating lots of people in your home over the next few days. And if you’re like me, you want to have easy, no-fuss snack/meal/dessert options on hand so that everyone gets fed and feels loved and happy.

Enter the apple crisp, the single most versatile weapon in my recipe arsenal. YES I WENT THERE.

This recipe can basically be whatever you want to call it or frame it as. It’s breakfast! It’s dessert! It’s healthy! You can add milk to it, or yogurt (or nothing!) and it’s a yummy warm breakfast. You can add some ice cream to it and suddenly it’s a wickedly good dessert. It’s anything you want it to be! And I love how clean the ingredients are, so you are truly working with a healthy, warm, nourishing dish that is such a universal crowd-pleaser. Make it. I know you will love it.

Ingredients:
- 4 cups diced apples
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup nuts, chopped (I like to do a mix of walnuts and pecans)
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tsp. salt

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together the oats, nuts, almond meal, syrup and salt.
3. Pour the apples into an 8x8 glass pyrex dish, then layer the toppings over it.
4. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is brown and a bit crispy.

I typically double or triple this recipe when I have people over, and if I don’t, I still make a lot and freeze half of it. It’s one of the best things to eat first thing on a cold morning! Please let me know if you make it and enjoy it! I love sharing recipes with you that are staples in our household.

I hope the next few days are full of so much love and delight and laughter as you celebrate with your favorite people. Merry Christmas Eve to you all!

Bacon, Spinach & Shallot Quiche.

Christmas week is upon us! Hurray!!! This is the grandest, most delightful time of year and I am so excited that this week has finally come! What celebratory things do you have planned?!

I'll admit, I am still working with a mile-long to-do list. My unordered Christmas cards will have to become New Years cards. My pantry is empty. I could use a good house cleaning (okay, scrubbing/dusting and while you're at it, a fresh coat of paint would be great). After spending the past week goofing off in NYC, I got behind on a few things here on the home front. But it's the most wonderful time of year so I'll just prioritize what needs to happen and let go of the rest of the expectations. This time of year can really eat you alive with all the busyness - my thing over the past week has been saying no to everything else for the rest of the year. I don't know about you, but I feel maxed out, but in a super great way! And I want to preserve that great feelings and enjoyment without going into full-blown frazzled mode of trying to do everything. Doing everything well is a myth. I must say no and do a few things well. So pretty much any "thing" that comes up between now and January is just going to have to wait, because I'm at full commitment capacity. In case you're struggling with this, I give you permission today to let yourself say no to a whole bunch of stuff. Just do it. It will feel like relief, I promise you. Okay wow that was a tangent I wasn't really expecting to go down... but hopefully someone here needed to read this today! And P.S. I'll get a post up ASAP about our trip and all the fun things to do in the winter in NYC with kiddos. Ahhh it was the best. Although I don't miss the 25-degree weather.

Okay, so since it's Christmas week and we are all traveling or hosting or having meals and celebrations, I thought it was high time that I shared my holiday brunch go-to recipe. This quiche is easy and severely, dangerously good. I've been making it for years and I don't even use a recipe anymore, i just throw all the ingredients together and it always turns out well. It's not fancy or hard, but it's hearty and GOOD. My theory on this is that when you combine bacon and cheese with anything, it's going to be good. No matter what. It's just the law or science or something. Okay, here goes!

