A delicious Baked Oatmeal that will convert even non-oatmeal lovers

Baked Oatmeal, photo from www.moneysavingmom.com

While visiting with family this weekend we got to talking about food (go figure), and someone mentioned “oatmeal”, which brought this recipe to mind!  If you are not usually a fan or the traditional runny/soupy oatmeal, but like oats, you MUST try this recipe!  It is not mushy at all and comes out more like a fluffy oatmeal crumble….if that makes any sense.  You can taste each individual oat, it is slightly firm yet soft at the same time, and the top comes out with a little crunch…it’s almost like eating dessert for breakfast!  This also taste great with milk poured over it.

I followed the recipe EXACTLY, but if I make it again I think I’ll add a little less sugar.  Just make sure to make this the night before you want it, as the oats need time to soak up all of the liquid.  The recipe is taken from Money Saving Mom, and in her post she describes how to turn this into a make-ahead “freezer” meal as well.

Freezer-Friendly Baked Oatmeal

• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup raw sugar (or brown sugar)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons milk
• 3 cups oats (regular or quick oats)

Beat eggs, sugar and butter together. Mix in baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon and salt.

Stir in milk and oats. Pour into a greased 9×13 foil pan or baking dish and cover well.

Leave in the fridge overnight. In the morning, bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes, until set in the middle. Serve with milk.

Serves 6-8.

I’m back, I think…and Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars recipe

Oatmeal Peanut butter Bars with Firm Chocolate Frosting

I can’t believe my last post was a year and a half ago!  No, I didn’t stop baking, cooking or living for that matter….I just found myself with less time for all the things I wanted to do!  It’s  just been a really hectic time juggling family, finances, and nurturing my budding business, Kawaii Goodies. However, while cruising around pinterest for new sugary goodies, I found myself REALLY missing the writing & sharing aspect of cooking and baking…plus I really need an outlet for my personal rambling besides my husband!

Now that being said, it’s not as if the speed of my life has slowed down much.  In fact, it’s ramping up again as I anticipate opening up my other business, Bliss Candies, in the next week or two.  So am I back to blogging and posting recipes?  Only time will tell, but I sure do miss it!

This past week I tried out a recipe that I originally saw posted on here.  In the original photo they looked a little on the dry side, so I did adjust the recipe slightly to try and moisten them up a little.  The end result?  They did seem to hold together better and not be as crumbly and overall these were decent bars, but not my favorite.  They were still a little on the dry side and were not quite as sweet as I would have liked them, with a mild peanut butter flavor.  Personally, I think increasing the amount of chocolate chips and omitting the powdered sugar & milk all together would have been better, unless you like the taste of frosting (which I usually don’t).  However, if you DO like frosting then the original topping is pretty good, and best of all it firms up, so you can actually stack the bars if needed and they will travel pretty well.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars with firm Chocolate Frosting, adapted from this recipe:

 

1 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
generous 2/3 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
scant 2 cups flour
scant 2 cups oatmeal

*Frosting ingredients:

1 cup powder sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 to 4 Tbsp milk

12 ounces milk or semi chocolate chips

 

1. In a large bowl cream together the butter and both sugars.  Add in the eggs, 2/3 cup peanut butter, and vanilla, mix well.

2. In another bowl mix together the oatmeal, flour, baking soda, and salt.

3. Combine the dry mix with the wet ingredients until everything is moist, then press into a 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until lightly golden.

4. Remove the pan from the oven and set on a cooling rack.  Then start on the frosting.

5. For frosting: gently melt chocolate chips and peanut butter either in the mircrowave or over low heat on the stove. Once the mixture is melted, add in the powdered sugar and milk, blend well and spread evenly over the cooked bars.

