You know it is really cold out in the morning when I start making stove top oats again.  It was almost frigid when I woke up this morning at 7:30. I threw on a robe, went downstairs, poured some coffee and watched Morning Joe for a few minutes.

Then I got up and went into the kitchen. I broke out the pot, the oats, some water and vanilla. It was definitely a crisp, fall morning – perfect for the first batch of stove top oats.

I made enough for two servings (mom was excited).

Here is what went into the pot:

3/4 cup oats

3/4 cup skim milk

1/2 cup water

splash vanilla

healthy sprinkle of cinnamon

handful of raisins

For toppings I sprinkled a little brown sugar, more cinnamon and a small spoonful of peanut butter on each bowl.

The oats tasted so good this morning – they did a lot to warm me up, and I did not need to eat again for five hours. Ah, the benefits of oatmeal (and peanut butter)!

Rewind to Thursday. It was a very busy day, but there was some good food to report back on.

Breakfast was pretty basic – a greek yogurt at 8AM.

Lunch was a very good salad:

The salad was spinach, orange peppers, carrots, cucumber, almonds and craisins. I had some Annie’s light goddess dressing, too. What an amazing combination of flavors!

And a Peet’s Latte – this made me very happy:

Katherine and I went for a walk at lunch, too. It was a beautiful day.

After work I had some things to attend to, and then I went to the gym where I did the elliptical machine for half an hour. I quickly showered and got ready to meet my friend Mary Alice for dinner at a local restaurant that I had never been to: Blaze.

I had been wanting to try Blaze for a while, and the one time Mary Alice and I tried to go we were side tracked and did not make it. I do not remember why, but I am pretty sure we had a good reason.  Perhaps it is that we just ended up at our usual place (or my usual place) Pizzico (as you all know, I love Pizzico so much).

Anyhow, we finally made it to Blaze last night. We ended up sitting at the bar and catching up on life since the last time we had met up for dinner. Mary Alice had a glass of red wine and I had a Sam Oktoberfest. Mary Alice ordered a great looking Thai chicken dish and I ordered a BBQ chicken pizza on whole wheat thin crust:

Wow, this pizza was amazing. It had fresh tomato, red onion, cheese and BBQ chicken as toppings. I loved it. I am sad that I forgot my left overs when I left the house today!

Anyhow. It is Friday night, the beginning of a long weekend for most of you, I hope.  Any exciting plans? Most of my plans this weekend revolve around watching football with AFM and cooking. I hope to have lots to report back on.

Happy weekend everyone – see you soon!