Banana Nut Oatmeal Muffins

Yesterday I tried a new recipe.  Well, I took a recipe I found from Debbie and tweaked it a bit because I didn't have all the ingredients and I didn't want to put a bunch of honey in because remember, sugar?  So my version probably isn't any where near as good as the original one is that Debbie made, but that's all right. Live and learn! Besides, I didn't have much else to do besides dishes and laundry.

Banana Nut Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients:

2.5 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup plain low fat greek yogurt (I used plain regular yogurt, because we don't keep greek yogurt in the house because I can't stand the texture)
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup chopped unsalted cashews (I used cashews because that's all I had!)
2 tsp vanilla
2 ripe bananas

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin tins with silicone or foil liners.

2. Place the oats in the food processor and pulse for about 10 seconds.  Add remaining ingredients to the food processor except for the nuts. 

3. Process everything until everything is mixed together and oats have become smooth.

4. Pour batter into a mixing and fold in the nuts.  I chopped my cashews by using a mini processor that we use specifically for smaller things like nuts for recipes.  You could decide not to chop the nuts, but I did because there was huge pieces in the bag.

5. Divide evenly among muffin liners.  I generally use a 1/4 measuring cup to make sure that each one is pretty even.

6. Put in over and bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

7. Cool on a wire rack for a few minutes and enjoy!

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The ones that I made tasted a bit bland, but I think that's just because I didn't add any sugary or sweet items to the mix.  I like the banana flavor though, it comes through really nice without the sweetness getting in the way.  I think the next time I make these I'm going to mix in some of my protein powder so I can eat these at breakfast and not have to drink the protein shake that I'm starting to get really annoyed with drinking daily.

This recipe was pretty easy and quick. I'm definitely going to try it again but tweak my own recipe a little bit more so I can include my protein powder.

Overall, 4 out of 5 stars on this recipe.

P.S. Sorry for the lack of photos, still no camera.

Medicine Bow - Routt National Forest

Yesterday afternoon after we visited the Wyoming Territorial Penitentiary we stopped at a local tackle shop and my brother bought me a two day fishing license.  We then started the long drive up to Medicine Bow so we could go fishing at the Rob Roy Reservoir.  Not knowing exactly what we were going to do in Laramie after the Penitentiary we packed a cooler with lots of water, hamburgers, hot dogs, brats, and all the fixings.  My brother had brought his tailgate grill from the job site so we could grill our lunch wherever we wanted to!

It seemed like a long drive from Laramie up to Albany but in all honestly it was probably a lot shorter of a drive than from Laramie back to Elk Mountain where we are staying.  I forgot to get a photo of the city sign when we got to Albany but I'll never forget this tiny town perched on the side of the mountain.  Albany, population 55 people.  Did you read that Emmy?  55 people!

Lovejoy's Bar and Grill

Notes from Jess: Apparently I've summoned the mountain fairies, some way or another! This post was originally written Thursday but the mountain fairies have been having fun stealing my posts!

I'm currently sitting in the McDonald's off of the interstate in Rawlins, Wyoming waiting on my online school websites to load.  I decided now would be the perfect opportunity to use the wifi while I have it and talk about a wonderful experience dining out last night in Laramie, Wyoming.

My brother has been working in this area since around the beginning of February and he and his crew has found their favorite places in Laramie and Rawlins.  Last night for dinner we headed into Laramie and my brother took us to their favorite place, Lovejoy's Bar and Grill.

Lovejoy's is downtown Laramie and parking is a bit difficult to come by in the evening.  We ate a early dinner and had arrived downtown around 5 o'clock.  We got super lucky because of the largeness of my brother's truck we had to go around the block to get parking big enough...and then my dad decided he couldn't walk all that way because of his bad knee. We ended up back in front of the bar and just our luck, someone was leaving and left us plenty of room for the truck right across the street! Score!