Cinnamon-Raisin Oats with Bananas and Walnuts

I'll be honest, I wasn't really crazy about steel cut oats the first time I tried them. They were okay, but they sure didn't seem worth the long preparation time. Especially as I could have my regular quick-cooking oats in under two minutes. But there are plenty of other things I didn't really get the big deal about at first that now are constant staples in my home, like quinoa and greek yogurt. I don't give up on food easily (not to mention I still had a good sized package of the steel cut oats), so I tried several cooking methods and add-ins before finding how I liked it best.

My version is mostly adapted from a Irish Oatmeal Brulee recipe (although you won't catch me caramelizing sugar on top of my breakfast). Even so, it is plenty sweet, thanks to the maple syrup and golden raisins. In my experimenting, I discovered that I preferred a combination of water and milk versus using all of one or the other, and that I actually favored coconut milk (beverage) over 2% milk. And I love how simmering the oats with a cinnamon stick infuses so much flavor than a sprinkle of the ground stuff. 

This version does take longer than other ways I tried- by the time all is said and done, this takes about 45 minutes to prepare. I'll stick with my quick cooking oats for busy weekdays, but this is perfect for lazy weekend mornings.  

Cinnamon-Raisin Oats with Bananas and Walnuts
adapted from Irish Oatmeal Brulee, Taste of Home Magazine, April and May 2011
4 servings (although I think it is more like 3 servings)

Bananas and toasted walnuts are a wonderful compliment, but feel free to use different fruit or nuts as a topping. Or enjoy it just as it is.

2 cups water
2 cups unsweetened coconut milk beverage
1 cup of steel-cut oats (also called Irish oatmeal or Scottish oats)
1 cinnamon stick
kosher salt
3 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup toasted walnuts
1-2 bananas, sliced

In a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, bring water and milk to a boil. Add oats, cinnamon stick and a pinch of salt. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes or until thick and creamy, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat. Discard cinnamon stick. Stir in maple syrup and raisins. Cover and let sit for 3 minutes, then uncover and let sit for 5 additional minutes.

Divide into serving bowls and top with banana slices and walnuts.

Cranberry Oatmeal Pumpkin Muffins

If you've been following my blog for any amount of time, you've read me carry on about how I'm not really a big fan of sweets, blah, blah, blah. But I guess it's not up to me right now. Apparently this baby has a sweet tooth, because I have been craving them lately. Sometimes, a cup of tea with honey or a bowl of lightly sweetened cereal will do the trick. Other times, not so much. To keep myself from eating junk, I've baked up a few batches of muffins lately in order to have something sweet, but fairly healthy to snack on.

None of them have really been impressive enough to share, and I'll be honest, when I tried this batter before baking, I was certain these wouldn't be either. In fact, I almost tossed it out. It tasted like nothing but baking soda and had no sweetness whatsoever. Thank goodness I didn't, because these muffins are great. And even better the next day. They have a slightly dense, healthy taste that I actually enjoy in a muffin, while still staying moist and lightly sweet. And without the use sugar, butter, oil or eggs.

According to the site I found these, you can use any fruit juice or type of milk for the liquid, and and any type of fruit pulp (applesauce, pumpkin puree, smashed bananas, etc.) Obviously, I can't support that claim without trying out different combinations, but I can tell you using apple juice and pumpkin made for a tasty muffin for me. I also added vanilla, cinnamon and a little agave, along with some dried cranberries and some white chocolate chips that I had laying around. While I loved the cranberries, I think I'd prefer to leave out the chips next time to embrace this muffin's healthiness. I'd rather go with extra dried fruit and add some chopped nuts. In any case, the beauty of these are how adaptable they are.

Cranberry Oatmeal Pumpkin Muffins
adapted from Diana's Awesome Oatmeal Muffins, Food.com

yields 12

2 cups rolled oats (I used 1 cup old fashioned and 1 cup quick-cooking)
2 cups no sugar added (100%) apple juice
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp agave or honey
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
optional stir-ins: additional dried fruit, chopped nuts, white chocolate chips, shredded coconut, etc.

Preheat oven to 400.

