Overnight Oatmeal

8 cups water
2 cups steel-cut oats, (see Ingredient note)
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Preparation:

1. Combine water, oats, dried cranberries, dried apricots and salt in a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker. Turn heat to low. Put the lid on and cook until the oats are tender and the porridge is creamy, 7 to 8 hours.

2. Stove top Variation: Halve the above recipe to accommodate the size of most double boilers: Combine 4 cups water, 1 cup steel-cut oats, 3 tablespoons dried cranberries, 3 tablespoons dried apricots and 1/8 teaspoon salt in the top of a double boiler. Cover and cook over boiling water for about 1 1/2 hours, checking the water level in the bottom of the double boiler from time to time.

Tips & Notes:

Ingredient Note: Steel-cut oats, sometimes labeled "Irish oatmeal," look like small pebbles. They are toasted oat groats—the oat kernel that has been removed from the husk that have been cut in 2 or 3 pieces. Do not substitute regular rolled oats, which have a shorter cooking time, in the slow-cooker oatmeal recipe.

Nutrition:

Per serving: 193 calories; 3 g fat (0 g sat, 1 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 34 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 6 g protein; 9 g fiber; 77 mg sodium; 195 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Fiber (36% daily value).

2 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 2 starch, 1/2 fruit

[source: EatingWell.com]

Seafood & Beans

I can't believe it's been a whole six months six I added a recipe to this. I came up with the following in a fit of inspiration.

All cans are approximately 14 oz in size.

1 can of no-salt added diced tomatoes
1 can of whole tomatoes
1 can of black beans
1 can of garbanzo beans
1 medium onion
4 cloves of garlic
3 tsp dried tarragon or you can use fresh.
2 cups thawed and cooked salad shrimp
2 tbs or so of olive oil

Preparation:

Chop the onion & mince the garlic. Sauté the onion & garlic until the onion is translucent. Add the tomatoes and the tarragon. Cut the whole tomatoes with a spatula. Drain & rinse the garbanzos. Do not drain the black beans (the liquid works as a thickener).

Add the garbanzos and the black beans. Bring the mixture to a soft boil. Add the thawed shrimp. Return to a soft boil. Remove from heat. Serve with rice.

At a local supermarket, The Market Basket, I found mixture of squid, mussels, clams, shrimp & baby octopus. I'll be making it with this seafood later in the week.

Alpen Banana Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup canola or similar vegetable oil
1 cup bananas mashed
1 ea egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup Alpen cereal [any raw muesli should work fine]
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup raisins

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine oil, bananas, egg, and vanilla in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.

2. Stir together Alpen cereal, flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add to banana mixture and stir until only combined. Fold in raisins.

3. Spoon batter into greased nonstick muffin pan and bake at 350 degrees or until golden brown.

Makes 12 smallish muffins.

* * *

NOTE: the original recipe called for 1/2 cup sugar. The muffins are much, much too sweet with the sugar. My recommendation is to omit the sugar and use ripe bananas, the riper the better.

Super Easy Low Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

INGREDIENTS:

12 oz. Philadelphia Cream Cheese
2 tbs Softened margarine or butter
1 ea. 10 oz. jar of an All Fruit Spread. Polaner's works well. [So does Stop-n-Shop's store brand organic all Fruit Spread. The latter has less sugar than Polaner's]

DIRECTIONS:

1. Beat the cream cheese with the margarine until light and fluffy.

2. Add the fruit spread. Beat until throughly mixed.

* * *

You can also substitute cocoa for the jam and add 1/4 cup or so of sweetener for an icing that works well with yesterday's cheese cake.

Sugar-free Chocolate Cheese Cake

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup Splenda
3/4 cup egg whites
2 Cups part skim ricotta
1/4 cup dark cocoa

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Beat egg whites with a hand mixer for about 2 minutes until snowy white & smooth.

3. Add ricotta and beat for another minute.

4. Add sweetener, vanilla, and cocoa. Beat until thoroughly mixed.

5. Spray with oil 2 qt. baking dish.

6. Bake 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Bridget's Waffles

Ingredients:

2-1/2 cups organic oatmeal
1 cup organic whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup organic flaxseed meal
1/2 cup hemp seed powder
1 tablespoon Sucanat or sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped organic walnuts
4 large eggs
2 cups low fat yogurt, plain
2-1/2 cups skim milk
1 generous tablespoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix wet & dry ingredients in separate bowls.

2. Heat waffle iron.

3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and gently stir in the blended wet ingredients. Batter may be slightly lumpy, but all ingredients should be well moistened.

4. Ladle batter into the waffle iron and cook until steaming stops and waffles are a golden brown. If you are freezing the waffles, cook them a little less, they'll brown in the toaster.

Cod Fish Stew

NOTE: The following units were converted from metric equivalents. They should be used only a very rough guide. Luckily this is the kind of recipe that does not require exact measurements.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. onions
3/4 lb. potatoes
14-1/2 oz. tomatoes
1 qt. vegetable stock
2 lbs cod
1/4 c. canola oil
4 ea. garlic cloves
2 oz. bell pepper
1 ea. carrot
10 oz. zucchini
1 tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Boil the potatoes in a separate pan, drain & quarter.

2. chop the vegetables.

3. Put oil in a dutch oven.

4. Saute the onions and garlic until soft.

5. Add stock, bell peppers and tomatoes.

6. Let simmer a few minutes.

7. Add cod fillets and potatoes.

8. Cook on low for about 30 minutes.

* * *

This recipe originally did not call for vegetable stock. I found, however, that without more liquid the mixture was in danger of burning. Further, I use a can of diced tomatoes.