Baked Oatmeal Granola

I have had this recipe saved forever and never made the granola for one reason or another.  No honey or no old fashion oats or no coconut oil.  I decided to finally do it when I saw the 42 oz container of oats on sale for $2.57.  What could be better than a good recipe mixed with a sale :)  Maybe someone to make it for you but I have tested it out and swear it is worth the very little effort it takes to make this yummy treat. 

I pulled out all the ingredients.  I decided that I would use a canola oil blend instead of coconut oil (even though I am sure it would taste fabulous, it isn't something I keep in my kitchen).  I also decided that I would use half old fashion oats and half quick oats.

I measured the oats in my super big 4 cup measuring cup.  The quick oats were much more compacted in the container because of the smaller size of the oats.  In case you don't know, basically the quick oats look like the old fashion oats through a blender.

I mixed the oats in a bowl and set it aside.  Can you see the big old fashion oats in that bowl??

Then I mixed the canola oil, margarine, honey, and brown sugar on the stove in a small sauce pan.  I stirred and stirred and stirring and it was looking really good but the directions said wait for a low boil which I didn't have yet so I ran upstairs because my husband had fallen asleep with my son again and when I got back downstairs, the whole sauce pan was boiling over!!!  All over the clean stove was the stickiest cooking glue.  I was trying to scrape it off the hot burner with a spatula.  Then my half asleep husband walks into the kitchen after hearing me mumbling and smelling the wonderful smell of burning brown sugar.  He opens the window and squints his eyes at me...probably wishing that I just left him sleeping.  So without the step of boiling over and burning, your sauce should look like this (I highly recommend skipping that step because clean up is a little more involved):

Take off the heat and add 4 tsp vanilla and two heaping tsp cinnamon (or even more to taste).  Mix the sauce together.  Then, pour the liquid from the saucepan over the oats and stir until combined.  I didn't leave all the oats in the bowl because I didn't want to stir and have them go flying so I mixed and then added some more oats and continued mixing which was really helpful.

Spread the mixture in three jelly roll pans.  Quick side note:  Do you know the difference between a cookie sheet and a jelly roll pan?  In my house growing up, we only had jelly roll pans and we always called them cookie sheets.  A cookie sheet is flat and doesn't have any sides and the jelly roll pan has four sides and can hold in all the oats so that they don't fall over the sides.  I now have two of both in the house which I actually do use for different things but since this recipe needed three, I used two jelly roll pans and then put my silpat on my cookie sheet and spread out the remaining mixture that I added some raisins to!!!

Bake at 375 for 10 minutes and then shut off the oven.  Take out the oats and stir them around.  They pretty much look the same and when you put them in which had me a little confused but I was trusting the process.  Put the pans back in the oven and it will cook while the oven is cooling off.

The next morning, you wake up to find pans of oatmeal in the oven which are perfectly browned.  Doesn't it look yummy???

The one with the raisins from the cookie sheet with the silpat cooks up a little differently then the rest and I can't figure out what was the changing force- the silpat, the raisins, or being more moist because it was the last at the bottom of the bowl.  I liked it the best of all three pans!!! The pieces came out more solid and you could almost eat it like a granola bar instead of the more cereal texture of the other two pans. A note about the raisins, they were extra chewy so if you want them to still taste like raisins, you might want to follow the recipe suggestions and add them after baking.  I just remember my mom making granola when I was a kid and my favorite part was the hot raisins out of the oven so I had to try it!!

I couldn't keep my hands out of it.  I ate it for breakfast, snack and lunch.  Then again later for a late night snack.  It is the best thing to have around because it is so much healthier then anything else that I would pick up.  I am going to stock up on oats and make some again soon.  This time I will be less cautious and use more old fashion oats with only a little bit of quick oats to make it a little easier to pick up and eat (I actually had to stop writing and go grab a container of it... thanks for making me talk about it again).

