Molly's Recipes: Maple Cinnamon Oatmeal

Now that the cold weather is officially here, I thought I would share this delicious winter recipe with all of you! Whether you want a nice hot breakfast, or you are just an oatmeal lover like me, I'm sure you will love this quick and easy recipe!

Maple Cinnamon Oatmeal:
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Start by bringing the water to a boil over high heat in a small saucepan. Once it has reached a boil, add the oatmeal and reduce heat to medium. Let cook for a few minutes, or until the oatmeal is a creamy consistency.

2. Add the cinnamon to the oatmeal and stir thoroughly to combine. Let the oatmeal cook for one or two more minutes until it has reached desired consistency. Turn the heat off, add the maple syrup and stir to combine.

3. Finally, pour the oatmeal into a serving bowl and, if desired, garnish with the chopped walnuts for an added crunch. Finally, enjoy your deliciously warm oatmeal!

So let me know what you think in the comments! I would definitely recommend this recipe if it's a cold and rainy or snowy day out, or even if you just want a fast breakfast to whip up.

Serves: 1

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Molly's Recipes: Strawberry Banana Vegan Milkshake

I literally just finished drinking one of the best things that I have ever made using my blender... A creamy, sweet strawberry banana milkshake. And the kicker? It was completely vegan! Even for those of you who might be reading this that are not vegan, TRY THIS RECIPE! If you enjoy bananas, you will most definitely fall head over heels in love with it, like I did.
Okay, so here it is. Enjoy!

Strawberry Banana Vegan Milkshake:
Ingredients:
1 banana, roughly sliced
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 - 1 cup soy milk
2 tablespoons sugar

1. Peel and slice your banana. Put into your blender along with the frozen strawberries.
2. Add the soy milk and the sugar and begin to blend.
3. Blend on high until everything has been broken down into a rich, creamy consistency.
4. Pour into a large serving glass and enjoy immediately!

TIP: If you find that it is too thick for your personal taste, add more soy milk. If it is too thin, add extra strawberries. (I personally enjoy my smoothies/milkshakes on the runny side.)

Sorry I don't have a picture for this recipe, I drank it too quickly! Tell me in the comments how you liked this recipe, and also if you made any of your own little adjustments to it. I'd love to hear what you all have to say!

Serves: 1

Prep Time: 5 minutes

My Favorite Movies of 2012

Okay, so I know I said that I'd be absent from blogging for a few weeks, but I wanted to share my top 10 favorite movies from 2012 with you guys. So this is just going to be a quick little post, but here are my top 10 favorite movies from the past year:

1. Promethius
2. The Hunger Games
3. Jack Reacher
4. Gone
5. Safety Not Guaranteed
6. Man on a Ledge
7. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
8. Cloud Atlas
9. Pitch Perfect
10. The Intouchables

And I also wanted to mention a few other movies that didn't make it onto my top 10 list, but I still really enjoyed them:

The Bourne Legacy - A lot of people would have put this on their top 10 list, but you just can't have a Bourne movie without Matt Damon, I'm sorry! (This was still a good movie though.)

Katy Perry: Part Of Me - Don't roll your eyes at me for liking this movie, okay? It was actually really good! Although it didn't make my top movies list, I thought that Katy Perry's documentary really gave me a good inside look at the behind-the-scenes at her life, which was really interesting.

Well, that's it you guys! I hope you liked my list; it certainly took me long enough to try and figure out! There were a ton more movies that I really enjoyed from 2012, but they just didn't quite make the cut. So let me know what your favorite movie from 2012 was. I'd love to read your comments!

Molly's Recipes: Quick & Easy Hot Chocolate

With winter soon approaching, I wanted to share one of my all-time favorite cold weather treats with you guys! It’s my quick and easy hot chocolate, and it’s so simple to make. In my opinion, it tastes just as good, if not better, than regular hot chocolate, and I hope that you guys love it as much as I do!

 Ingredients:

- 1 and 1/2 cups soy/regular milk

- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

- 2 tablespoons sugar

- ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract (optional)

1. Pour the milk into a microwave-safe bowl. Then, whisk in the cocoa powder and sugar until well blended.

2. Microwave your hot chocolate on high for 2 minutes, or until fairly hot.

3. When the hot chocolate is done in the microwave, wisk it again to combine everything, pour into a mug and let cool for a few minutes.

4. (Optional step): You can also make a peppermint hot chocolate by adding the peppermint extract right after you take your hot chocolate out of the microwave.

Serves: 1

Cook Time: 2 minutes

Molly's Recipes: Vegetable Medley Soup

This soup is perfect for lunch or dinner on a cold, rainy day, or really any time you feel like eating something warm and rustic. One day, I just felt like making some soup, so I pulled all of the leftover vegetables that I had in my refrigerator out, and started chopping. By luck, I ended up making this delicious vegetable medley soup. It is completely vegan, and is full of nutritious vegetables. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do!

 Ingredients:

- 4 medium carrots

- 3 medium potatoes

- 1 small onion

- 4 cups veggie broth

- ½ cup mushrooms

- ½ cup cooked broccoli

- ½ a bunch collard greens

- ¾ cup soy milk

- ½ teaspoon oregano

- ½ teaspoon basil

- ¼ teaspoon thyme

- ½ teaspoon salt

- Pepper

1. Slice the carrots, potatoes and onion and put into a large cooking pot. Add the veggie broth. Bring to a boil, then simmer on low for 10-15 minutes or until the carrots and potatoes are soft.

2. Add the mushrooms, broccoli and collard greens and cook for 5 more minutes. Blend the vegetables in batches in a blender and pour the mixture back into the cooking pot.

3. Add the soy milk, oregano, basil, thyme and salt to the soup. Stir and reheat on the stove. Add extra salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy while still hot.

Option:

You can replace the mushrooms, broccoli and collard greens with any other leftover veggies that you may have in your fridge.

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes