Baked Oatmeal

Thanks to my wonderful friend, Darcy (who humored all my talk about cooking and inspired me with this recipe and out of this world homemade pasta while I lived in Utah), this is now a staple in our house and has forced me to admit I can never go back to regular old oatmeal again.

More like an oatmeal "cake," this breakfast dish is wholesome (yes, I consider large amounts of brown sugar wholesome), moist and very versatile. You can add fruit to the batter before baking or lay it on after, you can douse your portion of baked oatmeal in milk and slurp it up with a spoon, or you can skip the milk and eat it with a fork. Any way you try it, it is sure to please. Personally, my favorite way to eat it is covered in fresh strawberries and milk. Thanks, Darc!

Baked Oatmeal
from Darcy

6 cups oatmeal (you can use quick or rolled - I used quick oats to give it a smoother texture)
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup oil
2 cups milk
4 beaten eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together and pour into a greased 9X13-inch baking pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Serve warm with milk....or not.

(P.S. Darcy also says she often halve the recipe and bakes it in an 8X8-inch pan with great results).

(P.P.S. Next time I am going to try subbing applesauce for half the oil.)

Hoisin Chicken Rice Bowls

After trying (and loving) the Asian Lettuce Wraps, I knew I wanted to experiment more with that style of food. I have had this recipe bookmarked for a long time and it is one of the first real meals I made in our new house. I loved it. Loved, loved, loved it. It is very healthy and after all the chopping, it comes together in a snap. Plus, I loved the versatility of serving it with romaine lettuce and rice, or just lettuce...or just rice. You get the picture. You can serve it according to your tastes. It was absolutely delicious with both the hearty green romaine lettuce and the warm, tender rice. The chicken, mushroom, pepper mixture is out of this world with flavor and texture. Hoisin sauce is one of my favorite Asian ingredient flavors and this meal was a slam dunk, in my book.

Hoisin Chicken Rice Bowls
adapted slightly from Dinners for a Year

Serves 4

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 large red pepper, diced small
1 10-ounce package baby portebello mushrooms, diced small
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 average-sized boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced small
1 8-ounce can water chestnuts, drained, diced small
2 teaspoons teriyaki sauce (you can find this by the soy sauce)
4 tablespoons hoisin sauce
3 cups of hot cooked rice
romaine lettuce leaves
sesame seeds
scallions, thinly sliced

Heat oil over medium high heat in a large saute pan. Add red pepper and mushrooms and saute for 5 - 6 minutes until tender. Add garlic and saute an additional minute. Add chicken to pan and cook for 6 - 8 minutes or until cooked through. Stir chicken and red pepper mixture occasionally while it cooks. Add water chestnuts, teriyaki sauce and hoisin sauce and stir to coat the chicken and vegetables. Continue cooking until heated through.

To serve, line a single serving size bowl with romaine leaves. Top with a large scoop of rice, some of the hoisin chicken, and a sprinkle of the sesame seeds and scallions.

Alternately, you can serve the hoisin chicken mixture wrapped in lettuce leaves or omit the lettuce leaves completely and serve the chicken over rice.

Winners!

Wow! I never knew so many of you owned a red KitchenAid mixer. And Cutco knives. And rubber spatulas.

My husband is cringing at all of your comments. Because now I want to go out and buy everything I don't have that you said were your "I can't live withouts." Thanks for helping me add to my ever-growing wish list!

Now for the winners (chosen by random.org):

For the Silpat Liner, the winner is:

#28 Laurel who said "My favorite kitchen item right now is my Kitchenaid mini chopper. I have a 1 year old without molars and it works great for chopping up her food! But, I would have to say I don't love it as much as your blog. :) Welcome back,and congratulations on surviving your move (especially with 4 sick kids!)."


For the Digital Scale, the winner is:

#185 Jane who said "I love my wooden spoon. It is absolutely necessary for me to cook or bake. I love stirring cookie dough like my grandmother used to."

Laurel, I sent you an email but Jane, I don't have your email, so if you could email me at mykitchencafe @ gmail . com and send me your mailing address, I'll get the gifts on their way!

Thanks everyone for taking the time to comment. It was a blast reading through your favorites (and those that just wanted to say hey).