Oatmeal Raisin Bars

Oatmeal Raisin Bars

The stress of the holidays is almost over. As much as I love watching my kids faces during Christmas morning and spending time with my family I am always relieved when all the chaos is over. For what seems like 3 months all everyone talks and think about is Christmas. This year stores had their Christmas decorations out before Halloween, making the holiday seem even longer than normal. I personally love the day after Christmas. My kids have new toys to distract them and I can sit and relax with a cup of coffee. No more shopping, wrapping, or cooking. Things can go back to the way they are the other 9 months of the year. Plus the New Year brings new things to look forward to and the ability to leave the stress of the last year behind us. So as Christmas comes tomorrow, I will be happy. My kids will be ecstatic with all the gifts, while I will be happy that I can relax, I survived another Christmas.

Since we have been eating lots of fattening foods the last couple of weeks, I have been trying to have snacks that are healthier. Today I tried a new recipe for Oatmeal Raisin Bars from the January issue of All You Magazine.

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This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 40 minutes of total time, 5 minutes of which is active and makes 9 bars. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. First, I substituted pepitas for the sunflower seeds called for in the recipe. My family loves pumpkin seeds and I use them in snacks frequently. Second, I found that I had to allow the bars to cook an additional 5 minutes in order for them to fully brown and set.

Spring Hill Cemetery Huntington, WV

These bars taste more like baked oatmeal than they do raisin bars. I chose to pour maple syrup over two of the bars as a breakfast. I would suggest making a few changes to the original recipe. First, I would replace the raisins with fresh fruit. Fresh blueberries would be much lower in sugar and higher in vitamins than raisins. Second, I would add maple syrup to the bars in order to make them sweeter. As originally written the bars are a little on the not sweet side of things. I would suggest either adding maple syrup to the batter or eating the bars in a bowl with maple syrup drizzled over them. With a few modifications, these could be a great snack!

For the recipe go to Oatmeal Raisin Bars. 

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

After two and half years of blogging I decided that I needed to get over my fear of having myself photographed. I have never liked photos. I inherited my dad's rather large nose (thanks dad!) that in photographs looks horribly large. I have become great over the years in making sure I am looking down or having my hair cover most of my face. However, as my boys have gotten older I have realized a number of things. I lost both my mother and grandmother to cancer. Once someone is gone all that you are left with are the memories you have stored and photographs. I don't want my kids to remember me without a photograph to remember my face. I want them to be able to show their grand children what I looked like and take pride in where they came from. So I've come out from behind the camera. I promise this was not an easy decision, I still cringe at my photos, but I am slowly getting better. Now that you know my face, on to the recipe. This week my two boys have been in day camp at the library so I have been baking a number of snacks for when they come home in the afternoon. Yesterday I tried a new recipe for Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 20 minutes of total time, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. First, I doubled the amount of white chocolate chips. My two boys are big chocolate chip fans and since they were eating these as treats I increased the amount. The dough was hard to work with when first combined so I set the bowl in the fridge for a 1/2 hour. After it had cooled I formed the dough into balls and flattened them slightly before adding to the baking sheet.

These cookies are a little more adult oriented. My husband liked that they weren't overly sweet, but my two boys weren't fans of the brown sugar. The cookies do have less sugar than most cookie recipes, which was a bonus to me, but a downside for my kids. My husband would rather not of had the dried cranberries, he would have preferred dried cherries instead. This is a recipe that could easily be modified to include other dried fruits or chocolate chip flavors.

For the recipe go to Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies.

Craving Cookies and Ran Out of Eggs? Try Eggless Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Gluten Free Eggless Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I canned a batch of cherry jam this evening. There is something about making homemade jam that always puts me in a great mood. It is comforting and reminds me of my childhood. One of the main reasons I love to cook and bake is that it makes me feel connected to my mother. Even though she has been gone for over 7 years, I am instantly reminded of her when I am in the kitchen. She loved cooking and was one of the best cooks that I have known. Never needing to measure, she made delicious meals and was always happy while doing it. So as I made jam this evening, I thought of her and smiled. She would have loved to be standing next to me, talking up a storm and enjoying every minute of it. One of the first things that my mother taught me to make growing up was cookies. To this day I haven't met very many cookies that I don't like. Last week I tried a new recipe for Eggless Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes 46 minutes of total time, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 36 cookies. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. First I used brown rice flour instead of all-purpose. I was out of chocolate chips so I omitted them and increased the amount of raisins. Be sure to watch the cookies in the oven. They will go from under done to done in a short amount of time. Make sure to not move the cookies until they are cool or they will fall apart.

