Instant Oatmeal Packets - YUM!

Easy to make, fun to make, & cheap to make! Did you know that quick oats are simply chopped regular oats? To make your own "instant" oats, just put them in a blender for a few seconds, & voila! I like to blend my oats long enough to almost powder them, because it makes a creamier bowl of oatmeal!

I finally got around a few months ago to making my own instant oatmeal packets. Something I've wanted to do for a long time... but just didn't. I'm reeeeeaaaaalllllyyyy glad I did!

These are so yummy. And surprisingly, they're MUCH more filling than the store bought ones, which we usually ended up eating 3 or 4 of to fill us up!

Assembly line style makes this way fast. Just line up your little baggies & ingredients, & scoop one ingredient at a time over & over till you're done... Then move on to the next ingredient. It takes just minutes to make 30 or 40 packets!

AFTER you've gotten all your basic flavor bags made, go back through & add your favorite flavors to them. Variations are listed below the basic recipe:

ORGANIZING YOUR PACKETS (without having to label every single bag)... put all the bags of each different flavor in a plastic shoe box & label just the box. This way, you'll know which is which just by looking at the container.

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Instant Oatmeal Packet Basic Recipe - & Varieties: (Per ONE Packet)

Mix the following in snack or sandwich baggies to make individual oatmeal packets:

¼ c. powdered oats (reg. oats lightly powdered in blender)
1 T. powdered milk
1 T. brown sugar
pinch of salt (optional)

I just add a little hot water & let it sit for a minute, but you can microwave it too, if you want!

Sometimes, I also add 1 T. of non-dairy creamer to each packet. It makes the oatmeal even creamer!

*****

VARIATIONS - (Adjust to your own taste... Or your kids own taste!)

Don't forget to double or triple the flavor ingredients, depending on how many packets you put in each bag!

Apple-Cinnamon - To each packet, add 1 Tbsp. sugar, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, and 2 Tbsp. chopped dried apples.

Apple Pie - To each packet, add ¼ tsp. apple pie spice

Brown Sugar/Cinnamon - To each packet, add 1 Tbsp. brown sugar & 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Raisins & Brown Sugar - To each packet, add 1 Tbsp. packed brown sugar and 1 Tbsp. raisins.

Health Nut - To each packet, add 1/2 Tbsp. each wheat germ, ground flax seed, chopped almonds

Honey Nut - To each packet, add 1 Tbsp. honey powder & 1 T. chopped pecans/almonds

Fruit & Cream - To each packet, add 1 Tbsp. non-dairy coffee creamer and 2 Tbsp. dried fruit & / or powdered fruit flavor

Confetti - To each packet, add 1 tsp. decorative cake/cookie sprinkles.

S'Mores - To each packet, add 6 miniature marshmallows and 1 Tbsp. Milk Chocolate Chips to each packet. (can also add Golden Grahams cereal for a little crunch)

Cookies n Cream - To each packet add 1 crushed Oreo cookie and 1 Tbsp. non-dairy coffee creamer to each packet.

Candy Bar - To each packet add 2 Tbsp. Crushed Butterfinger (or other candy bar) to each packet.

Maple & Brown Sugar - To each packet add powdered maple flavoring & extra brown sugar

Maple Pecan - To each packet add powdered maple flavoring & chopped pecans

Pumpkin Pie - To each packet add ¼ tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Way easy, & way versatile. You can add any kind of topping you want... from garlic salt to cinnamon sugar! We haven't been very successful with making crackers in our home, but FINALLY... a winner! They taste a lot like "Wheat Thins".

In a medium bowl whisk together:

3/4 c. whole wheat flour (fresh ground hard white wheat is best)
3/4 c. all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 Tb. dry buttermilk powder

Add to dry mix:

1/2 cup water
3 T. cooking oil or melted butter

Stir until all the flour is absorbed. Don't over mix. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap & let sit for about 10 minutes.

