What a great fantastic long week-end it has been for me. I had packed my agenda with so much stuff that I didn’t even have time to write my scheduled post yesterday… so you’re getting it today instead. Sorry about that! I just had to make the most of the last long week-end of the year.
And that, I did!
For one, the sun really cooperated and stayed out the whole time. There were barely any clouds in the sky. That it made it hard for me to give Sally her “Welcome Home” complete care treatment. Who wants to wash and wax their car under direct sunlight?
I managed to make a little room for her in the garage so that we could get a little bit of shade (what? are there still people who actually have room in the garage for their car?) and gave her all the pampering that she could take…
And here she finally is, all good and ready to be officially introduced:
Isn’t she gorgeous? Seriously, what a babe! 
Of course, she’s a huge fan of the Montreal Canadiens! 
Also, I went apple picking with my daughter. We ended up going only the 2 of us and what a blast we had! I must’ve eaten at least a dozen apples that day…
I was a good sport and let Tasha take control of the camera, but maybe I shouldn’t have… She’s insanely trigger happy! I think I got my picture taken more often over the course of 3 hours than I did in the last 5 years!
Pictures of me contemplating the apples in the trees, pictures of me picking said apples from said trees, me comtemplating the apples that made it to the bag, me carrying said bag, me eating an apple… Pictures of me being silly on a “fun toy” meant for kids in a park also meant for kids, and pictures of me just plain being silly me…
Then came the animals. There is a little farm at the orchard and every year, we have to go see the animals. They are so adorable… and goofy! We always end up spending a couple of hours watching them and feeding them grass.
Check out the mouth on the goat above! Boy did he want some of that grass! 
Despite the lovely weather, I didn’t get to work in the garden much, but I did manage to take a couple of pictures. Litterally. A couple!
Oh! And my yard is now home to this cute little bunny rabbit, whom I have named Alexis. He’s been living in our garden for the past 2-3 weeks now. Looks like he’s adopted us, so we bring him food every day (which doesn’t stop him from eating my plants, from time to time…) My ex even built him a little shelter to help him keep warm and get through the harsh winter months.
I really really hope he (or she!) makes it through winter… AND that he never comes face to face with any of my dogs.
I mean, look at him! How could you not get out of your way for such a cutie?
Of course, there’s also been a lot of cooking happening this week-end. One of my favorite creations was a “Baklava Style Walnut Butter”. I so can’t wait to share that one with you all…
But for now, I give you this great recipe that you can make with the leftover filling that you might be left with after making my Crazy Good Yet Unbelievably Healthy Pumpkin Pie.
When I made mine, I chose not to bring the crust all the way to the edge of the pie dish, thus creating a thicker crust. This resulted in me having a little bit too much filling.
Now there was no way I was going to let that delicious concoction go to waste!
Instead, I decided to turn it into an Instant Pumpkin Oatmeal Bake.
What a great decision that was! Given how much I liked the pie itself, I don’t think I need to tell you that the resulting baked oatmeal was aslo insanely good.
Well, I’ll tell you anyway. It was insanely good!
Of course, you can still make this bake even if you haven’t been making the pie, or if you didn’t end up having any leftover filling. But, I bet that if you ever make this bake and THEN make the pie, you’ll be keeping about a cup of that filling on the side, even if it means coming a tad short for the pie… or maybe you’ll even want to double the recipe for the filling just so you are stuck with WAY too much after!
What a shame that would be…
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup leftover Pumpkin Pie pilling
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tbsp 0% fat Greek Yogurt
- 2 tbsp 1% fat cottage cheese
- 2 tbsp buttermilk (or other liquid)
- 2 egg whites
- 1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
- ½ tsp blackstrap molasses
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp each allspice, ginger, nutmeg, clove
- Pinch salt
- ½ cup Old Fashioned Rolled Oats, ground
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp raisins
- 1 tbsp pecans, chopped
- Fat free plain Greek Yogurt
- Raisins
- Chopped pecans
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a small magic bullet type food processor, grind your rolled oats. Transfer to mixing bowl and add baking soda, raisins and pecans. Mix until well incorporated and set aside.
- If you're not using leftover pie filling, add all the wet ingredients to your small food processor and process until smooth and well combined.
- Add pumpkin mixture (the one that you just made OR the leftover pie filling) to the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until well incorporated.
- Transfer to a microwave safe bowl, or dessert cup, cover with a paper towel and cook in the microwave for about 3 minutes to 3½ minutes.
- When the cake comes out of the microwave, garnish with a dollop of plain yogurt, a handulf of raisins and chopped walnuts.
- Serve immediately.
Is that an alpaca?
Yes sir, I believe it is. I’d been looking for their name, I couldn’t remember… but I knew it wasn’t a llama…
Thanks for getting that piece of information back into my brain!
I love the Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal bake, but those memories with your daughter are priceless. Love the photos
All that food is making me hungry! I’ll have to try the Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal Bake.
These photos are so fun! What a great weekend! And that little pumpkin oatmeal bake looks tasty too!
I LOOOOOOVED this post!
Yay!
1. Welcome home Sally! Look how shining and pretty she is!?!?!? I bet she smells nice too!
2. Many props to Tasha on the photos – GREAT memories and all the photos of you having fun made me smile – I especially love the ones of you on the “fun toy” – SOOO cute and happy!
3. Your pumpkin oatmeal bake makes me want to run into the kitchen and pop this bake in the microwave asap! Pumpkin+oatmeal+pecans+raisins+quick and easy = pure awesomeness!
Sounds and looks like you had a wonderful weekend!!!