Once these cookies cool they come out slightly crunchy, with a nice taste. My two boys didn't notice that they were missing egg and the butter did a nice job of masking any taste differences. I am always running out of eggs halfway through the week thanks to my kids eating everything in sight and this recipe is a nice way to still be able to bake even if I have no eggs in the fridge. Plus the recipe could be modified to include white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, pecans or the add-in of your choosing.

For the recipe go to Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.

Add Wholegrains to Your Breakfast Routine: Easy Overnight Oatmeal in the Slowcooker

Easy Overnight Crock-Pot Oatmeal

My oldest caught his first fish this week. While for many kids this wouldn't be a big deal, for him it's huge. He has never been a child that has excelled at sports. Over the years he has tried t-ball, tennis and swimming. They all ended quickly when he realized that he was not going to be a sports star. I was so ecstatic when my mother-in-law called and informed me that he had caught a ten inch bass, by himself. Of course now he has made my in-laws buy him a new fishing pole and buy fishing licenses. I'm just happy that he has actually found something that he enjoys and is good at. Since my oldest is at my in-laws fishing up a storm, my youngest and I have been left to ourselves for meals. During the week I am a big fan of healthy breakfasts that I can get on the table quickly. This week I tried a new recipe for Overnight Oatmeal from the Food Network.

This recipe has 5 ingredients. It takes a total time of 9 hours 10 minutes, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I did make significant changes to the original recipe. I ended up making the recipe twice, once as written and once with large changes. The first batch of oatmeal was too strong on the fruit, it almost tasted like a warmed fruit dish instead of steel cut oats. For the second batch I left out the dried food completely. Instead, I used 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup and 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract. I followed the same amounts of half-and-half, water and steel cut oats as the original recipe. After I portioned the servings into bowls I added additional non-fat half-and-half. My oldest and I are fans of thinner oatmeal so this step allowed for the desired texture.

Putting the ingredients in the crock-pot the night before made for a very easy breakfast. The original recipe was too heavy on the fruit, but with my changes the oatmeal was perfect. If you aren't a fan of sweet oatmeal, you could try almonds, pecans or walnuts. Cinnamon or nutmeg would also work for flavor.

For the recipe go Overnight Oatmeal.

Recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Gluten Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

My treadmill has sat lonely for the last month. Between strep throat and a stomach bug I was sick for almost 4 weeks. Not fun and it has thrown off my normal eating and exercising schedule. I am a creature of habit, when I don't eat well and get in my hour of treadmill everyday I get tired. Not just a little tired, but exhausted by the middle of the afternoon. When I eat a balanced diet and do my walking I feel energized and great. That's not to say I don't love an occasional treat. I have a definite sweet tooth and believe in using moderation. Since I eat gluten free I am always looking for ways I can have a treat and use gluten free flours. Last week I tried a new recipe for Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies from Allrecipes.com.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 1 hour of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 4 dozen cookies. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. First since I eat gluten free I substituted rice flour for the all-purpose flour. I have started buying a superfine brown rice flour that I love. It isn't gritty at all and I was able to fine a great deal on it making it affordable. Chocolate peanut butter was on sale at my local grocery store so I had a number of jars in my cupboard. I substituted the chocolate peanut butter for the regular peanut butter used in the recipe. Finally, I used an extra cup of oats since my family likes lots of oatmeal in their oatmeal cookies and I made my cookies larger than the recipe suggested. My baking time increased by a couple of minutes per batch and I ended up with a total of 2 dozen cookies.

My husband and two boys aren't big fans of gluten free baking. However, they really liked these cookies even though they were gluten free. The combination of the chocolate peanut butter and oatmeal was delicious and I liked that they were baked unlike one of my husband's favorite recipes which is similar, but made as no-bakes. Overall, a great recipe that converted well to being made gluten free.

For the recipe go to Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies.

Soft Oatmeal Cookies

Today was my grocery shopping day. Once a week I spend a couple of hours at the store without my husband and children grocery shopping. While it might sound boring to some, I cherish the small amount of me time. Since I stay at home with my youngest all day I have very little time to myself. So on Saturdays I walk down every aisle of the grocery store and slowly look at everything in the whole store. It is also a great way to save money. Since I'm not in a hurry I don't buy unnecessary items and I have the time to spot great deal like today when my grocery store paid me 5 dollars thanks to clearance finds and coupons. I try to remember my peace of mind during this time when my four-year-old has temper tantrums or draws all over the walls the rest of the week. Baking from scratch is another great way to save money. I try to bake as many things from scratch as I can, especially since I have to eat gluten free now. Last week I tried a new recipe for Oatmeal Cookies from Allrecipes.com.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 2 hours of total time (including chilling), 15 minutes of which is active and makes 2 dozen cookies. I did make a few modifications to the recipe. First since I eat gluten free I used gluten free all-purpose flour. There are a number of brands of gluten free flour, my favorite uses coconut flour as a base or I make my own using a blend of sorghum and brown rice flours. Make sure to let the dough chill. I have made this recipe a number of times and experimented with how long to let the dough chill. Without the chilling time the cookies are a mess to roll into balls and place on the cookie sheet. I have also tried making them flat with a fork like the recipe states or skipping this step. If you want soft cookies don't flatten them with a fork. If you want crunchy oatmeal cookies than you have to flatten them. Plus the sugar gives them a nice added sweet crunchiness. Finally make sure to let the cookies cool before moving them from the baking sheet. They have a tendency to fall apart if they are moved while still warm. My baking time was also slightly longer than the recipe, approximately 3-5 minutes. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

These cookies were very popular in my house. My boys will eat just about any type of cookie and this recipe as no exception. The cookies came out thin and crunchy, which is the type of oatmeal cookie that I prefer. My husband thought that they were very good, especially since they were gluten free. This recipe would also be delicious with chocolate chips, I would go with bittersweet since the cookies are already so sweet and reduce the amount of total sugar by 1/2 cup.

For the recipe go to Soft Oatmeal Cookies.

Oatmeal Brulee with Ginger Cream

As I have discussed many times before, breakfast is the meal I struggle with the most. My natural tendency in the morning is to grab a cup of coffee and nothing else until the middle of the afternoon. The men in my house on the other hand wake-up very hungry. My two boys pop out of bed in the morning and want food right away. If I take more than 5 minutes, they start following me around asking why I haven't started their breakfast. Since my husband leaves for work at 6 in the morning I try to make sure that the meals I make for breakfast are quick and easy. I really don't have the energy to go full out at 6:30. However, on weekends I like to take the time to make a more labor and time intensive breakfast. Weekend breakfasts allow my family to talk about what has happened during the week and be together. This weekend I tried a new recipe for Oatmeal Brulee with Ginger Cream from the December/January issue of Taste of Home magazine, which looked delicious and perfect for fall.

This recipe has 15 ingredients. It takes 40 minutes of total time, 30 minutes of which is active, and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. Since I eat gluten-free I used gluten-free oats, however, regular oats would work just as well for people who can eat gluten. I haven't seen fresh raspberries in months so I bought frozen. The broiler on my oven has been broken for years so I used the broiler on my toaster oven. My total broiling time was longer since I used this method, about 15 minutes total. Instead of using butter to grease my ramekins, I used non-stick spray. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I loved this recipe. The ginger cream was delicious and the crusty sugar topping was very popular with my two kids. Plus, the time was reasonable for a weekend meal and the oatmeal was perfect with hard boiled eggs for breakfast. This is definitely a recipe I would make again.

For the recipe go to Oatmeal Brulee with Ginger Cream.

Crock-Pot Oatmeal Banana Maple Parfaits

Breakfast has always been my biggest food struggle. I am great about eating balanced lunch and dinners, but breakfast is another story. If you have read my blog for a while you know that I have made a number of food changes in the last 6 months. One of the major changes I have made has been to eat a healthy breakfast each and every morning. Some mornings it can be a major struggle, but I still make the effort. One way that I have found to save a lot of time at breakfast is to prep the ingredients or whole meal the night before. As you all know I love my crockpot and it can be a great breakfast tool. Most people think of their slow-cooker as a dinner helper, but it is also perfect for breakfast. Last week I tried a new recipe for Oatmeal Banana Maple Parfaits from the September issue of Family Circle, which looked like a perfect healthy breakfast option.

