Leftover Oatmeal Bread

I've played around with several recipes that use up leftover oatmeal, googled it more times than I care to think about, and yet, the whole time I had sitting in my old recipe box the perfect oatmeal bread recipe. I'm pretty sure I got it at some food storage/self-reliance night at church, and apparently it took me more than a decade to actually try the recipe out. First go at it was back in December (and it was a success), but I found it again because I had unearthed in the freezer some leftover oat groats with apples that - let's face it - were never going to be consumed in their original form again.

This recipe makes a nice, fluffy bread and if your oatmeal is already pre-sweetened, you can just cut down on the honey/molasses in the recipe.

Oatmeal Bread (provenance unknown)
Makes 2 loaves

 1/2 cup warm water
2 tbs. dry yeast
3/4 cup water, boiling
3/4 cup rolled oats [or, just 1 1/2 cups of cooked oatmeal]
1 cup buttermilk [or fake buttermilk - i.e. 1 scant cup milk with 1 tbs lemon juice or vinegar]
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey or molasses [I used golden syrup, 'cause that's what they have here in South Africa]
2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbs salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 - 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

In small bowl, stir yeast into 1/2 cup warm water; allow to stand until yeast dissolves and bubbles up (also known as proofing). In medium saucepan bring 3/4 cup water to boiling, stir in oatmeal and cook several minutes (or dig your leftover oatmeal out of the fridge). Remove from heat; add buttermilk, oil, and honey or molasses (in case you're wondering, I did not re-heat my oatmeal and it turned out okay).
Stir flour, salt, and soda into a large mixing bowl. Add yeast mixture and oats mixture and beat with wire whip or spoon (I used my hand mixer with beaters); let stand 65 minutes. Gradually add enough of remaining flour until dough is stiff enough for kneading. Turn out onto floured surface and knead for 8 to 10 minutes or until a soft, elastic ball form. Place dough in clean greased bowl, cover and let rise until double. Punch down dough, divide into two portions, cover and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
Form into loaves and place in greased 8x4 in pans. Cover and let rise until double again. Bake at 350 (or 375 - the recipe says somewhere in that range) for 45 to 50 minutes or until done. Remove from oven and turn out to cool on wire rack.

Thyme

Chocolate Oatmeal

Rosemary here. Time for another breakfast recipe. I love making breakfast! I have more energy in the mornings than in the evenings, the foods are pretty simple, and breakfast foods are yummy. What's not to love?

The other day I was poking around on Hulu and I found a clip from "The Chew" where they made chocolate oatmeal. It's almost more of a pudding than a porridge. You can make it sweeter and have it for dessert, but we've stuck to slightly less sweet and made it for breakfast. You can see the original video here. http://www.hulu.com/watch/582248

Nutritionally, I think this recipe is awesome. You have whole grain oatmeal, antioxidant rich cocoa, and the power of nuts. Today we added mixed berries to give it another antioxidant and flavor boost. We also used honey instead of brown sugar, largely because my honey is getting granulated and needs used up, but also because it is ever-so-slightly more healthy as well. My only problem with it is that it is a bit low in protein. So if you find it doesn't last you the morning, maybe have it with a glass of cow's or soy milk (they have more protein than almond milk) or have some nuts or an egg on the side. Typically though, I think the oatmeal has plenty of staying power, so I'm happy to just sprinkle some extra toasted almonds on top.

One final ingredient note. Almond milk is awesome! It helps give this oatmeal its great creamy texture. You can use other types of milk, but you'll get the best results by using almond milk. Just make sure that you adjust how much sugar you put in according to which kind you use. Unsweetened almond milk has no sugar, but vanilla almond milk has quite a bit, so taste before you add all the sugar.

Chocolate Oatmeal
Yield: 1 serving
Note: This recipe scales well (at least up to 4 servings, which is the most I've done), so multiply to fit the crowd you're feeding.

1 1/4 cup almond milk
1/2 cup regular rolled oats
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1-2 tbsp brown sugar
pinch of salt (I skip this one)
toasted sliced or slivered almonds

Place almond milk and rolled oats in a stovetop pan. Cook for 5-10 minutes until done. Stir in cocoa powder, cinnamon, sugar, and salt (if using). Serve topped with toasted almonds.

Hint for serving to kids or impatient adults: You can cool this down quickly by adding frozen or semi-frozen berries or a splash of milk.


Rosemary

Love me some Baked Oatmeal

Amish baked oatmeal is one of my favorite breakfasts. It's warm, comforting, and tasty. It's a nice variation to the usual bowl of oatmeal. You can prep it the night before; the only down side is that you do need to wake up early enough to bake it before the kids get cranky. Here's my favorite recipe so far (thanks food.com) with my tweaks in parentheses.