My biggest recipe note is to make sure that you figure out what you are going to store all of the granola in when you get it all cooked.  I hadn't really thought that far ahead but I ended up storing then in a variety of different Tupperware bowls.  Next time I hope to have worked out the recipe so that the pans taste a little more a like so I am going to be able to put them in one container.  I am hoping the added liquid  from not boiling over will also add to the yummy goodness :)  I highly recommend giving this recipe a try and seeing what your family thinks!!!

I was going to try the peanut butter one but after making the peanut butter baked oatmeal, my husband informed me that he doesn't really like peanut butter.  This was news to me but I figured better safe than sorry so I made the basic recipe first to test it out.  Plus, I don't know if I could eat all the peanut butter all by myself... of who am I kidding, I could but I don't know it would be that healthy :)

Test out my recipe and check out the original recipe!  I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did :)

Basic Granola

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 c butter or margarine (can use 1 c coconut oil instead of oil and butter)

1 cup honey

3/4 cup brown sugar (feel free to adjust this based on the strength of your sweet tooth)

4 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons cinnamon

15 cups (one 42 ounce box) old fashioned oats (can mix with quick oats)

Mix brown sugar, oil, and honey in a small saucepan.  Bring to a low boil.  Remove from heat.  Stir in cinnamon and vanilla.

Pour over oats in a large bowl.  Stir until well coated.

Spread oats in three jelly roll or cookie sheet pans.  Bake at 375° for 10 minutes.  Take out and stir.

Return pans to oven.  Turn oven off.

Go to bed and breakfast will be ready for you when you wake up.  (If you prefer to start your granola earlier in the day, it will be ready when your oven cools.)

 

Notes from original recipe:

Store granola in an airtight container.  Stick it in the freezer for long-term storage.  (I wouldn’t know anything about that; we eat it too fast.)

Add ins before baking:

• chopped walnuts, almonds, pecans
• shredded coconut
• sunflower seeds

Add ins after baking/before serving:

• raisins, dried cranberries, or other dried fruit
• dark chocolate or mini chocolate chips (white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips…)

Granola Variations

• Pumpkin Pie Granola ~ sub some pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon and add pumpkin puree to the saucepan; toss some pumpkin seeds in with the oats
• Chocolate Granola  ~ add cocoa powder and chocolate chips; I’d vote for some dried cranberries on top of all that
• Peanut Butter Granola ~ add a cup of peanut butter (crunchy for me!) and reduce the oil by 1/2; make it a treat with chocolate chips before serving
• Apple Cinnamon Granola ~ a less sweet version for the sensitive sweet tooth
• Tropical Granola ~ add coconut before baking, and some dried tropical fruit (pineapple, bananas, mangoes) before serving

Thrifty Thursday: Meals for Less

Making meals at home is a huge cost saver.  It helps to cut down costs and bring your family together.  We sit down as a family every night at the table.  I usually make really easy meals that we all enjoy.  Since every family has different favorites, I suggest sitting down with a paper and pen to write a list of different ideas that you make and love.  If you want some ideas, check out the meals that I have posted on the blog already.

Worchestertershire Chicken on the grill

Chicken

Rosemary Chicken and Potatoes
Buffalo Chicken Sliders
Fried Chicken
Leftover Chicken Tenders (or Nuggets)
Chicken and Rice Casserole
Garlic Whole Chicken
Perfect Roast Chicken
Slow Cooker Caribbean Jerk Chicken (not one of my favorites)
Chicken Panini
Chicken Fajitas Seasoning
Worchestershire Chicken Marinade

Enchilada Smash

Ground Beef and Steak

Easy Chimis
Taco Skillet (not one of my favorites)
Enchilada Smash Casserole
Mexican Egg Rolls
Taco Wontons
Steak Sandwich

Spaghetti Limone Parmeggiano

Pasta

Fried Zucchini Spaghetti
Spaghetti Limone Parmeggiano
Olive Oil Pasta or Pasta Con Agilo E Olio
Macaroni and Cheese