This recipe has 7 ingredients. It takes a total of 8 hours of cook time and 15 minutes of prep and makes 6 servings. All the ingredients were easy to find at my local grocery store and I made no ingredient modifications. Make sure to use pure maple syrup, the imitation syrup pales in comparison. I actually only used the pumpkin pie spice as a topping on my serving. My two boys tried the oatmeal with the pumpkin pie spice and did not like it at all, so I took it off their servings. I chose to serve the parfaits in milkshake glasses. I thought it made for a great presentation and worked well to eat. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I really liked these parfaits. It took my two kids longer to warm up to them. When I first made them with the pumpkin pie spice, they weren't fans, but when I served them the leftovers and left off the spice they loved them. I like that they use the crockpot, it saves a lot of time and the results were delicious. I would definitely make this recipe again.

For the recipe go to Oatmeal Banana Maple Parfaits.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

I have a slight cookie obsession. Not just a little crush, but a lifetime love of basically any type of cookie. I pretty much blame my father. When I was little my mom would go to sell Tupperware at parties and my dad and I went to the bakery down the street. They had the best cookies and I was able to buy whatever I wanted. I am thankful that I also inherited my dads awesome genetics that have helped to keep me thin over the years even with questionable food choices. In college I started the bad habit of eating a giant cookie for lunch everyday. Notice I say as lunch not with lunch. Over the years my friends and family have learned that I bake when stressed. Not a batch of cookies, but literally dozens and dozens. My two boys have followed in my footsteps and can smell a cookie baking from a mile away. Last week I tried a new recipe for Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies which was easy enough for my oldest to help me bake.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes a total time of 45 minutes and makes 15-20 cookies. I did make a few modifications to this recipe. I did not let the dough sit in the fridge as suggested by the recipe. My two boys were ready for cookies and not in the mood to wait an additional 30 minutes. I also did not find it necessary to add milk in order for the dough to come together. My cookies took 3-5 minutes longer to cook than the 9-11 minutes suggested. Longer cooking times are normal for my disco-era oven so your cooking times might be shorter. Finally, I made my cookies on the smaller side. My youngest does better with smaller cookies, big cookies turn into big messes. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I think these cookies lasted a total of a day in my house. My two boys ate two of these cookies a piece as soon as they came out of the oven. I liked that the cookies have oatmeal, but don't taste oat like. To me they taste more like a chocolate chip cookie with oats and a hint of cinnamon, which I really liked. If you aren't a cinnamon fan I would suggest cutting the total amount of cinnamon down to 1/2 teaspoon. Overall, a great new cookie recipe.

For the recipe go to Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies.

Chocolate Raspberry Oatmeal Muffins

I am horrible about breakfast foods. I have tried unsuccessfully over the years to encourage myself to like breakfast and all my attempts have failed. Really I can look all the way back to my childhood and see the basis for my breakfast issues. When I was a senior in high-school my idea of a healthy breakfast entailed a cup of coffee and a spoonful of peanut butter straight from the jar. This wasn't the best beginning to my day which started with working two hours before I went to a full day of classes, then hours of swimming and dance classes in the evenings. College was even worse, I moved from a scoop of peanut butter to chocolate chip scones or giant cookies (and still lots of coffee). After having kids I started to try to change my habits. I was successful at getting my kids to eat healthy every morning, as for me I'm still a work in progress. Some days I do great, others I have a large cup of coffee and a scoop of peanut butter. Oh well. One breakfast food that I have found that my whole family enjoys is muffins. Last week I tried a new recipe for Chocolate Raspberry Oatmeal Muffins which looked very easy and a great way to start the day.

