Quick, Easy, Healthy Breakfast

I know...you've all made oatmeal before :)....but I thought I'd share our favorite quick and easy breakfast.  Oh, and healthy.  I make this for my husband for breakfast nearly every Mon-Thurs @ 4:15am before he leaves for work.

With the sweetness of the bananas you don't need much brown sugar.  I really LOVE the crunch that the pecans add.

I'm going to tell you how I made it every morning.  I have a ceramic cook-top stove, so if you have something different...you will need to adjust the directions.

Oatmeal with banana and pecans

Ingredients:

1 cup water

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1 banana

~1/4 cup chopped pecans

brown sugar

milk

Directions:  In a small pot bring one cup of water to boil over high heat.  When the water begins to boil, stir in 1/2 cup oats and turn burner off.  I move my pot off of the burner for 30 seconds to a minute to let the burner cool just a bit.  Then I put the pan back on the burner to continue cooking(with the burner turned off) while I do other things...like pack a lunch.  When the oatmeal is the desired consistency, pour oatmeal into a bowl, top with sliced banana, pecans, brown sugar to taste and desired amount of milk.

O'Henry Bars

Quick post...just wanted to share this recipe today.  We loved these at my house!!  Chocolate, peanut butter, oats...what's not to love?  You like that big 'glob' of chocolate/peanut butter on the bar below?  I had a little left on the spoon after I 'smeared' the topping around...I scraped it off and that's where it landed.  Best bite of the batch :)

O'Henry Bars

Ingredients:

 2/3 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup

3 t. vanilla

4 cups quick oats

Topping:

1 cup chocolate chips(I used semi-sweet)

2/3 cup peanut butter

Directions:  Cream together butter and brown sugar.  Add corn syrup and vanilla.  Add oats and mix well.  Press mixture into a greased 9x13" pan.  I also lined the bottom of the pan with wax paper to make it easier to get the bars out when they were finished.  Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Melt together chocolate chips and peanut butter.  Spread on cooled bars.  Refrigerate to allow the peanut butter, chocolate chip mixture to harden.  Cut into bars.

Granola

I really LOVE granola!! This recipe comes from my mother-in-law and is delicious!!

Granola

Mix together in a large bowl:

-14 c. rolled oats

-2 c. wheat germ

-2 c. coconut

-1/2 or more c. sesame seeds, sliced almonds, sunflower seeds, wheat bran, etc.

Mix together in the blender:

-1 c. oil

-1/3 c. water

-1 1/2 c. honey

-3 t. vanilla

-2 t. salt

Pour the ingredients from the blender over dry ingredients & mix together thoroughly. Bake in cookie sheets or pan (approx. 4) for 30 minutes at 250-300 degrees.

famous oatmeal cookies

I got this recipe from my MIL. We LOVE these cookies...they are definitely 'famous' at our house!! These cookies are SO good. Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.

I'm sorry these pictures are SO bad. I actually get a headache if I look at them too long. I thought about making another batch to get a better picture, but decided I just can't eat another entire batch so soon. Yep, I don't have much will-power when it comes to oatmeal cookies....or any other cookies for that matter. So take a quick glance at the pictures and then go make some of these for yourself...or the entire family.....hmmm...maybe I will go make another batch.

famous oatmeal cookies

ingredients:

• 3/4 cup shortening
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 cups oats (I used quick-cooking oats)
• 1 cup flour
• 1 t. salt
• 1/2 t. soda
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet choc. chips (optional)
• nuts (optional)

Directions: Cream shortening and sugars. Add egg, vanilla, and water. Mix flour, salt, and soda together. Add to creamed mixture. Add oats. Make into cookies. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Leftover Oatmeal Bread

I have been baking A LOT of bread lately. My house has been hot, but smelling good:) We eat a lot of oatmeal at our house during the week. Fast, easy healthy meal before sending the kids to school and the husband to work. Well....the other day I totally over shot the oatmeal. I don't know how, but somehow I had 2 cups of oatmeal leftover. We hate to throw out any food, so I thought I'd make some bread. Re-heating the oatmeal to eat later just didn't sound as good:) The bread turned out great! It is YUMMY and makes some wonderful cinnamon toast! Nothing makes me think of my Grandma more than hot chocolate and cinnamon toast...oh and, homemade pickles, pumpkin rolls, chocolate chip cookies....

Leftover Oatmeal Bread

Ingredients:

• 2 c room temperature leftover oatmeal
• 2 cups warm water
• 2 1/4 t. yeast or one envelope
• 1/4 c. molasses or honey
• 1/4 c. melted butter
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 4-5 cups bread flour
• 2 t. salt

Directions: Mix oatmeal, water, yeast, molasses and one cup of the whole wheat flour until well blended. Let rest for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes add butter, the other 1 cup whole wheat flour and 3 cups bread flour. Mix well and let rest for an additional 20 minutes. Mix in salt and knead in additional bread flour until the dough is just slightly sticky, but pulling away from the bowl. I knead mine in my kitchen-aid for about 5 minutes. I dust the top of the dough with flour, cover and let rise until double, about 1 hour. Punch down dough and form into 2 large loaves or 3 medium loaves. Put into greased loaf pans, dust top with flour, cover and let rise until double, about 1 more hour. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of your loaves.