Divide dough in half & plop half of it on a flat cookie sheet (without edges)... OR onto a silicone baking liner. Cover dough with saran wrap, the size of your pan or liner. Roll out to edges. Dough will be VERY thin!

(If you're using a liner, put your liner onto a cookie sheet after rolling out the dough.)

Remove saran wrap after it's all smoothed out. Using a pizza cutter, score dough into cracker squares. I make mine about 1 - 1 1/2 inches.

Sprinkle dough squares with a GENEROUS amount of any topping you want!

Sea Salt
Garlic Salt
Onion Salt
Cinnamon Sugar
Crushed Herbs
Poppy Seeds
Sesame Seeds
Shredded or Parmesan Cheese

My personal favorite (so far), is garlic salt and parsley. And it's actually a perfect partner to the sweet & sour spaghetti recipe!

Bake at 350 degrees for about 12-15 minutes.

*Note - If your edges are too thin, they will burn easily. Try to even all the dough out to the same thickness all the way around, as much as possible.

Your crackers will get crispier as they cool down.

Try them with cheese balls or cracker dip. The cinnamon sugar ones would be great with a fruit & cream cheese ball or fruit dip! I think these are perfect for party appetizers OR just in your kid's lunchbox!

Oatmeal Raisin Granola Bars

I FOUND THE RECIPE!!!


OK... After DAYS of searching for the recipe I used to make these, I finally found it buried under a pile of papers. I guess I should clean up, huh! So here it is:

2 c. oats
3/4 c. wheat germ
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. sunflower seeds (I used 3/4 c. & I thought it was too much)
8 oz. raisins or craisins

2/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. honey
4 Tbs. butter
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. sea salt

Mix sugar, honey, butter, vanilla, & salt. Melt in microwave for about 2 minutes & stir well.

Mix melted items & remaining dry ingredients in large bowl & stir well. Keep stirring! It may seem dry, but it WILL get sticky if you keep going..... :)

Line casserole dish with large piece of waxed paper.

Dump mixture in casserole dish & spread. Fold wax paper over top, OR add a new piece on top. Using hands, press hard to flatten & compact mixture.

Let cool completely!

Lift granola bars out of dish with waxed paper & cut into bars or squares. (Or, if you didn't use waxed paper, just cut in the dish & remove.)

Store in air tight container or wrap individually in plastic wrap.

How easy is that!?!?

Granola Bars Revamped -

The original version was pretty good, but you gotta try this:

I reduced the amount of peanut butter, added marshmallows, & also added ground flax seed & wheat germ for more fiber & nutrition. Can't even taste it in there, so the kids won't know! Here's the basic recipe. I don't usually measure exactly. I kinda guess on the liquid stuff. MORE of the items to melt is better than less, because it's the glue. You don't want it dry & crumbly.

(I've changed a couple of things from the old version, and it seems to work a little better for me. AND - I usually double this recipe, cause we eat them a lot!)

3 c. regular oats
1 1/2 c. rice krispies
1 c. chocolate chips (semi sweet)
1 c. mini marshmallows
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. honey
1/4 c. peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. wheat germ (optional)
1/4 c. ground flax seed (optional)

Mix oats, rice krispies, wheat germ, flax seed, and HALF of chocolate chips in large mixing bowl.

Mix other half of chocolate chips, brown sugar, honey, marshmallows, peanut butter, & vanilla in microwaveable bowl. Microwave on high for 2 minutes. Stir well. Microwave for an additional 1-2 minutes, or until completely melted & pourable.

Pour over top of dry mix. With large sturdy spoon (wood or stainless work best) - mix until well coated & gewey.

Transfer mixture to large casserole dish or jelly roll pan & spread to edges. Top with a large piece of wax paper, & begin firmly pressing granola bars flat. The wax paper keeps your hands clean :)

Allow to cool (about 1/2 hour or so)... then cut into bars. I cut mine into small squares.

You can individually wrap each bar in saran wrap for a quick grab & go snack, or store them in an airtight container.

