Less Sugar More Flavor for Quick Breakfast Oatmeal

Don't you just love those creamy coffee flavorings? I usually grab one or two (they're free) when I pop in to my favorite convenience store. I buy the more exotic blends like creme brule at the grocery store.

Creamers add flavor to more than just coffee! Today, for instance, I woke up to a frigid Rocky Mountain "oatmeal" morning. Instead of adding plain milk and sugar or syrup to my maple flavored quick oats, though, I used a slow splash of french vanilla cream. The bonus? More sweet flavor; much less sugar! Sweet!

Presenting! Better Salads . . . Chef's Prep Tip

One of my many interesting jobs was Prep Chef for the ladies' lunch crowd at a popular gourmet cafe in Sheridan. (You would be amazed how many gourmet chefs Sheridan and Johnson County Wyoming attract!) Here are two of my favorite "pro chef tips" for presenting a better salad:
First, select a roomy deep bowl and coat it with your salad dressing of choice. Use just enough dressing to coat the bottom and the sides of the salad bowl; allow any extra to run back into the bottle or jar. Then add your salad to the coated bowl. Use your clean (or gloved) hands to gently press and turn (similar to 'folding') your salad ingredients about a dozen times. This coats salad greens and other ingredients evenly; the salad dressing does not stay globbed on top. It also coats your salad lightly; so you can offer extra dressing "to taste" on the side.
Second; salad should be mounded on the plate with the heaviest salad ingredients (like tomato wedges or meat) and most fragile (like hard boiled eggs) laid gently on top of the mound. Save something colorful and pretty for the top as well. Are you salivating yet?