In a large bowl, soak oats in juice until softened about 15 minutes. Add pumpkin, vanilla and agave. Next stir in salt, baking soda and powder and cinnamon. Mix in flour until just combined, taking care not to over mix. Fold in cranberries and desired stir-ins, if using.

Spoon batter into an ungreased nonstick muffin pan (they will be filled to the top). Bake for 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted center of one of the muffins comes out clean.

Let muffins cool in muffin pan on a wire rack completely before removing.

Lentil Walnut Burgers

When I first saw this recipe in my Google reader a while back, I knew it was something I wanted to try. In fact, I planned on making these burgers immediately as I had the ingredients on hand, but somehow it didn't happen. Then I forgot about them. Recently I was perusing the blog where I'd first seen them, Cara's Cravings- which is full of a healthy, yet certainally never boring, recipes- while looking for new vegetarian dishes to try. Seeing this recipe again, I knew I couldn't let them get away from me a second time and made them the next day.

Originally a Moosewood Cookbook recipe, Cara had altered it a bit, changing hers from Lentil Walnut Burgers to ones made with pecans, and topped with sliced apples and blue cheese crumbles and seasoned with thyme. I choose to make mine with walnuts, just because I prefer them over pecans, and also to skip the apples but keep the blue cheese and the thyme. They were wonderful and we loved how they paired with the cheese.

Now here's the beauty of these tasty burgers: you don't just have to do the patty on a bun thing. The next day after I made them, I worked late, and when I got home, Sage repurposed them as a filling for delicious meatless quesadillas, along with sauteed mushrooms, tomatoes and white cheddar. Then the next day for lunch, I crumbled one over a salad with blue cheese and a drizzle of olive oil and vinegar dressing. I'm not a big fan of eating of same thing for days on end, but a busy schedule left cooking new things everyday hard, so I loved how they worked in several different ways. They can also be frozen. I will definitely be making these again soon.

Lentil-Walnut Burgers, adapted slightly from Cara's Cravings (originally from Mollie Katzen/Moosewood)

3/4 cup green lentils (or brown)

1 1/2 cups water

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup minced onion

4 large cloves garlic, minced

8 oz mushrooms, minced

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts (or pecans)

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tsp minced fresh thyme or rosemary (I used about a 1/2 tsp dried)

1/2 cup rolled oats

crumbled blue cheese, if desired

Place lentils and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for about 30 minutes, or until the lentils are soft and the liquid is gone.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a medium-sized skillet. Add onion and saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and saute for about 5-10 minutes more, until the vegetables are soft. Add the thyme, the walnuts, and season with salt & pepper. Set aside to cool while the lentils finish cooking.

When the lentils are done, place in a bowl and mash with the vinegar. Add the sauteed vegetables and the oats and mix well. Chill for about an hour.

Preheat broiler. Form the lentil mixture into six equal sized patties ( I actually got 7 patties) and place on a baking sheet. Broil for about 8 minutes on each side. If desired, top the burgers with the blue cheese and broil for one minute more, or until cheese is melted.

Apple-Cranberry Oatmeal Bars

Wooed by my grocery store's clever Fall display, I made it home from my last shopping trip with a half peck of Gala apples. In our house, apples get eaten frequently by our toddler. However, even with him eating one or two a day, I knew I needed to start baking or cooking with them to use them up.

When I was making these, Sage said "Aren't we gonna, like, get fat from all this baking you've been doing?" I reminded him that we only eat a little and give the rest to someone else. Well, after tasting these, I'd better come up with some really healthy dinners the next few nights, because these won't be making it into the possession of any of our loved ones! Sage even declared these as possibly the best thing I've ever baked.

These were so tempting, we couldn't even wait last night for them to properly cool before sampling. Then we had to wrap them up and force ourselves to go to bed. Warm, they don't hold their shape well, but would be perfect for topping with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and eating with a spoon. For me, these are definitely a dessert and not a grab-and-go breakfast. They are quite sweet (although the sweet taste is much stronger cooled than warm) so when I make these again, I will reduce the sugar, add another apple or two, and I am pretty sure I could use whole wheat flour and they'd still taste amazing. A great thing about these bars is you could switch out the filling, using different types of fresh and/or dried fruit, or even jarred chunky applesauce, as the recipe originally suggests. I will definitely be experimenting with this one.

adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

2 apples suitable for baking, peeled, cored and diced

1 cinnamon stick

2 tbsp water

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup quick cooing oats

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 baking soda

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries

dash of ground cloves

Combine apples, cinnamon stick and water in a saucepan. Cover and simmer until apples are very tender, about 20 minutes. If there is excess water, drain most off. Remove stick, and mash apples with fork. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flour, oats, sugar and baking soda in a meduim bowl. Using a pastry cutter, cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (I don't have a pastry cutter, so I just pulsed it in the food processor and other than the oats gettting slightly chopped up, it worked just fine.) Reserve a half of cup of crumb mixture. Press remaining into an ungreased 11x7 baking pan.

Add cranberries and cloves to apples and stir to mix well. Spread over top of crumb layer. Sprinkle with reserved crumbs. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and cut into bars.

Grilled Chicken Burgers & Crispy Oven Baked Parmesan Fries

To say that my husband loves chicken is an understatement. Sage could eat it everyday, happily. Since it was pretty much the only meat I ate growing up, I get quite bored of chicken. But since we have it 4 or 5 times a week, I'm always trying to come up with new ways to fix it.

Last night I made chicken burgers. They were very moist, which was something I worried about. Since Beckett and Sage have a lower tolerance for spiciness than me, I went light on the seasoning, but you could definitely go for more- they'd be great with a kick. Beckett doesn't normally like chicken or really any meat (a texture thing) and he loved these!

To go with them, I fixed fries made from red potatoes. I had a little happy accident- I meant to use grated parmesan (the powdery stuff) but wasn't paying attention and grabbed my can of the shredded. It was already on the potatoes, so I went ahead with it, thinking it would just melt and make a mess...Instead it formed a "crust" on them, which made them very crispy on the outside. Like a real french fry! I used a only pinch of cayenne on these, and Beckett couldn't eat them. Sage really liked them but said they'd be better if they weren't so spicy, so make your according to your family's preference.

Grilled Chicken Burgers makes 4 burgers

2 large chicken breasts, cut into 1 in. cubes (or sub. 1 lb. already ground chicken breast)

1/2 of a small onion, chunked (about a 1/3 cup)

1/4 of a green pepper, chunked (about a 1/3 cup)

1/2 of a celery rib, chunked

1 clove garlic, peeled and quartered

1/3 cup quick oats

2 tbsp seasoned breadcrumbs

1 egg

kosher salt & fresh ground pepper

1/2 tsp. creole seasoning blend (I used Tony Chachere's)

1. In food processor, pulse 1/2 of the chicken until minced. Transfer to large bowl, and repeat with the rest of chicken. Transfer to large bowl.

2. Add onion, green pepper, celery and garlic to food processor. Pulse to fine mince. Transfer to bowl of ground chicken. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well.

3. Form into 4 large patties. (They will seem very "goopy" and be different than ground turkey or beef.) Chill until ready to grill. (I chilled mine for 45 minutes.)

4. Grill over medium-high direct heat, for 5-6 minutes a side.

We topped our with pepper jack cheese and served on toasted hamburger rolls with lettuce, tomato and lite mayo.

Crispy Oven Baked Parmesan Fries (serves 2)

3-4 red potatoes (about 3/4 lb.)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp shredded parmesan

sea or kosher salt/fresh ground pepper

pinch of cayenne peppper (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 425 dgrees.

2.Slice potatoes longwise into 1/2 inch wide strips, leaving skins on. Place in large bowl or ziplock baggie.

3. Add remaining ingredients. Toss to coat well.

4. Spread in a single layer on cookie sheet, and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Flip, and bake for another 15 minutes.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Today I had my friend's eight year old daughter at my house for a few hours. After my son was picked up to spend the day with his nana, I quickly discovered without him, there wasn't much interesting for her to do other than watch tv. All I have is toys best suited for a toddler boy.

I'm not much of a baker, but I suggested we make cookies. I looked up a quick recipe on allrecipes.com, noted a few suggested user modifications, and dove into it. I quarted the original recipe (which yields 42) because I didn't want to have a bunch of cookies in the house. I wish I would've only halved it, because they are some of the best cookies I've ever made! Oh well, its for the best, really. I forgot to set the timer and had to guess, but they still came out perfect- slightly crisp on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside.

