A while back my wife was making something that required oatmeal.
We didn’t have any.
I went out to get some at the local 3 Bears (kind’ve the Alaskan version of Sam’s Wholesale or Costco, only much better). I came home with a bargain, about ten pounds of Old Fashioned Quaker Oats.
What?
I got a really good deal.
My wife needed about 1 cup.
By my calculations, at the rate we’ve been going through that giant box of oats, we should have enough to last pretty much for the rest of our lives, even if the Zombie Apocalypse requires us to live in the shelter eating nothing but oatmeal for a year.
And then they can bury me in the box.
I froze half of it, but I’ve been trying to find ways to use up the remainder.
Now, I’m not really a big fan of oatmeal for breakfast, I’ll eat it, but I prefer grits. And nobody else in the house is a big fan either. But, you know, there’s more than one way to make oatmeal for breakfast.
These, for example, which beats a bowl of mush hands down:
Here’s what you need:
| 2 cups | Old Fashioned Quaker Oats |
| 2 cups | buttermilk |
| 2 | large eggs |
| 1 tbs | honey |
| 2 tbs | vegetable oil |
| 1/2 cup | flour |
| 1/2 tsp | cinnamon |
| 2 | apples, chopped medium |
| 2 tbs | sugar |
| 1 tsp | baking soda |
| 1 tsp | baking powder |
| 1/2 tsp | salt |
The night before:
- mix the oats and buttermilk together, cover and leave in the fridge overnight. The oats will thicken into a pretty solid mess, like oatmeal left in the bowl on a counter overnight. This is exactly what you want. If you don’t have time to leave them overnight, mix them up and let them sit for at least 2 hours, 3 is better, overnight, though, is best. Really. Trust me.
The next morning:
- add the eggs and oil to the oats and buttermilk and mix well. I use my Kitchen Aid stand mixer.
- add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
- cook like regular pancakes on a lightly greased griddle or non-stick pan. 1/4 cup of batter per pancake is about right. I use a 1/4 cup disher and that works perfect, portion wise. Wait for the tops to bubble just slightly, then flip.
- serve with butter, a dollop raspberry jam, and a little syrup.
- makes about 12 pancakes.
They taste, and smell, like cinnamon apple oatmeal and have a much better texture and mouth feel than regular jiffy mix pancakes. With some turkey bacon, you’ve got a healthy breakfast that everybody will love.
Grits? Really?
ReplyDeleteI thought you were from Michigan. :)
I had grits one time when traveling down south, and was very shocked to find they're not gritty at all. More like a combination of snot and tapioca. Perhaps mine were prepared poorly, but they sucked donkey butt.
I eat oatmeal for breakfast a lot, and I'm quite tired of it. I prefer savory rather than sweet for breakfast. Basically, I just want bacon. :D
I'm going to have to give this a try, I love pancakes.
ReplyDeleteAnd Oatmeal cookies are quite good too if you need to find more ways to use the leftovers.
I married a girl from the South, Shawn, who taught me to make grits correctly.
ReplyDeleteAnd you obviously had grits prepared in what Southerners refer to as "hehe stupid tourist hehe ya'll ain't from aroun' heah is ya hehe flavor."
Real grits, done correctly are excellent, especially with cheddar cheese added. Especially if you prefer savory over sweet in the morning like I do. That's what's so great about these pancakes, you could put sour cream on them, or just butter, and they'd be great.
Lysambre, I'm not a big fan of the standard oatmeal raisin cookie. Also not a fan of the standard issue oatmeal bar issued in Gen 1 MWR's. Gah. Shudder.
I'm with Shawn on the grits thing..I have only had them once and THAT was more than enough.
ReplyDeleteAnd TURKEY bacon?
What the hell is that?
There are somethings that you should never mess with..and bacon is one of them.
I like turkey bacon. I like regular piggy bacon. But turkey bacon doesn't give me screaming heartburn the way piggy bacon does. Also piggy bacon doesn't do my cholesterol count much good - I can eat as much turkey bacon as I want.
ReplyDeleteYou, however, Kim are from Canada, and as such have no grounds to criticize my bacon in any form in as much as you people insist on calling ham bacon and that's just plain wrong wrong wrong and more wrong - though it is good on pizza, and breakfast muffins.
Jim, I've got some very good oatmeal cookie recipes.
ReplyDeleteAnd I always substitute dried cranberries for raisins, because raisins are icky.
Also, oatmeal cookies should contains walnuts.
And sometimes coconut.
Because those make oatmeal cookies healthier.
I formally request grit-makin' technique. Because yeah, anything that lends itself to cheddar cheese must be worth learning. :)
ReplyDeleteWell, it's basically grits and then you put in some cheddar cheese...
ReplyDeleteWhat?
Oh, the actual technique.
Ok, give me a bit - I'm helping some folks make pinewood derby cars in the shop at the moment. Just came in for a cup of coffee.
Back in a bit.
Apple crisp. Oats. Happy tummy.
ReplyDeleteCassie
Pancakes.
ReplyDeleteOatmeal pancakes.
Good grits.
Wait, I just ate a little while ago -- I'm not hungry. Shut up!
Dr. Phil
Having lived in the south for a period of time as a child, then being stationed at Kessler AFB in Mississippi, I can testify that, mad properly, grits are heavenly. We misses then precious, yes we does.
ReplyDeleteWell, then, I'm going to have to send you my Oatmeal Chocolate Chippers recipe. Nice chewy choc chip cookie...
ReplyDeleteAnd, having been taught the proper technique for making grits, at least you would refrain from walking into a Southern breakfast emporium and asking for "a grit"!!!
WendyB_09
We have a ton of oatmeal at home too. I might have to try that.
ReplyDeleteI adore oatmeal and pancakes. This is a golden opportunity to combine them both. If I can figure out how to turn the stove on... :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat, now I'm hungry...
ReplyDelete- tt
Not much for oatmeal (though I do eat it--it's a pretty cheap breakfast, and is unlikely to kill me as quickly as eggs will).
ReplyDeleteBut pancakes, them I love. I put jam on mine--like it was meant to me. (I don't buy that Log Cabin crap. That's antbait, is what that is.)
Why would you ever use Log Cabin? There is such a thing as real maple syrup, you know...
ReplyDeleteThese with Janiece's apple butter... nomnomnomnom
ReplyDeletePS - I second the request for the grits preparation.
ReplyDeleteOatcakes are awesome. I'll never go back to regular pancakes now. Try using almost-melted butter instead of vegetable oil, and instead of syrup try a heated mix of three parts honey to one part maple syrup (pure maple is a bit much for me, and corn syrup is just silly when you've put this much work into making the oatcakes)
ReplyDeleteI've also tried mixing some oats in with turkey sausage, to try and make breakfast vaguely healthy. And I'm another fan of turkey bacon. You can make a piled-high BLT with it and not have regrets for hours afterward.
And we get our grits from a local stone-grinding mill, and they take about twenty minutes to cook. Cheese is good, and I'll have to try sour cream, but when you get the good stuff just butter and salt do wonders and you can still taste the corn. Instant grits are really just architectural finishing compound packaged as food.