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Soaked and Poached Oatmeal for Breakfast!

First the why...
I am trying out a more nutrient dense diet, trying to improve my health and that of our family.

I have been searching the internet, and reading books like "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon; which I highly recommend, although I have this one caviat. I do not subscribe to everything that is in the book (I rarely do.) Most of it seems sound.

So, on to the recipe...
I was looking for a soaked oatmeal that we could put together the night before and wake up to a nutritious, hot, breakfast for our family of six. Our experiences with crockpot oatmeal were not good. Apparently our crockpot cooks to quickly, even on low, for this type of recipe. It always turned out too dry, and when I tried to compensate, it was too wet. Never just right. This time our experiment turned out "Just Right!" (you get the Three Little Bears analogy, right? I'm sooooooo clever ;-) We poached it instead!

Here is our recipe:

Step 1: Soaking the day before
3 cups old fashioned or scottish oats
Water to cover by 1 inch
1 Tbl. Lime Juice (because we were out of both lemons and whey)
Combine in a large bowl, and soak for at least 12 hours. Longer is fine, up to 24 hours. Cover bowl with a tea towl (to keep out any teansie weinsie fruit flies) and let sit on your counter.

Step 2: Night before eating
Drain the oatmeal. Place in a greased (coconut oil is preferred) crockpot. Cover with fresh water to cover by one inch. Place on WARM setting, and let cook overnight. 12 - 14 hours is great. We just started it about 8:00 at night, cause we were thinking about it, and didn't want to forget to start it.

Next morning dish it up with whatever fixin's you want, or have on hand. We like 100% Maple Syrup and cinnamon. Say it with me now: "EASY!" Sometime I'm gonna try some soaked raisins (in rum!) just for the fun of it. NO I don't plan on serving it to the kids. I might be a lunatic, but I'm not crazy!

Carla's Breakfast Sandwiches

Carla's Breakfast Sandwiches

My husband leaves for work early, and I don't like him stopping at the grocery store for donuts every day. He's not fat, but it doesn't seem very caring of me to let him go off without something thought out for him. So I make these and keep them in the freezer. Then I just have to get up, and microwave one. Hand it to him, with a paper towel to wipe his hands and mouth. Add a kiss, a look, and an "I love you." And he gets the idea that I appreciate him for his hard work. I like that, and that's why I make these. Laugh at me all you want for being sappy, but I do love that man!

English Muffins
pre-cooked sausage patties
Scrambled eggs **
Sharp Cheddar cheese slices

Directions
1. Scramble eggs **
2. Lightly pre-toast English muffins

Assembly:
Layer sausage patty, egg, and cheese on a English muffin half. Top with remaining English muffin half. Wrap in foil. Freeze inside freezer bag.

Serving Day:
Thaw. Because they are already pre-cooked, you just need to warm them up.

Option 1: Keep in foil and put on a cookie sheet and warm in oven.

Option 2: Remove foil and warm up in microwave. It doesn't take long, maybe 20-30 sec. depending on your microwave.

** We make our own scrambled eggs: Break a dozen eggs into a greased 13X9 pan. Scramble and place in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for about 10 - 12 minutes. Let stand until cooled. Cut into 12 squares. Ready for assembly. You could buy the pre-cooked ones at the store, but they are more expensive.

~ I'll post pictures when we find the cord to the battery charger :-)

20 lbs of Bananas!

I got bananas! .18/lb. at the Grand Opening of our new WinCo store last week. I went twice to get my allowed 10 lb. limit so now I have lots of bananas for eating and...

Banana Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup flax seed, grounded
2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1-1/2 cup brown sugar
4 large eggs, beaten
4-2/3 cups mashed very overripe bananas

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly grease two 9 x 5 loaf pans.

In large bowl, combine flour, ground flax seed, soda and salt.

In separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pans.

Bake in preheated oven for 60-65 minutes until a toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

SERVES 24 , 2 9x5 loaf

Note: The original recipe was found on the internet, but it only made one loaf. I never make one loaf at a time, cause quick breads freeze so well, and it wastes oven heat. I’ve also tweaked this recipe enough that it is now my own.

Makes loaf, mini-loaf, muffins, mini-muffins, or bundt cake.

Swiss Muesli

I used to make this all the time when I was a single gal. Now I make it for my children. DH still doesn't like it. Just a little too healthy for his tastes.

Swiss Muesli
1-1/2 cups rolled oats
1-1/2 cups water
2 cups shredded unpeeled apples
1-1/2 cups pitted prunes (whole or halved)
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
fresh fruits (sliced banana, apple, pineapple, and/or orange segments) chopped almonds or pecans
Plain or Vanilla Yogurt (homemade, sweetened with honey)

Combine oats, water, shredded apples, prunes, honey, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, spoon some of the muesli onto a cereal bowl. Top with your choice of fresh fruits and nuts. Serve with a dollop of plain yogurt or milk, if desired. Muesli can be stored in covered container in refrigerator for several days.

Banana Pancakes with Butter-Rum Syrup

Banana Pancakes with Butter-Rum Syrup
1 Tablespoon baking powder
2 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cup milk
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 mashed ripe bananas
2 tablespoon butter -- (melted)

Heat oven to lowest setting, or warm. Place a sprayed cookie sheet into oven.

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl combine milk, sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla extract. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until the mixture is almost smooth. Next, fold the bananas into the batter. Let this set, loosely covered, for about 25 minutes.

Place a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray with non-stick spray. For each pancake, pour 1/4 cup batter into the pan and cook until small bubbles form on the top, usually about 1 minute. Turn the pancake over and cook an additional 30 to 45 seconds. Place on cookie sheet in warm oven. Proceed with the rest of the batter.

Serve warm with the butter-rum syrup.

Rum Syrup
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups white sugar
2 cups water
1 tablespoon rum extract
1 stick butter

Combine first three ingredients in a heavy duty saucepan. Bring to a boil. Keep simmering on medium high power for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add Rum extract and butter. Stir and serve hot.
Makes about 12 ounces

Skillet Granola

I have made this without any additional nuts or dried goodies. It is great plain, and my kids love it as a snack any way I fix it.

2 Tbls. Olive Oil

4 cups Rolled Oats

1/2 cup Butter

1 tsp. Vanilla (or other flavoring of your choice)

4 Tbls. Honey

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1/2 cup chopped Almonds (or any nuts you have/prefer)

1/2 cup dried Cranberries (raisins, blueberries and/or cherries)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add Oats then cook and stir until starting to brown and crisp about 5 minutes. Push the Oats around in the pan and stir to combine. Cook and stir for another 5 minutes or so to make sure to coat thoroughly. Pour out onto the cookie sheet and spread to cool.

Once cool, transfer to an airtight container and stir in the "goodies." You can add about 1/2 tsp. cinnamon or nutmeg if you'd like. You can change Vanilla for Maple flavoring or add equal parts (Yummy!). This recipe is very forgiving.

I never make small batches, because I can always put additional in small bags and store in the freezer. It makes better use of my stove. I like to thaw them in the microwave, and eat while warm.