*If you want them to look more 'chunky' - like rocky road style, add an extra 1/2 cut of marshmallows to the dry ingredients. They'll melt a little, but there will be small areas of white marble mixed in. The kids will love it!

More experimenting...

It might be hard to see in these photos, but I have now started adding 1/2 cup of ground flax seed into my whole wheat bread recipe. It looks grainier, but you can't even taste it! This is a great way to add even MORE nutrition to that yummy homemade bread!

The top photo is the dough before it had risen (easier to see the flax in that one!) & the bottom one is after it's done baking. Mmmm!!!

Better Granola Bars!

Check out the no bake granola bar recipe I posted on August 27, 2008. I have since re-vamped it, which has greatly improved how it holds together. If you had trouble with your bars crumbling, try making them with the new method.

Basically I melted half the chocolate chips with the other things I melted, AND I now add more of the "melting" items than I used too. This really helps everything bond better. You can find this recipe by clicking on "oats" in the LABELS section to the right or by clicking here!

I also throw all the melty stuff in a big Pyrex measuring bowl & mix it up. Then I microwave it for about 3 minutes... till it's hot and bubbly.

Perfect Bread!!!

These are the best 2 loaves I've made yet! Fresh ground whole wheat, & SOOO easy! I'm gonna post my recipe and tips... I've made 7 loaves the past 3 days, just cause it's fun! The bread I used to buy averaged $3/loaf or more... So these 7 would have been at least $21. But making my own, I have less than 50 cents into each loaf!

NOW... I currently have a 12 year old Kitchen-Aid mixer. It's great, and it's "working" for my bread, but it's not the best, to be honest. I'm saving up for a Bosch mixer. There is just nothing better. But if all you have is a Kitchen-Aid, it will work. If you're lucky enough to have a BOSCH... then double my recipe! You can even do this by hand, you'll just have to suffer through the forever kneading.

ONE IMPORTANT NOTE: - HARD WHITE WHEAT IS BEST! IF YOU CAN'T GET IT, SINCE IT'S IN BIG DEMAND RIGHT NOW, THEN HARD RED WILL WORK, IT'LL JUST BE A HEAVIER LOAF & STRONGER TASTING. TRY TRY TRY TO FIND HARD WHITE. YOU WILL LOVE IT!

ONE MORE IMPORTANT NOTE! Since this is whole wheat, you will need a dough enhancer. If you grind your own wheat, toss 3 vitamin-C tablets right into the grinder with your wheat!

If you purchase whole wheat flour, then just crush/grind 3 vitamin-C tablets & add to the ingredients below.

This is a natural dough enhancer, & it'll save you lots of money over buying the packaged enhancer at the store. Gives your bread better texture & helps it rise higher & faster. It works great!

Here goes:

3 c. very warm water (but not too hot)
1 T. instant yeast (SAF yeast is the best!)
1/3 c. vegetable or canola oil
1/3 c. honey
1 T. salt
6 cups whole wheat flour (freshly ground if possible!)
1/2 c. whole oats
1/4 c. gluten (available at bulk/health food stores & some grocery stores)

(Don't forget your ground Vitamin-C tablets!)

Add the first 5 ingredients & mix. Then add 5 cups flour, oats, & gluten flour. Mix well. Continue to add the other 1 c. flour slowly until the dough forms a ball & scrapes the excess dough off the sides of the bowl.

DO NOT add too much flour! This is the most common mistake in bread making! It will make a heavy & crumbly bread. Your loaf should stay in "ball" form even after mixing for about 5 minutes, but it needs to be a little sticky. At first, you'll think it's too sticky, but as long as it's cleaning the sides of the bowl, it's perfect! Let mix for 5-10 minutes.

(In the mean time, preheat your oven to 100-125 degrees)

Now... OIL the counter surface & your hands - (Use oil, NOT flour!) Put your dough on the oiled surface & slice WITH A KNIFE into 2 loaves. Pat down into a thick rectangle & roll it up into loaf shape, then put into greased bread pans.

