o is for oatmeal

I have a couple of oatmeal eaters at my house. Kate (almost 4) and Will (2) ask for oatmeal probably three times a week, more if I don't have cereal. I also have sent BJ to work with a collection of oatmeal packets to keep him from starving since he leaves too early in the morning for breakfast. I have bought the premade ones and I've made up my own in good old ziplock baggies. For my kiddos I do the following:

1. Pour about 1 cup oatmeal in a microwave-safe bowl and add about 2/3 cup water.

2. Microwave on high for 1 1/2-2 minutes.

3. Add a dash of salt, a 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, 1 Tbsp. brown sugar, and 2-3 ice cubes.

4. Stir and pour into individual serving dishes.

My kids eat it up and it's an easy way to use food storage. Since it's about $2 for a #10 can of oatmeal, which holds about 16 cups of oatmeal, I figure it costs less than a quarter to make those two kids breakfast. And it's healthier than most everything else they want to eat.

g is for granola

I went to visit my mom in March this year in Moscow. Every morning for breakfast I had a bowl of granola and yogurt. It didn't take long before I was addicted, so I began pricing it here once I got back. It's so expensive! I was sad to see how much it was because I couldn't feel good about spending that kind of money when there are so many cheaper breakfast alternatives. In May we had an enrichment meeting and one of the mini-classes was on using your food storage. I had gone on a home-made kick before and just let it fizzle, but this class inspired me to try again. I looked for some granola recipes online and found some that looked pretty good. Most of them are more complicated than I would like, especially since more ingredients means more money to be spent on it. Then I found this simple recipe in my Taste of Home cook book. I have made it several times and it's really good with yogurt and berries. Caleb likes it with milk. The only thing I had to buy for it was wheat germ, since I already had all the other ingredients. I found a 12 oz. bottle of wheat germ at Walmart for about $4, which is about how much a small box of granola costs. So instead of about 12 servings for $4, you get about 12 cups of homemade granola for the same price. And I just found a 20 oz. jar of wheat germ at HEB for $5 this week. That'll make two batches and cut the cost almost in half. It's so easy to make, although it does require a couple hours at home. Here are the specifics:

Toasted Granola

Ingredients:

• 2-1/4 cups packed brown sugar
• 2/3 cup water
• 6 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 jar (12 ounces) toasted wheat germ
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

In a large saucepan, bring brown sugar and water to a boil. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat; set aside. In a large bowl, combine the oats, wheat germ, flour and salt. Stir oil and vanilla into sugar mixture; pour over oat mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to two greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pans. Bake at 250° for 1-3/4 to 2 hours or until dry and lightly browned, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 11-1/2 cups.

b is for bread

About two years ago I decided I was done buying bread. I was going to stretch my dollar a little further by making the effort to make all our bread. Then I got pregnant and that little extra effort went down the tubes with everything else I let slide when I'm sitting on the couch trying not to be sick every day. So, I'm back on the wagon now. I've been making all our bread for about a month now and I'm still not pregnant, so I'm hoping it continues for a while. I even make our tortillas and hamburger buns from scratch, but that's another post. Today I'm going to share one of my favorite bread/roll recipes. It's from my Grandma Doxey, who is pictured above with my mother, me and my two daughters. Four generations in one super-comfy 1 1/2 chair. Anyway, it's in her cook book that we got about two years ago for Christmas. Here it is:

Grandma Lou's White Bread (which I make into wheat bread )

Combine:

2 Tbsp. yeast

1 cup warm water

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4-1/2 cup sugar

Let that rise and bubble for about 10 minutes and then add:

1 Tbsp. salt

1 cup hot water

2 cups white flour

3 cups wheat flour

Mix until the dough pulls from the sides of the bowl, adding more wheat flour as needed. Cover and let rise until double in bulk. Form 2 loaves and place in greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.

It always turns out good. I often mess with the wheat:white flour ratio, so you can be creative. We eat it as toast for breakfast, "butter-jams" for lunch (William's favorite way to say pb&j), and with soup for dinner. It's a staple around here lately.

Here are just a couple of other things I do when I make any bread:

1. Before I let the dough rise in the bowl I take it out and pour about 1 Tbsp. oil in the bowl. Then I add the dough and turn it to oil all sides. That keeps the dough from drying out while it rises. I always cover my bowl with a clean dish towel. My favorites are the ones my mom sent me from Russia.

2. I grease the loaf pans by spraying them with non-stick spray. Then I sprinkle cornmeal on the bottoms and tap it onto the sides (like flouring a cake pan). It really helps the loaves not stick to the pan and come out prettier.

3. Only add as much flour as is absolutely necessary in a bread recipe. The softer the dough is, the better it will taste and the longer it will stay soft. You know the homemade bread that is delicious right out of the oven and painfully dry 24 hours later. This helps eliminate that problem. It gets better and better with practice too.

4. Tapping on the bottom of the loaves after you remove them from the pans will tell you if they're done. They should sound hollow inside. Don't leave them in the pans long at all or they'll get soggy on the bottom.

5. To keep the tops of the loaves soft and protect the fragile corners, I take a stick of margarine and unwrap it until about a tablespoon is exposed. Then I rub that along the tops and down the sides of the loaves where it crumbles most when it's sliced. It doesn't add much calorically, but it helps with the softness. I usually end up using less than one tablespoon to soften both loaves.

I think a lot of people are really intimidated by the idea of making bread. If you are one of those people I think you should give this recipe a try. Let me know how it goes. And let me know if you have a recipe you love. Sharing makes everything more fun... That's what I tell my kids, at least.