Fig and Blue Cheese Baked Oats with 4th & Heart Madagascar Vanilla Bean Ghee

So this recipe was a whole lot of new for me. 1) I'd never had a fig before, and 2) I'd never made baked oats before. I figured it was about time to change both of those things, especially when I found some delicious looking organic figs at the market. 

Given the above facts, this recipe was risky. But I'm a fan of baking and LOVE me some sweet and savory, so I decided to just dive in head first with this one and try something a bit out there. I figured this one was probably going to be either a recipe do over or, worst case scenario, a recipe don't. But IT WORKED, and not only did it work, I thought it tasted pretty darn good if I do say so myself! So (assuming you don't hate blue cheese) you really need to give this one a try.

Here's What You'll Need:

-2 tbsp 4th & Heart Madagascar vanilla bean ghee
-1/4 cup roasted pecans, finely chopped
-2 tbsp and 1 tsp maple syrup, separated
-1 tsp arrow root powder
-1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp cinnamon
-1 egg
-1/2 cup milk of your choice (I went with unsweetened almond milk)
-1/4 cup water
-2-3 tbsp blue cheese crumbles (depending on your love of blue cheese)
-3 figs, thinly sliced

Serves 6-8

Instructions:

1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2) In a cast iron skillet, melt the ghee on the stove top. Move the pan around to coat the sides, and pour the excess ghee into a glass measuring cup or mug.
3) In a small bowl, mix together the pecans, 1 tsp maple syrup, 1 tsp of the excess ghee, and the arrow root powder. Set aside.
4) In a large bowl, mix together the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, 2 tbsp maple syrup, egg, (almond) milk, water, and remaining excess ghee.
5) Once fully mixed, fold in the blue cheese.
6) Pour the mixture into the cast iron skillet, spreading evenly.
7) Top the mixture with the pecan crumble and fresh figs.
8) Pop the skillet into the preheated oven for about 25 minutes until the top begins to brown and everything is cooked through.
7) Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Slice the oats into 6-8 pieces, serve, and enjoy!

The 4th & Heart ghee was the perfect addition in this recipe. It added that depth of flavor while also adding the extra health benefits of switching out your standard butter for ghee. Plus it really pulled together that sweet and savory flavor combo just perfectly. I'd love to hear what you think in the comments below!

Gluten Free Apple and Blue Cheese Quinoa Flour Waffles

If you haven't already heard me say it, I love Waffle Wednesday! I love it even moreso now that I have a waffle maker. It's one of my favorite days to just play around and try to come up with something interesting and delicious. So if I'm being honest, a decent amount of my Tuesdays are spent brainstorming about what I want to put in my waffle the next day.

This week I was lunching on a cobb salad, and I thought what about blue cheese? It's a little out there, but pairing it with something sweet like apple really sounded perfect. Plus I had just tried Bushwick Kitchen's Trees Knees Cinnamon Maple syrup, and that seemed like the perfect flavor to pull it all together. 

I decided to keep it gluten free because I've been loving everything I've made with quinoa flour recently. And of course I love that it gives an option to anyone with Celiac Disease or a gluten intolerance or allergy. Plus it adds in some extra protein from the quinoa.

Here's What You'll Need:

-3/4 cup quinoa flour
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 egg
-1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
-1/4 cup water (can use all 3/4 cup almond milk or all water if desired)
-1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
-1 small pink lady apple, chopped or spiralized
-3-4 tbsp blue cheese crumbles (depending on your affinity for blue cheese)
-1 tsp pure Maple syrup
-1/4 tsp cinnamon
-Pinch of sea salt

Instructions:

1) Mix together the flour, almond milk, water, egg, baking powder, salt, maple syrup, and coconut oil in a bowl.
2) Add in the apple pieces and mix.
3) Heat up your waffle maker, and pour 1/4 of the mix. Spread 1 tbsp of blue cheese over the mix, and finish the waffle off with another 1/4 of the mix.
4) Cook the waffle according to your waffle maker instructions.
5) Repeat for the second waffle.
6) Serve each waffle, and top with additional apple slices, blue cheese, and maple syrup as desired.
7) Enjoy!

Let me know what you think of this sweet and savory combo in the comments below!

Pear and Blue Cheese Salad

Something about this (somewhat) cooler weather really made me start craving pear. To counter the sweetness, I thought it would go really well with a nice blue cheese. I wasn't exactly sure how I wanted to eat the two together, and I went through all the options in my head (including literally smearing blue cheese on pear slices). At the end of this mental conversation with myself, I decided I could really use a refreshing salad. I knew I also had some vegan bacon, almonds, and sunflower seeds which could add a nice savory kick and crunch to the meal.

Here's what you'll need:

For the dressing:

-1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
-1 tsp olive oil
-1/4 tsp garlic powder (or less)
-1/4 tsp dijon mustard
-1/4 tsp German mustard
-salt and pepper to taste

For the salad:

-1/2 cup of baby kale
-1/2 cup of baby spinach (feel free to do a full cup of either or substitute with the leafy green of your choosing)
-2 pieces of vegan (or regular or turkey) bacon, cooked and chopped
-1/2 pear, sliced
-2 tbsp blue cheese
-1/2 tsp sunflower seeds
-2 tbsp almonds, chopped

Instructions:

1) In a bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients.
2) In a larger bowl, mix together the kale and spinach. Top with the pear slices, bacon, sunflower seeds, and blue cheese.
3) Drizzle on the dressing, and enjoy!

Let me know what you think in the comments below, and feel free to subscribe!