Ingredients:
- 1 quiche or pie crust (found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store)
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 shallot, diced
- 5 slices bacon, already cooked and crumbled
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 tbsp. flour
- a handful of spinach
- a dash of nutmeg
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Heat a skillet over medium and add the oil.
2. Wait for the skillet to get hot and then add the diced shallots. Using a spatula, continuously move them around and give 1-3 minutes to soften.
3. Then add the crumbled bacon and spinach. Allow this mixture to cook with the onions for about 1 more minute. Once the spinach has just wilted, remove the pan from the heat. Put this mixture into a small bowl and set aside to cool.
4. Go ahead and whisk together the eggs and milk. Add a light dusting of salt, pepper and nutmeg, then set mixture aside.
5. Add the 2 tbsp. of flour to the bacon-spinach-shallot mixture, combine until everything is coated with flour.
6. Place the quiche crust inside a round glass Pyrex, pressing it into the pan.
7. Add the bacon-spinach-shallot mixture to the center of the quiche crust, then I spread it out evenly. Add the cheese and stir until everything looks consistent.
8. Pour the egg/milk mixture into the center of the quiche.
9. Bake on 375 degrees for about 35 minutes. Once a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean, your quiche is ready to be devoured!

Bon Appetit, friends!

Notes:
- The baking time is extremely approximate. Just keep checking - it might be perfect or it might still need 10-15 more minutes to fully cook. Every oven, climate, and therefore quiche is different.
- If you feel like your crust is browning too quickly, you can loosely cover the entire quiche with some tinfoil. This keeps the crust from cooking faster than the contents.
- Don't have shallots? Use an onion! Don't have bacon? This is awesome with sausage, too. The other delicious twist on this recipe calls for sausage, mushroom and rosemary (so savory!).

I hope you enjoy whipping this up for your loved ones! And yourself. Tag a sista if you decide to make this - @oykristen. And I hope you have the MERRIEST CHRISTMAS WEEK!!! May the wrapping/laughing/egg-nogging be ever in your favor. xx

p.s. - how do you like my new kitchen breakfast table? Travis McAfee custom designed this beauty - he is a true genius craftsman extraordinaire and me and Stevie are LOVING IT. This table has brought our little family together in the kitchen and it's really been the perfect addition to our home. If you're interested, here is Travis' info - he makes everything from wooden wallets to custom projects. If you get in touch, let him know I sent you!

Sweet Potato Breakfast Hash.

When I started doing Whole30 this time around, I asked on my Instagram for recipe recommendations. Thankfully, several people commented in that they love sweet potato/egg combinations, but I never really found any previously that I liked. I'm so glad I kept trying because thanks to you all, I finally landed on a breakfast hash that I LOVE. Stevie and I actually ate this for breakfast, lunch and dinner one day - that's how much we loved it (and also, we wanted to use up all our produce). But the combination of these flavors is seriously TO DIE FOR delicious - it tastes like something that you would order at a restaurant for a fancy brunch out. Seriously. Eat and enjoy! Plus, it's just a fringe benefit that this meal is completely Whole30-compliant! #winning

Ingredients:
- 1 yellowing plantain, sliced on a diagonal like a banana
- 1 sweet potato, peeled and shredded (I like to use a potato peeler)
- 1 link Aidell's Chicken & Apple chicken sausage, sliced (also like a banana)
- 1/2 avocado, sliced
- 4 eggs
- 1 tbsp. coconut oil (plus a little more if you need it)
- a pinch of salt and pepper

Method:
1. Heat a skillet on medium (this one is my all-time favorite because it cooks so evenly), and add coconut oil. Wait until oil is melted completely.
2. Place all the plantain slices in the hot oil and cook for 2 minutes, flipping over and then cooking for another two minutes.
3. Once each side of the plantains is slightly browned, remove from the skillet and let cool on a plate. Divide the plantains between two plates for two servings.
4. Add the diced sweet potato and keep it moving around the skillet with a spatula. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes, until slightly wilted. Add a little extra coconut oil if you need more for your skillet.
5. Add the sliced chicken sausage. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, until heated well (I like mine to char a little bit, but you certainly don't have to let it cook that long since the meat is already pre-cooked).
6. Divide the sweet potato/chicken sausage mixture between the two plates. Top with two fried eggs and sliced avocado. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Bon appetit!

