Stove Top Granola

I love granola, but I refuse to buy it because I can't justify spending that much money for some fancy oats. Though I've made it successfully in the past, I always run into the problem of burning it in the oven. Not good. So I've been experimenting and combining some recipes to solve this inevitable problem. I've created a granola recipe that is super quick and burn proof. With some decorative packaging, I think this would make an original and healthy treat for teachers and friends this year.

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Cook Time: 3-5 minutes

Yields: 12 servings (1/3 cup each)

Cost: approx. $2.00

4 1/2 cups rolled oats ($.25- from salvage store)

2 Tbsp. olive oil ($.25)

1/4 cup butter ($.25)

1/2 cup honey ($.50)

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Set oven to 400 degrees. When preheated turn off.

Heat oil in skillet. Add oats and toast stirring often. When oats turn golden brown remove from heat. Melt butter. Add honey and vanilla. Cook and stir until bubbly. Add honey mixture to toasted oats and incorporate well. Spread granola onto large baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Place in heated oven for one hour. When cooled add dried fruits, nuts as desired and store in an airtight container.

** For peanut butter granola, add 3 Tbsp of peanut butter to melted butter along with the honey.**

Easy Irish Oats

I love Irish Oats. They're crunchy, creamy, nutty and comforting. Beyond that they are a great source of fiber and nutrition. They provided hearty breakfast that will last through the morning. The only downside is that these take about 10 times as long to cook than regular oatmeal and actually require attention. These facts almost persuaded me from passing up a 25 pound bag for $12.50. I knew that there had to be an easy way to prepare these. With a little research, I found the answer. Enter the rice cooker. It's breakfast for pennies at our house.

Easy Irish Oats

Prep time: none
Cook time: 10-15 minutes
Serves: 4

1 cup Irish Oats
3 cups water (replace with 1/2 cup milk if desired)
1 Tbsp butter

Add all ingredients to the rice cooker. When oats are cooked top with favorite ingredients and serve. I like mine with cinnamon, maple syrup and pecans.

Ham and Egg Bake

Recently I was in the middle of the week with little groceries to speak of and even scarcer time. Then I remembered the Heavenly Baked Ham in the freezer left from the holidays. With a dozen eggs and about eight potatoes for hashbrowns, I was able to throw together this meal which received rave reviews. If they only knew.


Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 12-14 minutes
Serves: 6-12
Cost: Approx. $3.00

1 dozen eggs ($.88)
12 slices of ham or deli meat ($2.00)
cooking spray

Spray the bottom of a muffin tin. Line each cup with a piece of meat. Carefully crack an egg into the cup. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-14 minutes depending on how well cooked you prefer the yolk.

You can find this recipe along with may others at The Grocery Cart Challenge's Recipe Swap.

Granola

I so am not a fan of grocery store cereal. It's so bad that my kids get cereal for their birthday and think it's the most special gift in the world. So recently I've been striving to keep homemade granola on hand for those who just can't stomach one more bowl of oatmeal. They like it so much, that I've had to put a measuring cup in the container. In reality, if we all ate this it would probably last us two days if we ate the right portion size. This stuff is packed full of good calories, but too much of a good thing in the end is not a good thing- if you know what I mean.

Homemade Granola

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Servings: 24
Cost: Approx. $2.50

6 cups old fashioned oats ($.25)
1 cup oat bran cereal ($.75)
1/4 cup flax seeds ($.50)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped almonds ($.75 if bought in bulk)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil or unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup honey ($.50)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp vanilla

Mix oats, bran, seeds, cinnamon, almonds and brown sugar. In a sauce pan combine oil/applesauce, honey water and vanilla over low heat until well incorporated. Pour liquid over dry ingredients and mix well.

Spread on cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. Bake at 300 for 60 minutes stirring every 15.

Let cool completely and store in air tight container.

Ginger Waffles with Raspberry-Peach Sauce

The kids pooled their money and bought a waffle maker a few weeks ago. They've announced that Saturday morning is officially waffle day which works out well since they sleep in a bit and wake up in shifts. Waiting for the next waffle is just about as tortuous as having to wait for the bathroom around here. So I've been on the search for a a healthy, whole grain waffle. I think this morning we found it! This recipe is adapted from the Weight Watcher's Cookbook, Comfort Classics.

Ginger Waffles with Raspberry-Peach Sauce
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: Varies
Cost: Approx. $3.00
Serves: 12

Sauce
1 cup of frozen raspberries ($.25)
1 can of peaches drained ($.75)
2 Tbsp apple juice
3 Tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract

Waffles
1 1/2 cup flour ($.25)
1 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour ($.25)
6 Tbsp sugar
3 tsp ground ginger
3 tsp baking soda
3 1/2 cup milk ($.50)
4 eggs separated ($.50)
4 Tbsp butter melted ($.25)

Place all sauce ingredients in blender and puree until smooth. Set aside.

Beat egg whites until they form a soft peak. Set aside.

Mix dry ingredients well and set aside.

Whisk milk, egg yolks, butter and 1/2 tsp vanilla. When blended add dry ingredients slowly while mixing constantly. Finally, fold in egg whites gently.

Prepare waffles. Serve immediately with sauce.

Banana French Toast

Last weekend I was needing to use up some bananas and decided to incorporate them into our Sunday brunch. I didn't measure ingredients, so these are approximations.

Prep Time: less than 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 8-10
Cost: approx. $2.00

1 loaf of bread ($1.00)
6 eggs ($.50)
2 cups milk
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 ripe bananas

Place eggs, milk, vanilla and bananas in a blender and blend until smooth. Dip bread into mixture, cook on non stick griddle. Top with syrup or warm vanilla cream sauce.

