Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

An easy and yummy sweet treat. It has to be healthy since it has fruit and oatmeal, right?


Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

1 (18.25oz) package yellow cake mix
2 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
3/4 cup margarine, melted
1 cup raspberry jam
1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch pan

In a large bowl, mix together oats, cake mix, and melted margarine so that it makes nice clumps and there is no dry mix left. Press 1/2 the oats mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. In a separate bowl, mix jam with water, and spread over the crust. Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture over the top.

Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 23 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned. Cool before cutting into bars.

So good they disappeared from the pan in a hurry before I could get a picture.

Bubble Rolls

We've had a longstanding tradition of having some kind of homemade sweet rolls with bacon for Christmas morning.

This year, we were celebrating at our daughter's house, so we did a recipe that came from her husband's mom.

These are real tasty, and so easy you don't have to wait until Christmas to do them!



Ingredients:

24 ounces of frozen roll balls (about 18 rolls)
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 package butterscotch pudding (the small size, NOT INSTANT!)

How to:

The night before you want to eat these, put the frozen rolls in a bundt pan

Sprinkle the pudding mix over the frozen rolls

Melt sugar and butter together, pour over the rolls

Set the bundt pan on top of the refrigerator (or some other warm place) until morning

The next morning, bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes

Turn out onto serving tray as soon as they come out of the oven.

YUMMY!

Sunday Coffee Cake

We spent the weekend with our daughter and she made this great coffee cake for breakfast on Sunday.

The recipe came from one of her co-workers who gave us permission to use it here.

Ingredients:
1 cup white sugar
1 cup cooking oil (canola, corn, sunflower)
4 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla (see notes)
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 can pie filling of your choice
cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling

How to:
Combine ingredients (except pie filling and cinnamon sugar mix) in the order listed, blend well.

Pour half of the batter into a greased (or spray with non-stick cooking spray) 9 by 13 cake pan.

Sprinkle batter with mixture of cinnamon and sugar.

Cover with pie filling.

Spread remaining batter over the top.

Sprinkle with additional cinnamon and sugar.

Bake at 325 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes (depending on oven, humidity and altitude)

Notes: Because we were using cherry pie filling, we used 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp almond. If you use apple filling you may want to use a bit more cinnamon.

Applesauce

We like applesauce, but so much of what you get the stores doesn't taste like anything other than corn sweeteners.

So, we have a home made version.

This is my husband's recipe, developed over several months of experimentation, and it's great.

Makes about 2 quarts of applesauce (I know that's a lot, but why make the mess without big results -- it never lasts long enough to go bad!)


Ingredients:

3 cups water
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 granny smith apples
4 gala apples
1/4 cup water
1 Tbls cinnamon

Directions:

Mix the lemon juice into the 3 cups water in a large bowl

Peel and core the apples. Slice into even slices (about 1/4 inch thick) into the lemon juiced water as you go. (The lemon juice keeps the apples from turning brown while you're working on them and while they are cooking)

Drain apples well, place in sauce pan, add 1/4 cup water (the water keeps the apples from scorching until the apples start releasing enough of their own moisture)

Cook on medium heat until apples are soft and "mashable" -- stir often and watch carefully so they don't burn.

Remove from heat. Use a potato masher, a ricer or an emersion blender to mash the apples to your desired smoothness (we like ours a little chunky, so the ricer is our best tool).

Add the cinnamon and mix well.

Notes:

If you are not as enthusiastic about cinnamon as we are, you may want to use a little less -- start with 1 tsp and work your way up.

You'll notice there is no sugar in this recipe. If you really feel you need it after you've tasted the finished product, I recommend adding it as you serve it, maybe just a sprinkle over the top.

Quitata? Friche?

This is not really a fritata -- its in a crust.

And its not really a quiche -- it has flour in it and a lot less cheese

Either way, its pretty guilt free for those of us on low fat diets, it tastes great either warm or cold, it looks beautiful, and it makes a wonderful breakfast or lunch (with a green salad as a side dish!)

For those of you that aren't watching the fat as closely as I am, I've included a "real egg" amount along with the other ingredients

Ingredients:

recipe for 1 crust pie crust (to be honest here, we use one of the refridgerated rolled ones from the grocery -- they taste as good as any we make at home!)

