Never Underestimate the Power of Oatmeal!

I remember eating hot cereal for breakfast when I was a kid.  It was usually in the form of a cold hard clump. It was even worse if you bit into a lump, and dry, uncooked cereal filled your mouth. Ugh, I ended up with a stomach ache every morning. I was convinced as I grew up that oatmeal and other hot cereals didn't agree with me and that it made me feel sick. I held onto that belief until about 10 years ago. Now I realize that it was getting ready in the morning and going to school that made me feel sick. It wasn't the cereal after all.

About 10 years ago, I revisited the "hot cereal for breakfast" idea, and found that I was a good thing and I actually loved it! Who wouldn't the way I fixed it. I would cook oatmeal with vanilla, cinnamon and brown sugar! It was like eating an oatmeal cookie for breakfast. I did that for a few years but let the "oatmeal cookie" phase pass in favor of a healthier version. I was always on the lookout for any type of oatmeal that caught my eye. My cupboard was always filled with Quaker Quick Oats, Quaker Regular Oats, numerous steel cut oats, instant out-of-the-package oats, and on and on. 

About four years ago, I saw Coach's Oats at Costco and thought it looked like a great deal at under five dollars, considering the bag weighed 4.5 pounds. Their "Patented" Cracked n' Toasted Oats, intrigued me. The package claimed you get "Hearty steel cut texture in 5 minutes!" Wow, I was impressed so I bought a bag. Well, all I can say is there is no going back to anything else. Oatmeal has definitely been reinvented! My dear Hubby even enjoyed this oatmeal. It is so creamy and nutty with such a great texture. I don't know how else to describe it. We have been hooked on it ever since!

For at least three years, every morning, one of us would measure the water into the pan and get the oatmeal going. I knew that the instructions were for stove top or microwave, but I only wanted mine cooked on the stove top. I didn't want to spoil a good bowl of oatmeal. About six months ago, I tried making it in the microwave and I was amazed that is was as good as cooking it on the stove top. So, there is an easier way to make it and it tastes just as good! Almost better!

They also have a Multigrain Pancake Mix that is full of great fiber from eight whole grains and flax seed. And they taste amazing! Really! I didn't think that was possible. I have served these pancakes at our house many times and everyone that has eaten them has loved them. You should check them out.

As long as we are on the subject of oatmeal, how about oatmeal that tastes like eating an oatmeal cookie for breakfast! You will have to try the following recipe to believe it. I'm not recommending this every morning for breakfast, but I have served it for brunch and it's always a huge hit!

Now a recipe for a real Oatmeal Cookie! These cookies are very good. I made a few changes to the original recipe. I used all brown sugar, added one tablespoon vanilla, added more nutmeg, used white whole wheat flour and added raisins to the last half of the recipe.

 

I made this Slow Cooker Oatmeal for Christmas morning brunch one year and it was amazing! I tripled the recipe and it turned out great. I also added vanilla and cinnamon. You mix it up the night before and cook on low overnight. Perfect for a busy morning.

An Afternoon at Gramma's House

Wiley came over this week and did we ever have some fun! He is so predictable in the things he wants to do. First, we get out some of his favorite animals, the Little People A to Z Learning Zoo  and then the fun starts.

Wiley loves these animals, every single one of them!

We make up funny stories about the animals.

 

Wiley likes everything to be set up just right!

He never seems to get tired of it!

 

 We get very silly!

 

We laugh and laugh until we are all out of laughs!

After the animals are all "fed," Wiley likes to sit down at the piano and play the "Small World Song" as loud as possible. When that gets boring, Wiley turns up the music as loud as it will go, and we play chase through the great room!  When Gramma is tired of that, we play hide and seek. Wiley likes to plan out where Gramma is going to hide next! We have so much fun, trying to surprise each other!

There is nothing like spending quality time playing with your grandkids! They have a way of making you forget how old you are, and they show you what fun it is to just be silly and forget about all the things that need to be done! Those things can wait, but these boys are growing up fast and I don't want to miss a thing!

