Sunday, June 12, 2011

APPLESAUCE OATMEAL COOKIES

Cindy H.

1 c shortening
2 c sugar
2 eggs
2 c applesauce
2 tsp soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cloves
3 ½ c flour
1 tsp salt
1 c chopped nuts
2 c oats
1 c choc chips or raisins (opt)

Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs and applesauce. Mix well. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Drop by rounded spoonful onto greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 min.

APPLE BROWN BETTY

Cindy H.

Pour 2 cups boiling water over 4 cups dried apples.
Let stand at least 5 minutes.

Topping:
½ c flour
¼ cup oatmeal
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ c brown sugar

Combine well and then cut in ¼ cup butter. Place apples with the remaining liquid in a greased 9x9 pan. Sprinkle topping over apples. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes.

OATMEAL PANCAKES

Cindy H.

½ c whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 T sugar
½ c nonfat powdered milk
2 eggs separated
3 T oil
1 c water
1 cup oats
In medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and powdered milk. Stir until well blended. In a small bowl beat egg whites until stiff, set aside. In a large bowl combine egg yolks, water, oil, and oats; beat slightly and allow to stand 5 minutes, and then beat until blended. Mix in dry ingredients, and then fold in beaten egg whites. Cook on a hot griddle.

OATMEAL BREAD

Cindy H.

½ c warm water
2 T active dry yeast
1 cup boiling water
¾ c rolled oats
½ cup honey or molasses
1 c buttermilk
1/3 c oil
2 c flour
½ tsp soda
1 T salt
3-3 ½ c flour

In a small bowl, stir yeast into ½ cup warm water. Allow to stand until yeast dissolves and bubbles up. In medium saucepan, bring 1 cup water to boiling; stir in oatmeal and cook several minutes. Remove from heat; add buttermilk, oil, and honey or molasses. Sift 2 cups flour, salt, and soda into a large mixing bowl. Add yeast mixture and oats mixture and beat with wire whip or slotted spoon; let stand 5 minutes. Gradually add enough of the remaining flour until dough is stiff enough for kneading. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead 8-10 minutes or until a soft, elastic ball forms. Place dough in a clean greased bowl and cover. Allow to rise until double, about 1 ½ hours. Punch dough down and divide into two portions. Cover and allow to rest 10 minutes. Form two loaves and place in greases loaf pans. Cover and let rise until double. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Remove and cool.

SLAMMIN JAMMIN BERRY BARS

Cindy H.

1 ½ c flour
1 ¼ oats
½ c packed brown sugar
¾ c butter
½ c strawberry or raspberry preserves
1 c fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 375. In large bowl mix flour, oats, and brown sugar. Cut butter into flour mixture until crumbly. Set aside 1 cup of crumb mixture. Press remaining crumb mixture in the bottom of greased 9x9 baking pan. Spread preserves over crust. Sprinkle blueberries over preserves and evenly sprinkle remaining 1 cup crumb mixture over top. Bake 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a cooling rack and cool completely before cutting into squares.

Homemade Granola Bars

Recipe and photos by For the Love of Cooking.net Adapted recipe from Alton Brown

•2 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats
•1/2 cup sliced almonds
•1/3 cup of honey
•1/4 cup of brown sugar
•2 tbsp unsalted butter, plus extra for pan
•2 teaspoons vanilla extract
•1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
•1/2 cup of shredded coconut
•1/4 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips

Butter a 9 by 9-inch glass baking dish and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spread the oats and almonds onto a baking sheet pan. Place in the oven and toast for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, extract and salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved.
Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. Immediately add the oat mixture to the brown sugar mixture, next add the coconut and chocolate chips then stir to combine. Spread mixture evenly into the prepared baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool completely. Cut into squares or bars, wrap individually in saran wrap then store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Chewy Granola Bars

Cindy H.

Ingredients
•2 cups rolled oats
•3/4 cup packed brown sugar
•1/2 cup wheat germ
•3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
•1 cup all-purpose flour (any kind)
•3/4 cup raisins (optional) ***See Note
•3/4 teaspoon salt
•1/2 cup honey
•1 egg, beaten
•1/2 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
•2 teaspoons vanilla extract (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.

When it comes to granola, what you’re looking for is a basic proportion of chunky (nuts, dried fruit) to sticky (syrups, sugar, butter or oils) and from there, you can really go to town. The vanilla is optional. The cinnamon is optional. You can use no dried fruit or you can use all dried fruit in your mix. You can toss in things like puffed rice cereal or cheerios. You can sub some of the oil with applesauce. Basically you can do whatever you want!

*Possible Suggestions: Dried cranberries, apricots, cherries, blueberries, prunes, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, pretzels, coconut, walnuts, almonds, pecans, sesame seeds, flax seeds (whole or ground), mini chocolate chips, couple of TBSP Peanut Butter, etc.

Granola

Cindy H.

For Snacking or use as a Cereal

INGREDIENTS:
7 c oats
¾ c brown sugar packed
1 c chopped nuts
¾ c oil
1/3 cup water
2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp honey
**1 c craisins or raisins – add after baking

DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl mix dry ingredients together. In a separate small bowl mix wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to the large bowl and mix until well coated. Spread on a large baking pan (such as a jelly roll pan) or in a 9x13 pan. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. **If using a 9x13 pan, stir the granola half way through baking. Remove from oven and stir in 1 cup of craisins or raisins. Eat warm while soft or let cool and it becomes a crisp granola snack or cereal.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Cinnamon roll oatmeal – one serving

Amy D.

¼ cup old fashioned oats (heaping and firmly packed into measuring cup)
2/3 cup water (cold)

Microwave 2 minutes on high power

Wait about 1 minute, then lightly stir in 1 firmly packed tablespoon of light brown sugar and about ½ teaspoon of cinnamon and about 1 tablespoon milk (or less if you like really thick oatmeal)

Don’t stir too much or the oatmeal ends up starchy and tastes nasty!

Other combinations I make frequently:

Blueberry Muffin Oatmeal
Substitute White sugar for brown sugar, omit cinnamon, still add the milk and add a small handful of frozen blueberries

Apple Pie Oatmeal
Substitute white sugar for brown sugar, still add cinnamon, milk and add a handful of chopped fresh or frozen apples – I like Fuji or Granny Smith best

Pecan Maple Oatmeal
Substitute maple syrup (real, although pancake syrup is ok I guess – I don’t like it, but it still tastes ok) for milk, add a handful of chopped pecans and the cinnamon

Peach Cobbler Oatmeal
Substitute white sugar for brown sugar, still add cinnamon, and a handful of frozen peaches, drizzle milk on top

Strawberry Shortcake Oatmeal
Substitute white sugar for brown sugar, omit cinnamon, and a handful of frozen strawberries, drizzle milk on top

The add-ons are endless – (1) brown sugar, chopped pecans, yellow raisins with cinnamon and nutmeg (2) white sugar, chopped apples with walnuts, craisins, cinnamon and nutmeg

Sometimes I don’t stir the milk into the oatmeal and just drizzle it on top. It is yummy and ends up tasting kind of like vanilla ice cream on top.

I like to have cinnamon in my oatmeal since it helps stabilize blood sugar. I don’t bother with salt, since it doesn’t change the flavor much for these recipes of oatmeal. A key to having good oatmeal instead of soupy, glue-like is to stir it as little as possible. If your water is hot to start off it affects the texture too. Cold water is better and leaves the oatmeal with some texture.