Baked Oatmeal...a recipe from a BFF

My friend J brought this recipe to a playgroup years ago, and I was hooked. I was making it like crazy in CT. It is yummy warm, fresh out of the oven, and I like it cold out of the fridge. A batch does not last long in our house. Jakob devours it and I can't stop eating it once it is made. For some reason I haven't made it in ages. What was I thinking? ...it's healthy, nutritious, and delish...the perfect snack for my hungry little men. Today when I was definitely needing a good baking session and not sure what to bake, it popped into my head...BAKED OATMEAL! I knew I had all the simple ingredients and so it was a no-brainer.

It is a chewy, dense granola bar with no crunch...and I like to put LOTS of raisins in it too...yummy nature's candy! All the flavour of a bowl of granola!

Baked Oatmeal,

recipe courtesy of Miss J

2 c Rolled Oats

1/2 tsp salt

1 c Skim Milk

1/2 c Applesauce

1/4 c Sugar

2 Eggs

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder (just realized I didn't put this in today!! hmmmm and it still worked out!)

1 tsp Vanilla (I always put more!)

1 TB Cinnamon

3/4 cup Raisins

Combine ingredients. Bake in sprayed 8" square pan and bake at 350 deg. 35-45 min. Keeps well in refrig. Eat cold or warm. Great for quick breakfast and snacks. 6 servings

Here is Aiden having his first taste of Baked Oatmeal! I think he likes it!

Take Care,

Tania

Love Big, Bake Often

Question time.....

Ok, so today's question on the calendar I mentioned yesterday is do you like doing homework? And since I am not in school (not right now, but do plan on it soon!!!) that question isn't really relevant to me. So instead I am going to comment on a post that my great friend, and I do mean great, J wrote about my post. J liked the question I posed yesterday. What would you change in the world? She linked all the things I would change in the world to a change in the level of respect people have. Respect for themselves, their planet, their neighbours, their friends, their everything. It's so true. It's sad at the level of respect many have for those around them. Did we lose the ability to teach respect somewhere along the way?? I know that growing up I showed my parents alot less respect than my mother did her parents. I was horrible. I had no respect for them, I was absolutely rotten. And I didn't have any respect for my teachers either. Today's teenagers (from what I have personally seen and encountered) have even less than I did 19 years ago or so. Oh boy, I just aged myself. It's sad that the level of respect being given has decreased, that and the level of the respect that we expect has gotten so low. Our expectations of what kind of respect we deserve, what we give and what we want to get. Ok, I am rambling now, but does it make any sense? Where has the respect gone?

Take care,
Tania
Love Big, Bake Often

Happy New Year....

Happy New Year everyone! If you need to learn how to say it in any other language, check out my friend J's blog. She's so clever in coming up with these kinds of blogs. And I love reading about her twins and how quickly they are growing up.

I am really hoping to make this year a great one. I pledge to be a more patient being. To hold my tongue and watch what I say. To be more patient with all three "boys" in my life. To watch what I put into my body and make more of what goes in there by myself. I pledge to make more meals for my family and less eating out, wait that kinda goes with the previous pledge. I pledge to show my family more love. To spend more time outdoors with my kids. To keep in touch with people who I love and are important to us as a family.

And on the blog side, I pledge to continue to bake and cook, and post pictures and blogs about all the creations made. To learn how to take much better photos - I am so jealous and envious of other blogs (check out some on my blog list, they are awesome) and so I am motivated to learn how to use my camera to create some food masterpieces. I pledge to participate in all my group baking extravaganzas as often as humanly possible. And last but not least, I pledge to bake more for all the people I love.

I hope everyone had a great new year's celebration - we were in bed by 10:45. Jason's pain meds had kicked in and I didn't really want to stay up alone. The boys were dreaming peacefully in their beds. So I went to bed with Jason and dreamed about all the wonderful things I hope happen this year.

All the best to everyone for 2009. And remember, love BIG, bake often....

Tania

TWD - Grandma's Sugar Cookies

Ok, out of the December TWD list I chose the easiest! Sorry, but I am a sucker for new sugar cookie recipes. I can't believe I hadn't tried this one yet. So simple, and so super yummy. I did make one addition to the recipe. I omitted a tbsp or so of flour and added 3 tbsp of Starbucks Matcha Green Tea powder. No, they don't sell it, but I convinced a barista to sell me a package. She gave it to me for $4.00 - a deal if you ask me. I have made my own green tea frappachinos with it, lattes, etc. But hadn't baked with it yet. It is sweetened so it added a little more sweet to the cookies. I like the flavour it gives, and the colour too. I know my friend, J, is kinda cringing right now, not a matcha green tea fan. I promise I wont send these to you in CT. But I have another recipe in mind that I want to send you some . . . hint - creamy caramel.

Ok, back to the cookies. I like the texture, it's a great kinda chewy but not really. I find it hard to describe textures of food. Need to break out the thesaurus! I did dip them in sparkling sugar before baking them. I only had light pink in the house, but you really can't see the pink, just looks shiny and delicious. I know the colour of the cookies may be off putting to some, but I love it, so grassy and lovely.

Here are some pics.

Not the greatest shots - I mixed them up late afternoon and then baked them after dinner so my light was all gone. :(

Have a good night.

Love Big, Bake Often

Tania