Baked Oatmeal

This is a nice change from the regular oats porridge that you may have for breakfast. However many fruits or nuts you may add, I can assure you the baked version tastes different.  Bake it just till it sets and get a golden crust and you have something that tastes like an apple pie or bread pudding, bake it even longer and it will be like an oaty bar. Use any of the fruits and nuts available to you. The choice is yours.  But do try it.  Does not take too long to make and you can have a good breakfast.  Breaks the monotony of the regular intake of cereal.  Team it with cold coffee or a juice and make it a complete meal.

The recipe is adapted from Once Upon a Chef, who describes it as an Amish-Style Baked Oatmeal with Apples, Walnuts and Raisins.   She even says it can be made ahead of time and just re-heated before consumption.  I made it fresh for breakfast and leftovers were kept in the refrigerator and reheated.  Still tasted good.

Serves 4-5 persons

Ingredients-
Oats - 1 1/2 cups - I used instant oats
Demerara Sugar -  little more than 1/2 cup
Walnuts - 1/4 cup the more the better
Raisins - 1/4 cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Cinnamon powder -  1 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Milk - 1 1/2 cup
Eggs - 2
Butter - 4 tbsp + a little more for greasing - I had salted butter, so skipped the salt
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Apples - 1 large / 2 medium


Combine the oats, baking powder, sugar,  and salt if using
And half the quantity of nuts and raisins
Chop the apples
Melt the butter

Preheat the oven to 170C
Grease a 8-9" cake tin

Whisk the eggs add vanilla essence and milk whisk a little more.
Add this to the oatmeal mixture along with melted butter.  Mix well.

Place the chopped apples all along the bottom of the greased cake tin.
Pour the oatmeal mixture evenly over the top of the apples.
Put the remaining nuts and raisins over the top.

Bake in the oven till crust is golden brown and the oatmeal mix is set.  May take about 25-30 minutes.  If you want it more crisp and less pudding like, keep it for a few minutes longer.

Cool.  And slice.  And serve.  Can even be mixed with milk.  Serve with juice or a cup of coffee, hot or cold.  You are set for the rest of the day.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

K has been asking me to make these cookies for some time now.  It is a recipe on the Betty Crocker website and is extremely simple to make.  You may never want to buy oatmeal cookies again.

I made half the quantity of the recipe that follows and I should have got 21 cookies but I got about 16 of them.  So it could vary according to the size of the cookie.

Ingredients:

Brown Sugar (packed) - 1 1/2 cups

Butter -softened - 1 cup

Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Egg -1

Quick cooking oats - 2 cups

All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cups

Baking soda - 1 tsp

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Semi sweet chocolate chips - 1 cup

( Optional - chopped nuts - 1 cup)

Preheat oven to 180 C

Whisk the sugar and butter till well blended

Add the vanilla and the egg and continue whisking till light and fluffy

Stir in oats, flour, baking soda and salt

Followed by the choco chips ( and nuts if you are adding)

( The dough was rather solid, and I added a bit of milk to loosen it a bit but K tells me it was not necessary )

Onto an ungreased baking sheet, drop spoonfuls of dough about 2 inches apart

( I did this without the spoons - kind of shaped them into balls and flattened them a bit )

Bake 10 to 12 mins until golden brown.

Cool slightly and then remove them from the sheet on to a cooling rack

Masala Oats ....aka Oats Upma

Never thought I would try this !  As a child, porridge and oats were synonymous.  No fancy quick cooking oats either.  It was a process.  Unappetizing. Filling. And we were told it was healthy for us. The only thing I liked about this sort of breakfast were the special porridge plates that we had with a deep spoon.

I thought I would attempt using Oats after the younger one told me she had made it.  That it tasted good.  Of course, she made it with an Italian touch - she put in oregano and mixed herbs.  She would add those ingredients in everything if she could!  Then my bro wanted some packs of masala oats from India (  it has always been the other way around - anyone coming back from a stay abroad would come back with sachets of various flavoured oats ).  And coincidentally as I was toying with the idea of making the Indianised oats recipe, Jeyashri posted Oats Upma on her site.

So here it is.. .if you are not averse to Oats, and want the Indian touch try this.

Ingredients: (serves 2 )
Rolled Oats - the quick cooking variety - 1 cup
Water - 1/2 cup approximately
Veggies - carrots, capsicum - finely chopped , peas
Onion - 1 medium - chopped
Green chilie -1 ( slit)
Curry leaves - few
Ginger - 1/2 " piece - finely chopped
Black gram (Urad) dal - 1/2 tsp
Hing (asafoetida) - a pinch
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder (dhania) - 1/2 tsp  (optional )
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Lime juice - A good squeeze - optional
Garam masala powder - pinch - optional

Roast the oats for a few minutes.  Ensure that it does not brown or burn
Take a pan - place on heat - add the oil
The urad dal, mustard.   Allow the mustard to crackle.
Put in the curry leaves, asafoetida, green chilie, ginger
Sauté 
Add onion sauté till transparent.  Then the chopped vegetables.
If needed add a little water and allow to cook
Add the salt.
Put in the turmeric powder, dhania and garam masala powder - the last two are optional
When the veggies are tender add the roasted oats
And then add water cautiously.

Cover for a couple of minutes.  Lift lid and check
If need be, sprinkle a little more water till you get the required consistency.
Squeeze lime if required

Oats upma should be served hot.

Note :Chopped tomatoes may be added too