White Pesto Pizza

Pizza

Pizza Dough
Rosemary Garlic Chicken Pizza
Buffalo Chicken Pizza
White Pesto Pizza
Pizza Roll

Homemade Hamburger and Hot Dog Buns

Other Items

Hamburger and Hot Dog Buns
Wheat Hot Dog Buns
Cheese Muffins or here
Corn Bread (I have replaced this one with the next recipe but I don't remember why??)
Corn Bread
Sandwich Bread
White Bread
Not Fried Zucchini
Rice
Homemade Enchilada Sauce or here
Homemade Chicken Broth

I have not posted all of the items that I make for dinner because I didn't think that they were that interesting but after writing this, I figure that most people are looking for interesting and fast things to make for weeknight and busy weekend meals.  I am going to post a few of my other recipes soon!!  I hope that you try these and share some of your family favorites so that they can become mine!!!

Chocolate Flourless Cookies

I follow this wonderful cooking blog but as wonderful as her dishes look, I have never made one.  I think that they "feel" too complicated for me.  I have an intimidation factor when it comes to baking that there are certain things that I have decided are too hard.  I don't know where I got this imaginary line in the flour (so to speak) but I am going to blame it on my mom.  I did most of my baking in middle school home ec and with my mom.  These weren't incredibly complicated recipes but my mom liked to use the old reliable ones over and over (kind of like I am).

I am afraid of meringue.  I made it once in middle school for a Baked Alaska (ice cream pie with meringue top) but I was totally stressed about it.  I decided when I saw this recipe that I better get over it!!! I pulled out all the ingredients.

First, I chopped the dark chocolate bars to make sure that I had enough before I started.  It took two 3 oz bars to make a cup so make sure you count enough.  In case you see the chocolate chips off to the left, those were my bribe for my son because he wanted to eat the other chocolate :)  Not a great recipe if you get getting help from a little one because he wanted to taste everything. 

I put all of the chocolate pieces in a glass measuring cup.  I put it in microwave for 30 seconds.  Then stirred it around.  I put it in for another 30 seconds (this was while I was doing all the other steps so it sat in the microwave for a little bit).  Out came this yummy liquid chocolate goodness!

I separated the egg white and yolk.  I would have taken a picture but my hands were full!!  I don't know how you separate eggs but I learned to do it in the egg shell so I moved it back and forth and got all of the white that I could.  I added it and the sugar to the mixing bowl with the wire whisk.

I didn't think that it had stiff peaks but I mixed and mixed and mixed so I figured that it was okay.  I added the cocoa powder and corn starch and mixed a little more.  It looked a little like frosting.

Then I folded in the liquid chocolate mixture which had cooled a little bit but was still liquid. Then it looked like some kind of crazy mess.

Then I put it by spoonful into the powdered sugar.  Please note that this will be really sticky so be prepared.  If you roll it in the the sugar or throw a little on top, it will make it a little easier to handle.  The sugar really helps to make them not sticky.



They are really cute when they are all rolled in powdered sugar.  Aren't they??

I put them on the cookie sheets. Spread apart because I wasn't sure how they were going to stretch out.

They don't really move at all so feel free to put a few more on the cookie sheet.  Once they come out, they look a lot the same except there are some cracks in the surface.



I couldn't help but try one when it hot and gooey.  Check out this gooey fluffy center!!!  The outside was a little crispy and the inside was heaven! 

I made small cookies and larger cookies because I didn't know exactly how they would cook so I wanted to try them all.  They both taste the same so I would probably get the most cookies out and make smaller cookies next so that there were more cookies to eat.  I also think that they might be good rolled in coconut.  So many ideas!!  This recipe isn't the most frugal with the two chocolate bars.  The brand that I bought were normally $5 each but I got them on sale and with a super double coupon for $1.50.  I know that I wouldn't have spent over $10 on cookies but for just over $3, they were worth the try!  If you get a good deal on chocolate, pull out this recipe and make them!!