Lightly Spiced Yogurt Pound Cake

Fall is definitely here, and with that comes the heart-warming scents of cinnamon sticks, apple cider, and gingerbread!  I haven’t baked in a while, as everything has just been so crazy, but I really wanted to use up the plain yogurt sitting in the fridge and though making a cake might be nice   So I found a super easy recipe for Spiced Yogurt Pound Cake on AllRecipes.com and decided to give it a try.  I did make a couple adjustments due to personal preferences (less butter more yogurt, 2 types of sugar), and I think it turned out great!  Not too heavy, very moist, and I’d say the spice flavor is just a touch on the mild side.  Feel free to add more if you’d like, however I think it is perfect as is if you are serving it up with a cup of coffee or tea.

In fact, if you have ever had traditional Amish Friendship bread, this taste similar but without the yeasty background flavor.

If you are looking to kick this up a notch, try adding in cinnamon chips or making a cinnamon glaze, yum!

Lightly Spiced Yogurt Pound Cake-1 bundt pan

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

13 TBLS butter, softened

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (plus 1 TBLS for flouring the pan)

1 cup + 2 TBLS plain yogurt

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

1. pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly butter or spray the bundt pan, sprinkle in a TBLS of flour, gently tap and rotate the bundt pan until it is covered and discard of the excess.  Set aside.

2. in a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars together with a rubber spatula until throughly blended, then add in the vanilla, eggs, and yogurt.  set aside.

3. in another bowl mix together the remaining ingredients.

4. add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixing bowl, gently blend everything together until just combined, then pour and spread evenly into bundt pan.

5. bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

6. allow to cool and enjoy!

Strawberry Margarita Ice Cream Cake

After our recent trip to the strawberry patch I just had to find some strawberry recipes!  I decided upon Strawberry Margarita Pie, as it’s served cold and just needs chilling time, so real easy.  I of course left the alcohol out, as I wanted it to be family-friendly….and the other change was more of an accident, lol.  The recipe calls for cool whip and I just *assumed* it was meant as a topping, which I didn’t have on hand and figured I would just go without.  So I forged ahead, mixing everything up, then came to the part that said “….fold 1 tub of cool whip into the mixture…”, oh dear.  I guess it wasn’t a topping after all and the local grocery store was already closed, as it was after 7pm.  Well drats, I wasn’t about to waste all of my luscious ingredients!  So my younger daughter, who just happen to be eating a bowl of ice cream, said “use vanilla ice cream!”.  Sounded good to me and what other choice did I have?  I tried looking up recipes for homemade cool whip, but I didn’t have all of the ingredients on hand for that either, lol.

The verdict?  DELISH!  My oldest daughter is actually gone for the weekend, but she had a slice before leaving and said “hide it from the others so I can have more when I get back!” lol.  No really, it’s good, and no need to turn on the hot oven either!  It is cool and creamy, tangy and sweet, fruity with just a hint of salt and so refreshing

Though in my picture you see strawberry chunks and sliced on top, I would recommend blending the strawberries and omitting the slices, as it made it harder to eat.  Oh, and definitely use the crushed pretzels, don’t replace it with graham crackers!  The original recipe is called Strawberry Margarita Pie, my version and changes are below.  One day I do plan on trying the original version though, as I KNOW that will be good too!

Virgin Strawberry Margarita Ice Cream Cake-9 large portions

Crust

• 1 1/4 cups pretzel crumbs
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/4 cup sugar

Filling

• 1 1/2 cups strawberries,pureed or mashed well
• 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
• 1/3 cup lime juice, freshly squeezed (I only had 1 lime on hand and used lemon juice as well)
• 3 large scoops of vanilla ice cream-softened

Directions:

• Combine pretzel crumbs, butter, and sugar and mix well.
• Press crust mixture firmly into the bottom of an 8×8 pan.  I placed a sheet of saran wrap on top before pressing my hands into the crumb mixture, it’s a lot cleaner and the crust ends up nicer.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the condensed milk, lime juice, strawberries, and soft ice cream and blend well.
• Pour the mixture right on top of the crust, then freeze for at least 6 hours.
• To serve: take the pan out of the freezer and allow it to sit for a few minutes before cutting into it.  I find that using a flat-edges spatula works best.

