Oatmeal casserole

Questionable on the healthy breakfast front, but it's a step in the right direction.

Oatmeal Casserole (with alterations)
Prep time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 35-40 minutes
Serves: 8-10
Original recipe: alwaysamrsforeverakidd.blogspot.com

Ingredients:
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup walnut or pecan pieces
• 1 cup raspberries {any berries work}
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 2 cups milk
• 1 large Egg
• 3 Tbsp Butter (melted), plus extra for preparing the pan
• 1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 Ripe Banana (sliced)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F and butter the inside of a 8x11 or so inch baking dish.

Mix together the oats, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, half the nuts, half the berries, and half the chocolate. Add mixture to prepared baking dish. Arrange the remaining nuts, berries, and chocolate, plus the banana slices on top.

Whisk together milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Pour over mixture in baking dish. Gently shake the baking dish to help the milk mixture go throughout the oats.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the top is nicely golden brown and the milk mixture has set.

Serve right away or store in fridge and serve cold or reheated.

Good ol' cinnamon rolls

I have a new mixer. A new mixer needs to be tried out. I had flour and eggs, but little else. I had cream cheese, though. Hmmm....

I've never made cinnamon rolls, and it's a good thing these were easy and they turned out, because with twelve of them coming out of the oven we invited the grandparents over to share. They were a hit. The rolls were pretty good, too.

Also, best. mixer. ever. Thanks Curtis and Joules.

Easy Cinnamon Rolls
Origin: Better Homes and Gardens
Yield: 12
Prep Time: 25 minutes            

Ingredients for rolls:
  ● 4  to 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  ● 1  package fast-rising active dry yeast
  ● 2/3  cup milk
  ● 2/3  cup water
  ● 1/2  cup sugar
  ● 1/2  cup cooking oil
  ● 1/2  tsp. salt
  ● 2  egg yolks
  ● 1/4  cup butter or margarine, softened
  ● 1/3  cup sugar
  ● 4  tsp. ground cinnamon

Ingredients for frosting:
  ● 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
  ● 3 tbsps butter, softened
  ● 3/4  tsp vanilla
  ● 1 tbsp milk
  ● 1-1/2  cups powdered sugar

Directions:
1. In stand mixer bowl, combine 2 cups flour and yeast. In small saucepan, combine milk, water, 1/2 cup sugar, oil, and salt. Stir frequently over medium heat till just warm (~120 degree F).

2. Add milk mixture and egg yolks to dry mixture. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds, then on medium for 3 minutes. Slowly add remaining flour, but don't dough to pull entirely away from sides.

3. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until you have a moderately soft dough that's smooth and elastic (3 to 5 minutes), adding flour as necessary. Cover and let rest 10 minutes.

4. Roll out dough to form a 14x12-inch rectangle. Spread with softened butter and sprinkle with a mixture of 1/3 cup sugar and cinnamon.

5. Roll up, jelly-roll style, starting from long side. Seal seam. Slice into 12 pieces. Place in greased 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Cover; let rise in warm place till nearly doubled (20 minutes).

6. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 20 minutes or until golden. Cool slightly; remove from pan. Frost warm rolls with Cream Cheese Icing. Serve rolls warm or cool on a wire rack. Makes 12 rolls.

For Cream Cheese Icing: In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter or margarine, vanilla with hand mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in milk. Gradually sift in powdered sugar and beat until icing is spreading consistency. Spread over warm rolls.

Nutrition Facts
    * Servings Per Recipe 12
    * Calories 427,
    * Total Fat (g) 20,
    * Cholesterol (mg) 62,
    * Sodium (mg) 188,
    * Carbohydrate (g) 58,
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Whole wheat waffles with honey butter

For Calvin's birthday we let him choose his meals and breakfast for him was a really easy pick. I was surprised because although we have waffles maybe one weekend a month, we haven't made the honey butter in about a year, but this is exactly what he asked for.