PS. I’ve been checking your site daily for baklava nut butter – my mouth is already watering thinking about it…I CANT WAIT!
Haha! Patience, my dear friend! This one is worth waiting for, I tell you! To be honest, I haven’t even really sorted the pictures yet, I just had a quick look. And, they sort of are at the bottom of the pile for now, but I might very well move them a bit closer to the top, just for you! ‘Cuz you’re so nice, you know!
And, you love nut butter just as much as I do!
p.s. I tell you, I won’t be able to go through the picture sorting process without running upstairs and dig into that pot…
Awww, Nora, you just always make my day with your incredible comments. You are just the best, I tell you. THE BEST!
OK, I’ll be good – I will wait patiently and sit on my hands – no need to rush, just know that I am super excited for your creation!
Ditto! YOU are the BEST! You never cease to bring a huge smile to my face with your comments!
What a cool looking car! And your animal photos are great…Alexis,the bunny rabbit looks so sweet.
Your pumpkin pie oatmeal bake sounds so delicious. I have most of the ingredients except the cottage cheese and buttermilk. Can I substitute something else? I can always head to the store though…just curious
Aww, thanks Barb. I think you can safely sub the cottage cheese with yogurt and buttermilk with any other type of milk.. don’t go running to the store just for that! Let me know how it turns out!
Pie for breakfast is never wrong. Especially not pumpkin pie. And a single serving too! Looks so delicious. I can’t wait to try this.
Looks and sounds delicious. I have canned pumpkin being posted to me so I might make this at the weekend, I’m torn between it and pumpkin pancakes!
Pumpkin puree cans are usually HUGE! You will have plenty enough to make both the bake and the pancakes… and probably even the pie too!
But, wait a minute… posted to you? Do you not have this available at your local grocery store? You have to have it shipped? OMG, I would just die! :s
Looks like you had a blast! Okay I am now thinking we’re even more on the same wavelength…I too have a pumpkin breakfast cake that I have been eating all week, and will be posting next week!
I love that you named the rabbit Alexis. It cracks me up when animals have human names. Your post brought back one interesting memory, given the apple picking and the llamas. Once, while driving from Toronto to Montreal when I was a kid, my family stopped at The Big Apple. Have you been? They have a petting zoo….and let’s just say I saw two llamas getting to know each other pretty well. Oh, the memories…the trauma…
It was educational to say the least.
LOOL! I laughed out loud reading your story, so much so that my daughter yelled out from upstairs and asked what was so funny.
Oh, the visual that I got. The poor kid that you were must’ve been so traumatized! I’ve never been, no, and now, I’m not even sure I’d ever want to go! 
I can’t wait to see your version of the pumpkin breakfast bake. You’ve been eating it all week??? Lucky you! It must’ve been GOOD! When do we get to see this baby?
Just saw this post and and I apologize if this has been said already, but that looks like a stray domestic rabbit and not a wild one. She (it is almost definitely a she) really is not equipped to survive outside – it’s not very different than someone letting a hamster or a dog loose to fend for themselves. Not sure where in Quebec you live but feel free to contact me if you need help finding someone/somewhere that will take him in and find him a forever home.
erm… take her in and find her a forever home.**
Sadly, Victoria, Alexis hasn’t been seen in a couple of weeks. I don’t know if she’s gone for good, but I’m really hoping she’ll be back. We had figured out that she was no wild rabbit, I guess she probably escaped, or worse, was sent loose by owners who didn’t want to keep her anymore. I thought about catching her and keeping her in my house, but frankly, I hate the idea of keeping an animal in a cage all the time… If I see her again, I’ll contact you for sure.
oh, and I’m curious… what makes you say that she would most probably be a girl?
The fat stores under the chin are almost exclusively found in females. Not sure what the exact reason is, but I have seen it with my own rabbits and I volunteer at a shelter with almost 100 rabbits (many in foster) and I have yet to see a male with that trait. Rabbits should NOT be kept in a cage full time, many people let them out to free range for a few hours daily and/or build large indoor pens for them. It’s true that some can survive outside all year round but it’s less than optimal for them and they are at the mercy of predators, parasites, and the elements when they are kept that way – even in a hutch. Not to mention it’s a sad, lonely, and stressful existence for a companion animal… kind of begs the question why get a rabbit at all if you’re going to keep it that way?
I had my husband make this for me for my birthday breakfast last week and we both loved it (I might add he is a very picky oatmeal eater!) I made it again this week and doubled it so I could enjoy it several days in a row! Great for cold fall/winterish mornings! Great recipe thanks!
Yay! So happy to hear, Brandi. I couldn’t think of a better birthday breakfast, and I am truly flattered that you chose one of my recipes for that special occasion! Thanks a bunch for your great feedback.
Oh, and I hope that you had the best birthday!
I found the link to this recipe on pinterest. obviously, i though it looked amazing so i tried it! the only ingredient i didn’t use was the cottage cheese. i really liked the oatmeal with peanut butter on top. so for any of you who are about to try this awesome recipe ADD PEANUT BUTTER! so yummy
Peanut butter sounds delicious indeed! I’ll have to try it next time. Real glad you liked the recipe and thanks a bunch for your feedback!
If you not going to allow my comment to be seen, at least change Canadians to the proper Canadiens.
Hum… John, you commented in another post… NOT this one. And I DID publish it, and I also answered you! In that other post, where you originally commented, that is!
Doh! My bad. Sorry for the attitude. I let the habs passion get the best of me. Cheers
Surely you meant the Habs, right?
Hey, don’t sweat it, John. It’s all good! Like you said: Go Habs Go!