Let Them Eat CAKE…with Homemade Coconut-Pecan Frosting!

I have to admit, I’m not a huge cake and frosting fan, but my hubby and oldest daughter LOVE German Chocolate cake and always request it for their birthday. So 2-3 years ago I found a recipe on how to make it homemade, and I have to say, it was VERY good but a bit time intensive. In all honestly it’s the homemade frosting that I thought was the highlight, so I semi-cheat by using boxed cake mix (using milk instead of water) and slathering it with the homemade Coconut-Pecan frosting, YUM!!! I load mine up with toasted coconut and pecan pieces, so much so that it’s more of a chutney then a frosting, as it doesn’t spread very easily, lol. But of course you can adjust the amount of coconut and nuts you add in to your liking!

The cake and frosting recipe can actually be found on the same page, it is called German Chocolate Cake with Coconut Pecan Frosting. I used only 1 stick of butter for the frosting and toasted the coconut and nuts before adding it into the pot. Also, make sure to bring the heat up on the frosting VERY slowly, I kept mine on low for at least 6-8 minutes, or else you will end up cooking the egg yolks and tiny yellow pieces will be floating around in your frosting. And of course whisk often! Lastly, my frosting takes at least 20 minutes to cook on the stove to my desired thickness, so don’t be alarmed if it seems to be taking forever….I think once it took me 30 minutes even. But it’s a simple recipe and just needs to be stirred frequently in the beginning, after that you can let it simmer fairly un-attended. Trust me, this frosting is just divine and the sweetness level is perfect.

Homemade Ice Cream “Blizzards” on the cheap!

Well, it’s warming up over here in MN, and by that I mean in the 60′s (haha), so of course our minds and tastebuds turn towards ice cream. And really, besides a Coldstone creation the next best mainstream ice cream fare that we love are Dairy Queen Blizzards. But, with 5 of us and Blizzards being at least $3 each…that treat doesn’t come too often. And of course I’m not one to feel left out just because of a lack of spending money, I decided to re-create them at home.

Looking online I quickly found the “original” recipe, or so it’s called, though I didn’t follow it exactly, but I rarely do, right? So here is what we found that works and is super easy, fast, and CHEAP. Did I mention cheap?? I mean, for the price of 2 small Blizzards I can buy a large pail of ice cream! Oh, and sorry for the lack of a picture, but we just ate them up too fast to even think about taking a snapshot!

So here is how I make them along with a couple tips, enjoy!

Single Serve Blizzard Ice Cream Treat:

• 2 large scoops of vanilla ice cream
• 1 TBLS of milk OR 1 TBLS of chocolate syrup and 1/2 TBLS of milk
• a couple drops of extract (optional)-this might be good for a tropical blizzard, maybe a touch of coconut extract?
• your favorite mix-ins-chopped up candy pieces, brownie chunks, nuts, chocolate chips, frozen cake, fruit, etc…

Directions:

• Put the ice cream in a tall cup. You could use a bowl as well, but I find the cup works best as the ice cream doesn’t have much room for “escape” or sliding around.
• Add the milk and chocolate syrup, if you are using it. Take a large and strong spoon (one that won’t bend) and start working the milk and chocolate syrup into the ice cream. You know, smooth it, stab at it, stir it. I like my Blizzards really thick, so I try to work fast and don’t add too much milk. If you like yours a little softer/thinner you can add more milk.
• When the ice cream is almost how you want it, put in all of your mix-ins and stir until just blended. ALL DONE!!
• If the mix is too soft for you, just pop it in the freezer for 30-40 minutes or so and re-mix quickly before enjoying.

Apple Spice Loaf with Coconut and Pecans

I’m not usually a big fan of baked goods with apples in them, but I just HAD to do something with the ones we had in the fridge! We usually love snacking on apples, but somehow we picked up the wrong kind last time we were at the market….the mealy ones. We are definitely a sweet & snappy kind of family, and mealy apples will rot before anyone will eat them. So as I was perusing a blog that I stumbled upon, I saw a post titled Cake for Breakfast? and just had to take a quick peek. My recipe below is adapted from the one in this post.

