Baked Oatmeal

Looking through some chicken recipes on my blog, I followed a source link and found a blog called Happy Healthy Cook which led me to Alosha's Kitchen, which is the food archives for Happy Healthy Cook.

Anyway, so I'm in the middle of the Happy archive and after hearing about how bad ass this baked oatmeal is I have to try it. HAVE to. I mean, cakey-cookiey-oatmeal goodness? The way  Melissa talks about this breakfast treat it'd be a serious shame not to try it at least once.

Wandering further, I went to her source and made some of my own adaptations: substituting some of oats with Coach's Oats out of necessity and adding dates. Fruit in oatmeal is the only way to go in my opinion.

Baked Oatmeal
adapted from Foodie with Family, found through Alosha's Kitchen
click to print

2 tbsp butter
2 1/2 c old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 c Coach's Oats
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 c sliced almonds
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 c whole milk
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c dates, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Place the 2 tablespoons butter in an 8x8" baking dish and melt the butter in the oven while it preheats, pulling the dish out after about 5 minutes. Tilt the dish and let the butter coat it about evenly.


Meanwhile, combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.


Whisk together the eggs, milk, maple syrup and vanilla extract in a separate bowl.


Add the egg mixture to the oats and combine until moistened throughout. Stir in the dates.


Transfer to the dish with the melted butter.

I was compelled to pat mine down.

Bake for 30 minutes or until edges are golden brown.



First off, you have to put cream of some sort on the oatmeal. Do it. It's a little dry otherwise, probably because I subbed some of the regular rolled oats with Coach's Oats. The addition just puts this over the top, just a fantastic recipe. The edges of the oatmeal are just the slightest of crispy while the interior is tender but not mushy. Get that? The oatmeal is not mushy! The rolled oats lay flat against each other, making little tiny oat sandwiches, resulting in a flaky, delightful texture throughout.

Tonight, after having made the oatmeal, I read this on Melissa's tumblr:

I swear I will keep posting my breakfasts until everyone at least makes the baked oatmeal. I’m the baked oatmeal evangelist. It’s too good not to share.

Cost:

• butter: $0.14
• old-fashioned rolled oats: $0.50
• Coach's Oats: $0.18
• sugar: $0.10
• brown sugar: $0.08
• sliced almonds: $0.74
• eggs: $0.62
• milk: $0.35
• maple syrup: $0.50
• vanilla extract: $0.08
• dates: $0.54

Total: $3.83 or about $0.64 for each of six hearty servings.

Oatmeal Pancakes with Dates and Walnuts, Take 2

Now with a growing supply of buttermilk, I want to use a bunch of it and it only makes sense to make these pancakes because they are criminally delicious. I've imaged this recipe before but the fact that there is daylight prompts me to do it again.

Oatmeal Pancakes with Dates and Walnuts, Take 2
from Cooking Club of America
click to print

1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
3/4 c quick-cooking oats
1/3 c chopped dates
1/4 c chopped walnuts
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 2/3 c buttermilk
1/4 c packed light brown sugar
1/4 c unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to 200°F.

Combine flour, oats, dates, walnuts, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in large bowl.


Whisk eggs, buttermilk and brown sugar in medium bowl until blended.


Whisk in butter and vanilla until well-blended.


Stir egg mixture into flour mixture just until combined.


Heat griddle or large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot; grease griddle (I used butter).


Ladle batter by scant 1/4 cupfuls onto griddle, spreading to 4-inch rounds.

After my first pancake was done (see images below), I wised up and did two at once.

Cook 2 minutes or until bubbles break surface of pancakes.


Turn; cook 1 1/2 minutes or until golden brown.


Place in oven to keep warm while cooking remaining pancakes (or throw them on plates and dig in immediately).



Oh my god, these pancakes! I cannot believe a boring thing as a pancake can be transformed into something so incredibly magical with oats and dates and nuts. It is absolutely magnificent.

As an FYI, the batter tends to gradually get thicker, probably as the oats absorb the moisture. Mix in additional buttermilk until the batter is of the desired consistency.

Cost:

• flour: $0.10
• oats: $0.15
• dates: $0.18
• walnuts: $0.35
• eggs: $0.61
• buttermilk: $0.43
• brown sugar: $0.08
• unsalted butter: $0.28
• vanilla extract: $0.04

Total: $2.22 or about $0.11 for each of 20 pancakes.

Honey-Balsamic Chicken with Caramelized Onions and Dates

Honey-Balsamic Chicken (tenderloins) with Caramelized Onions and Dates coupled with Cauliflower and Broccoli Gratin

This is a recipe from Cooking Club magazine written specifically to be a fast main course for two. That'll work out to dinner three times for me as I'll include the tenderloins that came with a whole chicken. The recipe should easily be doubled if you have more mouths to feed.

