freebs

I got a visit from the Oikos fairy! Well, her name is Kristina. I guess she is more of a “Stoneyfield employee”. But I was STOKED STOKED STOKED.

I must confess that I already KNEW that Oikos was THE best Greek-style yogurt you can get outside of actual Greece because I got some for free this summer when we randomly got it in a food bank shipment at the summer camp where I worked? Random. BUT.

Oikos is ridic. It is sooooooooo rich and dense and flavorful- yet is fat free and full of protein and goodness. Also, the great thing about Greek yogurt (seriously, one of the best things about my heritage is its yogurt) is that you can use it in aaaaaaaanything.

Savory things:

     

Atop a curry of cauliflower, chickpeas, green peas, and tomatoes; and brown rice.

Got the nice picture and then mixed everything together to make a HOT. DELICIOUS. MESS.

Sweet things:

 

Smiley mug, what are you smiling about?!

 

Smiley mug is smiling over banana, strawberries, last of my thawed frozen mango with accumulated mango juice, and that heavenly yog.

But the piece de resistance:

Savory. Butternut. Bread. Pudding.

(with inspiration from Shannon's recipe and Cooking Light)

The bread and the butternut:

1/2 a large butternut squash, diced, cooking spray-ed, and roasted at 400* for 20 minutes or so (doesn’t have to be all the way tender, you’ll bake it more)

4 slices stale bread

The “pudding”:

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1/4 c Oikos, plain flavor

1.5 oz sharp cheddar (I used 2%), divided

salt, pepper, and nutmeg, totaste

The secret ingredient:

1/2 t olive oil

1/2 onion

The process:

Put bread and squash in a baking dish. Combine milk; eggs; yogurt; and 1 oz of your cheese, diced. Let that all stew together.

Meanwhile, heat your olive oil on medium low. Add onions, and let cook, stirring occasionally, til golden and lovely. Stir into bread mixture.

Thinly slice or grate your last .5 oz of cheese. Put on top of your pudding.

Before baking:

Then bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until browned to your liking.

Mmm mm good!

Thanks again, Kristina!

More on the note of freebies….

My poor mama just got diagnosed with IBS. That means cutting out dairy and fats- even the good ones, like nuts and nut butters. I… I think I would die. What is life without cheese and nuts?! However, her loss was my gain- I expropriated two large bags of nuts she had bought pre-diagnosis, and I’ve been nibbling on ‘em. Delicious, nutrient rich, fabby!

Finally, another freeb: this past Sunday was St. Nicholas day, at least if you’re Orthodox (I think Catholics too maybe?) and the so-cute-they-make-your-ovaries-hurt children at school gave out little packages to everyone! They were FIGHTING over who got to GIVE GIFTS TO OTHERS.

I die. So cute.

Inside the adorable candy cane striped fabric?

 

Christmas cookies! So freakin’ cute. And believe you me, they did not last long. Have you heard? Finals are coming x_x