Old Fashioned Oatmeal Friday, Feb 27 2009

This makes a BIG batch for my hungry husband and children.  You can adjust according to your needs.  Basically I use 1 part oats to 2 parts water.

Old Fashioned Oatmeal

6 cups water

2 cups old fashioned oatmeal or rolled oats

Bring water to boil.  Add oatmeal.  Cook on medium heat until desired thickness, about 10-15 minutes.  Stir often, especially near the end as it gets very thick and burns easily.  Cool a little and serve.

Some ideas for different flavors:

Maple pecan…Pure maple syrup and pecans

Blueberry…put a handful of frozen blueberries in the bottom of the bowl before adding warm oatmeal

Apple cinnamon…Add a couple chopped apples to cook with oats…add honey and cinnamon to taste when oatmeal is done.

Honey raisin…Raisins in the bottom of the bowl with a drizzle of honey on top

Bananas and syrup…My kids love oatmeal with cane syrup and bananas on top!

For dairy free kids, try Rice Dream rice milk, found on the cereal aisle.  (Avoid soy milk.  Soy disrupts thyroid function.)

YUM!!!

One Response »

 

Homemade Whole Wheat Pizza Friday, Feb 27 2009

After the oatmeal cookie recipe, I thought I’d post a few recipes for family-friendly food that’s more nutritious than the traditional packaged/processed version.  These aren’t at the top of the nutritional ladder, but they are a long way from the bottom.  Here’s how we like to make pizza.  Sorry, no picture.  My computer is down and I don’t have access to my photos on this one.

I begin with my bread machine recipe for 1 large loaf of whole wheat bread:

1 3/4 c. water

1 t. salt (or more for pizza dough, if you like a salty crust)

1 T. olive oil

1 T. honey

4 2/3 c. whole wheat flour

1 t. yeast

Mix on “dough” setting till complete, through first rise.  This takes 1 1/2 hours on my machine.

Remove from bread machine.  Divide dough into 2 equal portions and pat them out in greased large pizza pans.  (I got  deep dish pizza pans at Tuesday Morning several years ago.)  Spread with pizza or spaghetti sauce of your choice, however much you desire, and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese–again, as much or as little as you like.  Add whatever toppings you want.  Combinations are obviously endless.  I like to use Hormel’s nitrite free deli meats (I think they are called Natural Choice…), available at Wal-Mart.  They sell a sandwich pepperoni in large slices–I just chop them up into bite size pieces.

Personally, sprinkle the dough/sauce with half my cheese, add toppings, and then sprinkle with more cheese.  It just seems to work better that way.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  Enjoy!

One Response »

 

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Bars Monday, Feb 16 2009

Recently I was looking for a good all-around cookie…somewhat nutritious, makes a lot, fast and easy, not crumbly…And this recipe fit the bill.  Plus, they are man-pleasin’!  I adapted it from one I found online and I’ve been really pleased with the results.

*******************

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Bars

1 1/2 c. coconut oil OR 3 sticks butter  (Billy and I like the taste of the coconut oil better, but butter works fine too)

3 c. brown sugar (if you are really going for healthful sweets, I’m sure rapadura or sucanat would work just as well)

3 c. whole wheat flour

3 eggs

1 T. vanilla

1 T. cinnamon

1 1/2 t. soda

1 t. salt

3 c. old fashioned oatmeal

2 c. raisins

Cream oil or butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg, vanilla, flour, baking soda, and salt.  Stir in oats and raisins until well mixed.  Mixture will be very stiff.  Turn mixture into greased jelly roll pan and pat evenly.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Cool, cut into bars.

One Response »