The recipe is basically for a carrot spice cake baked up in a loaf pan, so I decided to give it a try, only with apples instead. The result? The family likes it a lot, and my daughters softball team keeps asking for more! This was quite surprisingly to me, as I did make it a bit healthier, so it’s not really a “junk food” item. Yes, yes…it’s baked and shaped like a sweet bread, but you can feel good about giving this a snack option to your kids. It is fairly low in sugar, contains fruit and/or veggies (if you are using carrots), whole wheat flour, apple sauce, nuts (good source of fat and protein) and yogurt.  I think this would make a great hostess or house warming gift!

Oh, and don’t let the long list of ingredients scare you, half of them are spices.

Quick tip: to make this more portable and to control portion sizes, try making this in a muffin tin. If you do this, make sure to lessen the baking time! Also, those little snack size apple sauce cups is the perfect amount, so if you have those handy no need to measure it out.

Apple Spice Loaf with Coconut and Pecans:

• 1 cup white flour
• 1 cup wheat flour
• 1 T baking powder
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp ground cardamom
• pinch ground nutmeg
• ¼ t baking soda
• ¼ t salt
• ½ c sugar
• 1/3 c brown sugar
• 1/3 c canola oil
• 1/2 cup natural (unsweetened) apple sauce
• 2 large eggs
• ¾ cup plain yogurt
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 cup shredded carrots or diced apples, or a combination of both
• ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)
• 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans (optional)

Directions:

• Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly spray a 5 x 9 bread pan and set aside.
• Combine the first 9 ingredients into a large mixing bowl and blend well.
• In another bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and blend well.
• Pour the wet mix into the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients, then stir until just blended and nothing is dry anymore.
• Pour the batter into the bread pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the highest part of the read comes out clean (or pretty darn close).
• Take the bread out of the oven and allow it to cool for at least 20-30 minutes before cutting into it.

Whole Wheat Double Chip Blondie Bars

I have to admit….I’m a big fan of whole wheat flour. So when I saw this recipe for a Whole Wheat Blondie I just HAD to give it a try! For those of you who are not familiar with what blondies are, they are basically the non-cocoa based cousin of a brownie. They are dense, chewy, buttery, and are usually made with brown sugar, giving them a slightly carmel-y tasting background flavor.

I made a couple small changes (of course).

• If you like a denser, more compact bar, omit most or all of the baking powder
• I upped the nuts to 1/2 cup and didn’t toast them
• I cup the sugar down to 1 cup, and think that is the perfect amount

All in all I thought this was a great bar, though it is a bit different due to being all whole wheat. If you are not sure about liking that aspect of it, try using 1/2 white flour and 1/2 whole wheat flour. I personally enjoy the distinct taste it lends to the bar….it makes the flavor a bit more complex and “deep”, and just a bit more wholesome tasting. I honestly think the pairing up of butterscotch chips and whole wheat flour compliments each other very nicely.

Easy Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cup Bars (no-bake)

My hubby always tells me NOT to buy baked goods and sweets from the local stores and bakeries, not because he doesn’t believe in supporting them, but because he KNOWS I’m never quite satisfied with whatever I bring home. I guess it’s sort of a curse for those that like to bake a lot, it just seems the “standard” stuff out out there usually falls a little short of what we expect. Well, at least thats how it is for me anyways. So last week I did it again, purchased from a local shop for the kids because I wasn’t feeling well and didn’t have the energy to make anything myself. Needless to say the kids thought it was great (but hey, they like all sugar), but my opinion was much different, lol. So now that I’m all better, I decided to re-make the recipe at home and it turned out great!