Whole Wheat Waffles with Honey Butter

Yield: 12-14 waffles

Waffle ingredients:
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 3/4 cup milk
• 4 tbsp oil
• 2 eggs

Honey butter ingredients:
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup honey

Directions:

1. For waffles, mix dry ingredients well. In a separate bowl mix wet ingredients, then add to dry ingredients slowly and blend with a whisk until well mixed. We use 1/3 cup of batter for each waffle, but that will depend on the size of your waffle maker.

2. For the butter, whip ingredients together until fluffy. Serve drizzled over waffles or other yummy foods. We also serve fruit with our waffles and honey butter.

Oatmeal buttermilk pancakes

With cranberries! Actually, the original called for raisins but that really didn't appeal to me, so we used dried cranberries instead. These took longer to cook than I'm used to but were completely worth the work and wait—they didn't even need a topping and were deliciously crispy.

Oatmeal buttermilk pancakes

Yield: 6 Servings
Prep Time: 15 min.
Cooking Time: 10 min./ batch

Ingredients:
  ● 2 cups quick-cooking oats
  ● 2 cups buttermilk
  ● 1/2 cup egg substitute
  ● 2 tbsp. canola oil
  ● 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  ● 2 tbsp. sugar
  ● 1 tsp. baking powder
  ● 1 tsp. baking soda
  ● 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  ● 1/4 tsp. salt
  ● 1/2 cup raisins

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine oats and buttermilk; let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in egg substitute and oil; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir in the wet ingredients just until moistened; add cranberries.
Pour batter by heaping 1/4 cupfuls onto a hot griddle coated with cooking spray; turn when bubbles form on top. Cook until second side is golden brown. Yield: 12 pancakes.

Nutrition Facts: 2 pancakes equals 274 calories, 7 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 3 mg cholesterol, 505 mg sodium, 44 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 10 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 fruit, 1 fat.

Pumpkin bagels

It's time for pumpkin again! I had been buying organic pie pumpkins at Whole Foods for around $2 per pound, then we found the oranic local pie pumpkins at our local farmers market for $2 per pumpkin. That's about $4 cheaper per squash. That means I'll be baking, squishing, condensing, and freezing pumpkin for the rest of the the season. Jon is looking forward to all the recipes we'll be rehashing and trying, and this week we started with pumpkin bagels, a first.

Pumpkin bagels
original recipe from Healthy Cooking Magazine

Yield: 9 bagels
Prep Time:  min. + standing
Cooking Time: 15 min.

Ingredients:
  ● 2/3 cup warm water (100-120 degrees)
  ● 1/2 tbsp active dry yeast
  ● 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
  ● 3 cups bread flour
  ● 1 tsp. salt
  ● 1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  ● 3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
  ● 1/2 tsp. ground allspice
  ● 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
  ● 1/2 cup pumpkin, room temperature
  ● 1 egg white, cut with ~2 tbsp water
  ● 1 tbsp. cornmeal

Directions:
Combine water and sugar. Let stand until foaming, about 8 minutes.

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and spices. Mix well. Add yeast mixture and pumpkin and mix well, adding remaining flour until dough is of kneading consistency (or until dough forms a ball on dough hook and cleans sides of bowl). Knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Cover and place in a warm, draft free place and allow to rise for ~1 hour, or until it doubles in size.

Remove dough from bowl and shape into nine balls. Push thumb through centers to form a 1-in. hole. Stretch and shape dough to form an even ring. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Fill a pot two-thirds full with water; bring to a boil. Drop bagels, two at a time, into boiling water. Cook for 45 seconds; turn and cook 45 seconds longer. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels.

Whisk egg white and 2 tbsps water; brush over bagels. Coat a baking sheet with oil and sprinkle with cornmeal. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: 9 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 bagel equals 180 calories, trace fat (trace saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 273 mg sodium, 40 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 6 g protein.