The Great Oatmeal Experiment-Results!

So, a while back I posted my Overnight Crockpot Oatmeal recipe. To my embarrassment a bunch of readers had absolutely horrible results.

Oops.

So I decided to figure out what was going on.  I enlisted the help of some erstwhile volunteers-Daniel, Candi and Allison*.  We all started out with the original recipe:

1 cup steel cut or regular oats (NOT Quick Oats!)
4 cups water
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1  TBS butter
1/2  tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon

Combine all in crockpot and cook on low for 8hrs.  Serve with milk & cinnamon sugar.

There is a big difference between steel cut oats:

And regular (old fashioned, not quick) oats:

Version 1: As written with steel cut oats

The results on this were unanimous.  When cooked with Steel Cut Oats this produced great oatmeal. Well, Allison & I thought it was great, Daniel (who’s blog isn’t named “fussy” for nuthin) said it was acceptable. Candi did not have steel cut oats, so she skipped this one.

Version 2: As written with regular oats

Yeah, we all got goop on this one.

Version 3:  Decreased water to 3C instead of 4C, used steel cut oats.

Daniel did this variation.  He felt it was slightly more watery than his usual method of making steel cut oats, but acceptable.

Version 4:  Decreased the water to 3C instead of 4, used regular oats.

Candi tried this and still felt that hers was soup.  I did the same and felt it was too runny, but still edible-and it firmed up in the fridge overnight so when I reheated it in the microwave it was an acceptable, if not great, texture.  I buy

my regular oats at the bulk food store-I wonder if there is a quality difference between the regular oats that you buy in a canister at the store and the bulk food ones.  If the bulk food ones are even less processed, they may have retained more fiber, thereby providing more ability to absorb water.  But that is just a guess-no data to back that up folks!

Version 5:  Increased regular oats to 2C, left everything else as written.

Allison and I both tried this variation.  This produced a nice pot of moist and flavorful oatmeal.

Conclusions:

If you are using regular oats, the 2C of oats to 4C water & 1/2C milk seems to be the best proportions.  Both Allison and I felt that it was a great quick breakfast, especially useful for schoolday mornings or feeding a house full of guests.  I will go back to the original recipe and edit it to include that information.

If you are using steel cut oats, the recipe as written works well if you prefer a moist oatmeal.  If you prefer a bit dryer oatmeal then you should use Daniel’s recommendation and reduce the water by a cup.

Candi was happy to have helped out, but probably won’t make the recipe again:  “I will not try again and here is why: If I increase the oats it will make WAY to much to feed two people (even keeping it in the fridge). If I decrease the water any more, it will scorch due to a lack of liquid in the crock pot total and I used my smallest crock pot. I do not see a way to fix this recipe and make it work in my home.”

Thanks to Candi, Daniel & Allison for being willing to eat WAY too much oatmeal in order to help me with this project.  You can see the full details of Allison’s experiment on her post “Overnight Slow Cooker Oatmeal” at Alli ‘n Son, and Daniel’s experiment, as well as a tasty variation where you toast the oats, on his post “Soothing Irish Oats” at Fussy Little Blog.

Want some more great ways to prepare oatmeal?  How about these!

Baked Oatmeal
Oatmeal Fruit Bars
Banana Oatmeal Drop Cookies
Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets

Note:  A few more volunteered as well-lets hope they post their results in comments

Recipe: Banana Squares

I am frequently overly optimistic when I purchase Bananas.  They look so golden & delicious. . .the kids love them. . . they are only $.44 a lb. . . we’ll go through a dozen in no time right?

Wrong.

Sometimes we do-I swear Princess would eat 3 a day if I would let her.  My mom & mother-in-law, nurses both, do not recommend that for a daily intake unless you want to serve prune juice alongside!

But other times, many other times, we have bananas that start to go brown.

Banana bread is a classic-but sometimes you get tired of it and want something different. Need a new way to use up Bananas going brown?  Try Banana Squares!  These delicious treats are similar to a blonde banana brownie.  Think of it as a cookie alternative.

Banana Squares

1C Sugar
1C Mashed Banana
1/3C oil
2 eggs
1C Flour
1tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

-Mix sugar, mashed bananas, oil eggs.
-Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
-Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix till thoroughly combined.
-Spread into a greased 9×13 pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 min.

Variations:
Sprinkle top with powdered sugar when cool.
Frost with cream cheese frosting.
Add chocolate chips (1/4 to 1/2 C).

Recipe: Venison Parmigiana

You all know I am always looking for new and different ways to prepare venison-after all we have a couple of deer worth in the freezer!  This recipe is simply a takeoff on a classic Chicken Parmigiana (or Parmesan).  The combination of Venison with spaghetti sauce is always a winner, the flavors balance each other out, especially if the meat is a bit more gamey.

Venison Parmigiana

(Parmesan)

4 boneless venison steaks
1/2C Flour
Salt & Pepper
3 TBS Parmesan cheese
1 TBS Italian Seasoning
1 c breadcrumbs
2 eggs
olive oil
spaghetti sauce
mozzarella cheese

Note: This recipe uses a dredging technique. You will need to set up 3 dredging stations-one with flour, one with the egg and one with the breadcrumbs-and a “receiving plate” to put the finished meat on. Each station should be large enough to lay a piece of meat out flat in. Dinner plates or pie pans work well.

-Pound steaks with a meat mallet into cutlets approx 1/2 inch thick.
-Season flour with salt & pepper to taste & place on a plate or shallow dish. This is station 1.
-Lightly beat the 2 eggs & place in a shallow plate or dish. This is station 2.
-Combine bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and Italian Seasoning & place on a shallow plate or dish. This is station 3.
-Dredge cutlets in each station-making sure all surfaces get completely covered in each step.
-Leave completed meat on a plate for a few minutes to “set”
-Heat oil in a large frying pan.
-Fry each cutlet-about 5 min per side.
-Place fried cutlets on in a lightly oiled baking dish. Spoon spaghetti sauce over each cutlet. I like about 2-3 TBS each.
-Bake for 20 minutes at 325-adding the mozzarella cheese to the top for the last 5 minutes.
-Serve over a bed of pasta.

Variations:
This recipe could be made with any type of meat-chicken, turkey, pork or beef.
Instead of Spaghetti sauce you could use crushed tomatoes with some extra Italian Seasoning added in.
You could make a pizza version by adding a layer of pepperoni under the sauce.

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