Find the recipe and many others at The Grocery Cart Challenge's Recipe Swap.

Warm Vanilla Cream Sauce

We ran out of syrup for our pancakes so I pulled together this sauce at the last minute. Everyone liked it so much that I don't think we'll be buying syrup any time soon. I was surprised that such a small amount served all nine of us. The trick to this is STIR CONSTANTLY.

Cook Time: 5 minutes
Serves: 8
Cost: less than $1

5 Tbsp butter ($.50)
5 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup sugar
3/4-1 cup milk
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

Melt butter in a sauce pan on medium heat. Incorporate flour while stirring constantly. When a smooth paste has formed add sugar and mix well. Slowly add 3/4 milk and turn up heat to medium high until the sauce begins to bubble. Continue stirring and turn heat down to medium. until sauce thickens to a gravy consistency. If needed add additional milk to thin.

Remove from heat and add cinnamon and vanilla. Stir. Serve warm.

Crustless Quiche

I love quiche, but my kids don't like the crust. So I have adapted the recipe and can make it in a jiffy with what we have on hand. I normally serve it with muffins and fruit salad. Now they request it all the time and there is never any leftovers.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 6
Cost: Approx. $2.00

4 eggs ($.50)
1 cup milk
1 tsp salt
pepper to taste
1 cup chopped broccoli (fresh or frozen) ($.25)
4 strips of bacon crumbled or 1/2 cup diced ham ($.50)
1/2 cup cheese ($.50)


Beat until frothy the eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Place broccoli, bacon and cheese in the bottom of a pie plate. Pour egg mixture on top. Bake at 375 for 25-35 minutes or until solid and beginning to brown on top.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Yum!! This is a lower fat muffin with applesauce instead of oil or butter. They bake up extra moist. It's really hard to have just one.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Bake Time: 20-25 minutes
Yield: 30 muffins
Cost: approx. $2.00


1 small can pumpkin ($.87)
2 cups sugar ($.25)
1 cup applesauce ($.25)
1 cup water
4 eggs ($.25)
3 1/2 cups flour ($.25)
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp cinnamon

Mix together pumpkin, sugar, applesauce, water and egg. Add in dry ingredients and stir. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Instant Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Oatmeal

Oatmeal is served for breakfast on a regular basis in our home. I'm normally awake enough to make it the old fashioned way, but I do love instant oatmeal and the convenience it provides for those waking early or late. A packet from Aldi is $.18. Our homemade version tastes better and costs $.06 per pack. Buying the oatmeal from the bulk bin at Meijer really brought the price down. I know it's just pennies. Over the course of time those pennies add up to a lot of convenience and money saved from not buying cereal. I can feed our family of nine breakfast for around $1.25 a day. Better yet, I wrote down the measurements and the kids completely did the work.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 minute in the microwave
Servings: 56
Cost: Approx. $3.50

This is what our large batch looked like:

2 2/3 pounds quick oats (2.00)
1 lb brown sugar ($.60)
salt
cinnamon ($.75)

To make a small batch (serves 8):
3 cups quick oats
brown sugar
salt
cinnamon

Grind 1/2 cup of oats in blender to a powder. To each bag add 3 tsp of powered oats, 1/3 cup quick oats, 1/8 tsp salt and 3 tsp brown sugar. To serve add 1/2-3/4 cup hot water and stir well.

Banana Bran Muffins

I'm trying to come up with a morning snack to keep the kid's brains functioning before lunch. Somehow productivity slows at about 10:30. It needs to be filling, healthy and of little cost. I bought 48 granola bars for about $9.00. I thought that was a good deal, but I've think I've found something better. Here's what we are trying this week.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Bake time: 15 minutes
Yield: 54 muffins
Cost: Approx. $4.00


1 16 oz box bran flakes ($2.00)
2 cups sugar ($.50)
5 cups flour ($.50)
2 tsp salt
5 tsp baking soda
5 tsp cinnamon
4 cups skim milk
4 eggs ($.50)
1/4 cup butter melted ($.25)
2 ripe bananas ($.25)

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add in wet ingredients. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

French Toast Casserole

This has all the goodness of cinnamon rolls without all of the work. When we are low on groceries we always have the ingredients for this favorite breakfast treat. This is also a great way to use the heels of bread. Store them in the freezer until ready to use. Enjoy!

Serves: 12-16
Prep Time: 5 minutes (overnight in fridge)
Cook time: 45 minutes
Cost: Approx. $2.50

1/2 cup brown sugar ($.25)
1/2 cup melted butter ($.50)
4 Tbsp cinnamon
8-10 eggs ($1.00)
3/4 cup milk
dash of salt
10-12 slices of bread ($.75)


In the bottom of a 9x13 pan mix brown sugar, cinnamon and butter. Next, place bread in layers. Top with egg, milk, salt mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

In morning bake uncovered in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.

Creamy Oatmeal

A healthy, hearty breakfast makes a big difference in this house. We were recently given some Irish cut oats. They were good, but took forever to cook. Then I found this recipe....

Prep Time: 12 hours
Cook time: 15 minutes
Serves: 8-10
Cost: approx. $3.50

4 cups Irish oats ($1.50)
5 cups milk ($2.00)
vanilla
cinnamon

Mix 4 cups of Irish oats in 5 cups of milk. Cover and let soak overnight in fridge.

In heavy saucepan bring oats, milk, 2 tsp. vanilla to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer 10 minutes or until oats have softened stirring often. Add in 1/4-1/2 cup brown sugar and simmer 5 more minutes. Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve.