Blueberries & Cream Instant Oatmeal

I posted the recipe for homemade instant oatmeal almost 5 years ago and have made countless batches of the stuff. I have not, however, varied much on the kind. Apple Cinnamon has been the favorite and the one variation I have made every single time but once when I made Maple & Brown Sugar out of my homemade maple sugar.

This time I made more Maple & Brown Sugar and really went out on a creative limb and made Blueberries & Cream.

I put the blueberry oatmeal in blue jars… Wasn’t that clever of me??? LOL

I’m the only one who has tried it so far, and if it stays that way it will be just fine by me! :o)

Take one cup quick oats and blend on high in a blender or food processor until powdery. Mix with 2 cups of plain quick oats and 1 tsp salt.

Add  the following:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 - 1 cup dried blueberries
1/2 cup powdered milk

Store in an airtight container.

 
Pour desired amount into a bowl. Add boiling water until it is the desired consistency.

Coconut Orange Granola

This is hands down the best granola I’ve ever made or had! It was so hard to not eat the whole pan while standing there waiting for it to cool! The coconut oil no only makes for a delicious aroma but also gives it a sweet tropical flavor that is so well matched with the orange. Even hours later, my mom walked into the house and asked, “What is that wonderful smell?” Yup, it was this granola… :o)

6 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup coconut
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup powdered milk

Add grated zest from one orange. Mix together in a large bowl.

 
2/3 cup agave syrup
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp water
2/3 cup coconut oil, melted
Mix well and pour into bowl of dry ingredients. Coat well.

Pour into 2 9x13 pans.

 
Bake at 300 for 25-35 minutes, stirring about every 15 minutes. Bake until golden brown.

Cool, stirring occasionally to break up the granola.

Store in airtight container. Freeze for longer storage.

Fresh Pineapple Sorbet

This is the pineapple sorbet I made for our Ladies’ Tea at church. It is so refreshing and sweet! I love it on a hot summer’s day! And when it’s not hot and sunny, it reminds me of hot summer days and makes me smile!

1 pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into chunks

 

1 1/8 cups sugar

2 Tablespoons lemon or lime juice

Place pineapple and lemon/lime juice in food processor. Blend until pureed.

 

Add sugar and process until sugar is dissolved. This only takes about 1 minute or so.

Pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's directions.

Freeze and enjoy!

Mounds Coconut Brownies

This is just a combination of other things that I’ve made married together in a perfect union of marital bliss!

First make a batch of these brownies and let them cool…

3/4 cup baking cocoa

1/2 tsp baking soda

2/3 cup oil

1/2 cup boiling water

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 1/3 cup flour

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

Stir together cocoa and soda. Add 1/3 cup oil. Stir in boiling water until thick. Add oil, eggs, and sugar. Then add flour, vanilla and salt. Mix well. Pour into lightly greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

While they are cooling, make a batch of coconut topping:

4 oz softened cream cheese

2 Tablespoons softened butter

1 1/3 cups powdered sugar

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the powdered sugar until it is  smooth. Then mix in the coconut.

Spread the filling over the cooled brownies.

Place in fridge to cool a bit (30 minutes or so) before adding chocolate to top.

Melt 1 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 Tablespoon of shortening together and spread on top of coconut filling.

Place back in fridge to let chocolate set up.

Cut into small squares (they’re pretty rich) and store any leftovers in fridge.

Soft Boiled Eggs

All the beautiful sunny mornings the past week have meant more eggs from the hens and more motivation in the mornings for me. I also “found” my breakfast set. So one morning, when all the guys were gone, I decided to make myself a soft boiled egg for breakfast.

I grabbed my 1950s copy of Better Homes and Gardens and a couple of eggs and went to work.

A soft boiled egg only needs to “cook” for 2-4 minutes. Just enough time to make some toast while they cook. I set my timer and popped a couple of pieces of bread in the toaster.

You know how you sometimes get distracted while cooking? Well, I didn’t notice how long the 3-minute sand timer was taking… the sand had stopped at about where the picture shows it. Oops!

Needless to say, my egg was more hard boiled than soft boiled. :o(

Take two: 2 and a half minutes were not enough and the white wasn’t cooked. Ewww!

Take three: 3 minutes is the perfect soft boiled egg.

Unfortunately, by this time my milk was warm and the toast was very cold. Fortunately, we get about 5 eggs a day! :o)

I’ll be having these more often from now on!

Here’s the trick to the perfect soft boiled eggs (using my eggs and my stove)…  ;o)

Cover 1-2 eggs with cold water in small saucepan.

Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat.

Cover. Remove from heat. Let sit for 3 minutes.

Run egg until cold water for 5-10 seconds.

Gently tap around narrow end of the egg with a butter knife to break the shell. Remove top and any broken shell.

Serve with strips of buttered toast.

Ration Book Spice Cake

This recipe is a true WWII ration book special. It has no eggs, butter, milk or white sugar. How could a cake with none of those things even work??? Like a charm!  It has a delightful spicy aroma, rose up beautifully in the pan, and was incredibly moist. Any GI Joe would love to have this on the table when we came home…

2 cups brown sugar

2 cups hot water

2 Tablespoons shortening

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cloves

1 cup raisins

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1 teaspoon hot water

Bring all the ingredients except flour and soda/water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat.

Watch for boil overs! Stir occasionally. After it boils, reduce the heat to keep it at a low boil for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Add flour and soda/water. Mix well.

Pour into 2 greased and sugared loaf pans.

Bake at 325 for 45-50 minutes, or until pick comes out clean.

Cool on wire rack.

Serve cooled or slightly warm.

Who said you had to use your ration stamps to have a delicious dessert???

Mild Italian Sausage

While we prefer spicy Italian sausage, we did make some of the not spicy kind, too. So here’s the recipe for those of you who are just a bit more wimpy… LOL

It does make a killer pizza!

If you are grinding your own pork, check out the sausage basics post HERE.

3 pounds ground pork

2 Tablespoons minced fresh garlic

1 Tablespoons salt

1 Tablespoon black pepper

1 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon dry parsley

1 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed

1/2 teaspoon anise seed

1 Tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

3 Tablespoons red wine

Mix seasonings in a small bowl. Add to ground pork and mix well until fully incorporated.

Chill immediately. Cook a small bit to check taste. Add more spices or more meat according to your taste. Know that they flavor will alter some after a few days.

Use within a day or two or freeze for longer storage.