This is the halved recipe (will make around 24)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
2/3 cup and 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)

1.Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the quick oats, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
3.Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

I'm not much of a baker, which I think is because I improvise a lot while cooking and its difficult to do that when you're baking. Plus we're not big fans of sweets and most baked goods. I have been searching for a muffin recipe lately, but they all seemed to have 2 cups worth of sugar.

On the blog Miss Foodie Two Shoes I found this one, and it had very little sugar, and I had all the ingredients on hand, so I decided to make them. I love peanut butter and banana together, and I liked that the blogger said they weren't that sweet. I was debating the streusel topping, and then forgot it anyhow, but I'm pretty sure they would've been tastier with it. However, they are still yummy. The best part, my toddler son (who has had such a tiny appetite lately,) ate one and asked for another!

1 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup quick cooking oats

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 tbs. baking powder

1 cup milk (I used 1%)

1/2 cup peanut butter (I used Chunky Natural PB)

1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (I had one very big banana that equaled 1/2 cup)

1 egg, beaten

2 tbs. vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 tbs. butter, melted

2 tbs. packed brown sugar

1.Preheat your over to 375 degrees. Grease 12 muffin cups or line with muffin liners. (Actually makes about 15 muffins)

2. Combine 1 cup of flour, quick cooking oats, 1/3 cup brown sugar and baking powder. Whisk together milk, peanut butter, mashed banana, egg, oil and vanilla. Add banana mixture to dry ingredients, mixing just until moistened.

3. Fill the prepared muffin cups 3/4 full. In a small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup flour, melted butter and 2 tbs. of brown sugar. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the muffins.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 18 minutes, until golden brown. Best served warm. (Great warmed for 10 seconds in the microwave.)

Black Bean Sliders & Sweet Potato Fries with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

I love both veggie and black bean burgers and often order them at casual restaurants. I had some leftover black beans and wanted to try making my own. There were some small bakery rolls in the freezer left over from a party, so I decided to make sliders. And burgers are best with fries, so I paired mine with oven baked sweet potatoes.

The burgers were awesome! They reminded me of the ones I get from Chili's and were so easy to make. I prepared the patties ahead and put them in the refrigerator until we were ready to grill. The fries were tasty but I should have flipped them half way so they'd be evenly toasted. I've included my favorite Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce for the fries. It's also delicious on grilled chicken.

Black Bean Burgers

2 1/2 cups (about 1 1/2 cans) canned organic black beans (rinsed and drained well)

1/3 cup chopped carrot

1/3 cup chopped onion

oil

3 tbsp minced garlic

1 egg

1/2 Quick Cooking Oats

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp hot sauce

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1. Blot beans with paper towels to remove as much moisture from rinsing as possible.

2. Using a food processor, finely chop carrots and onion. Saute chopped vegetables with garlic in a minimal amount of oil over medium heat for 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in large bowl, mash black beans using a handheld submersion blender or potato masher, until beans form a paste, leaving some chunks.

4. Blot sauteed vegetables well to remove any liquids and add to mashed beans. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

5. Form into desired sized patties (makes 7-8 sliders, or 4-5 full sized.) Can be refrigerated until ready to use. Uncooked patties can also be frozen for another use. (We froze half.) Can be grilled, baked or panfried. (We grilled ours.)

Baked Sweet Potato Fries (adapted from Country Living)

2 large Sweet Potatoes

olive oil

cumin

ground red pepper

sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cut potatoes in half both directions, then cut wedges into 1/2 inch sticks.

3. In large bowl or zip lock bag, place potatoes, enough oil to lightly coat, and desired amount of seasonings. Toss or shake to coat well.

4. Spread potatoes in a single layer on cookie sheet and bake for 35 minutes or until brown around the edges.

* I would suggest flipping them half way for even browning, and perhaps broiling for last few minutes for toastier fries.

Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce (originally a marinade from allrecipes.com)

1 tbsp & 1 tsp dijon mustard

1/2 tbsp light mayonnaise

1 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp steak sauce (such as A-1) or worcestershire sauce

Blend all ingredients well.

This quantity is for two people for dipping. Can easily be double or tripled.