1/3 cup bacon bits (about 6 slices of bacon)
1 1/2 cup egg substitute (or 6 "real" eggs)
3/4 cup frozen cut spinach -OR- broccoli
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tomato

Process:

Cut the bacon into 1/2 inch dice. Fry until crisp and drain well. Set aside to cool.

Rinse the spinach in warm water. Press into a sieve to remove liquid. Set sieve on a terry cloth towel to wick away any additional water. (if using broccoli, rinse and drain, cut into small pieces and set aside)

Line pie tin with crust.

Mix together the eggs, salt and flour - blend well.

Add cheese, cooled bacon and prepared spinach (or broccoli) and mix well.

Slice the tomato into thin slices.

Pour mixture into pie pan, decorate top with tomato.

Bake in preheated 450 degree oven for 30 minutes or until a table knife inserted close to the middle comes out clean.

Cool for 5 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy!

Mammy's Scotch Scones

This recipe came from my grandmother.

I remember her making these and cutting them into long triangles. I don't know if that was the traditional shape, or if she just did them that way.

My daughter asked for this recipe, so here ya go


2 c flour
4 tsp baking powder
2 tbls sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 c milk

sift the dry ingredients together

add milk and mix well

roll out 1/2 inch thick and cut until no scraps are left (like I said, she used to cut long triangles)

cook at 300 degrees on ungreased cookie sheet for 30 to 35 minutes -- they should be LIGHT brown -- don't over cook

especially good with jam or honey


you could also add currents, raisins or any other dried fruit (as long as it is cut into really small pieces)

Kolaches

The holidays are coming which has set me thinking about the traditions that families create just by repeating something they like.

When I was a kid, there was a local grocery store that made a sweet roll that we only got rarely, and usually for some special occasion, like breakfast for a holiday morning.

Many years ago, when the store went out of business, my mom was given the recipe by the gal in the bakery.

The exact recipe follows with my suggestions for making it healthier.

Kolaches

2 sticks soft oleo (butter flavored Crisco has no transfat)
6 oz cream cheese (try the low fat kind)
2 cups flour
jam of your choice for centers

Cream together the oleo and cream cheese until well blended and smooth.

Add flour 1/2 cup at a time and blend well.

Cover dough and chill for 1 hour.

Roll dough out 1/4 inch thick and cut in rounds. In half of the rounds cut a circle out of the center (like a donut).

Place on ungreased baking sheet (use a silpat or parchment). Put donut shaped piece on top of each round. Put 1 teaspoon jam of choice in the center of each hole.

Bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes until bottoms are lightly browned.

Cool on a rack.

Enjoy!!

Hope you enjoy these

Note added: I made a batch of these, and got 17 ... probably should have gotten 18, but my rolling was a bit uneven. I used my "low fat/cholesterol" ingredient suggestions as given.

For those interested in this information, here is the nutritional "label" for each one (arrived at by adding up the information for each ingredient and dividing by 17):
Calories 193, Fat 14 g, Cholesterol 7 mg, Carbs 16 g

Mom's Waffles

Well, it seems that while we're on the subject of breakfast, that waffles are a logical next recipe.

I like waffles, but don't bring me any of those things that come out of the freezer at the grocery store and go into the toaster, and I don't want any limp weak sister variety either!

So the most important thing about getting good waffles is getting a good waffle iron, and to me that means one that is HEAVY and gets really HOT!

I've owned several waffle irons over the years, and the best one was the used one my mother gave me. Unfortunately, these things don't last forever, and I've had a couple of mediocre ones since. The latest one is pretty good.

This waffle recipe has been developed by years of taste testing in our family kitchen. This was always a weekend breakfast because during the week (when my husband and I had to be at work by 7:30 am) there just wasn't time. Besides, waffles deserve the luxury of the extra time.

I have given here the full size recipe which makes 5 full sized waffles. Because for us that would mean at least one left over, and the dog really doesn't need them, I have included in parentheses the measurements for a half batch. I have also included the alternate "healthy" ingredients, but you just can not do these without real eggs.

Mom's Waffles

3 (2) eggs, separated
1 1/2 (3/4) cup milk (2% works fine)
1 (1/2) tsp vanilla
3 (1 1/2) tsp sugar (1 tsp of Splenda)
4 (2) tbls melted butter (canola oil works great)
1 3/4 (7/8) cup flour
2 (1) tsp baking powder
1/2 (1/4) tsp salt

Plug in the waffle iron to preheat.