This recipe has 14 ingredients. It takes a total of an hour and 25 minutes and makes 12 servings. I did make a few modifications based on ingredients that I already had in my pantry. I did not have dark chocolate chips so instead I used semi-sweet. For the raspberries I used frozen since the raspberries available locally lately have been pretty mediocre. Instead of a 1/2 cup of butter I substituted unsweetened applesauce. I have discussed before how I prefer to substitute applesauce for butter or oil in a large number of baked goods. It keeps the baked goods moist while greatly reducing the fat. Finally, instead of adding vinegar to milk I used the low-fat buttermilk I already had in the fridge. Since my muffins had applesauce instead of butter my overall cooking time was much longer, approximately an additional 10 minutes. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My two boys loved these muffins and didn't notice the substitution of applesauce for butter. I liked how they were great for breakfast or a snack and had a taste that was appealing to both my kids and my husband and I. These muffins could be modified to use a variety of fillings. They would be delicious with chopped apples and nuts, especially with the applesauce modification. Overall a very easy breakfast muffin recipe.

For the recipe go to Chocolate Raspberry Oatmeal Muffins.

Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal Waffles

I love to cook and bake from scratch as much as I can. There is something very satisfying about seeing all your hard work nicely presented on a plate. However, with two very active and growing boys there are some days that just getting any meal on the table is a struggle, much less something elaborate or complex. This is particularly a problem with breakfast. I would love to be one of those people that pops out of bed and makes cinnamon rolls before anyone else wakes-up. I'm not one of those people. My mornings start with me dragging myself out of bed at 530 to make my husbands lunch and enjoy maybe a half hour of peace before one of my kids decides to wake-up and demand food. This is quickly followed by dogs needing to be taken out, a pile of dishes to be washed and general morning craziness. All of this is before I even get to make my first cup of coffee. Due to this morning insanity I have learned that quicker is better in regards to breakfast. I still prefer to try to make breakfast at least partially from scratch, so I have found ways to cut corners in the morning. I stumbled upon a great recipe for Soul-Satisfying Oatmeal Waffles from Taste of Home Magazine, which uses packaged maple brown sugar oatmeal packets to save time.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 25 minutes start to finish and makes 10 waffles. I made a few modifications. Instead of 2% milk I used the organic non-fat milk I already had in the fridge. I didn't notice that the taste was any less rich making this substitution. Additionally, I chose to leave out the chopped pecans. My two boys aren't big fans of nuts in most recipes, so I let them out completely. For the oatmeal I already had maple and brown sugar packets in my pantry cupboard, so that was the flavor I used. I would assume this recipe would work with a variety of oatmeal flavors, there could be a number of great combinations! I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I love how easy this recipe is to make and that is uses instant oatmeal packets to save time. I seem to always have oatmeal packets leftover from when my mother-in-law goes shopping and this was a great way to use them. My two boys really loved the taste and I was happy that breakfast literally only took minutes to prepare. A very easy recipe that is great for busy weekday breakfasts.

For the recipe go to Soul-Satisfying Oatmeal Waffles. (registration required)

Better Homes and Gardens Loaded Oatmeal Cookies

My family loves sweets and I make them at least once a week. I have tried unsuccessfully to cut out sugar multiple times and have come to the conclusion that since we eat healthy most of the time an occasional homemade treat is fine. Additionally, I find baking very comforting. My mom and I used to bake cookies frequently together and I have passed on the tradition to my own children. There is something very comforting about baking and eating homemade cookies. In the past year I have been trying to find new ways to make sweets, while incorporating adding nutrition. Recently Better Homes and Gardens magazine had a recipe for Loaded Oatmeal Cookies using flaxseed meal and wheat germ, which looked healthy and delicious.

This recipe has 15 ingredients. It makes 30 cookies and takes approximately 30 minutes of prep and 9 minutes of cooking per batch. I had no problems finding all the ingredients at my local store, even the flaxseed meal was easy to find in the organic section. I used 80 percent cocoa dark chocolate in bar form and then chopped. I found that the cookies cooked very quickly, watch to make sure they don't overcook and burn. I followed the recipe as stated, however, it could easily be modified to use almonds or sunflower seeds instead of walnuts.

These cookies were very good and my household ate the whole batch in a couple of days. I love that they have the added benefits of flaxseed meal, wheat germ, dark chocolate, cranberries and chopped walnuts. The taste is delicious and my kids didn't notice that they were healthy. A great way to add nutrition to baked goods and would make a great healthy snack.

For the recipe go to Loaded Oatmeal Cookies.