Turn OFF your oven, cover loaves LOOSELY with saran wrap, & put in warmed oven to rise till double (about 45-60 minutes, depending on humidity in the air!)

Remove loaves from oven & preheat to 350 degrees. Bake loaves for 30 minutes.

YOU'RE DONE!

Remove your loaves immediately & transfer to cooling rack. Best sliced with electric knife. We can get our slices down to less than 1/2 inch thick with the elec. knife!

If your family doesn't like whole wheat bread, TRY THIS RECIPE! They will looove it. My kids wolfed an entire loaf the first night, & their friends think it's awesome!

If it doesn't work the first time, keep trying! It took 3 times before I got it down!

And remember, this makes 2 loaves... and I used my Kitchen Aid. If you have a Bosch, you'll be able to double the recipe & make 4 loaves (at least!)

SO Yummy!!!

On To The Things That REALLY Matter...

Well, LOVE the shoes, & LOVE the clothes, but on to the serious stuff... Hopefully what I share will help someone along the way. Over to the side on that little list of "other sites" to visit, there will be lots and lots of amazing places to visit. I'll only add my favorites & ones I believe will really be of help. The one I want to share first is www.waltonfeed.com/sitemap - Just look at all the stuff they have!!! This place is absolutely amazing!

The Walton Feed Site (1,545 pages)

* Monthly Update
* Catalog (145 pages including the ads, cart & shipping info)
o Secure, Online Shopping Cart
o Complete Online Catalog
o Package Deals & Food Packs
o Walton's Certified Organic foods
o Emergency Preparedness Items Books, Grinders, Lighting Ect.
o Ordering/Shipping Information
* Walton’s Self Reliance/Information Area (15 pages plus tons of links)
o #10 Can Labels (177 pages)
o The Whys and Hows of Whole Grains and Foods (9 pages + more links)
+ The Food Storage FAQs by Alan T. Hagan (61 Pages)
+ Cook’in With Home Storage by Vicki Tate (30 pages)
+ New Passport to Survival by Rita Bingham (16 pages)
+ Nutritional Content of 37 Different Foods (8 pages)
+ Your Food Storage Recipes (148 pages and more links)
+ The LDSCN Prep List Weekly Recipe Archive. Hundreds of recipes. (78 pages)
o All About Grains (20 pages)
o All About Beans (2 pages)
o All About Dehydrated Vegetables
o All About Meat Substitute
o All About Dairy Products
o All About Our Mixes Part 1
o All About Our Mixes Part 2
o Nutrition and Health
+ Deficiency Diseases and Good Nutrition (28 pages)
+ Interview With An LDS Health Specialist (9 pages)
+ Book selection - Health Is A Blessing by Steven H. Horne 91 pp. (16 web pages) Written for an LDS audience.
o Introduction to Essential Fatty Acids (23 pages)
o Interview: Dr. Gary north/Mr. Steve Portela (11 pages)
o Gary North's Food Storage Forum Archive (93 Pages)
o The Old Timer Page - How We Used To Do It... (19 pages)
+ Root Cellars (5 pages)
+ Soap Making (13 pages)
+ Remember Mama's recipes (47 pages)
o Self Reliant Peoples
+ LDS Perspectives On Self Reliance(7 pages)
+ Living in the Navajo Past... (16 pages)
+ Memoirs of Lessons Learned - living through unusual times (6 pages)
o Pack Your Own Foods For Long Term Storage (10 Pages)
+ Seed Viability (8 pages)
+ Bugs! (7 pages)
o All About Grain Grinders (8 pages)
o Beth's Preparedness Handouts (23 pages)
o The Dennis Rahn Farm - where we get our Golden 86 (6 pages)
o The Inner Workings Of A Country Elevator (43 pages)
o E-Mail We Get (349 pages)
o Village of Stirling (a public service in our off time - 54 pages)