Baked Oatmeal

I got the original recipe for this from Rachels blog

This makes a big pan, if you have a smaller family you could half it and do it in a 9 x 9 pan. We ate it hot for breakfast and then had it later in the day as a snack and I think it tasted even better cold.

My kids and I eat oatmeal a lot, this is a yummy variation. Even Andy, who detests oatmeal, scarfed some down!

I switched the recipe just a bit. The original can be found at Rachels food blog (see above link)

I wanted to snap a quick picture of this before I served it up. Apparently Holden thought I was getting a shot of him. See his little squinty face in the back? I think he liked this the most, he ate 2 more pieces than I did!!

Baked Oatmeal

1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 cups 9 grain cereal (or regular oats)
1 cup raisins (or craisins)

Mix all together. Pour into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon, if you'd like. (I skipped this) Refrigerate overnight.
The next morning, put it in a cold oven and set it at 350 degrees. Bake about 40 minutes.
This is a little cake like, not like regular oatmeal.

Bread

I know. I post a ton of recipes for bread.

Bread used to be a daunting task for me. I could rarely get a batch to turn out, so I never wanted to make it.

Now I have found a few fool proof recipes. They work great and I think they deserve to be shared. I got this from a friend who is a master bread maker.

I made some substitutions in this recipe and it still worked very well. I will post what I used.

6 c. water
2 T. yeast
2 T. salt
2/3 c. oil (I used coconut oil)
2/3 c. honey
2 cups whole flax seed, ground (I just dumped it into my grinder and ground it along with the wheat)
1 egg (I used this in place of dough enhancer)
Flour till enough (about 15 cups. I used about 9 cups of my fresh ground white wheat and flax mix. 3 cups of ground red wheat and the remainder was good ole Gold Medal white flour. I kept running out of flour! But the mixture seemed to work well. I think any combination will work, this recipe was meant to use all whole wheat flour. Just keep adding it til the dough pulls away from the bowl. again, about 15 cups)

Let rise one hour.

Make into four loaves.

Let loaves rise 30 minutes.

Bake 350 degrees for 35 minutes

Thai Chicken Salad

There are a lot of ingredients to this recipe, but it is delicious and, I think, well worth the effort. I would suggest preparing ahead of time as much as possible so you don't spend and hour and a half getting it all ready. Cook the chicken, chop the vegetables, make the dressing and refrigerate. Cook the won tons ahead of time. Then start the rice in plenty of time before dinner (brown rice takes longer to cook). Then you just have to throw it all together. ( I don't know what the problem is, but it won't save my spacing. So sorry it is all bunched together!)

Bowls:

8 (6 x 6-inch) egg roll wrappers (won tons) Cooking spray

Dressing:

1/4 c original seasoned rice vinegar

1 tbsp canola oil

1 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger (I just used regular ginger from the spice section)

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tbsp peanut butter

1 tsp honey

(I added one and a half times more peanut butter and ginger, but you can do what you want)

Salad:

1 c frozen shelled edamame beans

2 c chopped cooked chicken breast

3 c chopped red leaf lettuce ( I just doubled the cabbage and left this out, but again, do what you want)

1 c cooked long-grain brown rice

1 c finely shredded green cabbage

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped (I would suggest putting a whole red bell pepper if your families like them, I think it makes it tastes so much better)

1/4 c diagonally sliced green onions

1/4 c chopped unsalted peanuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. To prepare bowls, lightly coat one side of each wrapper with cooking spray. Fit 4 wrappers, coated sides up, into the 4 corner cups of a nonstick muffin pan; press wrappers into sides of cups. ( I learned this the hard way. Don't try to do them all at once, they will just fall over into each other. It is better to make these ahead of time and space them out with an empty muffin cup between them. You eat them cooled anyway, so there is no rush) Bake at 350 for 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove wrappers from pans; cool completely on wire rack.

3. To prepare dressing, combine vinegar and next 6 ingredients (through garlic) in small bowl; stir with a whisk. Add peanut butter and honey to vinegar mixture, stirring with a whisk.

4. To prepare salad, cook edamame in boiling water 5 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Combine edamame and next 6 ingredients (through onions) in a large bowl. Toss well. Drizzle dressing over chicken mixture, tossing gently to coat.

5. Spoon about 1 cup salad into each won ton wrapper bowl. Top with peanuts if desired. Serve immediately.

White Bread

5 c. warm water (any warm liquid can be used, milk, juice, etc.)
3 T. yeast
¾ c. honey
3 T. salt
1/3 - ½ c. powdered milk (this can be omitted without problems)
1/3 – ½ c. potato flakes (this can be omitted without problem if you knead very well)
½ c. oil
Optional: Add any leftover cooked cereal like oatmeal, etc. up to one cup.
Flour till enough (about 14 cups)

Rise one hour before make into rolls.
Makes two cookie sheets of rolls.
Let rolls rise 30 minutes.
Bake 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Note: To make white bread loaves use this recipe. Eggs are not necessary for loaves. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Spelt Cookies

Spelt is high in gluten so it can be exchanged completely for wheat. It is more easily digested than wheat and is 60% higher in protein. It is high in B vitamins, iron, potassium , magnesium and fiber. Spelt is easily tolerated by those who might have sensitivity to wheat. In my opinion, spelt makes cookies softer and pancakes more fluffy.

I followed a recipe for whole wheat cookies, but made my own moderation. The original called for raisins and I substituted chocolate chips. It also called for chopped nuts and I replaced them with 9 grain cereal.

Spelt cookies
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
2 3/4 cups fresh ground spelt
1/3 cup dry powdered milk
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup oats or 9 grain cereal
2 cups chocolate chips

Add additional oats or ground spelt if the consistency feels too runny.

Cream brown sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs. Stir in flour, dry milk, baking soda, and salt. Stir in oats and chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls on greased cookie sheet. Bake 350 for 10-14 minutes.

Crepes

Basic Crepes

1 c cold water
1 c cold milk
4 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2 c flour (I used whole wheat flour)
4 Tbs butter melted

Put ingredients into a blender in order listed. Whirl one minute. Scrape down sides and blend another minute. Refrigerate batter at least 2 hours.

Makes about twenty 8 inch crepes

Blintz Filling:

4 oz cream cheese
2 Tbs sugar
2 cups cottage cheese
1 tsp vanilla

blend and refrigerate. serve with fruit.

Steak and Everything Sandwich

1 lb Deli style roast beef, shredded
1 onion, sliced
1 pepper, sliced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/3 pkg. cream cheese
6 hoagie buns
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Saute veggies in a little oil. Add shredded meat and cream cheese. Heat until cream cheese is melted and meat is warm. Toast or broil buns. Spoon meat mixture onto buns and top with mozzarella cheese.

Serve with salad or chips