Honey-Balsamic Chicken with Caramelized Onions and Dates

adapted from Cooking Club of America

click to print

2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (and their tenderloins, if you have them)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 1/2 tsp olive oil

1/2 c chopped red onion

3 tsp chopped fresh thyme, divided

1/3 c chicken stock

6 pitted dates, coarsely chopped

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp honey

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Cook and stir onion and 2 teaspoons of the thyme 3 minutes or until onion begins to soften.

Push onion mixture to outside edges of skillet; add chicken to center. Cook 4 minutes or until chicken is lightly browned, turning once and stirring onion mixture occasionally.

Stir in all remaining ingredients except remaining thyme.

Reduce heat to low. Cook, covered, 56 to 8 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center.

I went with 5 minutes to avoid my breasts getting bone dry. Remember that meat continues to cook after it's removed from heat.

Sprinkle with remaining one teaspoon thyme.

Very quick, very simple, and while it tasted good, quite sweet. I might have been a little heavy-handed with the honey. I admit to squirting a blob directly from the bear into the skillet rather than measuring. Maybe the dates the recipe author assumed I'd use were smaller ones. Should I do it again, I'd cut the Medjool date quantity a little. Or maybe what I'd do is use a wine instead of the stock to offer a little bit of a contrast to the sweetness.

While the Cauliflower and Broccoli Gratin was great, it was a rich side to accompany this dish. Knowing what I do now, I'd opt for Pan-Seared Brussels Sprouts and Basic Rice Pilaf instead.

Let me know what you think.

Cost:

• breasts and tenderloins: $2.35
• onion: $0.35
• stock: $0.05
• dates: $3, swag

Total: $5.75 or $1.92 for each of three servings. (I still have two entire breasts left.)

Hadley Whole Fancy Medjool Dates

I've used dates before I started posted the "new ingredients" I buy. Sweet and tasty, I wonder why I don't purchase them more often. With their high sugar content, they last a really long time sort of like honey.

Walking around on Hadley's website, I find there's been a study showing that dates have more antioxidants than cranberries, cherries, blueberries, or pears. That's impressive. Isn't it odd though that the study doesn't mention acai? Those berries have been touted as having crazy high levels of antioxidants, but maybe that's a sales pitch by Jamba Juice.

Medjool dates are big, bigger than prunes.

Inside each fruit there is a seed.

The seeds aren't eaten as is, but can be made edible by grinding into flour or soaked in water and crushed for animal feed.

Let me know if you make flour from the seeds and how you use it. Meanwhile, know that you can use the flesh to make some of the most kick-ass pancakes in the universe, Oatmeal Pancakes with Dates and Walnuts. Man, they are supreme cakes.

Available in the produce section of your local grocery for about $5.99/lb.

Oatmeal Pancakes with Dates and Walnuts

After a late lunch yesterday at my nephew's 4-year birthday party and thus a late dinner of pepper-lime broiled chicken, we got a late start regarding breakfast today. What do you have when you have buttermilk, dates, oatmeal and walnuts on hand? Awesome pancakes. What do you do when you don't have the items in the pantry to make awesome pancakes? You go and get the stuff to make these:

Oatmeal Pancakes with Dates and Walnuts

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/3 cup chopped dates
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 2/3 cups buttermilk
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat oven to 200°F. Combine flour, oats, dates, walnuts, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in large bowl.


Whisk eggs, buttermilk and brown sugar in medium bowl until blended. Whisk in butter and vanilla until well-blended. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture just until combined.


Heat griddle(s) or large nonstick skillet(s) over medium heat until hot; oil griddle(s). Ladle batter by scant 1/4 cupfuls onto griddle(s), spreading to 4-inch rounds.


Cook 2 minutes or until bubbles break surface of pancakes.

Turn; cook 1 1/2 minutes or until golden brown.


Place in oven to keep warm while cooking remaining pancakes.


These 'cakes are delicious!! What's kick-ass is that they are just as good reheated the following day if you, somehow, can't consume them all fresh from the griddle in one sitting. Regardless, you'll be spoiled and no other hot-cake will be satisfactory, especially if you top these bad boys with butter and Grade A maple syrup. Actually, I bet they'd be good with margarine and some Mrs. Butterworth's. Yep, they're THAT good.

Also, they are so filling that you don't need a side of eggs or bacon or ham or sausage or steak or anything else to go with breakfast. So that means you can use both your skillets for making the cakes.

If you had to go buy all the stuff to buy these specifically, they're definitely not the cheapest 'cakes to make. However, considering the multitude of uses for the most costly ingredients, it's worth it if you can swing it. In other words, we only have these when we have something else that requires buttermilk, like buttermilk-brined fried chicken. Dates (about $4/lb at Costco), oatmeal ($0.50-1/lb at Ralph's) and walnuts ($2-3/lb from Costco) will stay ok forever if you treat 'em right. Buttermilk is the most high-falutin' of the group. The rest we end up having on-site anyway.

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See Take 2 here if you're still not convinced. It even has a link to print.