In one dish (I use a 4 cup glass measuring cup), mix flour, baking powder and salt to combine.

In a second dish, whisk together milk, vanilla, sugar, butter and the egg yolks.

Beat egg whites to firm peaks (I use a hand mixer).

Using the mixer, beat the liquid ingredients into the dry ones until well combined. Use a spatula to fold the egg whites into the batter.

I spray the waffle iron with a non-stick cooking spray before I cook the first one, and usually that one gets fed to the dog because I didn't let the iron get hot enough or it sticks. Its just part of the waffle tradition!

We eat these at breakfast and use real maple syrup (it costs more, but we use less because it actually tastes like something!).

I remember as a child eating waffles for dinner with creamed tuna or chipped beef over them. If you want to have a go at that, leave out the sugar and the vanilla.

Enjoy the crunch!

Nick’s Healthy Oatmeal Muffins

Since we seem to have begun with breakfast foods, I thought I’d share the recipe that my husband has developed for some really tasty oatmeal muffins.

We have some very interesting food challenges at our house, trying to cook to cut sugar and cholesterol, so this recipe has been variously “tweaked” to make it much healthier than the original was.

The result is a really great tasting breakfast treat that you can eat without guilt! Just to give you all the possibilities, I have included the “straight” recipe and the “healthy” alternatives.


Healthy Oatmeal Muffins

1 egg or ¼ cup egg substitute
½ cup brown sugar or date sugar
1 cup rolled oats (NOT instant)
1 cup buttermilk
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup vegetable oil or ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup dried fruit (blueberries, cranberries, raisins)
½ cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare 12 muffin cups by spraying with non-stick cooking spray.

Beat egg, buttermilk and vanilla, add sugar and oats and let stand to soak.

Combine flour, soda, salt, baking powder and cinnamon to mix well. Add dry ingredients to oatmeal mixture and stir to moisten.

Fold in fruit and nuts.

Spoon batter into muffin tin, bake 12 to 14 minutes (depending on your oven this may take as long as 20 minutes).


Our favorite combination is dried blueberries and pecans, so we'd love to hear what your favorite combo is!

Pappy's Puff Pancakes

Hattie’s Kitchen is an imaginary place inside this house.

The basis of this drawing was a photograph which my mother took in the late 1940s. She was born and raised in Springfield, Missouri, and the photo was of the last house they lived in there.

The influences of my family’s southern cooking and having lived in California, Utah and Colorado has had an impact on what are favorite recipes at our house, but this imagined safe place was the beginning of the cookbook.





As I write this, it is Sunday morning, and I’m thinking about the Sunday’s of my childhood.

I spent a lot of weekends with my maternal grandparents. For some reason that I can’t even remember, we called them Mammy and Pappy. They were the source of a lot of my learning about the skills that are being lost today.

This skillet belonged to them, and came to me after my grandmother had a stroke and they went to live with my aunt in Tennessee.

Sunday morning, while Mammy got my sister and me ready for church, Pappy made breakfast. It is the only meal I remember him ever cooking, so having his recipe for this signature meal is pretty amazing. That this copy is actually in his handwriting is an even more special treasure.




Pappy’s Puff Pancakes

2 cups self-rising flour – spooned into cup
1 slightly heaping teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ to 1 2/3 cups milk
2 eggs, separated
1 tablespoon bacon drippings

Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt in bowl.
Mix the milk, egg yolks and bacon drippings, add to dry ingredients and mix
Beat egg whites fairly stiffly and mix into the batter
Grease skillet with bacon drippings and bake pancakes on medium heat


Now I know these are probably not “heart healthy”, but I do remember the Sunday ritual, and I’m convinced that even today having these once in a while wouldn’t hurt you too much.

I can remember the sound of the rotary egg beater as the egg whites were whipped, and the delightful crunch of the outside browned edge of these wonderful tasting breakfast treats.

I’m sure they wouldn’t taste the same with any other kind of oil added, so be brave and fry some bacon ahead of time to use those drippings. After all, you won’t need to add any butter to them once they are cooked. Since no one else has “The Skillet” you’ll need to make do with your own heavy pan--try to stay away from Teflon though, the texture won’t be the same.

So I’m hoping someone will give these a try and let me know what you think!