Oatmeal and Toast

Today we had oatmeal. Believe it or not, this is a breakfast we love. :)  I first introduced it to the kids about 1 1/2 years ago. I hadn't really made it for them before that. They whined and whined and whined about how GROSS it was! After about 3 or 4 times of making it, they finally developed a taste for it. Now they look forward to me making it. I dress it up with sugar, milk. Athena and Samantha like a bit of cinnamon in their oatmeal and I put nutmeg in mine, Nathan's and Alex's. Then I make toast and have a glass of milk. YUM!

To make it, I use 2 parts water to 1 part oatmeal and add some salt. Today Dad wasn't home for breakfast, so I boiled 4 cups of water with 1/2 tsp of salt. Then I added 2 cups of quick oats to the boiling water and let it cook for 1 minute. Perfect!

Banana Bread

What to do with those last few bananas sitting on the counter that no one will touch because there are too many dark spots? Banana bread!!! This is for sure a favorite at our house. The last batch I made lasted just 2 days and the first loaf was gone within about 20 minutes - hot out of the oven.

I love to make banana bread because it's a great after-school snack, breakfast, or anytime snack. It never goes to waste at our house. I usually have to ward off the kids from the time I take it out of the oven until it is cool enough to go into their mouths. This recipe is the only one I use for banana bread. No other is worthy. :)

Banana Bread
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
4 mashed bananas
3 eggs
2 3/4 - 3 c. flour
3/4 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1/2 c. coarsely chopped nuts
1 c. chocolate chips

Mix sugar, oil, bananas (mashed with fork), and eggs together with fork in large mixing bowl. Add flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix well with fork. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Pour batter into buttered 3x6 inch loaf pans (two pans). Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Check bread before removing from oven by inserting knife in center of bread. If it comes out clean, bread is done. Remove bread from pans and cool for 3 minutes on wire rack. Put in bags while bread is still warm to preserve moistness.

What I do different: I use about 1 3/4 cups of my home ground wheat flour and 1 cup of white flour. I usually don't add the nuts because I rarely have them on hand, and I throw in a little extra chocolate chips.

We love it!

Wheat Pancakes

This pancake recipe is really basic and is the one I use whenever it's a pancake day. I really like them. They take just a few minutes to whip together (before cooking) and are SO MUCH better than using a mix. I use my wheat grinder to make my own wheat flour and then I freeze the flour and make sure I always have some on hand. Notice Nathan peeking in? He thinks it is so cool to watch the wheat slowly disappear into the grinder. :)

Here are the pancakes. I had a little leftover bacon in the fridge from another meal, so I heated it up in the microwave, broke it into small pieces, and added the bacon into the pancake mix. Everyone LOVED it. By the way, if you don't have wheat flour, this recipe originally calls for just white flour. I add the wheat because I like it and it seems to give the pancakes more substance and flavor. I also double this recipe for my family so there is enough.

Wheat Pancakes

1/2 c. wheat flour

1/2 c. white flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 beaten egg

1 c. milk

2 Tbsp. cooking oil

In a mixing bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add egg, milk, and oil to flour mixture all at once. Mix well.

Pour about 1/4 c. batter onto a hot, lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet. Cook till pancakes are golden brown, turning to cook second sides when pancakes have bubbly surfaces and slightly dry edges. Makes about 8-10 standard sized pancakes.

Garlic Breadsticks

These breadsticks are always a hit with my family. I made them to go with the leftover chicken noodle soup from the day before. My "something old with something new" theory. Use leftovers and add a new side. That means less cooking time for me and everyone is still excited about dinner. :)

Garlic Breadsticks
1 T. yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
2 T. sugar
3 to 4 c. flour
1 1/2 c. warm water

Mix sugar, salt, 2 cups flour and yeast together in a bowl. Add warm water and blend well, adding enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Knead 3 minutes. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Spray a sheet cake type cookie sheet with Pam. Put dough in the middle of pan and roll out. Spread topping (see Breadstick Spread below) over dough. Use a pizza cutter to cut the breadsticks once down the middle, long-wise, and then across into sticks. Let rise until almost double. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Breadstick Spread
1/4 c. butter or margarine
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. parsley flakes
1/4 tsp. garlic salt

Blend all ingredients together and spread over dough.
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Don't be scared by the use of yeast in these breadsticks. They are SO EASY to make and only took me about 20 minutes to put together. Just make sure the water you put in is actually warm so that they will raise better. I like to melt the butter for the spread a little bit before I add the other ingredients. It makes it easier to spread on the dough.

My family absolutely loves these breadsticks and they start speaking for which ones they want on the sheet before I even cut into them. It also was a good incentive to get some of them to finish their leftover soup. "Finish your soup and you can have another breadstick." Seriously, the soup was gone in just a few minutes!