I highly recommend the recipe and I hope that you try it soon!!!  Check it out below and check out the original website to check her yummy picture!

Flourless Chocolate Cookies

1 cup of chopped bittersweet or dark chocolate
2 egg whites
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
1 tbsp corn starch
Dash of salt

powdered sugar for rolling (optional)

Whisk the egg white and sugar until you have a stiff meringue (I used my kitchen aid mixer whisk attachment). Combine cocoa powder and cornstarch.  Mix this into the meringue. 

Melt the chocolate in a glass container in 30 second increments, stirring in between (or melt in double boiler).  Gently fold in the melted chocolate into meringue mixture.

Form into small balls (Beware they are sticky).  Roll in the powdered sugar.  Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes or until start to crack on the outside.  Let cool and eat... if you are patient enough :)

Harris Teeter Shopping Trip #10

It was the last day of Super Doubles and I had to figure out what was left that I needed.  Sadly, I think that I might have over reacted to the chance of super doubles leaving this month!!!  My biggest total by far had me wishing that I had a little more self control.  When I got home and added all my receipts from Harris Teeter from this week, I had a total of $673.93 in food and I only spent $81.14 (including this trip).  Since that is what most people spend in one trip to the store, I am putting it in perspective because I did save $592.79 which was an 88% savings.  Plus I still have $48.20 left for the rest of the month so I should be able to come under budget (crossing my fingers).

I grabbed the juice which I didn't even know was on sale until I looked over some of the pictures of what other people got.  They were B2G3 free and there were $1/2 coupons so they ended up being $2.30 for five bottles!!  The second coupon had to be overridden by the manager but there wasn't any issues with them doing it.  I wish they had more Apple Juice but they only had three left so I got two other ones.

I used a rain check to get three more Pull-ups (just in case since we are only using them at night).  I couldn't pass up only $2.99 per pack (normally $11.25) because I know that I won't get that again anywhere so better to have them and not need them.  I am hoping for a closet full when he sleeps through the night dry but I am not raising my hopes that high yet.

I got free Kashi Granola bars and McCain Purely Potatoes.  I splurged and got a Birds Eye Voila Chicken Parm meal for $1.85 which is great to have if my husband needs a quick meal.  My husband has also wanted to get some more crackers so I got the Jingos for $0.99 which are good if you haven't tried them yet.  I also got the pourable Splenda for $0.89 for me.  The True Lemon is a whole family favorite so my mother and mother in law asked me to pick up a few since they were only $0.75 per box.

Then my favorite was the Cabot cheese for $0.50 each and a big thanks to a reader to let me know where to find that coupon!!  I stocked up and we are going to have lots of cheesey meals going forward!!!  Thanks for the heads up on coupon straight from the company website!!!  Make me a little sad that I bought the Helluva Good with my rain check early on in the week but we will have cheese now for months!!!  It will all get used in this house because we love our cheese!!

Total OOP $20.65
Total Saving $69.85 + 12.78 (rain check)= $82.63

Harris Teeter Shopping Trip #8 and #9

I can't believe that we are already getting to the end of Super Doubles and some things didn't get restocked.  I was super sad :(  I had my morning of freedom while my son was in school so I headed out to get the rest of the stuff that was left in the store. 

I knew that I wanted to get the oats and the pretzels while they were still on sale so I was super excited to see that they still had some left on the shelf.  I used a rain check to get the Damp Rid for free.  Then I grabbed some more Baby Cakes (which we ended up eating for dinner with pancakes) for free.

Total OOP $7.36

Total OOP $30.49 + $3.99= $34.48

Then after I picked up my little man, we were off on our afternoon adventure.  When we left school, I asked him if we should stop at the potty before we left because we had a long trip and he said "No."  We made it just a few miles and he told me that he needed to use the potty- DUH!  We were stuck in traffic at a red light and I was starting to worry that I was going to have a pond in the back seat if I didn't hurry since he doesn't do the best at planning.  We pulled into the library and ran to the bathroom.  Since we were already there, we had to get books and DVDs.  Then, we were off to Wal-Mart where I returned the oats and bought a head of lettuce.  The exchange gave me a net of -$0.37 so I was actually up some money.