The original bars were called “oh henry” bars, which were slightly chewy, with a hint of peanut butter, rice crispies (I think), and a layer of soft chocolate on top (melted chocolate chips mixed with shortening, ugh). I don’t know about you, but unless it is chocolate frosting or a truffle, I expect my chocolate to be a little “snappy”, not soft. I personally did not think they had enough peanut butter in them and I omitted the crispies as one of my kids found it slightly strange, and I fixed the chocolate issue. What I ended up creating was a Peanut Butter Cup tasting bar, but a version that is much healthier then most, as it doesn’t use much butter and oatmeal replaces graham crackers. Since these are so quick to whip up and NO BAKING is necessary, these make a great picnic or potluck option!

The key here is to measure out the oatmeal BEFORE grinding it so the bars are not too dry, and if you prefer a little texture to your bars, just coarsely grind the oatmeal.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cup Bars (16 small bars)-

• 1 3/4 cups quick cook or regular rolled oats
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup corn syrup
• 2 TBLS butter
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup good quality chocolate chips

Directions-

• Set aside an un-greased 8×8 inch non-stick baking pan.
• Using a small grinder (like a coffee grinder), grind up all of the oatmeal until it resembles oatmeal flour, which is slightly coarser/larger grained then regular flour. Place the ground up oats in a small bowl and set aside.
• In a microwave safe mixing bowl combine the next 4 ingredients, then heat in the microwave for approx. 30 seconds to make it easier to blend everything together. Once the wet mixture is thoroughly blended together, add in the oat flour and work it in well. It should form a big ball, but if it still seems a little dry you can add another tablespoon of butter.
• Press the mixture evenly into the pan, then scatter the chocolate chips on top. Using the back of a rubber spatula, press the chocolate chips into the bars. You can also do this by laying a piece of wax or parchment paper on top of the bars and then pressing them in with the palm of your hand.
• Chilling these for 30 minutes or so will these easier to cut. I find that these taste best at room temperature, as the chocolate and peanut butter are more flavorful warm then chilled.

Ultra Low-Fat Double Chocolate Banana Muffins that my kids LOVE

I hesitated to put this recipe up, as it’s not the standard fat laden chocolate bomb that most Double Chocolate muffins happen to be. But then again, maybe you’re looking for something a little off the beaten path, and quite honestly this recipe tugs at my heart for 3 reasons.

The first muffins I remember truly loving were the banana chocolate chip ones from the local grocery store. You know, the kind you buy individually for about a buck a piece. My dad used to always get me those, so I have fond memories of that particular flavor, which these totally remind me of.  Then there’s the fact that the ONLY fat in these happen to be the chocolate chips, which obviously you can control how much you put in. Lastly…my kids loved them, even knowing that they were “healthy”.

Now I have to say, the texture of these muffins take on a dramatic change from hot to cold. Fresh from the oven the texture is more reminiscent of traditional muffins, fluffy and soft. When they are cooled they tend to be more spongy and dense, perfect with a glass of milk if you ask me. This is the type of “treat” that is perfect as an after school snack and they are not overly sweet, so you don’t even have to feel guilty about it!

I adapted this recipe from Kittencal’s Extreme 1-Gram Lowfat Banana-Blueberry Muffins found of recipezaar.com. I’m sure the original tastes great, but we’ve never really been fans of fruit muffins or piees, so I changed it up a little suit our tastes.

Ultra Low-Fat Double Chocolate Banana Muffins-makes 7-8 large muffins:

• 1 tsp vinegar+1/4 cup skim milk (or 1/4 fat free plain yogurt or 1/4 cup low fat sour cream)
• 3/4 cups flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 TBLS baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
• 3 small ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line a muffin tin and set aside.
• If you are using the milk and vinegar-combine then in a small bowl, stir, and set aside.
• In a mixing bowl combine all of the dry ingredients (flour thru chocolate chips) and mix well.
• In a separate bowl combine the mashed bananas, sugar, egg and vanilla. Mix well and then add in the milk and stir carefully.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the the mixing bowl with they dry ingredients and mix until everything is just moistened.
• Fill the muffin cups about 3/4 of the way full, this will yield 7-8 large muffins.
• Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick cones out clean.