Next thing you know, it is time for him to go home, and then Gramma is ready for a nap!

A Few More Scones

As I promised yesterday, here are more of my favorite scone recipes for you to try. Because it is Thursday, I'm giving you two extra!

Enjoy!

I like to use these Dark Chocolate Pearls.  They add a deep chocolate flavor that really compliments the orange.

I Never Met A Scone I Didn't Like!

Well, maybe once or twice. I will confess, I have a weakness when it comes to scones! I prefer a crunchy outside with a soft, layered texture inside. I had heard somewhere that it was hard to make a good scones, like there was some secret of trick to it. Trust me they aren't that hard. I have never made a batch of scones that were inedible. That doesn't mean that I haven't tweaked a recipe to make it more to my liking. Most of my recipes have notes on how to make them better. I have learned a few things about how to make sure they turn out great.

First suggestion: If the recipe calls for butter, make sure it is really cold, unless the recipe calls for melted butter. I cut mine up into small pieces and put them in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes. 

Second suggestion: Use a pastry cutter/blender. Some recipes say use two forks or two knifes and rub them together to make a crumbly mixture, but that makes it a long tedious job with inconsistent results. If you aren't sure what a pastry blender is, this is what they look like:

 

I would suggest that you get one that has flat blades on the bottom, like the one above. I have found that they work better than the rounded type.

Third suggestion: Don't over mix. When you are cutting the butter into the flour mixture, stop when your largest pieces are the size of a pea. This will help you get the flaky texture inside. Also, don't over mix when you stir in the liquid. Stir only till the dough sticks together. Over mixed dough produce a tough scones and you want them to be as light and soft as possible.

I like to cut my scones into different shapes and sizes. They are easy to cut into squares. Shape your dough into a rectangle and cut strips lengthwise and then cut into squares. I also like to use cookie cutters to make varying sizes and shapes. The smaller they are, the shorter their bake time will be. Just watch them until they are brown on the bottom.

I often cut recipes in half rather than making a whole batch.  I also wrap them individually, put them in a freezer bag and toss them in the freezer. To use, thaw completely and put in a toaster oven heated to 400 degrees for about 4-6 minutes. It will crisp up the outside and they will taste like you just baked them.

I have lots of great scone recipes, so I am posting five recipes today that I have made many times, and will post at least five more tomorrow.

Enjoy!

It's all about Chocolate

Today all of my recipes are Chocolate! These are some of my most requested chocolate recipes. They are packed full of flavor and chocolate.

This is my most decadent brownie recipe, so I have named them accordingly.

This is my "go to" brownie recipe for parties, showers, etc. I use a large mini muffin tin that bakes 24 at a time which helps. I have served them with a dollop of ganache, a squirt of whipped cream or a sprinkle of powdered sugar. They are also great with nothing at all!

This chocolate cake has been requested several times. I have made it for showers, birthday's and even Thanksgiving! It makes a beautiful 3 tier cake, that is frosted with chocolate ganache. I'm warning you, it is very decadent but delicious!

This an equally good chocolate cake. It is iced with a great chocolate frosting.

This recipe is also from Hershey's. This makes a very quick and easy mousse that can be dressed up for company. No cooking involved.

Birthday Lunch

Today, I am sending birthday wishes to my friend, Lori! We have been friends since we were in the fifth grade, around 12 years old, and that's about 44 years! That is what I call a long term relationship! Our parents are friends, so we were brought up with similar values and belief systems, and I believe that is why we have had such a strong friendship all these years. 

We grew up together through our teen years, even though she lived about five hours away from me. We kept in touch through the mail, and she made several trips to Portland every year, one of them for three weeks of camp during the summer. Then came the boyfriend years, and what a great time that was! We both married young and then came the pregnant years. We were there to help each other out while we were raising our kids, eight between us, plus dogs and other assorted pets. We have been through every stage of life together, plus numerous challenges that life has brought our way, some of them good, some of them very difficult, but we have always remained friends.

Even though we are a lot alike, we are actually very different in many ways. She has strengths that I don't have and so I look to her for information and advice about things that she stays well informed about. I have my own strengths that I offer to our friendship. It just works!

