Baked Oatmeal

    Sorry for the long break in between posts!  Last week I was on a trip, and this week I have been recovering from the trip, and working on a new interest of mine...sewing aprons! (More to come about that)

    So here I am again finally, with a recipe that has become a new tradition for my family.  I make several batches of this baked oatmeal once or twice a month and freeze them.  Then on Saturday nights, I take one out to thaw, and in the morning, pop it into my toaster oven.  That way, we can take our showers and get ready for our Fellowship Meeting (church) and not have to worry about breakfast!  When we're ready, it's ready!

    There are several different variations of this recipe, so you can make it to your liking!  I always make it simple, with bananas and cinnamon.  It tastes just like a wonderful banana muffin!  You can make it with apple sauce instead of mashed bananas, add nuts, raisins or chopped apples.  The possibilities are endless, really!  So here's the recipe, and you can take it and make it your own!

Baked Oatmeal

3 1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups milk
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup mashed bananas or applesauce
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Optional: 1/2 cup walnuts, pecans, chopped apple, raisins, dates...or whatever you desire. :)


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, and pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking pan.  Bake at 375 for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the middle looks set.

It's simple, and oh so satisfying!  Enjoy!

Mandarin Chicken Salad

    The heat has been awful around here, and it's only going to get worse before it gets better!  On days like this, I love to pull out an old standby like this Mandarin Chicken Salad.  It's especially handy when I already have chicken breasts cooked and cubed.  I like to cook a whole bag at a time so I have some handy when I need it. 
     It's also a great meal to bring on a camping trip.  You can prepare everything in advance and put the ingredients in separate baggies.  So when you are ready to eat, just pour everything together, and you have a great meal!

Mandarin Chicken Salad

2 tablespoons butter
1 package (3 ounces) chicken or oriental flavored ramen noodle soup mix
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil or other oil of your choice
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken
1/4 cup dry-roasted peanuts
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
2 cups chopped cabbage (or coleslaw mix)
1 can (11 ounces) mandarin orange segments, drained

Melt butter in skillet over medium heat.  Add seasoning packet from soup mix.  Break block of noodles into bite size pieces over skillet.  Stir into butter mixture.  Cook noodles for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in sesame seeds.  Cook about 2 minutes longer, stirring occasionally, until noodles are golden brown.  Remove from heat.
Mix sugar, vinegar, oil and pepper in a large bowl.  Add noodle mixture and remaining ingredients; toss.   Enjoy!

This also makes a pretty salad if you use purple cabbage!

Strawberry Shortcake!

Recently, Chance and I checked out this book from the library.

It is a super cute book...basically, the great-grandson of the Little Red Hen decides he is sick of chicken feed, and wants something different.  So he finds his great-granny's cookbook and decides to make strawberry shortcake...with the help of a turtle, an iguana and a pig.  The book has the recipe, and cooking tips, along with the hilarious story.  So Chance and I decided to try out the recipe!

He had alot of fun helping measure out the ingredients and stir them together.   We had a great time in the kitchen together...even tho we made a bit of a mess. :)  It's a very simple recipe for kids of all ages to help with, or even do themselves!

 

I'm going to share the recipe, but I recommend getting the book also if you have kids!  It's a great way to bond with your kids, and they love the feeling of making something!  When they can relate to the funny characters in the book, it's even more fun!

Great Granny's Magnificent Strawberry Shortcake

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter (one stick)

1 egg, beaten

2/3 cup milk

3 to 4 cups strawberries, washed and sliced

whipped cream

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  Sift flour, then sift together dry ingredients.  Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add egg and milk, stirring by hand just enough to moisten.  Spread dough in greased 8 x 1 1/2 inch round pan. building up edges slightly.  Bake for 15 to 18 minutes.  Remove cake from pan; cool on rack for 5 minutes.  Split into two layers; lift top off carefully.  Alternate layers of cake, whipped cream, and strawberries, ending with strawberries on top.

The cake turned out just right!

 Not high in sugar, which I love.  But if you have a sweet tooth you can always add more sugar.

Enjoy your cake!

Note: This recipe is taken from the book Cook-A-Doodle-Doo by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel



Click on the link to the left to buy this book from Amazon.com now!

Giveaway

Since I am just setting up this blog, I am not able to have giveaways yet, but over at Homemaker's Cottage, Kristy is having a great giveaway this week! $40 at CSN Stores, which has just about everything a homemaker could want! Head over there and check it out!

http://homemakerscottage.blogspot.com/

Butter Chicken

Butter Chicken, an East Indian recipe, is one of my all time favorite meals! My sister-in-law introduced me to it at an Indian Buffet a few years ago, and since then I have created this shortcut recipe for it. I made this the other day, and posted a picture on Facebook, and I have received many recipe requests! I am the kind of cook that just adds what seems right, so I don't have exact measurements for everything, but I will try to get as close as I can! :) This dish can be somewhat spicy, depending on the restaurant or cook, but I tend to make it pretty mild. I made this in a crock pot, so it required very little effort, but it can be made on the stovetop, also! Serve this over Basmati rice with hot buttered Naan bread (an Indian flatbread).

2 cups tomato juice
1 cup cream
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8-1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
5-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup flour

In a crock pot, combine tomato juice, yogurt, cream and butter. Add all of the spices and stir to mix. I let this sit and simmer for a while to let all the flavors blend. Rinse the chicken breasts and trim off the fat, then cut into bite size pieces. In a large skillet, cook the chicken over medium-high heat, until no longer pink, stirring occasionally. Add chicken to sauce in crock pot. Again, I let it simmer for a while to fully flavor the chicken. Shortly before serving, add milk and flour together until smooth and pour into crock pot...stir well to incorporate evenly. Cook another 10 to 15 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Serve over hot Basmati rice. Enjoy!

Welcome!

Howdy! Welcome to my new blog! I have been thinking about joining the blogging world for a while now, and finally decided to do it. I thought this would be a good place to share my love of cooking, photography, decorating, sewing and crafts, and basically anything to do with homemaking and family. I love to try new recipes, (or make up my own!) and take pictures of the finished product. Eventually I would love to have my own cookbook. But for now I will post them on here so you all can enjoy them! I love taking pictures. I am self taught, and always trying to improve! It would be fun to have photo contests on here, but I am going to start slow and see where things go! I hope you all enjoy reading my blog and continue to visit! Thanks!