Baked Oatmeal

This is a comforting warm breakfast option that truly hits the spot! The leftovers were fabulous the next day as well. A great, healthy and wholesome breakfast option.

Baked Oatmeal from Simply in Season

2 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup raisins (or other chopped dried fruit; optional)
3 tablespoons chopped walnuts (optional)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup applesauce
2 tablespoons oil
1 egg (beaten)

1 tsp cinnamon

Combine oats, brown sugar, baking powder, and optional dried fruit and nuts in a medium bowl. Combine milk, applesauce, oil and egg in a separate bowl. Add to oat mixture; stir well.

Pour into a greased 8 x 8-inch baking pan. Sprinkle cinnamon on top. Bake in preheated oven at 350F for 25 minutes. Serve warm with milk. Serves 3-4.

This recipe can be prepared quickly in the morning by mixing the dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately the night before. Combine and pop in the oven as soon as you get up. Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator and can be reheated in the microwave in individual bowls.

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos

This past weekend we went in to Denver to purchase a few gifts for folks from our local Ten Thousand Villages store. While there we discovered a great new cookbook called Simply in Season put out by the same people who created More with Less.

This is a hardback cookbook which is spiral bound inside. The book is divided into the four seasons, and focuses on foods that are more readily available from local growers. So the Spring section has recipes for asparagus, strawberries, rhubarb, peas and maple syrup. Autumn includes squash, apples, pears, cauliflower and others. It supports the locavore movement, of course, but it also helps save you money since the produce in season is usually cheaper at the market. There are plenty of meat options in this book as well, so it is a great resource with over 300 recipes, and each key ingredient is comprehensively listed in the index. If you have sweet peppers, you can find over 40 recipes listed.

We found one we just had to try for winter, a sweet potato and black bean burrito. It was both easy to prepare and absolutely fantastic!

Black Bean Sweet Potato Burritos

Preheat oven to 350

3 cups sweet potatoes (peeled and diced)

1/2 onion (chopped)

Sauté in a large frying pan in 1 tablespoon of oil until just tender. Add water to prevent sticking.

2 cups cooked black beans (or 1- 15 ounce can) drained and rinsed

1 t ground cumin

3/4 t ground cinnamon

1/2 t salt

Add to sweet potatoes and cook until heated through.

8 flour tortillas

1 1/2 c cheddar cheese (shredded)

Divide potato/bean mixture and cheese among tortillas and roll up. Place in 9x13 pan. Cover pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. Garnish with sour cream, cilantro and salsa.

Great new Blog

Our friends, the Andersons, have created a new cooking blog called Three Many Cooks. Pam is a cookbook author, and she shares this blog with her two daughters. All were our neighbors when Melissa and I lived in Connecticut.

We made their beef stew recipe tonight, and it was amazing! Melissa said it tasted much more like a beef bourguignon and less like a stew (and certainly nothing like Dinty Moore). Very tasty and full of flavor! So, check out this new site, and try this beef stew recipe!

Mom's Coconut Cherry Bars

This cookie recipe was a favorite of mom's, she would make them every Christmas. Phil, this is for you!

Coconut Cherry Bars

Ingredients:
Crust~
2 cups flour
1 cup butter
6 Tbls. confectioners sugar

Filling~
4 eggs slightly beaten
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups chopped nuts
1 cup coconut
1 cup green maraschino cherries, quartered
1 cup red maraschino cherries, quartered

Instructions:
Mix flour, butter and confectioners sugar with hands and spread in a cookie sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. In a bowl, beat eggs. Mix in remaining ingredients. Pour evenly over cooked crust. Bake about 25 minutes until golden brown all over. Cool before cutting into squares.

Traditional Wassail

This recipe comes from a good friend. The drink is delicious and the aroma fills the air. A great drink this time of year.

1 3/4 cup sugar
1 qt water
1 qt OJ
1 c lemon juice
1/2 gallon apple cider
3 sticks of cinnamon
1/2 tsp whole cloves

Mix, heat on low in a crockpot or on stovetop.

Delicious and a wonderful aroma.

And you get the added bonus of being able to sing
"Here we come a-wassailing among the leaves so green..." :)

The Best—and Easiest!— Cranberry-Orange Relish

Cranberry sauce was always an afterthought at our Thanksgiving meal growing up. The "SLUUP!" of the sauce coming out of the can. Half-hearted efforts to run a spoon through it to get rid of the ridges molded into the side. A single can more than supplied enough for our holiday table of at least 15 people (and many times over 20).

I never touched the stuff.

I moved to New England for college, and discovered fresh cranberries along the way. I was still suspect, of course, as is almost everyone who grew up with canned cranberry sauce. And then at some point I received The Women's Day Cookbook, which had menus for "celebrations" from Tex-Mex gatherings to full-blown planning for Turkey Day. Included in that menu was a Fresh Cranberry-Orange Relish. It was so dang easy, I figured I'd give it a try.

It was amazing. I've added walnuts to mine along the way, a slight variation to the original recipe. I've even tried it with a granny smith apple too.

I can't imagine Thanksgiving without this relish now. It's a family favorite.

Fresh Cranberry-Orange Relish

1 navel orange (about 8 oz) unpeeled and cut into small chunks

1 bag (12 oz) cranberries, washed and stemmed

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup walnuts (optional)

For garnish, orange twist and whole cranberries (optional)

Process all ingredients, except garnish, in a food processor, using pulsating setting, or on/off alternations until finally chopped.

Cover and chill for at least 1 hour. Garnish, if desired, before serving.

Fluffy Pumpkin Dessert

We belong to a small group that meets every Friday evening. Because there are four couples, we each take turns bringing a dessert to share once a month. This past Friday, one of the woman made this Pumpkin Dessert and boy was it a hit. It is very light, and because the crust is made with gingersnaps, it has a nice autumny spice taste. Thanks Sue, for sharing your recipe with us.


Fluffy Pumpkin Dessert

Crust
2 1/2c. finely crushed gingersnaps (about 40 cookies)
1/2 c. butter or margarine melted

Cheese Layer
1 8oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. confectioners sugar
2 T. milk

Topping
3 cups cold whole milk
2 pkg. 3.4 oz instant vanilla pudding
1 can (15 oz) solid pack pumpkin (not pie filling)
2 1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice
2 cups whipped topping (cool whip)

Combine gingersnap crumbs and butter; press into an ungreased 13 x 9 baking pan. Bake 10 min. Cool. In mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, confectioners sugar and milk till fluffy. Spread over cooled crust. In another bowl, beat milk and pudding; mix for one minute (I use a wire whisk to avoid the splattering out of the bowl that tends to happen with an electric mixer). Add pumpkin and pie spice; beat until well blended. Fold in whipped topping. Spread over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Garnish with additional whipped cream if desired.