I told my little man that we were headed home and he said that he didn't want to go home.  I asked him if he wanted to go to the grocery store... he said yes.  As we were pulling into the second Harris Teeter of the day, he told me he was tired and wanted to go home and take a nap.  HAHA!  We went shopping to grab a few things.  This store was also missing most of the things that I wanted :(  I grabbed a few things and headed out with my tired little man who was sad with no balloon and no cookies!  Of course, we hit the bathroom first so we didn't have to stop on the way home :)

Total OOP $4.19

Total Savings $13.28

Do other people go to two different Harris Teeter's in one day?  I felt a little silly but I needed to kill a little more time in order to get him to fall asleep and I was successful at my mission.  Sadly, came up short with no more salsa but at least I got a nap from the little man :)

Biscuits from Baking Mix

I made the biscuit mix so the next step was to use the biscuit mix to make biscuits!!  I mixed the two recipes and added milk and vinegar plus a little garlic powder.  Then I rolled them into balls because I am way to lazy to roll them and cut them out.

I put them all on the pan and the 2 cups of biscuit mix made 9 biscuits.  They probably could have been adjusted in size but I thought that it would be a good size for our meal.

Towards the end of the baking, I brushed the tops with melted butter and then again when they came out of the oven.  Previously when I have made these, I also put garlic powder in the butter but I skipped that step this time because the garlic came out a little fast in the biscuits so I was a little worried we were going to be breathing fire with any more.

Between the three of us, we ate all but one!  They were super light and fluffy.  I added butter to the center of mine too!!  YUM!!

I would highly recommend trying them and now that I know what they taste like, I might start mixing it up with a little rosemary butter or adding the cheese or herbs in the dough.  I guess we will see!!!  Hope you and your family enjoy.

Biscuits

2 cups biscuit mix
1/3 c milk
1 tbsp white vinegar
1/4 tsp garlic powder (to taste)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl to make a soft but not sticky dough.  If dough is too sticky, add a little additional flour until dough has a good texture.  Roll into same size balls and place on an ungreased baking sheet.  Bake in a preheated 400 degrees over until biscuits are golden, 12 to 15 minutes.  Towards the end of the cooking time, brush with melted butter and continue baking.  When biscuits are done, remove from the oven and put remaining melted butter on the tops (optional:  add garlic powder to butter for additional flavor).

Check out the original post about making the baking mix here!!!  It is well worth the few seconds that it takes to mix it up :)

Harris Teeter Shopping Trips #5, 6, and 7

So this was a little bit of a crazy day for shopping.  I went back and got more salsa as soon as I realized that my husband loved the salsa that I brought home before.  They were out of most of the other items so I grabbed some McCain potatoes and Acai juice.

Total OOP $0.20

Total Savings $17.80

(not sure on the last digit because there is a line missing from the receipt)

Then, I decided that I had a few seconds to go back in the afternoon to see if there were anything restocked.  They weren't so I decided to grab a few bags of chocolate chips.  I got the free Silk Fruit and Protein, McCain Potatoes, and Acai juice.  I was thinking about getting some more chocolate chips but I couldn't figure out if it was a good price :)

Total OOP $3.28

Total Savings $20.38

I went that night hoping to find some more of the cherished salsa.  Still none on the shelf so I used my rain check for the chinet plates B1G1.  Grabbed one box of the super yummy Kashi Berry Crunch cereal that was on my Evic for $2.27 and I had a coupon off a box of granola bars for $1 off cereal so I got them for $0.27.  Of course, I had to pick up some more McCain potatoes!  We are certainly stocking up on that deal because they are super yummy and free is a great price :)

Total OOP $0.45

Total Savings $14.31 + $3.79 (from rain check)= $18.10

Total Spent for the day $3.93

Total Saved for the day $56.28