"Overnight Oats" from a Crock-pot

First time trying "Overnight Oats" using a Crock-pot. My experiment recipe is as follows.

• 1.5 cups Rolled Oats 
• 1 cup Almond Milk 
• 1tsp Cinnamon 
• 1tsp Vanilla Extract 
• 3-4 cups Water 
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar 
• 1/2 cup Cinnamon Applesauce 
• 1/4 cup Slivered Almonds 
• Pinch of salt
• Heaping handful of Raisins 

At about 1am I woke up to a good "early" morning with a wonderful smell

of the oats cooking. With a wondering mind I got up to check on it. An it's 

a good thing I did because what was supposed to take 7-9 hours on low heat 

only took 3 hours!!! If I would have used steel cut oats it most likely would 

have taken that long but I only had rolled oats. So I guess it takes 3! After

transferring the oats over to a container I gave it a little taste an it was DELICIOUS !! 

I can't wait to add a little cold almond milk to it tomorrow morning and have it for 

breakfast!! My only thing is, you might need to add a bit more brown sugar which 

you can happily add at any time without stressing over measurements. As well as 

reduce the amount of applesauce to 1/4 a cup instead of 1/2 or use a regular plain 

applesauce instead of a flavored like I did. Also you can add any kind of nuts or dried

 fruit an you can add flax seeds, chia seeds, protein powder, etc. I can't wait to experiment 

with this recipe further and see what really works best!!!! Stay tuned!! 

Baby Bluebird Cupcakes

Vanilla Cupcake:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time; scrape down bowl, and beat in vanilla.
3. Add flour mixture and milk alternatively, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
4. Divide batter evenly among liners, about three-quarters full each. Bake until golden and tops spring back to touch, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer pans to wire rack; cool completely.

Chocolate Buttercream:

     

      3/4 cup sugar

3 large egg whites

1 cup (2 sticks) plus 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

3 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Directions:

Combine sugar and egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Place over a pot of simmering water; whisk until hot and sugar is completely dissolved, about 3 minutes. Transfer bowl to mixer stand, and beat on high speed until cooled, 7 to 10 minutes.
Replace whisk with paddle attachment, and set mixer on medium-high speed; add butter, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, until incorporated. Beat in chocolate. If not using immediately, refrigerate buttercream in an airtight container for up to a week. Bring to room temperature, and rebeat or stir vigorously before using.

Decoration:

1  1/2 cups shredded coconut (about 5 ounces)

Yellow and light-blue food coloring

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread coconut on a rimmed baking sheet; bake until light brown, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating pan once. Set aside to cool.
 Lightly frost cupcakes with 1 cup chocolate buttercream; set aside. Tint 2 tablespoons reserved buttercream pale yellow; place in a pastry bag fitted with a #349 Ateco leaf tip; set aside. Tint remaining buttercream light blue; place in a pastry bag fitted with a #11 Ateco plain round tip, and pipe three bluebird heads, 3/4 inch in diameter, onto each cupcake. Using leaf tip, pipe yellow beaks. With a toothpick, add melted-chocolate eyes. Form each nest with 2 tablespoons toasted coconut.