Amish Baked Oatmeal

1/3 cup butter, melted (when I doubled this, I made almost half of it butternut squash puree; you can also use applesauce or some other fat substitute if you like and I'm sure you could completely replace the butter, I just haven't vetted that theory yet)
2 large eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon or nutmeg (it says 1 tsp nutmeg but I'd use 1/4 to 1/2 if subbing for cinnamon)
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup + 2 tbsp milk
3 cups oatmeal, regular or quick


1. Spray an 8"x8" baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Beat eggs well.
3. Add brown sugar, baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt and mix well.
4. Whisk in butter, milk and then add oats.
5. Stir well, pour in pan and refrigerate overnight (or bake immediately if you didn't plan ahead).
6. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 35-45 min. or until set in the middle.
7. Serve hot with milk poured over (and fresh or dried fruit) (also good cold if you don't want to trouble with reheating the leftovers).

This feeds the kids and I for 2 or 3 days at least.

Rosemary

P.S. I made this with steel cut oats once. Turned out great, just chewier, which is fine as long as everyone at the table can chew well enough.

Chewy Granola Bars!

Finding snacks that pack well, taste good, and will actually fill up little tummies is hard work. My son loves granola bars, but they can get expensive (not to mention sugary), particularly when he eats 6 of them at a time. I found a recipe at Kitchen Stewardship for granola bars. The whole family agrees that they're delicious (minus the baby who can't have honey yet). They hold together well. And while the ingredients can get rather expensive (1 cup honey and 1 cup butter per recipe), I don't think they'll end up costing any more than store-bought granola bars (probably less). However, they are much more wholesome and filling. So it should take us longer to go through them and actually tide us over for longer. They're not hard to make either. It's a good thing to throw together while you're baking something else anyways.

Chewy Granola Bars


4 1/2 cups rolled oats (toast ahead of time for some extra flavor)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup honey
2 cup add-ins such as chocolate chips, nuts, dried fruit, coconut, and sunflower seeds

 Grease a 9x13 or large jelly roll pan.  In a large mixing bowl combine butter and honey.

Add all ingredients except add-ins.  Beat hard until combined.  Stir in add-ins.  Press mixture into pan — really jam it in there so your bars don’t fall apart.  (Getting your hands wet and then using them is the most effective method that I've found.)  Bake at 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.  Let cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into bars.  Let bars cool completely in pan before removing and serving.

Variations:

• Add 1/4 cup cocoa powder and skip the chocolate chips
• Use 1/2 cup natural peanut butter in place of 1/2 cup of butter

Rosemary

BTW, if anyone finds a recipe for something like a Clif Kid Z Bar, please let me know! I think they're pretty great, but they're EXPENSIVE.

Honey Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cookies

I have a cookie obsession. I admit it openly and honestly...having thus admitted that, I feel the need to insert that I have begun trying to take a more healthy/wholesome spin on my cookie making. One very positive outcome of these attempts was the discovery of this cookie recipe, which was so soft and chewy I loved it as a cookie, but included so many healthy ingredients I justified it as being nearly a granola bar. In short; tasty. Unfortunately I don't remember where I found this recipe so I cannot give full credit where it is due, I am sorry! I think it was out of a Taste of Home cookbook? Perhaps?

Whole Wheat Honey Oatmeal Cookies

1 c butter (softened)
1/2 c molasses
1 1/2 c honey**
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp. milk
2 c whole wheat flower
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 c oats (the recipe notes that it is best with "old fashioned" oats...I used quick
oats and it turned out fine)
Whip the butter with the honey and molasses. Add eggs and mix well. Mix in milk and vanilla. Mix in the dry ingredients. Bake for 10-13 minutes at 350.

**If you are using regular honey (vs granulated honey) let the dough stand for 2 hours before baking.

Fun additions: I tried 3 different variations of these cookies and liked all of them! I'll go through them now.

The recipe recommends 2 cups of chocolate chips, and it was good, but not my favorite. I really liked taking some of those wrapped caramels you get at the store and chopping them up and throwing it in with some chopped almonds, and in some of them I put white chocolate chips and in some of them I put regular chocolate chips and in some I only did the caramel and almonds. I think the ones with just caramel and almonds were my favorite. So go crazy! Have fun! Throw in some other things you think will be tasty.

So have your cookie and eat it too!

-Cayenne

Honey Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe came about because I had a few things in my kitchen that I needed to use up. I took an existing recipe and modified it for that purpose. They turned out even better than I had hoped. So if you happen to have these ingredients, I suggest giving this recipe a whirl. They're not very heavy on the pumpkin flavor, if you're concerned, but you can always go with unsweetened applesauce or some other fruit/veggie puree if needed. They stayed nice and soft for that day and the day after and probably would have longer, but by that time they were gone. Pardon the bad picture.

Yield: 3-4 dozen

1 cup honey
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 tbsp dry, powdered egg (I modified the recipe to use honey, so I had to decrease water, hence dry eggs. If you use regular, you'll have to use a lot more flour too, so I don't recommend it. Maybe a honey expert can chime in about a good way to balance this if you don't have dry eggs.)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups oats (quick or regular but not instant)
1 cup mix-ins (I used dried cranberries and butterscotch chips...a bit sweet, but still good. Any dried fruit/chip/nut will work.)

Mix together honey, butter,pumpkin, powdered egg, and vanilla. In another bowl whisk together baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and flour. Stir wet and dry ingredients together just to combine. Throw in oats and mix-ins, again stirring only enough to combine.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheet and bake in 365°F oven for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on sheet for about 2 minutes, then place on rack to cool.

Rosemary