Notes:
- I've changed it up and added onions, spinach, baby kale, bacon and even cinnamon to this recipe - it all adds it's own flavor which is great! The options are really endless when it comes to a hash situation like this. I will say that the basic flavors of the egg, sweet potato, chicken sausage and plantain really "make" this dish - anything else that is added in just helps.
- You want to choose a yellow plantain that has begun to brown - this is when the fruit is sweetest. If you choose a green plantain, it won't be ripe enough and will make it very difficult to slice or cook with.
- You can also make this recipe with scrambled eggs instead of fried- just pour the eggs into the skillet with the sweet potato/chicken sausage mixture and allow them to cook together.

P.S. - I'm working on a Whole30 meal reference guide that will house all the Whole30-compliant meals that we have been eating. I'll be sharing that next week, so keep an eye out!

The Simplest Banana Bread.

A cold front came through the south this weekend, just when we thought for sure that spring was in full force down here. Oh Georgia, make up your mind! With the burst of cold, I woke up craving something warm and home-y. Since Stevie was gone playing guitar at church, I decided to spend a little time in the kitchen with Everett while Dax napped. Everett has been quite the little helper lately, and he loves standing on his special stool and helping me dump all the ingredients for simple recipes like cookies and breads, or 1-pan dinners. He was begging for this one the entire time it baked. Let me just say that 55 minutes of a toddler begging for banana bread feels, well, longer than 55 minutes.

Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 2 large bananas, browned, either mashed or sliced
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- Optional add-ins: dried cranberries, dark chocolate chips, shredded coconut, etc.

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and grease a 9x5 loaf pan (my absolute favorite here).
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the melted coconut oil and maple syrup. Add in the eggs and beat well, followed by the almond milk and finally, the mashed/sliced bananas.
3. Add the baking soda, vanilla, salt and cinnamon - blend lightly.
4. Slowly add in the flour while your mixer is still running (if you have an upright mixer like this), otherwise, slowly add and whisk to combine.
5. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow bread to cool for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling and slice.

A few notes:
- I didn't add any mix-ins because I was craving a really simple bread, but I think this would be almost sinful tasting with the ghirardelli dark chocolate chips.
- I never used to think a wire rack for cooling was necessary, but after purchasing this one, I can't believe how evenly everything cools. It's definitely worth the investment! I love using this bad boy.
- I doubled this recipe and froze the other loaf for later this week when we have family in town. I double most recipes these days and save half for another meal later - its so helpful.

What are your favorite comfort recipes? Its my goal to clean up our recipes so they still taste great but consist of more healthful ingredients. Happy cold front to all of you, my East Coast friends!

Dragonfruit Smoothie Bowl.

This is officially the prettiest food I've ever assembled. I mean, look at that pink bowl of fruity goodness. Yum! And spoiler alert - it tastes as grand as it looks. I've been on the acai berry bowl kick for a while now, but since discovering another exotic pretty food - pitaya (also known as dragonfruit), I've been whipping these up in my Vitamix and it couldn't be a more delicious snack. Or breakfast. Or lunch. I really like food that can multitask for me, and this one is good any time of the day :)

Ingredients:
- 1 serving Pitaya Smoothie packet (4-packs found in the freezer section of your grocery store, next to the frozen fruit, right next to the acai berry smoothie packs) - I like the Pitaya Plus brand
- 1/4 cup Almond Milk
- Fresh fruit of your choice - strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, bananas, sliced
- Toppings of your choice - I like granola, chia seeds, sliced almonds, shredded unsweetened coconut

Method:
1. Run 1 frozen packet of pitaya under cold water for about 20 seconds. Then add packet to a blender (I love my Vitamix), and combine with 1/4 cup almond milk. Blend until smooth.
2. Pour pitaya mix into two bowls.
3. Top with sliced fruit and all the yummy toppings.

Ta da! You're done! Eat aaaaaalll that goodness up now.

P.S. - This would make a lovely Valentine breakfast.
P.P.S. - My acai berry bowl recipe here, case you're like me and can't get enough of the smoothie bowl trend :)