I have spent more consecutive hours on the phone with her than anyone else in my life, and I could not even estimate how many hours it has been. When we get on the phone together, it is never a casual or quick conversation. Oh, no! Not even close! I would say the shortest conversations we have are two hours, but three plus hours are normal for us. Especially through the past 15 years that I have lived away from the Portland area.

Today, being her birthday, we had a "Birthday Lunch" over the phone! It wasn't Gustav's, but sometimes you need to work with what you have, and when you are a 1000 miles apart, the phone is what worked today!! 

Lori, I wish I could bake you a birthday cake today, but since it won't work out this year, I'm going to post a Raw Apple Cake recipe that you gave me over 30 years ago. You probably still have this recipe, but in case you don't, here it is!

So to you, Lori, I say again, Happy Birthday! Thank you for your friendship. I feel so blessed to have had you as a sister friend all these years. We have shared laughs and tears, good times and hard times, and my life would have a big hole in it if you weren't there! Have a wonderful year and I hope all your wishes come true!

Sunday Blog Surfing

I found this recipe for Easy Creamy Mexican Skillet  and it does look easy and quick! To make it a little healthier, I would use Neufchatel cheese, fat-free or low-fat sour cream and whole wheat pasta.

This recipe for Easy Creamy Mexican Skillet  does look easy and quick. To make it a little bit healthier, I would use neufchatel cheese, fat free or low fat sour cream and whole wheat pasta.

These Peanut Butter Granola Bars look very really good. If I used chocolate chips at all, I would use the mini chocolate chips.

We have a large bag of lemons from our daughter's lemon tree. These lemons remind me of meyer lemons because of their roundness and mild flavor, but they are twice as big as the average meyer lemon you would buy in the store. We aren't sure what variety they are, but I know they would be really good turned into Lemon Custard Cakes.  They form a spongy cake on top with a lemon sauce on the bottom.

When I saw this recipe for Tuscan Style Pork Loin, I knew I wanted to add it to my file of recipes that I would like to make some day. You cover it with any season that works for you, my choice would be Pesto, and then stuff it inside a baguette, tie it up and pop it in the oven. If this sounds as intriguing to you as it did to me, you might want to check it out.

I was really shocked to read cyber peeping tom's can easily hack into our computers and could potentially be watching us through our computer webcams. It was a topic on the Dr Phil show recently. If you find this as disturbing as I did, you should check it out here  Modern Day Peeping Toms, Is somebody watching you?  to make sure that you are as protected as you think you are!

It's Memory Day, really!

I don't think that have told you this yet, but, I know the time has come to get this out in the open. I have a LOT of cookbooks. Not a lot of cookbooks, but a LOT of cookbooks! Hundreds! Really! I am trying to go through my oldest cookbooks and posting the recipes that I used the most from each cookbook. Sometimes it is several recipes and other times it's only one. I am finding  recipes that I had forgotten about, but when I see the flour sprinkles on a page, or a smudge of something else, I know that I made something from that page. As I scan the recipes on the page, my memory is jogged, and I remember where I lived, the kitchen I was cooking in and who I was cooking or baking for.

I have found that most of the recipes I have posted to date are because of a memory and it is possible that some of them I may never make again, but they were really great recipes and worth passing on. Over time our food preferences have changed and I have changed the way and what I cook. I usually only bake when I am entertaining or to give to someone. Also, I'm always on the lookout for new recipes! It will take a little while, but before too long I will be posting recipes for foods that we eat now.

So in honor of Memory Day, yes, it's today, I'm not kidding, I'm posting some more recipes that are but a faint memory from the past. Of times past when our kids were growing up and we sat around the table and ate our meals together. You know, those bittersweet memories, from times that are sadly, long past.

Here you will find another assorted collection of recipes from a few of my cookbooks.



















I'm hoping that getting these recipes posted here will inspire me to let go of some of my older cookbooks, you know, lighten the load! That's not a promise, just a wish!

Enjoy!